LinkedIn Automation, what is it?
LinkedIn Automation is an online tool that you can purchase (for either a pay-as-you-go monthly fee or a discounted annual fee) that will help you build your LinkedIn 1st connection network, with the candidates you wish to target. A 1st connection is initiated by a request, when 1 LinkedIn user sends a connection request to another user. If the user accepts, you are both now 1st connection (similar to Friends on Facebook, or followers on Twitter). 1st connections are important because you can:
- Message them via Direct Message, which is free and unlimited (unlike an InMail, which requires a paid LinkedIn account and has a limited number of credits)
- Engage the prospect by endorsing them, liking their posts, understanding their needs by monitoring their posting habits
- Allows your post to appear in their feed
What LinkedIn automation does, is allows yourself as the user to input a number of LinkedIn profiles you wish to target, and the automation will then take control of your LinkedIn account or browser, and begin to initiate the 1st connection requests. Many LinkedIn automation tools also offer the ability to add accompanying messages to your LinkedIn requests, as well as to setup sequences of outreach templates to engage your selected prospects.
How to use LinkedIn Automation
To use LinkedIn Automation, you will need to select from a number of different providers, which we will cover in a subsequent post. Once your preferred supplier is selected, you generally purchase a monthly or annual package, install either the chrome extension or stand alone software (depending which provider you go with), run a basic search/filter of the LinkedIn prospects you wish to target, and put together a LinkedIn invitation sequence for the automation to run in the background.
The easiest way to use a basic LinkedIn Automation, is to set up a single Connection Request Invitation, with a personalised message, rather than a fully automated sequence with follow ups. Depending on the location you are targeting candidates & how good your personalised messages are, you can expect anywhere between 30-50% of digital marketers to accept your invitation.
What are the different types of LinkedIn Automation?
The different types of LinkedIn Automation are either:
Browser Based – These are simply extensions which take control of your browser, and perform the automation live.
Cloud Based – These are online solutions which required your LinkedIn credentials, as a remote device will access your LinkedIn account and perform the automation on their end
Hardware based – Similar to the browser based, but the software is installed on your device directly, and controls your entire device, not just your browser.
Some of the more basic, Chrome based extension software are often the most affordable, but shouldn’t be overlooked. They allow you to safely send up to 30 invites per day, within a short period (as little as 25 minutes), which allow you to get on with your LinkedIn sourcing, after the period is done.
While the higher end, more expensive software offers a larger daily reach out limit due to the extensive spaced our periods between invites, it will also mean you are limited for many hours during the day, to do proper manual work on LinkedIn. This is because the cloud based software uses a near by IP address to control your LinkedIn account, so that logging in from your device is more likely to trigger LinkedIn’s ‘unusual activity’ controls and lead to a potential suspension.
Hardware based software is often the most reliable in terms of avoiding bot activity, however, it can be extremely taxing on your devices RAM and CPU, and you are unable to perform any other operations on your device, while the automation is working.
Running a LinkedIn Automation campaign (Basics)
Run the automation software to about 10 linkedIn requests a day (only do Monday to Friday & don’t run on public holidays) for your first week.
Most automation software offers reports on your acceptance request, play close attention to this. If your acceptance rate after week 1 is at least 30%, move to an additional 5 connection request the next week and check to ensure it’s again at least 30%. Continue upping by 5 every week, until you hit a maximum of 25 per day. We don’t recommend sending more than 25 connections per day consistently and regularly.
LinkedIn Automation text examples
When setting up you personalised message for an invitation/connection sequence, be sure to use the personalised HTML tags, so that your automation can use the candidate’s real name, company, location etc, which it automatically detect and adjust as needed. The more personalised and specific your invitation is to the users industry/skills/location, the higher the acceptance rate. Also offering value (other than poaching them for recruitment) is a great way to build your network. We can use the below personalised messages as a suitable templates, depending how much personalisation you would like to use;
Example 1:
Hi <insert first name>, I’m keen to connect with Digital Marketers in the Sydney Region. I’ll be sharing lots of Digital Marketing hacks, salary surveys and local Sydney opportunities that might interest you in the future. Let’s keep in touch
Example 2:
Hi <insert first name>, how’s life at <insert current company>? I’m keen to connect with Digital Marketers in the <insert location> Region. I’ll be sharing lots of Digital Marketing hacks, salary surveys and local <insert location> opportunities that might interest you in the future. Let’s keep in touch
Now that your network is growing, you can personally Direct Message any of your accepted 1st level connections, without needing a costly LinkedIn license.
Tip: While it’s possible to add additional follow up sequences in the event a connection request is accepted, we don’t recommend doing so. Let the automation create the warm lead, and always follow up with a genuine personalized/human response if the connection request replies to your initial automated message.
What are the Advantages & Disadvantages of LinkedIn Automation?
Pros
- Monthly costs are affordable for even the tightest of budgets.
- Good way to build a long term network for future recruitment drives.
- Connection requests that don’t turn into a hire, may also present other industry relevant networking opportunities.
Cons
- Limited between 20 and 75 connection requests a day due to LinkedIn’s ‘unusual activity software’.
- Failure to abide by the limits, can lead to a temporary suspension or permanent banning on LinkedIn.
