LinkedIn message ads have become an extremely popular form of advertising on the professional social media platform over the past few years. However, some recent changes to LinkedIn’s advertising policies have left many marketers wondering if these highly targeted ads are on their way out.
What are LinkedIn message ads?
LinkedIn message ads, also known as LinkedIn sponsored InMails, allow advertisers to send customized messages directly to LinkedIn members’ inboxes. These ads appear in members’ Message tabs, seamlessly integrating into their LinkedIn messaging experience.
Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn prohibits the use of unsolicited direct messaging for sales and promotion purposes. LinkedIn message ads provide a way for brands to cut through the noise and engage their target audience in a personal, non-intrusive way.
Some key features of LinkedIn message ads include:
- Highly targeted based on member demographics, interests, company details, and more
- Messages are sent directly to the recipient’s LinkedIn inbox
- Customizable call-to-action buttons can drive traffic to your website or landing pages
- Detailed analytics help optimize targeting and messaging
Used strategically, these ads can generate leads, build relationships, and increase brand awareness with your ideal customers.
Why are people questioning their future?
In the past, LinkedIn message ads delivered open rates exceeding 50% and clickthrough rates around 3-5%, significantly higher than email or other advertising formats. However, in recent years, as more advertisers flock to the platform, open and click rates have declined.
In 2019, LinkedIn implemented new policies restricting the types of messages advertisers could send, banning mass messaging and requiring more personalized targeting and content. Some advertisers saw their open rates plummet as a result.
Then in 2021, LinkedIn removed the ability to re-target message ad recipients with follow-up messages, eliminating advertisers’ ability to nurture leads generated.
Most recently in late 2022, LinkedIn announced coming changes that prevent advertisers from using LinkedIn’s Matched Audiences targeting feature for Sponsored InMail campaigns. Matched Audiences allows ads to be targeted to customer email lists, site traffic, and more.
With targeting options increasingly restricted and ROI on decline, many have speculated that LinkedIn may move to phase out message ads altogether in the future.
The case for keeping message ads
While LinkedIn has indeed tightened controls, the platform likely has no plans to fully eliminate message ads any time soon. Here are some reasons why:
- Huge revenue driver – In 2021, LinkedIn message ads accounted for over 25% of LinkedIn’s marketing solutions revenue. Removing them completely would represent a massive revenue loss.
- In demand from advertisers – Even with declining performance, message ads remain highly popular due to their unique ability to deliver targeted personalized messages at scale.
- Differentiates LinkedIn – No other social platform offers an advertising option quite like message ads. They are core to LinkedIn’s value proposition to marketers.
- Improves relevancy – Recent targeting changes aim to improve relevance and user experience, not remove the ad type altogether.
Rather than planning to end message ads, LinkedIn is likely looking to balance advertiser demand with user experience through stricter policies and targeting requirements.
The future of LinkedIn message ads
Here are some predictions for what lies ahead for LinkedIn message ads:
- Open and clickthrough rates will remain lower than peak levels but stabilize as advertisers adapt to changes.
- Targeting options will continue to be refined to balance relevance with advertiser needs.
- LinkedIn will explore new options like sequential messaging to boost performance.
- Pricing may increase as demand remains high but supply of ad slots is limited by relevancy requirements.
- Standout performance will require more personalized, strategic creative approaches vs. spray-and-pray tactics.
Rather than removing message ads altogether, LinkedIn is likely to iterate on the product to strike the right balance for advertisers and users. For marketers who adapt and play by LinkedIn’s rules, message ads still represent a unique opportunity to engage professional audiences.
Best practices for successful LinkedIn message ads
Here are some tips to help maximize the performance of LinkedIn message ads even with the tighter regulations:
- Target narrowly using seniority, job title, company, groups, and other filters to hone in on your ideal audience.
- Personalize messages with the recipient’s name, company, and profile details – no more batch sending generic messages.
- Focus on providing value and starting meaningful conversations rather than pure promotion.
- A/B test different calls-to-action, offers, subject lines, and message styles.
- Follow up on leads quickly with targeted content and a human touch.
- Monitor performance closely and optimize for open and clickthrough rate rather than just impression volume.
Conclusion
While LinkedIn has tightened control over message ads to improve platform experience, these ads remain a highly valuable tool for marketers. Rather than eliminating them altogether, LinkedIn is likely to continue iterating on the product to balance usefulness for advertisers and users. Brands that learn to work within the new guidelines can still drive strong results from LinkedIn message ads. With the right targeting, messaging, and follow-up, they will continue to deliver standout ROI compared to other B2B marketing channels.