LinkedIn Reintroduces Sponsored Message Ads

Sponsored messaging returns! 

LinkedIn has reintroduced Message Ads within Campaign Manager as of September 26, allowing marketers to create and launch new Message Ads campaigns.

The decision to bring back Message Ads was driven by customer feedback, highlighting the product's email-like design, clear call-to-action buttons, and seamless lead generation capabilities.

If you’re new to this ad type, I’ll give you a little history before explaining how to use it to best effect.

Why did LinkedIn shut down Sponsored Messages to begin with?

LinkedIn shut down Sponsored Messages about three months ago in order to promote Conversation Ads. While a sponsored message has a single, linear CTA, a conversation ad allows advertisers to create an interactive experience that offers several different CTAs to choose from. 

While Sponsored Messages are back in action, LinkedIn still encourages users to explore Conversation Ads, given the format’s potential for up to 4x higher engagement compared to traditional email.

How do Sponsored Message costs compare to those of other LI ad types?

While the sponsored messaging ad type is a little more expensive than other ad types, you typically receive a higher quality of traffic. LinkedIn actually limits the amount of times somebody is sent a sponsored message, which helps prevent ad fatigue. Each user is only served one message ad every 45 days, and advertisers can find users by leveraging all of LinkedIn’s targeting options, similar to other ad types.

What quick best practices would you spell out for Sponsored Messages?

Sponsored messages work great for driving traffic toward one CTA, so set up some tests to see which one you should use most heavily. 

Social clout is important when you’re sending Sponsored Messages, so be strategic about who is sending them. A company leader is ideal, especially one with a large following. 

Audience targeting (described above) is critical for this ad type since the costs can be higher than other ad types on the platform, so dial in a small segment and assess performance and ROAS before broadening the campaign. For a guide on audience reporting on LinkedIn, check out our blog post. 

If you have any questions about Sponsored Messages or any other ad types, give us a shout! We’re always happy to help.