Sponsored InMail is the most direct way to engage your prospects on LinkedIn. New real-time delivery means you can now reach members when they’re most receptive to your message—when they’re already active and engaged on the platform.
Join LinkedIn Product Marketing Manager Irina Skripnik and Senior Marketing Manager Amanda Halle as they demo the product live and walk you through best practices and tips for making the most of the newly enhanced Sponsored InMail.
Discover a new way to increase the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts and drive timely leads for events, webinars, content distribution, special offers, and more.
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Live Webinar: Sponsored InMail Demo + Best Practices
1. Irina Skripnik
Product Marketing Manager,
LinkedIn
Amanda Halle
Senior Marketing Manager,
LinkedIn
Sponsored InMail Live Demo
“Cracking the Code on LinkedIn Sponsored InMail”
2. 2
How to Engage with Us
Got a question? Submit it in the Webex Q&A box
Recorded? Of course!
Feedback? Survey will be available at the end of the
Webinar
Follow us:
Twitter: @LinkedInMktg
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/linkedin-marketing-solutions
3. 3
Agenda for Today’s Webinar
Why marketing on LinkedIn?
Sponsored InMail intro and product demo
Best practices for driving leads with Sponsored InMail
Q&A
4. 4
Connect the world’s professionals
to make them more productive
and successful
LinkedIn’s mission
5. 5
Be the most effective platform
for marketers to engage
with professionals
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions’ mission
Be the most effective platform
for marketers to engage
with professionals
6. * 2015 member number as of June, 2014
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
32M
364M+
7. 7
Drive more effective marketing
More business
decision makers than
comparable business
sites
Higher buying power
index vs. comparable
business and social
sites
8. Deliver valuable content in the most personal way
possible on LinkedIn – right to our members’ Inboxes
8
Sponsored InMail
11. Sponsored InMail: Targeted and personalized message
delivered to the most engaged professional audience
Raise brand awareness
Drive Quality Leads
Build Customer
Relationships
12. Real-time delivery:
Sponsored InMail messages are delivered
only when members are on LinkedIn
Design optimized for mobile:
“Sticky” call to action button remain on top of
content while user scrolls
Simplified desktop design
Purpose-built to improve performance with
clear calls to action, top banner position,
prominent top sender position
The Next Generation Sponsored InMail
13. 13
Deliver valuable content to the most personal of LinkedIn channels –
our members’ Inbox
Reach only active members
100% deliverability
Engage your audience on desktop and
mobile
Personalize your content
15. Leverage your marketing content to reach your most engaged
target audience on LinkedIn
Expand your reach and market penetration
100% Deliverability with
real-time delivery
Professional mindset &
uncluttered inbox with
strict frequency caps
Mobile-optimized message
expands your reach to
mobile-only users
Flexibility to personalize your
message to come from an
individual or a company
30. Who would you like to reach?
Available Targeting Facets
Company Name, Industry, Size
Job Title, Function, Seniority
Member Skills
Schools, Degree, Field of
Study
Groups
Gender & Age
31. Sponsored InMail Components (See Submission Form)
Message
• Customized salutation
• Body text (up to 500 characters)
• Up to (1) body link
• (1) URL for Banner/Button
• 300x250 Image Banner (jpeg/gif)
• Formatting of the CTA cannot
be changed.
• Custom legal text (when
applicable)
Inbox
• From: Logo/Photo
• From: Company/Person
• Subject & description
33. 33
1
Use targeting on LinkedIn to
deliver the right message to the
right person at the right time
34. 34
Your audience should be at the center of your content
Don’t overtarget seniority if your message is
not intended for C-Suite audience
Avoid hypertargeting, it may work against your
campaign performnace if the message is too
general
Tailor the message to ensure relevance with
your target audience
Personalize your message for your audience
so the recipients can relate to the contnet
35. 35
Use Case:
Content Distribution
Goal: Lead Gen
Performance benchmarks:
Open Rate 51% | CTR: 16%
Why this worked:
1. Content is relevant to
the target audience
2. Well written message
that’s easy to read
3. CTA with clear
value for the member
36. 36
Use Case:
Content Distribution
Goal: Lead Gen
Performance benchmarks:
Open Rate 32% | CTR: 10%
Why this worked:
1. Content is relevant to the
target audience
2. Clear, tangible member
benefit
3. Engaging sneak-peek
graphic banner
37. 37
2 Create a compelling
inbox preview to drive
opens
38. Consider the context of your message and the member’s experience
38
Your Campaign’s Impact Starts with the Preview
Sender
Company vs. individual member
Subject Line
Short, impactful subject lines
lead to higher opens.
Description
The description adds more detail
to your subject line.
39. 39
Tips for boosting open rates
Limit the subject & description lines to
3-8 words
Include a clear call to action or benefit in
the subject
Content, context and call to action
determines whether sender is company or
an individual
Inbox preview should be consistent with
the message and landing page
40. Inviting subject line
and personal
message drives
high quality
registrants for
an exec event
Use Case: Event Invitation
Goal: Registrants
Performance:
Open Rate 51% | CTR: 21%
Why this worked:
1. Personal invitation that
feels genuine and
mentions the sender in
the first person
2. Attention grabbing
subject line with a
supporting description
3. Consistent message
with clear member
benefit
1
2
3
41. 41
“Well over 97% of our
members are on LinkedIn
and use it to network, so it
made sense that we could
seek potential new
members on LinkedIn”
Use Case: Membership
Growth/Community
Goal: Brand Awareness
Performance:
Open Rate 45% | CTR: 5%
Why this works:
1. Clear member benefit:
“helping YOU” advancing
your career
2. Description provides
additional context
3. Message coming from
a company sets
clear expectations
1
2
3
43. 43
Create Member Value and Drive Leads
You need to GIVE value to GET value. Focus the message on
the member benefit not the company/product.
Create a sense of urgency. Use the last sentence to segway
into your call to action.
Tailor the message to ensure relevance, the member needs to
understand why they are receving this message and why its
relevant
Include a clear call to action and align it to the context of your
message.
Keep it short, under 1,200 characters. Read your message out
loud and see if it feels too long. Does it hold up interest?
44. 44
Adopt these best practices to craft compelling
LinkedIn Sponsored InMail campaigns.
47. 47
On Average 30-40% of Opens Happen on Mobile
Keep the message short and concise to avoid
overwhelming the member with content
(under 1200 characters)
Include a clickable link in the message body helps
to get a higher CTR on mobile
Avoid using too much formatting and spacing.
Plain text and up to 3 bullets works best
Make sure your landing page is mobile
responsive and build your form to only capture
information you need
48. Use Case: Networking invitation
Goal: Lead Gen
Performance: Open Rate 45% | CTR: 5%
Why this works:
• Clear call to action body link
• Limited formatting for easy reading
• Short but clear and actionable subject
49. 49
5 Create a simple landing
page with a clear path to
conversion
50. 50
Once the member clicks on your message, delight them
with an experience on your website that will convert
Keep the message on your landing page
consistent with your Sponsored InMail.
Design the landing page with clear focus
on where the the user should take action
Create a seamless experience, have more
on your page than just a lead form.
Consolidate form fields to only the
ones required
Use unique tracking codes in the URL to
measure lead generation results
51. Top 3 LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
Campaigns
Amanda Halle,
Senior Marketing Manager at
LinkedIn
52. 52
Highly targeted Sponsored InMail drives
the strongest results
• Held Webinar with Dell – “Dell’s Secret to Successful Sponsored Updates”
• Email registrations was low – 361 registrations were generated using email
• Needed to boost registrations for event – we usually see
700-1000 registrants
• Promoted to Marketers in the Technology vertical
• Targeting criteria:
• Title: Marketing Manager +
• Vertical: Technology
• Company Size: 200 employees +
55. Sponsored InMail is great tool for A/B Testing
• Campaign:
• Webinar “Harnessing the Power of the Full Funnel” in April 2015
• Promoted via email, Sponsored updates, blog and social media
• Sponsored InMail was scheduled as an additional promotion
for the webinar
• Sponsored InMail Campaign
• A/B Test the sender of the email
• Hypothesis: Sends from a person will drive more registrations
then from a company
56. Results: Sending from a Company
drives more registrations
47.85% Open Rate
3.86% CTR
39.29% Open Rate
7.63% CTR
57. Sponsored InMail is a great way to expand the
reach of your campaigns
• Campaign:
• FinanceConnect Live Event – May 7, 2015
• Promoting the streaming version to prospects/customers unable to
attend the live event
• Email was the primary channel for promotion
• Challenge: List fatigue, the segment had been targeted via
email too many times that month
• Solution: Sponsored InMail to new prospects not in our email database
58. InMail is a great way to expand the reach of your campaigns –
drove 25% additional registrations to the event
24.61% Open Rate
0.74% CTR
41.75% Open Rate
8.71% CTR
59. Key Takeaways
Best Practices for Success with Sponsored InMail
59
• Use targeting on LinkedIn to deliver the right message to the right
person at the right time
• Create a compelling inbox preview to drive opens
• Develop personalized content that will resonate with your audience
• Optimize your content for mobile engagement
• Create a simple landing page with a clear path to conversion
61. 1 Check your target audience against your
message. Does it resonate?
2 Read the message out loud. Is the
message to long?
3 Keep body copy under 500 characters.
4 Only include (1) body hyperlink. Too many
links dilutes effectiveness.
5 Is it clear to the member what action
should be taken and why?
Sponsored InMail Best Practice Tips
10 tips to improve performance
61
6 Do not hyperlink the signature unless
you want to drive traffic to your profile
7 Do not INCLUDE ALL CAPS or symbols
this make the message feel like spam
8 Do not hyper target campaigns, you’ll
miss out on valuable audiences
9 Do not try to “trick” the member, it’s bad
experience
10 Don’t use mailto: not all members have
mail service set up on their device
Hinweis der Redaktion
With Sponsored InMail an email address is never used or referenced.
The message experience is only on the LinkedIn Platform and a Sponsored InMail message is not delivered to a memebrs personal or profesisonal inbox.
This option to opt out is accessible both through the Sponsored InMail message link, and through general LinkedIn settings.
LinkedIn’s targeting is incredibly robust and you are reaching the most engaged members within your target audience. The right message to the right person is key here.
It’s important to reach everyone who could influence a buying decision, but you know your content and your audience best.
Your audience should be at the center of the content, that’s the best way to make sure your message resonates.
A common mistake I see are campaigns that are targeted to Director+ (which includes Director, Owner, Partner, VP, C-Suite) but the content is not c-level material (especially when targeting enterprise level companies)
A question I like to ask when consulting on seniority is a simple one: would your CEO open this and engage with the message and find it beneficial to him/her? Are they THE decision maker? In some cases maybe. In most other cases it’s a manager or a Senior Level Individual contributor like a Senior Systems network administrator, Technical Manager, Facilities Manager who make these decisions since they are most informed.
Hyper targeting in many cases may work against you, especially if your message is pretty general. For example if you are selling a printer, but targeting designers in IT industry enterprise level companies in specific states, you may be missing an opportunity to reach your actual audience, since designers may not buy their own printers at enterprise companies. Don’t forget to reach the target audience that influences the decision maker, since many times purchase decisions are evaluated by a team. So in this case you may have multiple campaigns to influence the buying decision.
The last two points go hand-in hand together. Targeting + message relevancy. Ask yourself, would I be interested in this message if I am the target audience? Who would benefit from this message and what’s in it for them? Call it out, make it clear.
Open rates and what can influence them
The first thing a member sees, whether it’s in their inbox or in the notification preview is the sender:
Who is the message from whether it’s a company or an individual.
Below it are the subject line, which is clickable and the description.
Keep the subject line short 3-8 words, otherwise it’ll get cut off on some devices. The shorter the better while communicating core purpose of the message.
Your subject line should be clear about what to expect from the message and use it to tell your audience whats in the message. The description is there for you to tell the audience why it should be opened.
Your content should determine whether the message is best suited to come from a company or an individual.
Match the flow and context of the message, so your reader understands what’s in it for them when they open the message.
This is the first thing a member sees, make it count, but don’t sound spammy!
When composing your content align with the LinkedIn mission, how will this message make the memebr more productive and successful?
Who the message is FROM is important to consider when creating your contnet.
I’ve lined up two examples, one that’s coming from a person, the next is an example of a message coming from a company.
This example is fantastic because it’s very personalized. If your message is coming from a person, it should feel personal. It should have elements of a personalized letter that was crafted and makes the recipient feels special.
OpenDNS used Sponsored InMail to promote a dinner networking event to a C-level audience. This message was spot-on with the target audience. Sponsored InMail has been the biggest driver of registrants for their Executive Dinners, driving over 50% of the leads.
The message should be genuine with a clear member benefit. This message does not “trick” the member, it’s still obvious that this is a sponosred markeing message, but there is so much value here for the executive. Your message should also be consistent with your calls to action.
In this case diana personlized the introduction, connects the message to the target audience and signs the message with a personalized signature.
If you are going to sign, keep it short and make sure that does not push your CTA below the fold.
One other thing I do not recommend is adding your profile linkn to the signature, unless that’s your campign goal.
You may lose a valuable lead because most recipients onlly have 1 click action.
On the other side of the spectrum is a message promoting a memership.
Since the message is mostly focused on how the company can provide value for this member and the membership, it makes the most sense for it to come from a company since ICF is helping you succeed, not an individual.
The description here supports the subject line, use it to give your audience a reason to open the messgage.
Even though the message is signed by the CEO/Executive director, the expectation is very clearly set here that this is a message helping “YOU” as the member with the career and the clear call to action prompts you to Learn more, Join or renew. With this campaign ICF was able to successfully grow their membership with qualified candiates.
Overall ICF saw tremendous success with their program and were able to reach a qualified audience of members who joined their organization.
Unlike a banner or a Sponsored Update that a memebr sees and it goes away, a Sponsored Inmail Message lives in the inbox and does not disapper.
There is no other product on LInkedIn that combines the power of the target audience and personalization in a professional context.
Let’s take a look at the heart of your Sponsored InMail campaign, the actual message.
There are five principles here but if you will take away at least two that’s the first and the last.
Your message must have value for the member to perform and keep it short. It’s the considerate thing to do, especially since a lot of education and additional infomraiton most of the time can be found on the landing page.
NEVER copy and paste your landing page copy into the message, a member can perceive that as wasting their time having them read the same copy twice.
Make your message light and fun, many of the content is king best pratices apply here.
More is definitely not better, expecially is there’s 2 paragraphs about the product and value prop and features and another 4-5 bullets of features.
Here are some summary points of what does and doesn’t work.
You’ll get a copy of these slides, so it will much easier to see.
A personalized brief message with compelling call to action and a member benefit does work.
But a hard sell. Long messages, run-on sentences and markeitng jargon and recycled dry content just does not perform.
Let’s take a look at another example. Replicon had a killer Sponosred InMail campaign with a fantastic turn-out.
Their banner focuses the member on the message and the main calls to action, it works great in this case. The overall message is professional, but lightweight.
> The message opens with an on-topic question and overall the message is concise with a clear value.
> The body of the message contains the most important information the recipient should know before taking action but there’s no information overload.
> Since the message came from a person, Bev personalized it with a short signature to close out the message.
The message is clear, its actionable and has consistent call to action thoughout the message.
Overall Replicon had a very unique and personalized approach, which helped them reach their prospects early in the buying cycle and increase quality leads.
Since you are using the same content within one message that goes to both desktop and mobike, keep mobile top of mind when you’re crafting your content.
Keep your message copy short, anything over 1,200 characters takes a long time to read. My best practice when crafting your content is read it out loud and it’ll help you see if the message is too long.
I always recommend including a clickable body link, the bright blue font color stands out on the gray text background making it easy to spot. You can see what it looks like in the Sponsored InMail copy from Duke MBA here.
Avoid using too much formatting because it clutters a small screen, keep your bullets short because otherwise your bullets turn into paragraphs on a small screen.
And lastly perfect transition into the final best practice tip. While your landing page doesn’t need to be built specifically for mobile, it shouldn’t break. It should be relatively easy to engage and fill out your form.
With Sponsored InMail on mobile you’ll be reaching all memebrs that only engage on mobile, all the folks that are commuting, at a conference or on the road.
The body link pops and makes it easy to click when the member’s interst is peaked.
There is limited formatting here, so it’s easy to read on mobile
The message was easy to engage with on desktop and it’s even easier to consume on mobile.
Keep your forms short. No one wants to spend time filling out a lengthy form. Let your form do the conversion work for you.
Plase make sure to provide your campaign managers with clicks trackers, so you can measure your clicks and conversions. Landing pages should create a seamless experience from the message, providing details that explain why this content is valuable enough to give up personal informaiton with a prominent call to action so download the full piece in order to obtain that value.
Facilitator Notes:
Targeting with InMail: Educate customers on value of our audience
Targeting best practices
Ideal target audience size
Facilitator Notes:
InMail Best Practice Tips: Do and Don’t