Part of the value of LinkedIn as a sales and marketing channel is how open it is. Multiple people can engage with your brand and each other on your Company Page, creating opportunities for conversation and collaboration.

But you sometimes want to have a private discussion with someone. You want to engage in deeper dialogue instead of having to act as a channel moderator.

Many B2B sales and marketing teams are uncertain how to use LinkedIn messages effectively as part of their campaigns. Part of the confusion is that there are different ways to send direct messages on the platform, depending on your goals.

So, today we are diving into the world of LinkedIn direct messaging. Namely, what it is for, what is included with various subscriptions, and the difference between Messaging, InMail and Sponsored InMail.

This article aims to provide more of an overview of the InMail service. We will be exploring best practices and detailed tips in future blogs.

What is LinkedIn InMail?

There is a lot you can do with the free standard messaging feature included with a basic LinkedIn account. For example, you can send a message to a single connection or start a thread with multiple recipients. You can also share a conversation by forwarding a message to another connection. Furthermore, you can use filters or keywords to search for messages to continue a dialogue with a specific connection.

However, one drawback is that you can only send regular messages to 1st-degree connections and fellow group members. Otherwise, you first have to send a connection request—with its 300-character limit—and hope the person responds to the invitation. Standard messaging also does not include any analytic information or reporting capabilities.

These limitations do not noticeably impact professional networking efforts on the individual level. However, they make LinkedIn Messages less practical for larger-scale B2B prospecting campaigns.

As you can imagine, this is less than ideal for B2B prospecting, which sometimes requires cold outreach.

That is why many B2B brands choose to invest in LinkedIn InMail.

InMail messages is a premium LinkedIn feature that allows you to message LinkedIn users outside your social network. With InMail, you can deliver engaging content straight to a LinkedIn member’s inbox.

In comparison, InMail allows you to bypass the connection request stage and directly reach members using a customisable message format. You can use up to 200 characters in the subject line to convey your purpose and stand out to readers. You also have up to 2,000 characters to play within the message body. Furthermore, you can include attachments and add a custom email signature with links to your main platform.

LinkedIn also delivers InMails through three distinct channels:

The recipient’s LinkedIn inbox,
Their standard email inbox,
A pop-up notification that displays when they open the LinkedIn app.

The recipient also gets an automatic reminder within three days of an InMail message being sent. These multiple touchpoints automatically increase your chances of getting a response.

Depending on your LinkedIn subscription plan, you also gain access to InMail performance analytics. LinkedIn Recruiter includes an entire InMail Analytics Report with data on acceptance, rejection, and open rates for different job search campaigns. You can also segment your audience to see which groups respond more and which ones respond less.

With Sales Navigator Advanced and Advanced Plus, you can see your InMails acceptance and rejection rates. You can also view which team members have the highest message acceptance rate. By seeing which InMail messages perform best, you can refine your approach to get more responses.

Additionally, you can pair InMail with other subscription features. For example, Sales Navigator allows you to ‘unlock’ and view up to 25 profiles outside your network. You can study your prospect’s LinkedIn profile for ways to personalise your InMail message, making it more relevant to them. Rather than an impersonal stock introduction, you can highlight mutual connections and experiences to start a friendly, engaging conversation.

How InMail Credits Work

LinkedIn wants to ensure members receive high-quality InMail messages that create a positive experience. So, they use a credit system to help enforce standards and discourage unscrupulous marketers from using InMail to spam.

Every premium account type gets an allotment of InMail message credits:

Premium Career: 5 credits per month
Premium Business: 15 credits per month
Sales Navigator (Core, Advanced, and Advanced Plus): 50 credits per month
Recruiter Lite: 30 credits per month
Recruiter Professional: 100 credits per month
Recruiter Corporate: 150 credits per month

It costs one credit to send an InMail. Once your credits run out, you either have to wait until the next payment cycle or purchase more (if you have a Recruiter subscription).

InMail message credits are non-transferable. For example, you can not use your Premium InMail message credits to send InMails on Sales Navigator. The same goes should you upgrade your plan—existing credits will not roll over.

LinkedIn rewards good response rates by crediting back every InMail message that gets a response within 90 days of being sent. Messages that are accepted, declined, or get a direct reply all count as a response—as do Quick Replies. Also, you can not send another InMail message to a member until they respond to the first message you sent. InMails that do not receive a response do not get credited back, which helps to throttle poorly crafted outreach efforts.

B2B brands that focus on creating a positive experience for InMail recipients earn back credits to continue their outreach efforts. Those that do not end up paying more. LinkedIn Recruiter accounts can actually be penalised if their response rate is too low.

LinkedIn InMail vs Sponsored InMail

In addition to InMail messages, LinkedIn offers a paid advertising format originally called ‘Sponsored InMail’. As you can imagine, this name was a source of ongoing confusion. So, LinkedIn rebranded the service as 'Sponsored Messaging' in 2019.

Sponsored Messaging come in two flavours: message ads and conversation ads.

A message ad displays a targeted message with a single call-to-action button. The desktop version of the ad can also include an image banner (for more branding impact).
With conversation ads, you can set up multiple call-to-action buttons. For example, you can link to your landing pages or a Lead Gen Form. You can also include a 'next message' button to drive engagement with a chat-like experience.

Similar to InMail, you can use message ads to target out-of-network users and deliver great content directly to their LinkedIn inboxes.

However, there are some key differences that make InMail and Sponsored InMail suited for different forms of outreach.

InMail is designed for one-to-one engagement, sales prospecting, and recruitment. Meanwhile, Sponsored Messaging is built for lead gen activities, such as promoting live streams, ebooks and other content marketing. Certainly, there is some cross-over in functionality. However, like any tool, using each service for its intended purpose will do a great deal to help optimise your results.

Key differences between InMail and Sponsored InMail

Access

The InMail messaging function requires a subscription to a LinkedIn premium account.
Sponsored Messaging does not require a paid subscription, only that you have a Campaign Manager account.

Bulk Messaging

InMail is designed to encourage personalised interaction, so bulk messages are only available for LinkedIn Recruiter accounts.
Sponsored message ads are intended for one-to-many communication and can be sent to all active members who fit your targeting parameters. (Note: LinkedIn does not allow location targeting in the European Union for Sponsored Messaging campaigns). You can use macros like %FIRSTNAME% or %LASTNAME% to dynamically generate personalised content at scale.

Notifications

InMail recipients see a pop-up when they open the LinkedIn app. They also get an automatic reminder within three days of the message being sent.
Sponsored Messages are clearly labelled in the recipient’s inbox. They are delivered when members are active on LinkedIn but do not trigger any other notifications.

Costs

Each paid subscription is allocated a set number of InMails credits per month. The amount varies depending on the plan, and some subscription types include the option to purchase additional InMail credits.
Sponsored Messaging uses a Cost per Send (CPS) bidding model. You can set a total budget, or daily and total budget. You only pay when that message is delivered (which occurs when a targeted member logs into LinkedIn).

Interaction

InMail recipients can respond directly to your message, so you can seamlessly continue the conversation under the same thread.
Sponsored Messaging recipients cannot directly respond to your message. You must transition them to a landing page, contact form, etc., to continue the interaction.

Analytics

The amount of InMail analytic information you can access will depend on your subscription type.
You can access engagement metrics and demographic reporting of your Sponsored Messaging ads through Campaign Manager.

The Takeaway

So, there you have it. What InMail is, what it is for, and how it differs from Sponsored Messaging. We have covered quite a bit of material in this overview, but the key points to remember are that:

InMail provides many benefits of email marketing and allows B2B brands to directly reach people outside their LinkedIn network to start a conversation.
What you can do with InMail will vary depending on your LinkedIn subscription plan. Some InMail features and usage limitations (such as bulk messaging and minimum response rates) are specific to LinkedIn Recruiter.
InMail is intended for the one-to-one communication and in-depth dialogue for sales prospecting, acquisition and retention. You are better off using Sponsored Messaging for advertising and marketing activities like lead generation.

Please reach out to us if you have any questions about using LinkedIn to optimise your sales and marketing outreach. We can help you to integrate different social media tools into your digital marketing strategy and deliver and great customer experience.

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