Is sending an invitation message on LinkedIn necessary or optional? Explore our best practices and real-life case study to find out!
PART 1: [Best Practices] Crafting an Effective LinkedIn Invitation Message
Before sending your LinkedIn invitation message, make sure you’ve checked off all the essential prerequisites in this checklist. These prerequisites are crucial for the success of your acquisition strategy:
✅ Familiarity with your LinkedIn persona: Understand the audience you want to engage with.
✅ Clarity on your offering: Clearly articulate the value and benefits of your offer for the person you’re targeting.
✅ Access to a reliable tool for automating LinkedIn message sending, and a good understanding of its functionalities. (Alternatively, consider using Leadsourcing, a free automation tool.)
To make a lasting impression, it’s important to be original and avoid using the same message templates or copy-pasting content from the internet. Instead, try incorporating the A.I.D.A method into your LinkedIn invitation messages:
Is it necessary to always personalize your LinkedIn messages?
Is it necessary to always personalize your LinkedIn messages? The answer is both yes and no. 💥 Personalization is crucial in your prospecting efforts. If you send generic messages to your audience, they will quickly realize that you are using an automated approach.
However, with the rise of automation tools, users are becoming more aware of these practices. Therefore, your best strategy is to intelligently segment and automate your messages. Personalizing each message manually can be time-consuming and may not yield the desired results.
Here are some guidelines to follow:
- Have a target range of 100 to 500 leads per campaign.
- Ensure that your campaigns are well-segmented for maximum effectiveness.
- Conduct A/B testing of your messages to determine which ones resonate best with your audience.
By striking a balance between personalization and automation, you can optimize your LinkedIn prospecting and increase its profitability.
A good example of a LinkedIn invitation message!
Keep your teaser messages short and concise for better engagement.
❌ Avoid immediately jumping into a sales pitch or promotional content.
✅ Focus on building a connection with the prospect without rushing.
✅ Express genuine interest in your prospective client.
💡 Hello {{firstname}}, I am interested in what {{company}} is doing and would love to follow you on your journey. I will also be looking out for any articles or posts you share. 👀 Can we get connected? See you all soon, Signature.
How do you get new leads from LinkedIn?
You have various options to reach out to prospects beyond just sending messages!
LinkedIn presents a valuable opportunity for B2B prospecting. With hundreds of thousands of qualified profiles actively seeking connections, networking opportunities, engaging content, and new tools, it’s an ideal platform for you. To maximize your lead generation efforts, consider these three approaches:
✅ Optimize your LinkedIn profile to its fullest potential.
✅ Develop a content strategy centered around personal branding.
✅ Utilize automation and database enrichment tools to reconnect with leads across multiple channels.
How do you email a LinkedIn user?
Looking to expand beyond LinkedIn messages? Absolutely! Cross-channel or multichannel approaches enable you to increase contact points with your target audience by sending messages across different platforms.
Incorporating email outreach into your strategy can be highly effective.
If you’re looking to find the email addresses of your LinkedIn prospects, it’s completely feasible with the help of Mail Finder. This feature is available in Leadsourcing, as well as some competitor platforms.
Why should you send an email campaign?
Emailing is considered the most effective way to convert leads into clients, ranking slightly higher than your LinkedIn strategy.
By sending targeted email marketing campaigns, you can significantly boost your conversion rates.
There are two primary types of email sending: newsletters and cold emailing.
In this context, we mainly focus on sending emails to individuals who haven’t subscribed to them, known as cold emails.
Utilizing cold emails allows you to reach your audience through an additional channel, effectively doubling (or potentially increasing) your chances of receiving a response. To achieve success, you need to employ the right techniques:
- Determine the optimal timing for sending your emails.
- Craft an engaging and persuasive email body.
- Create an attention-grabbing email subject line that drives conversions.
- Ensure that your message is easily readable for your target audience.
Can I find my prospect’s phone number?
Indeed, it is possible to find a mobile phone number linked to approximately 50% of people’s profiles. Tools like Apollo and SaleQL can assist in discovering contact information, enabling you to reach out to prospects via SMS or by making direct phone calls.
However, it’s important to note that in the B2B context, sending SMS messages may not always be well-received. Ensure that you use this method judiciously and make a positive impression.
Sending messages on LinkedIn and following up with emails are already effective strategies, especially when targeting busy individuals such as CEOs and directors. These approaches offer a solid foundation for engaging with your prospects.
How do I thank a LinkedIn invitee?
After being accepted for an invitation on LinkedIn, if you want to initiate a conversation, there are two key elements you should focus on:
✅ Maintain regular communication: It is crucial to keep in touch with your connection to foster a strong relationship.
✅ Promptly demonstrate your value proposition: Highlight the unique benefits or value you can provide to the prospective customer to capture their interest and engagement.
By prioritizing these aspects, you can effectively engage with your connections on LinkedIn and lay the foundation for meaningful conversations.
💡 Here’s an example:
Hello {{firstname}}. I wanted to thank you for adding me to your network. I see that you have an interest and expertise in (a relevant field), and I would love to exchange tips with you. Do you know what’s new in our industry? 😁
PART 2 [Case Study] Going the additional mile with LinkedIn Teasers
In this article, we will discuss the effectiveness of contacting prospects with or without a LinkedIn invitation note. If you’re interested in efficient prospecting and finding customers through marketing automation, you’ll find valuable insights here. We have conducted a comprehensive B2B study based on over 10,000 invitation requests, and we’ll compare acceptance rates to provide you with exclusive findings.
Now, let’s delve into whether it is advisable to send messages immediately after sending the invitation. Stay tuned for the details and recommendations! 😉
Our case study on the LinkedIn invitation message
The accounts that were used
In conducting this case study, we utilized four distinct LinkedIn accounts to send our invitation requests:
- A highly senior account.
- Two accounts with lower seniority but prestigious titles (CEO/COO).
- Lastly, an account with lower seniority and a standard title (Business Developer).
By using this varied set of LinkedIn accounts, we aimed to gather comprehensive insights and analyze the effectiveness of invitation requests across different seniority levels and job titles.
Targeted personas
We focused on four specific profile types, sorting the recipients based solely on their job titles:
- “CEO” (2500 profiles).
- “Business Developer” (2500 profiles).
- “Sales” (2500 profiles).
- “Digital Marketer” (2500 profiles).
The selected prospects were sourced from various locations worldwide, and the invitation notes were exclusively sent in English.
Method and objectives
In this study, our objective was to assess the impact of different types of invitation notes on the acceptance rate. We hypothesized that the content of the note had minimal influence on the acceptance rate. We categorized the notes sent into five different types:
- Empty note (no note included with the invitation).
- Sending a non-personalized note:
“Hello, I would like to join your network.“ - A personalized note:
“Hello {{firstname}}, I would like to join your network.“ - Sending a full note without a link:
“Hi {{firstname}}, I’m wondering if you’re generating Leads via LinkedIn. If this is the case, I would be interested in joining your network and having a chat about it. Have a great day!” - Sending a complete note with the link:
“Hi {{firstname}}, I’m wondering if you ever thought of promoting your brand or generating leads through LinkedIn. We’ve created a tool that automates this process without risk. If you’re curious, you will find more information on our website: https://leadsourcing.co Have a great day!”
The personas, as well as the application submissions, were distributed equally among the different accounts and with different notes. Each note was therefore sent 500 times with the 4 accounts, in the same proportions to each persona.
What was the outcome of the LinkedIn invitation message experiment?
To validate the study, we sent text messages to a specific audience.
The acceptance rate statistics
Out of 2000 invitations sent for each note, the results are as follows:
- Empty note: 38% acceptance rate.
- Unpersonalized note: 36% acceptance rate.
- Personalized note: 33% acceptance rate.
- Complete note without link: 32% acceptance rate.
- Complete note with link: 26% acceptance rate.
So, LinkedIn invitation note or not?
The most evident conclusion from the study is that if your primary objective is to maximize the acceptance rate and expand your network, it is better not to send a note with your invitation request. Another finding suggests that there is no significant difference in acceptance rate between sending a personalized note with the recipient’s first name and sending an unpersonalized note.
Therefore, tailor your approach based on the level of proximity you desire to establish with your target audience. The third observation indicates that including a link to your website in the note significantly reduces the acceptance rate compared to sending a similar message without a link. This is because recipients may perceive it as spam or commercial prospecting, similar to the declining click-through rates of B2B direct mail campaigns in general.
Lastly, the study highlights that sending a note, or the content of the note, has a considerable impact on the acceptance rate of connection requests. There is a 46% difference in acceptance rate between sending a connection request without a note and sending a comprehensive note with a website link.
Therefore, it is crucial to consider these factors when aiming to attract new customers, optimize your return on investment, and foster customer retention.
If you have any further inquiries, please let me know.
The limitations of our research
It is essential to acknowledge the limitations of this study. The focus of the study was solely on the acceptance rate and did not consider the conversion rate, which is a significant factor when prospecting on LinkedIn.
When prospecting on LinkedIn, the transformation rate should not be overlooked. While using a note to present your product or service may result in a lower acceptance rate compared to sending an invitation request without a note, those who accept your invitation are likely to be more receptive to your proposal. These figures were observed under specific conditions using our tool, Waalaxy, which is a valuable asset for B2B prospecting.
It is worth noting that different results may be obtained when targeting the same personas with different LinkedIn accounts. Similarly, targeting different types of profiles with our accounts could yield varying outcomes. Additionally, we recommend following the complete guide on prospecting for your business to enhance your approach.
If you obtain different results when using the LinkedIn invitation message, we would appreciate hearing about your experiences.