Kristin Kunasingam, LinkedIn’s Senior Product Consultant, showed best practices for leveraging LinkedIn’s Sponsored Content and InMails to influence technology decisions, and drive business results.

1. Tech Breakfast Event
Sydney

2. Sponsored InMail allows you to have a
1:1 communication with your target audience

3. 3
It is an uncluttered communication experience
71% receive only 1
Sponsored InMail annually
29% receive 2-3
Sponsored InMail annually

4. Changes to the LinkedIn mobile app back in November 2015
Threaded
messages
Chat style
interface
People centric
list view

5. Custom call to
action button
Image banner
for branding
impact
Easy left pane
navigation
Personalised
greeting
Next generation of Sponsored InMail on LinkedIn

6. Custom Greeting
Easy to read
formatting
Contextual
hyperlink
Easy to navigate
opt-out menu
Next generation of Sponsored InMail on LinkedIn

7. Sponsored InMail best practice

8. Give a good reason to engage with your content
The impact of your message starts with the preview
Sender:
Person = personalised 1st
person content “I”
Company = content on behalf
of a team or product
Subject:
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…

9. 9
Good subject lines
Let them stand out in the inbox
• Short, impactful subject
• Tip:
1. Thanks
2. Exclusive invitation
3. Connect
4. Job opportunities
5. Join us

10. 10
Target audiences want relevant content
Tailor your content accordingly – Call out your target audience
Tip
• 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…”

11. 11
Expand your reach and effectiveness
Narrow in on those who are most likely to engage
• 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
• Tip: Content targeted to
Owner/Partner/CXO should
be crafted specifically for this
audienceOwner
Partner
CXO
VP
Director
Manager
Senior
Entry
Training
Unpaid

12. Think members first when crafting your content
Give your message a unique and genuine voice
Strong visual: Support
your message content
and call to action, but not
distract
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

13. Try writing from these perspectives
Deliver content that’s helpful, informative and/or entertaining
The Helpful Advisor The VIP Invitation The Cliffhanger
Start by explaining how your content
will help your target achieve
professional success.
Get your audience to react by
inviting them to an exclusive event.
Make your audience feel special by
tailoring the content to their interests
Tell your audience enough to pique
their interest but not so
much that they aren’t compelled
to learn more.

14. 14
Clear call to action
Tell the reader what you want them to do
• Tip top Sponsored InMail
CTA keywords
• Try
• Register
• Reserve
• Join
• Confirm
• Download

15. 15
Optimise content for mobile
For best mobile
performance ensure:
• The copy is fewer than
1000 characters or
eliminate it all together
• The CTA is clear
• The landing page is
optimised for the small
screen

16. *Controls for member activity level by focusing on members who visit LinkedIn an average of 5+ days each month. Source: LinkedIn internal data.
Use Sponsored InMail in conjunction with
our flagship product, Sponsored Content
128% higher open
rates among those exposed to
Display and Sponsored
Updates first

17. • Paid content that appears in
a members news feed
Sponsored Content
LinkedIn’s native advertising solution

18. for Direct Response
Sponsored Content best practice

19. 19
A clear and crisp written update
An update that articulates the message clearly
• Clear and concise
messaging

20. 20
Personalisation
Where applicable address the audience in the copy
• Call out the target
audience when
applicable

21. 21
Mobile friendly
Your audience is on the move, so should you
• Copy is not cut off
• Image is large and
catchy Landing page is
mobile optimised

22. 22
Call-to-action
Have one… or two
• Tell the member what
you what you want them
do – sign-up, download
or test?

23. 23
Keeping the introduction text to 150 characters
• Optimising for the mobile
experience

24. 24
Common phrases in Direct Response native formats
Technology
Learn how
How to
Find out
To learn
Are you
Join us
Learn about
Do you
The best
Download
See how
*Based on the top 40% updates ranked on CTR with over 1,000 impressions per update in the last 6 months

25. Don’t just generate leads.
Enable sales
Tim Riesterer
Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Corporate Visions