The LinkedIn social network just this year surpassed an impressive milestone: it reached the magical number of one billion users in over 200 countries and territories around the world.
At this moment in time, it is not only beneficial for your business to be present and knowledgeable when interacting with others on LinkedIn – it has become a necessity!
Where business connections are paramount and networking is essential, using platforms like LinkedIn can be a game-changer for almost any business, especially those in the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve deeper into the strategies, statistics, and actionable insights surrounding the utilization of LinkedIn Messages in the neverending quest of growing your business.
What is LinkedIn Messaging?
LinkedIn Messaging allows you to communicate with other LinkedIn members to whom you are connected. This way you can message your first-degree connections for free. You can do this inside group pages as well when reaching out to fellow group members.
If you’re not connected to another user, you can always use InMail. The difference between regular LinkedIn messages and InMail is that the latter allows you to directly message another LinkedIn member without first sending a connection request. InMail is a premium feature, though.
Unlike traditional email marketing or cold calling, LinkedIn Messages allow for a more targeted approach. LinkedIn Messaging offers a direct and personalized way to engage with others. The platform enables you to tailor your outreach efforts based on various factors you choose:
- industry,
- job title,
- mutual connections, etc.
According to LinkedIn, messages sent through the platform see at least three times higher response rates compared to standard email correspondence. This obvious advantage alone makes LinkedIn an invaluable tool for SaaS businesses looking to expand their reach.
Lead Generation by Messaging
Every business needs customers and one proven way to get them is through lead generation. SaaS businesses especially rely on generating leads through available means, and LinkedIn Messages present a wealth of opportunities in this regard.
The first step is to paint a picture of your average customer. Then determine his pain points, and problems that your product solves. Before putting your focus on the messaging itself, try to filter out inactive and irrelevant connections. This will save you time and money. To achieve this, either use the in-house LinkedIn interface or utilize some more advanced software solutions on how to remove LinkedIn connections in bulk.
Finally, reach out to those potential customers within your target market by initiating meaningful conversations.
One research indicates that a staggering 80% of B2B leads generated through social media come from LinkedIn, many of which are funneled via LinkedIn Messaging, underscoring its efficacy as a lead generation channel for SaaS companies.
Email Personalization
One of the most significant advantages of LinkedIn Messages is the ability to personalize your outreach efforts. By crafting tailored messages that resonate with your audience’s needs and interests, you can significantly increase your chances of securing a positive response.
According to one study, 70% of millennials reported distinctive frustration when receiving irrelevant emails usually sent en masse. Younger generations are exposed to almost non-stop online content, many of which are marketing messages. Non-personalized emails are thus considered spam or outright disrespectful. You don’t have to do this manually though, consider using keyboard shortcuts or even tools to streamline this process.
Building Trust
Business-wise, trust and credibility are non-negotiable. There are a couple of ways to establish these important company traits. Being a SaaS business, one way is to have a well-crafted and reliable product that meets your customers’ desires.
Another is to build trust through ways of presenting yourself as a thought leader in your industry. This is where LinkedIn Messaging shows its potential. This channel of communication offers direct, personalized, and immediate access to customers.
If you have established yourself as a trusted spokesperson of your company, or you hired an influencer to reach your customers, then you should read this study. It claims that 63 percent of respondents aged 18-to-34 trust what an influencer says about a brand more than what the brand says about itself in advertising. Trust is important.
The same study continues to emphasize trust as an important differentiating factor in marketing success: on average 48% of people pay attention to a particular advertising campaign. But if we add trust to the equation, this number ascends to an amazing 76 percent.
Acquisition and Retention
After you established your business credo, and you reached out via LinkedIn Messaging to your customers, now is the time to establish a more permanent relationship with them.
LinkedIn Messaging can play a pivotal role in customer acquisition and retention for SaaS businesses. By staying connected with existing customers and proactively addressing their needs, you can foster long-term relationships and encourage loyalty to your brand.
According to this research, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can boost profits by 25%, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing customer relationships in your growth strategy.
Best Practices
To make the most of LinkedIn Messages and unlock your SaaS business’s full potential, it’s essential to adhere to best practices and guidelines. Here are some tips to help you succeed:
- Make it sweet and short
We’ve already mentioned millennials and their attention being exposed to constant online content. People are exhausted and their attention span is unable to digest large amounts of data, if otherwise not determined to do it.
Here is where this little nugget of data comes in: there is a direct correlation between the length of the message (in this study – InMail message) and response rates. The shortest InMails have a 22% greater response rate than the overall average. By the same metric, the response rate for the longest InMails is 11% lower than the average rate.
Remember that these are only averages derived from many InMails. While shorter messages don’t always outperform longer ones, they typically receive higher response rates.
The same research shows that only a minuscule 10 percent of InMail messaging is done in under 400 characters per message. So, if you keep it short, not only you grab the attention of your customers, but you’ll be a real refreshment in the business of LinkedIn Messaging.
- Respect the weekdays
This graph speaks for itself. If your goal is to get a response via LinkedIn Messaging, avoid Fridays and Saturdays. Emails sent on those two particular days of the week are more likely to be overlooked. A good idea can be to reschedule Friday and Saturday emails to be automatically sent on Monday.
- Fill out the subject line
You’ve written a really good message that you know will get read and responded to. However, consider whether the subject lines of your LinkedIn messages are compelling enough to get the attention. The recipient notices the subject line right away. Your customer is less likely to even open the message if it isn’t compelling enough.
Simple is always the greatest subject line for a LinkedIn message. Keep it short and to the point. You have a better chance of receiving a response from someone who might be fatigued or preoccupied at work if your subject line is clear and simple.
Keep in mind that without a catchy and concise subject line, you’ll come out as demanding and difficult to work with. Consequently, your prospect will not even open or read your message, much less reply to it.
- Set a goal
Each LinkedIn message you send out needs to have a specific objective. Never forget that building rapport with someone is the first step toward looking into options that will benefit both parties.
Many people overlook the fact that LinkedIn Messages may be utilized by your SaaS business for networking and job promotion in addition to sales. Maybe even all of these at the same time? But first, you need to determine how interested your ideal applicant is.
Compose a lighthearted note devoid of any direct pleas for assistance or commercial pitches. Telling your customer what to do next will enable them to take direct action in their reply.
If you would want to organize something ahead of time, like a Skype session, you may also provide your contact details. Just make sure it’s simple for everyone concerned.
- Use humor
Using humor in your messages is a great approach to humanize them and make them fun. Additionally, it establishes a playful tone for all upcoming discussions.
Many are afraid of coming across as corny or immature, so they avoid using comedy in their messages. But using an optimal dose of lighthearted humor is usually beneficial if you want to connect to another person.
Case Studies
Real-world examples can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of LinkedIn Messages for SaaS businesses. Here are a couple of case studies to show how LinkedIn Messaging works in real life:
- Databricks
Databricks, a SaaS software company offering a cloud-based platform that unifies data and artificial intelligence, utilized LinkedIn Messages to connect with decision-makers in the IT and software development industries.
By crafting three variations of personalized messages highlighting the benefits of their platform, they were able to do the following: while the average open rates for all three variations were over 70%, the third version’s click-through rates and conversions were nearly twice as high as those of the other two.
They’ve used the winning solution in their further outreach to their customers, thus improving their earnings on a large scale.
- IQVIA
IQVIA, an established life sciences business and SaaS provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research for large and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies, wanted to start with a brand awareness campaign to generate maximum traction in minimal time.
The company leveraged LinkedIn Messages to reach customers from lists collected from previous company-held events. Through targeted messaging campaigns, they achieved a 5% growth in audience reach and over 2.2 million impressions on their LinkedIn page.
The success of their LinkedIn Messaging campaign also yielded favorable results for other “follow-your-buyer” digital advertising platforms within the same company.
Some Templates to Round Things Up
This guide has emphasized so far that when using LinkedIn Messaging always bear in mind that you are communicating with real people. And a real person desires a real outreach, drafted especially for this person and nobody else.
While keeping this in mind, there are some proven writing tactics that you could use to shorten the amount of time and effort in writing all those messages. Certain templates push the conversation in the right direction. Here are a couple of them:
- A message to connect
Simplicity is often the best answer. We’ve already covered the reasons for messages to be short and succinct. The following example is this rule put into action.
Using the first name is important to establish a more personal relationship with potential customers, while the company name gives them a good idea of the reasons behind this desire to connect.
Advance your acceptance rates by mentioning a mutual connection with your customer, if you have one.
More than one LinkedIn Message goes under the radar, but if you read a familiar name, you’ll at least know that the person writing to you paid some attention to actually learning about you. And people know how to value that.
- A question message
Asking a question may come across as a pushy tactic doomed to fail. But, if you phrase it right, the question won’t be there to fulfill some need of ours but to seek the other person’s expertise on something. And people do love to be asked for their opinion. In particular when they are asked about their area of interest.
Their answer is the door for continuing this conversation in the desired (business) direction.
- A message to follow-up
If the previous tactics yield lesser results, be prepared to move onto the follow-up ground. This is usually tricky because at the same time you want to further your conversation with the potential customer, but one wrong pushy move can end this chat in a jiffy.
So, here is a way to walk this minefield:
Over to You
LinkedIn Messages offers a powerful platform for SaaS businesses to drive growth, engage with prospects and customers, building lasting relationships.
By leveraging the platform’s capabilities strategically and adhering to best practices, you can unlock a wealth of opportunities for lead generation, customer acquisition, and brand building.
As you embark on your LinkedIn messaging journey, remember to prioritize personalization, value creation, and trust-building to maximize your chances of success in the competitive SaaS landscape.
With the right approach and mindset, LinkedIn Messages can become a cornerstone of your growth strategy, propelling your SaaS business to new heights of success and prosperity.
