How to Automate LinkedIn Messages [Step-By-Step Guide]

Want to automate your LinkedIn messages?

Here’s what you need to do. 👇

1. Build your lead list.
2. Find your leads in the Kaspr dashboard.
3. Build your LinkedIn automated sequence.

1. Build your lead list

First, build the list of profiles you’d like to reach out to.

And instead of wasting time and effort (and money! 💸) doing it manually, use a sales automation tool like Kaspr. You can extract contacts profile by profile or in bulk from lead searches or lead lists in Sales Navigator.

When sales reps use the LinkedIn Chrome Extension, the widget can enrich your target list with accurate data in just a few clicks. And it’s free - sign up now.

You’ll also be able to extract from:

• LinkedIn Groups.
• LinkedIn posts.
• LinkedIn Events.

The Kaspr widget is always ready to get the contact info details of your target list; give it a click! 

💡 Need tips for building your list?

From here, you can extract contact details for these connections in bulk. 

If you’re adding to the Kaspr dashboard profile, by profile, save the prospect’s contact details by clicking “add to leads” on the widget. Their information will be waiting for you whenever you’re ready to reach out.

2. Find your leads in the Kaspr dashboard

Now it’s time to connect and engage with your prospects.

Sales reps can also directly send the contact information of their leads to their preferred CRM or email marketing tools, like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Sendinblue.

The sales automation tab can also enrich data from LinkedIn in two categories:

1. Company level: Business email addresses and phone numbers.
2. Contact level: Professional email addresses and phone numbers.

Did we mention all the data is GDPR and CCPA aligned? ✔️

3. Build your LinkedIn automated sequence

Now comes the fun part, building your LinkedIn automated sequence.

From the Kaspr dashboard, head over to the sales automation tab. Then, it’s time to start building your workflow.

❓Not sure what a workflow is? A workflow is the series of actions you’d like to automate. This can be bulk messages on LinkedIn, sending those invites to connect, or enriching the data to outreach across other channels.

The cool thing is there are a ton of templated workflows you can set up to streamline various tasks and make outreach simpler. 

It’s best to use automation sparingly to help to speed up tedious tasks. This could look like sending that initial connection request and enriching contacts who respond so you can continue your sales cadence on other channels.

You can easily set how many invitation requests you’d like to send. Once you’ve crafted the perfect personalized message in the field to appear with your invite request, save it.

Don’t forget to include basic fields like a prospect’s first and last name. You’ll also need to go a step further and make sure your target audience is segmented enough so you can open with something that resonates with them. This will lead to better response rates. 📈

Then, set your duration and enter your waiting time.

❓Not sure what a waiting time is? This defines the number of days you wait until the lead is pushed to the “red side.” If a contact hasn’t accepted your invitation request after five days, you consider this unaccepted.

So, what is automated LinkedIn messaging anyway?

We know we’ve just jumped in with a tool you can use. So, let’s answer the question: What is automated LinkedIn messaging?

Simply put, automated LinkedIn messages mean you can send connection requests, follow-up messages and InMails through sales software. This can save SDRs, recruiters, founders and marketers a serious amount of time when doing lead gen activities.

The important thing to remember here is that tools that enable you to do things like this were created for personalization at scale. Not to be automated spam cannons as they are often (wrongly) used for today.

What can I automate?

Tools for LinkedIn automation can do a variety of tasks.

These include:

• Sending automated messages. Whether that be InMails, connection requests, or follow-up messages as part of your outreach strategy.
• Profile visits. So you can let your prospects know that they’re on your radar.
• Data enrichment. Cold outreach messages often go hand in hand with requiring other contact data, like phone numbers. Tools like Kaspr will get this for you too.
• List building. To get contact data from LinkedIn posts, groups, events and people searches.

The types of LinkedIn automation tools

There are a few different types of software you can use to automate LinkedIn actions. Let’s take a quick look at them. 👀

Chrome Extensions

Chrome Extensions are a great way of making your LinkedIn automation more efficient. They often work as part of a web app or are just an Extension available from the Chrome Web Store.

The Chrome Extensions are quick and easy to install so that you can automate immediately. Examples of Chrome Extensions include Kaspr and Dux-Soup.

A cloud-based tool

This is a standalone software that can automate actions for you on LinkedIn. Some users prefer these cloud-based tools as it’s often seen as less risky for being seen as spam (though, as we’ve already said, tools like this should never used in this way anyway 😉).

You can often set limits for sent messages per day, and some come with other features that mean they mimic human behavior. Examples of these tools include Kaspr and Expandi.  

Why use LinkedIn as part of multi-channel outreach?

It’s in your best interest to take advantage of everything LinkedIn offers, so making it a part of your multi-channel outreach is necessary. 

Here’s why. 👇

There's a big pool of contacts 

Most B2B professionals are on LinkedIn; the professional social networking platform has over 900 million members, mainly of which log on and are active regularly. 

Plus, sales teams can browse the profile of their prospects to learn more about how to personalize their messages for better response rates. People buy from people at the end of the day, so dropping in that you know a prospect has just started a new job role or got a promotion will make all the difference.

Various channels of engagement

Selling on LinkedIn provides multiple ways to reach out to prospects and familiarize them with your face (and profile picture!).

Don’t jump right into sending a message. Start small, and use various touchpoints to engage with prospects. Like their most recent post and comment if appropriate. This is a great way to put your name in front of a prospect before starting a conversation.

Good toolset in the platform

LinkedIn provides various tools that reps should lean into. There is so much information on a prospect’s profile, from education to mutual connections, that representatives can use to their advantage. A simple scroll through the list of 2nd and 3rd-level connections opens the door to who to add next into the sales funnel to get a meeting or a demo booked.  

LinkedIn Sales Navigator hack

Using a tool like LinkedIn Sales Navigator can elevate how reps contact their prospects, but only if it's used to its fullest potential. People need to make the effort so that Sales Navigator work for them by making the most of its features.

Get personal

Gone are the days when a basic and bare-bones LinkedIn InMail message is all a rep has to send to move a prospect through the sales funnel. Sending generic messages to dozens of people at once, known as the “spray and pray” approach, still happens today. 👇🙈

Prospects can spot a basic message a mile away, so if sellers want to see success, this has got to stop. Use the small details on a prospect’s profile to make outreach campaigns as personal as possible. And remember, you've got to be value-based.

Is it safe to use LinkedIn automation tools?

There is some speculation around LinkedIn automation tools and if they can get reps banned from the platform. Since LinkedIn is an incredibly valuable tool during the outreach process, this is the last thing anyone wants to happen.

We’ll keep it real, so you should know that if we’re getting really technical, any form of automation falls in the “don't” category of LinkedIn’s user agreement. They include language that states, “bots or other automated methods to access the services, add or download contacts, send or redirect messages”.

However, there’s a balance to consider, and it’s all about using automation wisely. 💯

With Kaspr, we make it easy to limit your automation, recommending up to 20 contacts added per day to the workflow and limiting how many invites you can send a day. If you’re using the free version of LinkedIn, there’s also a profile search limit. Kaspr helps you bypass this by exporting a list of contacts, rather than going profile by profile.

So when safely using LinkedIn automation tools, know your limits! Or better yet, use a tool like Kaspr that puts these guardrails up for you.

How to choose a tool for LinkedIn message automation

Choosing a tool for your LinkedIn sequences needs comes down to the features and functionality it offers sales reps. It’s great to be able to automate repetitive tasks, but you need to be savvy about how you use it. 

Here’s what you need to know.

• Connection request and InMail limits. It would be best to ensure that your selected tool lets you set limits. This is a safety net and will help you not go overboard or come off as spammy within the platform. Thankfully, Kaspr reminds you to limit your connection and messages to avoid being flagged by the platform. 
• Integration. When arming your team with a LinkedIn message automation tool, be sure that it integrates with the other apps and software your team is already using. For instance, Kaspr integrates with solutions your team already uses to save time, like HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zapier, and more. 
• Personalization with properties. Prospects are tired of being sent 💩 outreach, but a LinkedIn message automation tool can make things personal, in a good way, so your messages can stand out from the noise.
• Rules and workflow splits. Setting up and running specific rules and workflows is crucial when choosing a tool. When choosing Kaspr, you can target high-value leads, bridge the right leads with the right reps, and automate all workflows in just a few clicks. For example, the LinkedIn workflow can send automatic invitations and messages on LinkedIn and create scenarios directly from a list of contacts.
• Data enrichment. Data is what you make it and how accurate it is. Kaspr gives reps access to the most accurate data of prospects with emails and phone numbers. Being able to verify customers with real data and securely grow your business allows your reps to focus on closing deals. 

Start automating LinkedIn messages for free

Automating LinkedIn messages shouldn’t mean you have to be cookie-cutter. 🍪

And with Kaspr’s LinkedIn Chrome Extension, salespeople can automate messages that are personalized, get right to the point, and close more deals.

Best of all? You can get started with Kaspr today for free. And tomorrow? Using features like:

• Adding the Kaspr plugin to their Chrome browser.
• Finding the right prospects on LinkedIn.
• Gaining access to accurate phone numbers and emails.
• Managing leads in an all-in-one dashboard.
• Converting prospects to leads and then customers and gaining revenue.