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Do you struggle to make meaningful connections with people on LinkedIn? Or do you constantly feel like you’re sending messages and getting nothing back? LinkedIn lead generation remains an uphill battle for many sales managers. Believe it or not, 61% of marketers cite lead generation as their biggest challenge.
On top of that, 20% of buyers still take more than 12 months to purchase 53% of marketers pour at least half their budget on lead generation. LinkedIn as a social platform for professionals is based on mutual trust, meaning reaching out to other users outside your network with a spontaneous LinkedIn connection request message may be met with hesitation or ignored altogether.
If you’re tired of draining your efforts on one-way street messages, we have some good news for you – it’s not all doom and gloom on LinkedIn. In this article, we’ve broken down a few ways to increase your chances for a positive response when reaching out to other users.
What is a LinkedIn Connection Message?
A LinkedIn connection message is a private message sent to a potential connection on LinkedIn with the intent of making initial contact.
A connection message should not be confused with a normal InMail, a LinkedIn premium feature that allows you to send a message directly to someone not yet on your LinkedIn network.
The intention of a LinkedIn connection message, however, is similar to an InMail in that it allows users to make initial contact and leave the perfect first impression.
What is the Positive Response Rate of LinkedIn Connection Messages, and Why is it Important to Improve It?
You’ve probably received a fair share of connection requests as a LinkedIn user. Some of these messages may have sounded generic in one way or another. Others grabbed your attention at first glance. What made a LinkedIn connection message worth looking at?
For starters, the default LinkedIn connection message “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” no longer works as it used to. Nowadays, people prefer more personalized LinkedIn lead-generation messages highlighting the message’s intent at a glance.
That said, here are a few reasons why it’s important to improve your positive response rate for your LinkedIn connection message:
Growing Your Professional Network
Having a strong LinkedIn network makes it easier to:
- Land a job
- Forge new partnerships
- Promote your business
- Stay on top of emerging trends in your industry.
LinkedIn is a professional social media platform emphasises connecting with other professionals. It’s not simply a place for cat videos, memes, and general life updates like other social media platforms.
Users find new connections, opportunities, and jobs by expanding their network and connecting with fellow professionals, recruiters, and potential partners.
Recruitment and Hiring New Employees
42% of managers fear that they may not secure the right talent, while 75% of companies have reported difficulties in hiring and a talent shortage. As a result, managers have diversified from publishing newspaper job ads and turned to digital sources of talent, including social media.
LinkedIn is one of the most important sources of fresh talent today, with 93% of recruiters using the platform to scout for new employees. The platform provides access to a vast network of potential candidates you can engage with – and it all starts with your LinkedIn connection message.
LinkedIn also offers users advanced filtering features to scoop out the right candidates based on their work experience, location, mutual connection, availability for work, and other criteria. Once you’ve shortlisted the right candidates, you can take the conversation offline and follow up with them via call, text, or email.
Creating Brand Awareness and Visibility
A large network and a high connection response rate will help you improve your brand awareness and visibility. The more people know about your company, products, or services, the more likely you will make sales and find new customers.
When you actively send a LinkedIn connection request, you’re expanding your network and making it easier for others to learn about you and your brand. It’s important to focus on making your message targeted toward people who might be interested in what you have to offer.
Finding Business Partners
A large, relevant network and a high response rate for your connection messages can also help you find potential partners. The more relevant connections you have, the easier you find new business partners.
How to Create a LinkedIn Connection Message That Gets a High Response Rate
Many factors influence how likely another person will accept your invitation and become your connection on LinkedIn. But generally, the success rate largely comes down to clarity, brevity, and relevance.
If you want more people to say YES when you reach out to them with your LinkedIn connection request and message, tailor your approach as follows:
Be Personal and Use the Recipient’s Name
Cold and unstructured LinkedIn lead-generation messages won’t cut it. Instead of sending a “To whom it may concern” type message, use the name of the person you’re messaging. A simple “Hello [name],” followed by a few lines of personalized introduction, can go a long way.
Here’s an example:
Hi [recipient’s name],
I’m the founder of [company name], which helps small businesses improve their website traffic, social media presence, and search engine rankings. Your recent post caught my attention, and I was looking forward to connecting with you for more insights.
[Your name]
A personalized message with a clearly outlined intent shows that you’ve taken time to read about that person, what they do, and why you’re interested in joining their network.
Don’t forget to keep in touch with your contacts once you’re in their network. Create more personalized messages to share news about your industry, ask for insights, or just check up on your connection to stay on top of their minds.
Give a Brief, Clear Reason for Your Request
You may have a clear reason for connecting, but your recipient might not understand why you want to connect with them. Explain the purpose of your connection in a brief but clear manner. For example, if you met your connection at a conference, you could say,
“Hi [name], I met you at the XYZ conference and was impressed by your presentation on the XYZ topic. I’d love to stay in touch with you.”
Remember, you have 300 characters to express your intentions and leave a memorable impression.
Mention Something You Have in Common
No matter who you’re reaching out to and why, you can use this opportunity to mention something you have in common with your recipient. In the same vein as explaining your purpose, you can say something along the lines of;
Hi [name], I noticed that you worked at [company name] from [year] to [year]. I’m a graduate of [school name] and worked at the same company from [year] to [year]. I would like to connect with you for future updates.
This will help you break the ice and connect on matters that interest you both.
Send Your Message at the Right Time
There’s no specific best time of day for sending LinkedIn messages. However, you don’t want to bombard your recipients with connection or lead-generation messages. Schedule your message so it’s sent during normal business hours – not in the wee hours of the night or too early in the morning.
The slowest times for LinkedIn are between 10 PM-6 AM over the weekend (between Friday night and before Monday morning). Peak times are 12 PM and between 5-6 PM. These are the golden hours to send your LinkedIn connection message.
Show (and Provide) Value
You can show your value by giving your recipient something of value, such as an article video tutorial, or a sample of your work. For example, if you want to connect with someone in your field of work, find a blog post or article about a relevant topic they might be interested in.
Then, send it to your recipient with the message. For example,
Hi [name],
I noticed you’re looking for new clients for your business, so I thought we should get to know each other better. My name is [name], and I was in the exact spot until I found this article [provide the link to the article]. Please let me know if you find it useful.
[Your Name]
To succeed on the platform, you must impress with your profile, add value with regular updates and keep your connections returning for more. But how? LinkedIn is not like other social networks. You can’t just post random stuff or send canned messages to strangers and expect them to take you seriously.
Instead, add value with useful resources, video tutorials, product manuals, webinars, and website content.
How Can Outreachly Help You Increase the Reply Rates to Your LinkedIn Connection Messages
LinkedIn is a great platform for businesses to reach new customers and generate leads. However, several risks are involved with using the platform in your lead generation strategy.
- Time risk – The faster you get potential customers to act, the sooner you realize your company goals. This is why salespeople are urged to spend at least 30-40% of their week finding new customers. Despite these efforts, the time you spend on your LinkedIn lead-generation messages is not guaranteed to pay off.
- Performance risk measures the likelihood of a strategy failing to meet its objectives. For instance, even if you manage to schedule a meeting with your prospect through LinkedIn, only 2% of sales are made after that first meeting.
- Investment risk – Investment risk can be defined as the possibility that you will not return the amount you invest. Sometimes, investing time, money, and other resources will not be worth the risk without guaranteed success.
At Outreachly, we can help you avoid these risks with our managed B2B lead generation services. Our AI-powered tool will help you target and channel the most qualified leads into your pipeline, and our team of seasoned LinkedIn experts will help you boost the performance of your LinkedIn connection message, boost your connection rates, and close more deals.
Not sure where to start? Join the next demo. We offer full onboarding and support for our new customers so that they can get started with successful LinkedIn lead generation.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is a great place to network and make connections, but it can be difficult to get a response to your LinkedIn connection request. Bear in mind that lead generation on LinkedIn (and pretty much any other social network) isn’t as straightforward as it might seem because you need a detailed strategy to succeed at generating leads.
