It is official. LinkedIn discontinued message ads last month, so you'll transition all of your message ads copy and creatives to conversation ads.
But why? You might wonder…
LinkedIn Conversation Ads vs Message Ads
Message ads and conversation ads are both different types of ad formats under Sponsored Messaging. The thing in common is that both formats can only target LinkedIn users when they are online and both ad formats go to the user's LinkedIn inbox.
These two formats have been available for quite a while, but after reviewing performance LinkedIn has decided that the message ad format is redundant and improved conversation ad format to increase efficiency even further.
LinkedIn Conversation Ads Benchmarks
Here at 7DOTS we were actively using Message Ads and to be honest, the open rates we were seeing across our clients were quite good.
After LinkedIn's announcement about discontinuing Message Ads, we migrated and adapted our Sponsored Messaging campaigns into the newly optimised Conversation Ads format.
The results were really positive. For one of our clients, we went from an average 65.4% open rate to a 70.29% open rate.
LinkedIn Conversation Ads Best Practices
Conversation Ads offer a great way for our audience to engage in different ways with our message. They allow advertisers to display a wide range of actions, providing flexibility and aligning with a user’s needs.
Some things to keep in mind when using Conversation Ads:
Bidding
Monitor your spend during the first days and increase your bid if you see you’re not spending your daily budget. This could be due to competition.
Message Sender
Might seem obvious but…remember to review your sender’s profile before setting them up. A profile with no picture or inaccurate information won’t make any favour to the purpose of the campaign.
Set up 3 to 5 different ads
Even if you only change the title, make sure you provide LinkedIn with 3 to 5 ad variations. Sponsored Messaging has a very strict frequency cap to avoid audience saturation. When you provide the platform with more than 1 option, you will be able to enter the auction more times, therefore your reach will improve.
Avoid negative CTAs
If the user is not interested, they’ll just leave the ad. Make the most of the CTAs to offer different alternatives. What we do for those users that still need a bit more time, is to send them to a generic landing page for more info or to contact us page in case they’d like to request more information.
Lead gen forms, lead gen forms!
Just had to add it here, great way to get prospects engaged.
Brand Awareness
Even if you don’t get many website visits, that high open rate means users did engage with your message. Keep this in mind for your end of campaign report!
LinkedIn Conversation Ads Specs
LinkedIn recommend the following text specs:
- Message fields (including Intro message, responses): This field allows up to 8,000 characters but LinkedIn recommends keeping it under 500 characters to drive 46% higher engagement. You can add here custom fields to make it more personalised. 7DOTS recommmend to always test your audience. Providing 2 different versions (shorter and longer) will allow you to A/B test performance.
- Call to actions: CTA buttons accept up to 25 characters. There is a maximum of 5 CTA buttons per message. 7DOTS recommend providing 2 to 3 options, so the user doesn’t get overwhelmed with options and journey path doesn’t get overcomplicated.
There is also an option to include a banner creative with Conversation Ads. These are only available on desktop and have the following requirements:
- 300 x 250 pixels (maximum)
- File type: JPG or PNG format
- Maximum file size: 2 MB
For more information, you can visit LinkedIn Conversation Ads Help Center.
By following these tips, you will hopefully see an increase in your CTR, which means higher engagement with your ads.
Make sure you test these settings separately so you know what works best for your campaign!
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