5. Sponsored Private Messages in LinkedIn
Advertising on LinkedIn has become indispensable, especially for B2B companies that want to promote their business services. The platform has very extensive targeting options, which allows companies to reach their target group in a very targeted manner.
A new advertising option within LinkedIn is Sponsored InMails. A Sponsored Inmail is actually just a sponsored message, but in the form of a private message. The function is targeted in the same way as with other sponsored content on LinkedIn. The InMails are delivered when people are active on the platform. Because the message ends up in the recipient's inbox, there is a good chance that the target group will read the message. Recipients have the option to unsubscribe from certain InMails. This prevents people from being constantly bothered with sponsored private messages.
Disadvantage: not in the Netherlands
A disadvantage of Sponsored Inmails is that the function is not available for target groups within the Netherlands. This is because the Dutch interpretation of the European Union's new zealand number for whatsapp telecom law does not allow this. Dutch companies that target target groups outside the Netherlands can use the function.
What stands out is that the sender of an InMail can only be a person, not a company. LinkedIn indicates that this makes the message more personal, which increases the chance of conversion. After setting a sender, you can start creating the message.
What makes an InMail so unique is the possibility to design your own message completely yourself. On other social media platforms, this is usually pre-programmed. For example, you have the possibility to add a CTA button, a landing page and your own banner. A Sponsored InMail ultimately looks like the image above. You see the banner on the right of the screen. The (blue) button that leads to the landing page can be seen at the bottom of the message.
Social advertising continues to evolve. Experiment with new possibilities, but always keep the goal of your advertising campaign in mind. Think about what exactly you want to achieve per advertisement (conversion, engagement or brand awareness) and which target group you want to target the advertisement at. In this way, social advertising will yield you a lot in the future.