What is a campaign on LinkedIn recruiter?

LinkedIn Recruiter is a powerful tool that allows recruiters and hiring managers to source, engage, and manage candidates efficiently. One of the key features of LinkedIn Recruiter is the ability to create targeted campaigns to reach your ideal candidates.

What is a Campaign?

A campaign on LinkedIn Recruiter is a customized search that continuously looks for potential candidates that match your search criteria. Campaigns allow you to take a proactive approach to sourcing candidates, rather than waiting for applicants to come to you.

Campaigns automatically save your search criteria, so you can reuse it again in the future. You can set up email alerts to notify you when a new candidate matches your campaign search. This enables you to be one of the first to reach out before other recruiters contact the candidate.

Benefits of Campaigns

There are several benefits to using campaigns on LinkedIn Recruiter:

• Proactively source candidates – Campaigns continuously search LinkedIn for candidates that match your criteria.
• Automated process – Once set up, campaigns run automatically in the background to find candidates for you.
• Time savings – Spend less time manually searching profiles and more time engaging candidates.
• Stay organized – Save and reuse campaigns for future openings.
• Get ahead of competition – Be the first recruiter to engage passive candidates.
• Improved quality of hire – Target candidates more strategically.

How to Create a Campaign

Here are the steps to create a campaign on LinkedIn Recruiter:

1. Click on the Campaigns tab
2. Click the “+” button to create a new campaign
3. Give the campaign a name and description
4. Select whether you want an email alert when a new candidate matches
5. Define your search criteria such as location, skills, job title, etc.
6. Choose which LinkedIn Recruiter seats you want associated with the campaign
7. Select the frequency of email alerts
8. Click “Create Campaign”

Your campaign will now run continuously in the background searching for candidates. You’ll get email alerts when new matches come up so you can promptly engage them.

Campaign Search Criteria

You have many options when setting up your campaign search criteria. Here are some of the most common search filters:

• Location
• Industry
• Job function or title
• Years of experience
• Skills
• Company
• School
• Groups or associations
• Language
• Seniority level

You can make your campaigns as narrow or broad as needed. For example, you may target graduates from a certain university program or people with 5-10 years of experience in a niche skillset. The more focused your campaign, the more targeted your results.

Viewing Campaign Results

Once your campaign is up and running, you can view a dashboard of the results. For each campaign, you can see metrics including:

• Number of matches
• Number of new matches
• Number of inmails sent
• Inmail reply rates
• Profiles viewed
• Top companies
• Top titles
• Top locations

Analyzing this data can help you identify which campaigns are performing well. You may consider expanding campaigns that result in high inmail reply rates or pausing campaigns with low response.

Sample Campaign Results Table

Nurturing Campaign Matches

When you get an email alert about a new campaign match, you’ll want to promptly engage them before other recruiters reach out. Here are some best practices for nurturing campaign matches:

• Personalize your outreach – Reference their background and why you thought they were a fit.
• Connect via InMail or message – Send them an invite to connect along with a personalized note.
• Follow-up after connecting – Don’t let days pass after connecting on LinkedIn.
• Get straight to the opportunity – Share the role and gauge their interest after building rapport.
• Stay persistent but patient – They may need nudging along the way before moving forward.
• Sell the value prop – Highlight why the opportunity is attractive rather than just pitching the role.

With a thoughtful, consultative approach you can convert more of your campaign matches into interested candidates. Track your campaign progress and iterate based on what outreach strategies perform best.

Optimizing Your Campaigns

Here are some tips to ensure your campaigns are optimized for success:

• Analyze campaign metrics regularly and pause ineffective campaigns
• Adjust your search criteria to hone in on the most relevant talent
• Personalize your outreach messages using merge fields
• Test using different types of InMail templates
• Invite selected matches to follow your LinkedIn Company Page
• Proactively grow your pipeline by starting new campaigns

Campaign optimization is an iterative process. Consistently monitor your campaign performance and make changes to maximize your results. Over time, you will fine tune your approach and build an effective candidate pipeline.

Monitoring Campaign Compliance

While campaigns provide a efficient way to source candidates at scale, it is important to make sure your outreach stays compliant. Here are some compliance tips for campaigns:

• Avoid making too many repetitive InMails from your account
• Personalize your messages using the candidate’s name and other details
• Send messages individually rather than massive bulk blasts
• Honor candidate communication preferences and opt-outs
• Share the role details transparently
• Be upfront you are a recruiter contacting them about an opportunity

Following recruiting best practices and LinkedIn’s guidelines will help prevent your account from being flagged or restricted when using campaigns.

Conclusion

Campaigns on LinkedIn Recruiter empower recruiters to take a proactive, automated approach to sourcing quality talent. By creating targeted, ongoing searches, you can uncover passive candidates before your competition. Monitor your campaign metrics regularly, nurture new matches diligently, and optimize your approach over time. Used strategically, campaigns can greatly expand your access to talent and accelerate hiring.