How do you use LinkedIn? That may seem like an absurd question as it’s now difficult to find an IT, sales, or business specialist that doesn’t have a profile on this platform. Still, even now many people ignore some of LinkedIn’s most powerful features that can help to find a job, generate leads and increase sales. Today we will discuss the LinkedIn Inmail messages feature, why to use it and how to reach its full potential.
What a LinkedIn InMail Is and Who May Use It
As for some basic terms:
What Is an InMail Message on LinkedIn?
The platform lets you find professional connections, but before contacting someone you have to add them to your network with an invite. In short, Inmail is an exclusive paid feature that lets you message members that you are not connected with.
What Is the Difference between InMail and Messages on LinkedIn?
Regular messages can only be sent to 1st Degree connection messengers (people who are already connected with you on LinkedIn). By default, you can’t reach 2nd-degree connections(people with whom you have a common connection) nor 3rd-degree connections(no common connections).
InMail lets you skip all request/invite stages and write a message directly. It will have an “Inmail” tag in the recipient’s inbox.
What are the Specs/Limitations for LinkedIn InMail?
Obviously, such a feature has its own limitations. To send LinkedIn InMails you’d need to accumulate inmail credits. Each LinkedIn paid plan gives a certain amount of credits:
- Premium Career – 5 per month;
- Premium Business – 15 per month;
- Sales Navigator – 50 per month;
- Recruiter – 150 per month.
How Do You Write a Good LinkedIn InMail?
As the amount of inmail messages is usually limited, you’d need to pay attention to their quality. Here are some tips:
Formatting Basics
Firstly, InMails allows up to 200 characters in the subject and up to 2000 characters in the main body. There are no strict formatting rules, but we recommend adding bullet points to the text as well as linking some of the most crucial parts.
Tips for Great Content
Secondly, the content of LinkedIn Inmails has to be brief and engaging. Your mission is to build a real connection to make your offer stand out among dozens of spam messages. To increase reachability you need to:
- Create an eye-catching subject line
- Personalize your message
- Adopt a conversational tone
- Mention mutual connections
- Give the recipient a reason to reply
What is Sponsored InMail?
Usually, there is a certain limit of InMails you could send, but LinkedIn gives you the option to create a targeted ad campaign with sponsored InMails at scale. In this case, you choose parameters of a target group rather than reach specific people on the network. Basically, you choose the preferred audience, set the budget, and let LinkedIn handle the rest.
The amount of sponsored inmails sent only depends on the budget. The recipients can’t answer the message directly, so the main focus of sponsored inmail messages is an engaging CTA.
The Role of InMails in LinkedIn Cold Outreach
Inmails, especially sponsored ones often imply outbound sales. If done correctly, LinkedIn’s cold outreach has many benefits over email and social media, as they:
- Require few follow-ups;
- Don’t go through a spam filter;
- Land directly into an inbox;
- Have simple data management;
- Simplify social selling;
The most optimal cold outreach content strategy is:
- Keeping it short in the messages.
- Saving the sales for later follow-ups.
- Hooking up with an offer.
- Keeping track of response.
How Outreachly Streamlines Your Reaching Out to the Customers
Inmail messages are a great means to leverage B2B gen, but it demands taking care of response connections and follow-ups. Outreachly is the #1 LinkedIn Automation Tool that will take care of LinkedIn inmails with its automated messaging and targeted leads.
Book up a free demo to check out the benefits of automated lead generation.
