LinkedIn message ads allow you to directly engage with your target audience by sending them personalized messages in their LinkedIn inbox. Unlike regular LinkedIn ads that appear in the feed, message ads let you have a 1:1 conversation with prospects. This makes them highly effective for generating leads and driving conversions.
Writing an effective LinkedIn message ad requires careful planning and execution. You need to craft a compelling message that piques interest and encourages the prospect to take action. It’s also crucial to target your ad to the right audience and optimize the messaging for inbox placement.
In this 5000+ word guide, we’ll walk you through the entire process of creating a high-converting LinkedIn message ad, step-by-step.
How Do Message Ads Work?
LinkedIn message ads appear in the LinkedIn inbox of your target audience, alongside regular messages.
When a prospect clicks on your ad, they will be redirected to the landing page of your choice. This allows you to send traffic to your website to drive conversions.
The key advantages of LinkedIn message ads are:
- Higher open and click-through rates – Message ads see up to 10X more engagement than regular LinkedIn ads since they appear prominently in the inbox.
- Lead generation – The message ad copy and call-to-action can be optimized to generate more leads for your business.
- Personalized communication – You can customize the message for each prospect based on their profile information.
- Lead nurturing – Message ads help you establish an ongoing conversation with prospects to nurture them further down the sales funnel.
Now let’s look at how to create an effective message ad campaign on LinkedIn step-by-step.
Step 1: Define Your Goals and Target Audience
The first step is to establish clear goals and identify who you want to target with your ad message.
Some examples of potential goals for LinkedIn message ad campaigns are:
- Generate leads
- Drive traffic to your website
- Promote content (e.g. ebooks, whitepapers etc)
- Promote events/webinars
- Nurture prospects
Once you determine the goal, you need to define your target audience. Ask yourself:
- Who is your ideal customer persona?
- What roles, titles or companies do they have?
- What interests/challenges do they have?
- What location are they based in?
You want to create a very specific profile of who you want to target so you can customize the messaging accordingly.
For example, if you sell HR software, your target audience could be:
HR managers and recruiters at mid-market SaaS companies in the United States.
This level of audience specificity will allow you to craft messaging that resonates with that particular subset of prospects.
Step 2: Craft Your Message
The message itself is the core component of your ad. You want to write persuasive copy that piques the reader’s interest and prompts them to take action.
Here are some best practices for writing effective LinkedIn message ad copy:
Keep it short and scannable
Messages with less than 150 characters tend to see higher open and click-through rates. Get to the point quickly.
Personalize the message
Use merge tags to include the member’s first name, company, role, etc. This personalization helps increase engagement.
Communicate benefits
Focus on how your offering will make the prospect’s life easier or solve their problems.
Use urgency triggers
Phrases like “limited time only” or “seats filling fast” help create a fear of missing out.
Ask a question
Making the message interactive with a question encourages higher response rates.
Include a clear CTA
Tell the member exactly what you want them to do – click a link, book a demo etc.
Here are some examples of effective LinkedIn message ad copy:
Message | Analysis |
---|---|
{FirstName}, get exclusive access to our State of SaaS Report 2023. See the top trends shaping SaaS companies this year. | Short, personalized message highlighting key benefit of accessing the content. |
Want to reduce {Company}’s employee turnover? Our data shows clients cut attrition by 35% on average using {Product}. Click below to schedule a demo. | Focused on communicating a key benefit the product provides to the company. |
{FirstName}, how easy is it for you to monitor remote employee productivity? Our software can help – see how it works in our live webinar this Wed. | Asks a relevant question and promotes a webinar. |
As you can see, the message needs to communicate relevance and value directly to the prospect.
Now let’s look at optimizing the actual ad payload that appears in the inbox.
Step 3: Optimize the Ad Payload
When you create a LinkedIn message ad, you have control over the payload – which includes the sender name, subject line and ad copy.
Carefully optimizing each component can increase your ad engagement.
Sender Name
You want the sender name to add credibility and familiarity. Instead of just the company name, use the name of a department or real employee that prospects can relate to.
For example:
- Michael Smith, Customer Success Manager at SaaSy
- SaaSy Marketing Team
- SaaSy Sales
Subject Line
The subject line appears prominently next to the sender name and needs to entice the prospect to open the message.
Some best practices for writing high-converting subject lines:
- Keep it short and descriptive (under 50 characters)
- Communicate value
- Use urgency triggers
- Ask a question
- Include personalization
Examples:
- {FirstName}, See how we increased revenue 34%
- Last chance for Exclusive Access, {FirstName}
- Can we help you reduce churn, {FirstName}?
The subject line and sender name appear next to each other, so make sure they sound natural together.
Message Copy
This is the ad copy that appears when the prospect opens the message. Follow the tips covered earlier for writing compelling copy:
- Keep it scannable
- Communicate benefits
- Use urgency and personalization
- Ask questions
- Include a CTA
Also pay attention to formatting – use line breaks, bullets, and relevant images to increase engagement.
Here’s an example payload:
Sender Name | Michael Smith, Customer Success Manager at SaaSy |
---|---|
Subject Line | {FirstName}, See how we increased revenue 34% |
Message Copy |
Hi {FirstName},
Our customer Acme Co increased revenue by 34% in just 6 months after implementing SaaSy. We help SaaS companies like yours generate more leads, close more deals, and grow revenue through:
See a demo here to find out how we can help you hit your growth goals this year! |
This covers the key components of optimizing your ad payload for higher performance. Now let’s look at targeting options.
Step 4: Target Your Ad
One major benefit of LinkedIn message ads is the ability to reach a very targeted audience. You want to target your ad to accounts and members that closely match your ideal customer profile.
Here are the main ways to target your message ads:
Company Targeting
Target by company attributes like:
- Industry
- Employee size
- Revenue
- Technographics (e.g. technologies used)
For example, you can target companies in the software industry with 100-1000 employees and over $10M in revenue.
Job Title/Function Targeting
Reach members by their:
- Job title (Manager, Director etc)
- Job function (Engineering, IT, Sales etc)
- Seniority level
So you can target messaging specifically to Directors of Sales for example.
Interest/Skill Targeting
Serve your ads to members based on their:
- Business interests (e.g. big data)
- Skills and expertise
- LinkedIn Group membership
This allows you to reach people interested and knowledgeable about certain topics.
Location Targeting
You can target by country, state, region or postal code. For example, only reaching members in New York City or London.
Member Targeting
Upload a list of specific LinkedIn member IDs you want to target your message ad to. Useful for re-engaging known prospects.
Using detailed targeting ensures your message reaches accounts and members that are more likely to be interested in your offering, improving ad performance.
Step 5: Design Your Landing Page
Once you’ve written your ad copy and defined targeting, the next step is to determine the landing page prospects will see when they click your ad.
The landing page experience is crucial for converting visitors into leads and customers. Here are some key principles for optimizing landing pages:
Communicate Value Prop Clearly
Visitors should immediately understand what you offer and how it benefits them. Use concise, benefit-driven headings and copy.
Emphasize Key Points
Use bullets, bold text, larger font sizes and other formatting to draw attention to your most important content.
Social Proof
Build trust by including testimonials, customer logos and other forms of social proof.
Clear Visuals
Relevant images, screenshots, illustrations and videos improve engagement. Optimize graphics for easy mobile viewing.
Easy Navigation
Remove unnecessary links and ensure visitors can find what they need easily. Use clear CTAs that encourage conversion.
Minimize Friction
Cut down lengthy forms. Avoid requiring visitors to create an account upfront before accessing gated content.
Mobile Optimization
The page should load fast and be easy to use on mobile. Tap calls-to-action for easy access.
Element | Best Practice |
---|---|
Headings | Concise and benefit-focused |
Copy | Scannable with key info bolded |
Visuals | Relevant graphics and videos |
CTAs | Prominent with clear messaging |
Forms | Short with minimal required fields |
Social Proof | Testimonials and customer logos |
Optimizing your landing page experience is crucial for converting message ad clicks into leads and customers.
Step 6: Set Your Budget and Bidding
The next step is to configure budgeting and bidding settings for your campaign:
Set your daily budget
Determine the maximum amount you want to spend on the ad each day. You can start lower (e.g. $50/day) and scale up as needed.
Choose your bidding type
LinkedIn message ads use cost per lead (CPL) bidding where you only pay when someone becomes a lead by clicking your ad and filling out a form.
Alternatively, you can do manual CPM bidding where you pay per 1000 impressions. CPL is recommended for lead gen goals.
Set your max CPL bid
For CPL bidding, specify the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for each lead. Most advertisers bid between $10-$100 CPL depending on their margins.
Set campaigns to “active”
Make sure to actually activate your campaigns so they start running and spending budget. Campaigns remain in “draft” mode until you activate them.
Monitor performance daily and adjust bids and budgets as needed to achieve your target cost per lead. Also optimize ad messaging and landing pages to improve conversions over time.
Step 7: Measure and Optimize Performance
Once your campaigns have been running for a few days, closely analyze the results and optimize:
Key metrics to track:
Metric | Definition |
---|---|
Sent | Number of messages sent |
Delivered | Number of messages delivered to inboxes |
Impressions | Number of times your ad was shown |
Clicks | Number of clicks on the ad |
Leads | Number of leads generated |
CTR | Click-through-rate = Clicks/Impressions |
CPL | Cost per lead |
Ways to optimize:
- A/B test different ad creatives and landing pages
- Try different sender names and subject lines
- Adjust your targeting
- Increase bids for higher reach and traffic
- Remove poorly performing messaging
Continuously test and refine your message ads to improve results over time. Monitor lead quality as well as quantity to ensure you’re attracting your ideal customers.
Conclusion
LinkedIn message ads provide a powerful way to engage your target accounts and prospects in a personalized 1:1 manner. By following the steps in this guide, you can create high-converting campaigns that generate more leads and customers for your business.
The key elements for success are:
- Identifying your goals and audience
- Crafting compelling messaging
- Optimizing targeting
- Building high-converting landing pages
- Analyzing performance and optimizing continually
With the right strategy and testing, LinkedIn message ads can become a valuable component of your overall marketing mix. Just remember to keep messages concise, relevant and actionable to each recipient.
Try out message ads today and see the results for your SaaS business!