Data-Driven Best Practices for LinkedIn Sponsored InMail

Irina SkripnikGlobal Product Marketing Manager, LinkedIn

Sophia WongMarketing Intelligence & Analytics Manager, LinkedIn

Data-Driven Best Practices for Sponsored InMail

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Recorded? Of course!

Before we get started…

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INTERNAL USE ONLY

Today’s Agenda

1What pain points will Sponsored InMail alleviate?

2LinkedIn’s secret sauce for Sponsored InMail

3Campaign Launch Prep Tips

4Top Sponsored InMails

INTERNAL USE ONLY

Today’s Agenda

1What pain points will Sponsored InMail alleviate?

Annual rate of B2B customer data decay:

66% job title, function, or company change

37% email address change

Source: 2015 study by Biznologyhttp://biznology.com/2015/02/b2b-data-decay-list-rental-buyer-beware/

How do you combat data decay?

Half of B2B buyers start their solution research with a web search, and 72% of buyers will use Google at some point in

the research stage

57% will browse existing discussions on LinkedIn

Source: 2014 B2B Buyer Landscape, Demand Gen, Pardot

How do you make sure your content is

consumed?

Asked for suggestions/

recommendations from users

Connected directly with

potential vendors

Connected with individual

thought leaders for opinions

Did not use social

Browsed existing discussions

Professionals rely on LinkedIn as a content hub to educate themselves on buying decisions

Combat dirty data & decay to decrease bounce rates and unsubscribe rates

Benchmark email bounce rate: 1.10% and unsubscribe rate: 0.23%

Sponsored InMail bounce rate: 0% (it doesn’t bounce) and unsubscribe rate: .10%

Timeframe January – August 2015. Sponsored InMail click rate based on sends. Source: http://mailchimp.com/resources/research/email-marketing-benchmarks/

Improve content consumption by 2X

Timeframe January – August 2015. Sponsored InMail click rate based on sends. Unsubscribe rate based on opens.Source: http://mailchimp.com/resources/research/email-marketing-benchmarks/

Benchmark email open rate: 22.1% and CTR: 2.9%

Sponsored InMail open rate: 41.2% and CTR: 4.8%

Sponsored InMail average open and CTR by vertical

ConstructionLegal

EducationalCorporate

ArtsTransportation

GovernmentHigh-techNon-Profit

ManufacturingConsumer

ServiceRecreational

MediaMedicalFinance

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Chart Title

ConstructionManufacturing

High-techEducational

GovernmentFinance

CorporateNon-Profit

ServiceConsumer

MedicalRecreational

TransportationMedia

ArtsLegal

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14%

Average Open Rates Average CTR

Timely, convenient, and personal messages to people that matter most to your business

LinkedIn Sponsored InMail

Optimized for desktop and mobile

Sponsored InMail provides exclusive share of voice

70.6% receive only 1 Sponsored InMail annually29.3% receive 2-3

Sponsored InMail annually

LinkedIn Sponsored InMail Examples

“What’s our secret sauce?

Clear, time sensitive, Sponsored InMail delivers a 8x registration boost

Email24.6% Opens.74% Registrations

Sponsored InMail41.8% Opens 8.7% Registrations

A compelling premium offer achieved CTR > 30%

Open rate: 41%CTR: 32%

1 in 5 recipients downloaded report specific to their region

Open rate: 67.4%CTR: 20.5%

Open rate: 56.9%CTR: 22.0%

INTERNAL USE ONLY

Today’s Agenda

3Campaign Launch Prep Tips

Context + Value + Mindset

.

New LinkedIn Messenger Experience is HereNEW

Threaded messages

Chat styleinterface

People centric list view

.

New LinkedIn Messenger Experience is HereNEW

Custom call to action button

Image banner for branding impact

Easy to navigate left pane

Custom greeting

Seamless Member Experience on Mobile

How can you target and how should you target

PEOPLE AND KNOWLEDGE

Shares and consumes content on LinkedIn

Member of groups about

entrepreneurship and business

Keeps his profile

updated

OPPORTUNITY

Advance his career

Help his company grow

Build new skills

FixDex Inc., 201-500, Internet

Member of networking Groups

Senior Individual Contributor

Male

San Francisco, CA USA

COMPANY

NAME

INDUSTRYSIZE

SCHOOL

LOCATION

JOB TITLE

SENIORITY

FUNCTION

MIT

FIELD OF STUDY Computer Science

DEGREE Bachelor’s

GRADUATION 2007, 30AGE

CCNP, virtualization, cloud SKILLS

Senior Network engineer

GENDER

GROUPS

IP

User Entered Title Standardized Title Function

Examples:• Product Marketing Lead → Marketing

function• Inventory manager → Operations

function• Yield manager → Sales function

INFERRED FROM USER ENTERED TITLEFunction

Pro Tip: target by function to get relevancy + scale; target by title to reach experts and specialists with a highly specific message

User Entered Title Standardized Title Seniority

Examples:• Product Marketing Lead → Senior IC• Operations manager → Manager• Solutions marketing → Entry IC

INFERRED FROM USER ENTERED TITLESeniority

Pro Tip: IC and Sr. IC are both decision makers and influencers. Don’t use Director + unless your message is meant for executives.

Company Entered Name Company Entered Industry Company Entered # of employees

Sample Targeting Facets:• Company Name → LinkedIn• Company Industry → Internet• Company Size → 5,000-10,000

INFERRED FROM COMPANY PAGECompany Size & Industry

4 Most Common Methods of Targeting

• Titles • Job Function + Seniority• Skills + Seniority• Groups (+ Seniority)

Pro tip: Add company size, industry to narrow in your target market

TEST AUDIENCES TO FIND BIGGEST IMPACTScale Your Target Audience Efficiently

“How do you take your Sponsored InMails from Great to Outstanding?”

Campaign Launch Prep Tips

Let your audience know this message is relevant for them but don’t go overboard i.e.. “Hi California event planner working at an enterprise level company…”

TAILOR YOUR CONTENT ACCORDINGLY – CALL OUT YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE1. Target audiences want relevant content

PRO TIP:

2. Focus on DM’s and Influencer audiencesNARROW IN ON THOSE WHO ARE MOST LIKELY TO ENGAGE

Influence the Influencer:• Consider targeting Senior IC as

part of your audience these are the Senior System Network Engineers, Senior Developers, Accountants, Lawyers, Scientists

• You have a much bigger audience that will test products and influence the purchase vs. person signing the contract

Pro tip: Owner/Partner/CXO content should be crafted specifically for this audience

Owner

Partner

CXO

VP

Director

Manager

Senior

Entry

Training

Unpaid

GIVE THE MEMBER A GOOD REASON TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR CONTENT

3. The Impact of Your Message Starts with the Preview

Sender: Person = personalized 1st person content “I”Company = content on behalf of a team or productSubject:Be concise about what the value member will get from the message.

Description:Give member specific instructions what to do with your message ex. Register for… download the…

4. Good subject lines

Short, impactful subject lines often utilize some of the following key words:1. Thanks2. Exclusive invitation 3. Connect4. Job opportunities 5. Join us

LET THEM STAND OUT IN THE INBOX

THINK MEMBERS FIRST WHEN CRAFTING YOUR CONTENT

5. Give your message a unique and genuine voice

Strong visual: Support your message content and call to action, but not distract

Be concise, personal and relevant: Keep your copy under 1000 characters and include a body link

Strong call to action: should be clear what action should be taken

The Helpful Advisor The VIP Invitation The Cliffhanger

Start by explaining howyour piece of content willhelp your target achieve

professional success.

Get your audience to react by inviting them to an exclusive event. Let them know it’s a

limited opportunity

Tell your audience just enoughto pique their interest but not so

much that they aren’t compelled

to learn more.

6. Create content that’s helpful, informative and/or entertainingTRY WRITING FROM THESE PERSPECTIVES

PRO TIP: CLEAR CTA WILL MAXIMIZE CLICKS AND CONVERSIONS TO GATED CONTENT7. Clear calls to action

Top InMail CTA keywords1) Try 2) Register 3) Reserve4) Join5) Confirm 6) Download

Top Sponsored Update CTAs7) Apply8) Stop by9) Download10) Read11) Check12) Register

8. Take advantage of quick lead opportunitiesAS PROFESSIONALS CATCH UP ON CONTENT AT HOME

9. Optimize the content for mobile

For best mobile performance make sure:

• The copy is fewer than 1000 characters or eliminate it all together.

• The CTA is clear.• The landing page is optimized for the

small screen.

SYNERGISTICALLY WITH MULTIPLE FULL-FUNNEL PRODUCTS10. Multi-Product Marketers gain performance

128% higher open rates among those exposed to Display and

Sponsored Updates first

Infographics, blog posts, industry trends, influencer content, “behind the scenes” and exclusive contentBest practice guides, case studies, product reviews, analyst reports, webinars, blog posts

White papers, research briefs, product demos, trials, product reviews and comparisons, analyst reportsNewsletters, recommendations, case studies, product news, tutorials

Best Practices Cheat Sheet

1. Optimizing for relevance

• Ensure your message resonates with your target audience

• Always ask, “why would the audience read this?

• Consider targeting the influencer to the decision

• Use a sender with credibility among the target audience

2. Optimizing content

• Clearly outline benefits to the member for engaging with this message

• Use concise, compelling and conversational intros

• Include a concise call to action and be clear about what the reader should do

• Make sure landing pages are optimized for mobile traffic

3. Amplify and personalize

• Test to see what works with the audience and then refine

• Be resourceful and use your existing content by reworking it to be conversational

• Be genuine

INTERNAL USE ONLY

Today’s Agenda

4Top Sponsored InMails

Easy to read message with clear value benefit to the target audience.

Concise message to a specific target audience is the best approach for offers and trials.

Uses the intro copy to address the target audience and adds credibility by referencing their engineers

Landing page does the educating and converting

Top Sponsored InMails- Q3 2015

Provides a lot of upfront value by referencing that this is an updated report for this target audience.

The message is passive and focused on information sharing not hard selling.

These tactics are effective ways to distribute content like survey results or a research report.


The message is highly personalized and sites relevancy both for target audience and location.

Very clever tactic to gather decision makers in a community environment.

Taps into a very broad desire to network: the main reason professionals use LinkedIn. The message is appropriate to the platform.


Captivating subject line

Message fits in well to be sent from a company

Call-out that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity

Message has a sense of limited availability and time sensitivity


Highly personalized and concise messaging got high engagement and registrations

Message is easy to engage with across desktop and mobile

The image adds visual appeal to the message on desktop.


Niche content finds a place on LinkedIn with the use of an effective targeting strategy.

Specific instructions on how the report will be delivered and what to expect.

The intro copy is concise and clear and adds to the image and call to action.


Top Don’t Tips

1. Pushy Content

• Content that sounds like a brochure or infomercial. Ex. Who does ABC trust for XYZ? Us! See what XYZ can do for your business

• Don’t cast too wide of a net Ex. You or a colleague may benefit from this…

• Avoid !!! and ALL CAPS• Don’t overload message

with multiple calls to action, focus on one action and building trust

2. Hard to Navigate Website

• The landing page should match the call to action and message. (ex. Demo in message vs. whitepaper or about us on landing page)

• Your landing page should align with your goal ex. PDF is not ideal for conversions

3. Too much or too vague

• Avoid getting all details into the message, your landing page should do the educating

• Have a call to action that’s too long

• Using a closing salutation if the message is coming from a company

• Technical content coming from marketing or sales contacts

Questions?

Irina SkripnikGlobal Product Marketing Manager, LinkedIn

Sophia WongMarketing Intelligence & Analytics Manager, LinkedIn