LinkedIn sponsored messages allow businesses to directly engage with LinkedIn members by sending them personalized messages. This gives companies a powerful way to get their brand and content in front of relevant professionals. But how much do these sponsored messages cost?
The cost of LinkedIn sponsored messages depends on several factors:
1. Targeting
Who you want to target with your sponsored messages significantly impacts cost. Narrowly targeting messages to a specific job title, industry, company size, geography, etc. is more expensive than broadly targeting a wider audience.
For example, targeting C-level executives at Fortune 500 companies could cost over $10 per message sent. But targeting a general professional audience may only cost $1-2 per message.
The more specific you get with your targeting, the pricier each message sent will be. But higher targeting specificity also improves engagement rates.
2. Message Type
LinkedIn offers three main types of sponsored messages with different costs:
- InMail messages – personalized messages sent directly to a member’s inbox. Most expensive option at $10+ per message.
- Conversation ads – appear in messaging tabs. Moderate cost around $3-7 per message.
- Sponsored messages – in-feed native ads. Least expensive at $1-2 per message.
InMail messages tend to have the highest engagement because they directly reach the recipient’s inbox. But the high cost makes them best for targeting small, highly relevant audiences.
Sponsored messages have the widest reach for the lowest cost but may get lost in the feed. Conversation ads strike a balance between cost and visibility.
3. Audience Size
How many people you want to reach factors into cost. Sending 1,000 messages will be significantly cheaper on a per message basis than sending just 100 messages.
LinkedIn bills based on how many messages are sent multiplied by the cost per message. More messages equal bigger volume discounts.
For example, InMail messages may cost $100 per message sent to a small audience of 100 people. But that per message cost could drop to $50 when sending 2,000 messages.
4. Engagement Rate
Engagement rate measures how many people open your message and click your call-to-action. LinkedIn charges more for audiences with higher historical engagement rates.
For example, sponsored messages targeted to IT professionals may achieve a 5% click rate at $2 per message. But messages targeted to sales professionals with a 10% click rate may cost $3 per message.
Higher engagement signals a more interested, responsive audience that LinkedIn charges more to reach.
5. Message Customization
Personalizing messages with the recipient’s name, company, work anniversary and other profile data costs more than sending generic messages. But it dramatically improves open and click-through rates.
Testing shows InMail messages with heavy personalization have 30-50% higher engagement than generic messages. So the additional cost is usually well worth it.
Dynamic customization leveraging LinkedIn profile data runs around 10-20% more than generic InMails.
6. Integrations and Automation
Automating sponsored messages via marketing automation or CRM integrations is more expensive than manual sending. LinkedIn charges a premium for API connections and automated workflows.
However, automation pays for itself long-term by saving huge amounts of time and human effort. Automated programs can segment prospects, personalize messages, and trigger customized follow-up streams.
Most automation platforms charge 10-30% premiums for LinkedIn sponsored message integrations and customized programming.
7. Testing and Optimization
It takes testing different messages, offers, subject lines, send times, etc. to maximize sponsored message performance. This testing process increases initial costs but provides learnings to refine future campaigns.
Plan for 10-20% higher costs when launching a new sponsored message program to account for testing and optimization.
8. Agency Markup
Working with a LinkedIn marketing agency typically costs 20-30% more than managing campaigns internally. The markup covers the agency’s fees for strategy, execution, reporting and optimization.
Agencies can help shape more effective programs and free up internal resources. But you pay a premium for their expertise and labor.
Carefully weigh the tradeoffs when considering outside help.
9. Additional Services
Custom reporting, data analysis, creative services, list rental, contact acquisition and other add-ons increase costs. Factor in expenses for any additional campaign services or deliverables beyond basic sponsored messages.
Know exactly what is included in the base fee vs. what extras you will be charged for. Read the fine print to avoid surprise expenses down the road.
10. Message Volume Discounts
Like most advertising, sending higher volumes of sponsored messages reduces the per unit cost. Be sure to ask about volume discounts if sending large quantities.
For example, the first 1,000 InMail messages may cost $100 each. But the next 10,000 may only cost $75 each when factoring in bulk discounts.
Negotiate pricing tiers based on projected message volumes. The more you send, the lower your per message cost should go.
Summary
LinkedIn sponsored messages offer a unique way for brands to engage professional audiences. Costs range from $1 to over $10 per message depending on targeting, message format, customization and other factors.
Work directly with LinkedIn’s sales team and request competitive nonprofit discounts to get the best pricing. Test extensively and focus on quality targeting over spray-and-pray blasting.
When executed correctly, LinkedIn sponsored messages deliver tremendous reach and response at a reasonable cost per new lead or customer acquired.