LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million members. It’s a great place to connect with prospects, generate leads, and grow your business. However, manually reaching out to potential clients on LinkedIn can be extremely time consuming. This has led many sales and marketing professionals to wonder: can you automate LinkedIn outreach?
The short answer is yes, you can automate certain aspects of LinkedIn outreach to save time and scale your efforts. However, automation must be done thoughtfully to avoid coming across as spammy. In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of automating LinkedIn outreach, including:
- The benefits of automating LinkedIn outreach
- What can and cannot be automated on LinkedIn
- LinkedIn’s policies on automation
- Tools to help automate LinkedIn outreach
- Best practices for effective automated outreach
Let’s dive in!
The Benefits of Automating LinkedIn Outreach
Manually reaching out to prospects on LinkedIn can be extremely labor intensive. For each potential lead you must:
- Research and identify the right prospects
- Personalize connection requests and messages
- Trackyour outreach efforts
- Follow up with new connections
- Maintain your network over time
Doing this work manually does not scale well. That’s where automation comes in. Benefits of automating LinkedIn outreach include:
Saves Time
Automation tools can take care of the busy work associated with outreach like sending invites and initial messages. This frees you up to focus on more strategic work.
Increased Reach
With automation you can connect with far more prospects on LinkedIn than you could manually. Send hundreds or even thousands of invites and messages in the time it would take to do a handful manually.
More Personalized Outreach
Many automation tools leverage data from LinkedIn profiles to customize invites, messages, and follow ups for each prospect. This personalization helps improve response rates.
Built-in Tracking & Analytics
Automation software makes it easy to track the status of all your outreach efforts in one place. See open/response rates, get notifications, and gain insights to improve campaigns over time.
Ongoing Network Maintenance
Automation tools can help you stay in touch with your network by automatically sending periodic check-ins and updates. This nurtures relationships over time.
What Can & Cannot Be Automated on LinkedIn
While automation can make LinkedIn outreach more efficient, there are limitations in terms of what can and cannot be automated on the platform. Here is a quick overview:
What Can Be Automated
- Sending connection requests
- Sending initial messages to new connections
- Personalizing invites and messages with profile data
- Scheduling meetings with Calendly or other tools
- Following up with connections
- Tracking outreach metrics and results
- Tagging connections and adding notes
- Maintaining and nurturing your network
What Cannot Be Automated
- InMail messages
- Commenting on posts
- Joining groups
- Liking or reacting to content
- Sending invites and messages too quickly
- Anything that seems bot-like or spammy
The most personal, relationship-building aspects of outreach cannot be automated. LinkedIn limits automation specifically to maintain the integrity of the platform and prevent spam.
LinkedIn’s Policies on Automation
LinkedIn allows some automation and the use of third-party tools, with specific restrictions. Being aware of LinkedIn’s automation policies is crucial to ensure your outreach efforts don’t get flagged or banned.
Here are some key policies to keep in mind:
Sending Too Many Invitations
You may send no more than 300 invites per day and 50 invites per hour via automation tools. Exceeding these limits may result in limits being placed on your account or it being restricted.
Personalized Outreach
Generic, copied and pasted messages are discouraged. LinkedIn expects automated outreach to be personalized and relational.
Honor Recipient Settings
Make sure to respect the account settings and expressed preferences of members you reach out to. For example, don’t contact people who have indicated they don’t want to receive messages.
No High Frequency Automated Messages
Avoid contacting the same user too frequently. LinkedIn recommends waiting 4-6 weeks before messaging someone again.
Comply with All LinkedIn Terms
You must comply with all of LinkedIn’s terms when conducting automated outreach. This includes avoiding spam, respecting privacy, not scraping data, and more.
Be Transparent in Usage
Be upfront when you are using automation tools. Disclose you are sending messages via an automated tool if asked.
Following LinkedIn’s policies and being transparent will help your automation efforts be effective and avoid problems.
Tools to Help Automate LinkedIn Outreach
Many software tools exist to help automate various parts of LinkedIn outreach. Here are some of the top options:
Dux-Soup
Dux-Soup is one of the most popular LinkedIn automation tools. Key features include:
- Automated connection requests
- Message scheduling
- Tracking and analytics
- Lead list building
- Customizable follow up workflows
UpDox
UpDox automates the sending of customized connection requests on LinkedIn. Features include:
- Bulk invite sending
- Personalized custom templates
- A/B testing invite messaging
- Lead nurturing
Linked Helper
Linked Helper is one of the most flexible tools for automating personalized outreach. Features include:
- Schedule meeting requests
- Multi-step follow up sequences
- Real time notifications
- Bulk personalized messaging
Reply
Reply lets you generate leads from LinkedIn on autopilot with features like:
- AI-powered lead searching
- Custom multi-step workflows
- Meeting scheduling
- Real-time notifications
Brybe
Brybe makes it easy to turn LinkedIn connections into customers with automation tools for:
- Targeting ideal prospects
- Crafting personalized messages
- Scheduling meetings and calls
- Managing ongoing relationships
These are just a sampling of the many options available. Choosing a tool that works best for your specific needs and budget is key.
Best Practices for Effective Automated Outreach
While automation tools can streamline LinkedIn outreach, you still need an effective strategy to see results. Here are some best practices to follow:
Personalize Every Message
Copy and pasted messages are easy to spot as spam. Use merge tags, custom fields, and connections’ profiles to make each message unique.
Send Individualized InMail
Follow up one-to-one after connecting by sending targeted InMail messages. These are more likely to spark a conversation than bulk messages.
Make the First Message Count
Your initial message after connecting needs to grab attention fast. Ask good questions, demonstrate shared interests, and provide value.
Add Value, Don’t Sell
At least initially, focus on building a relationship vs. selling. Share useful content, insights, or advice about their field.
Use Multimedia Content
Messages with images, GIFs, videos, recordings and other multimedia often perform better than text-only.
Follow Up Frequently
It takes an average of 12 touches to turn a cold lead into a sale. Set reminders to follow up with new connections frequently over time.
Segment & Target Prospects
Group your prospects into lists by factors like industry, job role, company size etc. Create targeted outreach campaigns for each list.
A/B Test Messages
Try different subject lines, messaging styles and content types to see what resonates best with your prospects. Refine based on learnings.
Observe LinkedIn’s Limits
Carefully follow LinkedIn’s automation policies like limits on invites sent per hour and personalized content requirements.
Track & Optimize Results
Look at open rates, click rates, and response metrics to continuously refine your automation strategy over time.
Conclusion
Automating LinkedIn outreach is possible and can significantly increase the volume of prospects you engage. However, automation must be done strategically. The right tools and best practices are essential to running effective campaigns that build relationships and drive results. The key is personalization – automation enhances your ability to engage prospects one-to-one at scale.