What is linkedin sponsored inmail?
LinkedIn Sponsored InMail lets businesses send direct messages to LinkedIn members who are not connections, based on specific targeting criteria, to promote content or services. It's a powerful tool for reaching a highly targeted professional audience.
Key points
- Delivers direct, personalized messages to non-connections on LinkedIn.
- Leverages precise targeting based on professional data like job title and industry.
- Ideal for B2B lead generation, content promotion, and event invitations.
- Messages are delivered only when recipients are active on LinkedIn for higher visibility.
LinkedIn Sponsored InMail is a direct messaging advertising format on LinkedIn. It allows businesses to send personalized messages to LinkedIn members who are not already connected to them. This is different from regular InMail because it's a paid service, designed specifically for marketing and lead generation through the LinkedIn advertising platform.
Think of it as a highly targeted email campaign, but delivered right into a professional's LinkedIn inbox. Advertisers can select their audience using LinkedIn's robust targeting options, such as job title, industry, company size, skills, and even groups they belong to. This precision helps ensure your message reaches the most relevant professionals who are likely to be interested in your offering.
The primary goal of Sponsored InMail is often to drive specific actions, like downloading a whitepaper, registering for a webinar, requesting a demo, or visiting a specific landing page. Importantly, Sponsored InMail messages are only delivered when the recipient is active on LinkedIn, ensuring high visibility and engagement potential without cluttering their inbox when they are offline.
Why it matters
Sponsored InMail is a valuable tool for marketing teams because it offers several key advantages for reaching professional audiences:
- Direct communication: Your message lands directly in the recipient's LinkedIn inbox, cutting through the noise of traditional email marketing and social media feeds. This directness often leads to higher engagement rates.
- Highly targeted audience: LinkedIn's extensive professional data allows for incredibly precise targeting. You can reach specific job titles, industries, seniority levels, company sizes, and even members of particular professional groups. This ensures your message is seen by decision-makers and relevant stakeholders.
- Professional context: Messages are delivered within a professional networking environment, which can lend more credibility and perceived value to your communication compared to other platforms.
- Measurable results: LinkedIn's campaign manager provides detailed analytics. You can track opens, clicks, conversions, and other key metrics, allowing you to optimize your campaigns for better performance.
Best practices for effective Sponsored InMail
To get the most out of your Sponsored InMail campaigns, follow these best practices:
Crafting compelling subject lines
Your subject line is the first impression. Keep it short, intriguing, and clearly state the value. Personalize where possible, using dynamic fields like the recipient's first name or company name to make it stand out in their inbox. Avoid generic phrases and instead focus on a specific benefit or insight.
Writing engaging message copy
The body of your InMail should be concise and focused on the recipient's needs. Start with a clear, friendly greeting. Immediately address a pain point or offer a solution relevant to their professional role. Keep paragraphs short and easy to read. Focus on providing clear value, such as exclusive content, an invitation to an industry event, or a free trial. Always include a single, clear call to action (CTA).
Smart audience targeting
Effective targeting is crucial. Use a combination of filters like job title, industry, seniority, and company size to narrow down your audience to the most relevant professionals. Test different audience segments to see which performs best. It's also wise to exclude irrelevant audiences, such as current customers if your goal is new lead generation, to avoid wasted spend.
Optimizing your call to action (CTA)
Your CTA should be prominent, actionable, and singular. Use strong verbs like
Real-world examples
Software company promoting a webinar
A B2B SaaS company uses Sponsored InMail to invite IT managers and directors to a webinar on cybersecurity best practices. The InMail highlights key takeaways from the webinar and includes a clear 'Register Now' button leading to the event's landing page.
Marketing agency offering a free audit
A digital marketing agency targets small business owners and marketing VPs with a Sponsored InMail offering a free SEO audit. The message explains the benefits of improving search engine visibility and encourages recipients to schedule a complimentary consultation.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Sending generic messages that lack personalization and relevance to the recipient's specific role or industry, leading to low engagement.
- Including a weak or unclear call to action (CTA) that doesn't guide the recipient to a specific next step, causing confusion.
- Overlooking audience segmentation and sending messages to overly broad or irrelevant professional groups, resulting in wasted ad spend.