InMail ads on LinkedIn allow you to directly engage and build relationships with LinkedIn members by sending them personalized messages in their LinkedIn inbox. With over 900 million members worldwide, InMail ads provide a unique way to reach your target audience and generate leads on the world’s largest professional network. However, LinkedIn does have certain requirements for InMail ads to ensure relevance and prevent spamming. Here we’ll outline the key requirements you need to know when running InMail campaigns on LinkedIn.
Targeting Requirements
LinkedIn wants InMail ads to be highly relevant for the members who receive them. Therefore, there are targeting requirements to ensure your messages reach the right audience.
Member Targeting
You can target InMail ads using:
- Job Title
- Job Function
- Industry
- Company
- Geography
- LinkedIn Group or School
This allows you to define your audience based on professional criteria to increase relevance. For example, you can target InMails to “Software Engineers” at “IT Services Companies” in “New York”.
Minimum Audience Size
Your targeted audience must contain at least 300 members. This prevents spamming niche audiences.
Audience Expansion
You can enable audience expansion to reach additional members who are similar to your targeted audience. This increases reach while maintaining relevance.
Contact Requirements
To prevent spamming, each member can only receive one InMail per campaign. You also cannot repeatedly target the exact same audience across campaigns.
Message Requirements
LinkedIn has requirements for the content and formatting of your InMail messages.
Personalization
InMail messages must include the member’s first name in the subject line or opening greeting. This adds a personal touch.
Relevance
The message content must be relevant to the targeted audience. Generic “spammy” messages will be rejected.
Call-to-Action
Include a specific call-to-action so the member knows what to do next, such as visiting your website or contacting you.
Sender Information
Your name, job title, and company must be accurately displayed as the sender information. Impersonating someone else will lead to rejection.
Length
InMail messages must be between 300 – 2000 characters long. This improves engagement over extremely long messages.
Images
You can include up to 4 images in your InMail message. Images should be relevant and not distracting.
Formatting
You can use bold, italics, numbered or bulleted lists, and paragraph breaks for formatting. Hyperlinks are also allowed. Avoid ALL CAPS, as this may be perceived as “yelling”.
Prohibited Content
InMail messages cannot contain:
- Misleading content
- Malicious links
- Sexually explicit content
- Violent, offensive, or hateful content
This content will lead to immediate rejection or blocking of your account.
Creative Requirements
LinkedIn has creative requirements for InMail ads to prevent inappropriate or low-quality user experiences.
Subject Line
The subject line must accurately reflect the message content, without using misleading language. Attention-grabbing subject lines are acceptable if relevant and honest.
Previews
The preview text must effectively summarize your message for the user. You cannot have a misleading preview that tricks the user into opening the message.
Images
Any images you use must be high-quality and non-offensive. Low-resolution, distorted, or explicit images will be rejected.
Calls-to-Action
Calls-to-action buttons should use engaging language that is relevant to your offer, such as “Register Now” or “Learn More”. Generic buttons like “Click Here” may get rejected.
Landing Pages
Any landing pages linked from the InMail must provide the promised content and user experience. Pages cannot contain viruses/malware, inappropriate content, or unsubscribe options.
Sending Requirements
There are requirements around how and when you send InMails to manage delivery and performance.
Deployment Pacing
When launching a new campaign, InMails must be initially sent at a slow pace to monitor performance before ramping up. This prevents issues with new messages.
IP Reputation
InMails must be sent from IP addresses with good sender reputations. Otherwise, LinkedIn may throttle or block delivery if the IP has spammed in the past.
Member Complaint Rate
If your InMails generate an excessive number of spam complaints from recipients, LinkedIn may block your account. Keep complaint rates under 1%.
Unsubscribe Options
Every InMail must include an easy one-click unsubscribe option. It is illegal to send commercial messages without an unsubscribe mechanism.
Deliverability Monitoring
Closely monitor overall deliverability and complaint rates to identify any issues. LinkedIn expects senders to be proactive in optimizing their tactics.
Legal and Policy Requirements
Lastly, there are important legal requirements to follow when sending InMail ads.
User Consent
You should only send commercial InMails to users who have directly or indirectly opted-in to receive them. Sending unsolicited messages is considered spam.
CAN-SPAM Act
InMails must comply with the CAN-SPAM Act and other email marketing regulations, which includes honoring opt-out requests.
LinkedIn Terms of Service
Review and closely follow LinkedIn’s Terms of Service related to InMail ads and user messaging. Violating their policies can get accounts suspended without refunds.
Privacy Regulations
Respect user privacy and comply with regulations like GDPR when collecting data or targeting users in certain geographies. Follow all consent, disclosure, and data rights requirements.
Conclusion
While InMail ads provide a powerful way to engage LinkedIn members, improper messaging can damage your brand reputation and get you banned from the platform. Carefully following LinkedIn’s requirements around audience targeting, message content, creative, sending practices, and legal policies will help ensure your InMail campaigns succeed and achieve optimal results. Continuously optimize based on performance data while avoidingspammy practices. With the right strategic approach, InMail ads can become an integral component of your overall LinkedIn marketing strategy.
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Message Requirements |
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Creative Requirements |
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Legal Requirements |
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In summary, successful InMail campaigns require thoughtful targeting, relevant messaging, compelling creative, responsible sending practices, and air-tight compliance with LinkedIn’s policies and legal regulations around email marketing and user consent. Follow these best practices, optimize based on data, and respect your audience to get the most out of LinkedIn InMail ads. With some strategic testing and refinement, you can deploy engaging InMail campaigns that generate high-quality leads for your business.