Automation tools like Dux-Soup give you the ability to scale your reach on LinkedIn by automating time-consuming, repetitive tasks - like sending connection requests, endorsing profiles, and sending direct messages to your connections.
As the main B2B social networking platform, LinkedIn is where you want to be if you're looking to grow your business. Leveraging the superpowers of an automation tool has reaped huge rewards for those who can successfully combine a personalized approach with strategic audience segmentation and clear direction when defining their automation strategy. $100,000 of new business being won every year, over 100 sales appointments generated each month, and 75% time savings are just some of the success stories we've heard of from using Dux-Soup.
Here we share our best practices to help your business get the very best results from LinkedIn automation. The examples we use were shared by Scott Wright, Head of Sales, Dux-Soup in a webinar with Woodpecker about how to use LinkedIn and email outreach together.
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How can you get the very best results from LinkedIn automation?
Social not sales
Just like Instagram, X and Facebook, LinkedIn is a social media platform - not a sales platform. It has the world’s largest professional network and when you’re messaging, be yourself, be genuine and be conversational in your approach. Don’t start with the sales pitch, get to know them first and treat all your prospects as you’d like to be treated.
Strike a conversation
Use open-ended questions to start a conversation with your prospects that’s relevant to your service and of interest to them. Aim for questions and topics that will solicit answers and trigger engagement.
Know your audience
Tailor your approach to different target audiences. If you are a CEO reaching out to other CEOs, those conversations will be different to when you reach out to employees of a different level to you. Put yourself in the mindset of the other person and do your research so you understand what’s important to them and what they care about.
Method of approach
Take time to develop your own Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and outline the framework of your automation approach. This includes how you will develop your lists of targets, the different messaging options and how you will implement them in Dux-Soup, and how you may use other integration tools in your workflow.
Use Dux-Soup to help you test your messaging and campaign variables to see which give you the best results. Read the blog How to A/B test with Dux-Soup to find out how to implement and measure the effectiveness of your process(es).
Dux-Soup campaign messaging
Let’s look at an example of a real Dux-Soup campaign targeting recruiters.
The initial Connection Request builds rapport by finding a likeness with prospects around the topic of LinkedIn automation. Sales Navigator enables you to filter out people who have changed roles in the last 90 days and this has been turned into an opportunity to forge a link and make a new connection.
If the Connection Request is accepted, you can set up Dux-Soup to send an automated follow-up message afterward.
The first follow-up message is set up 2 hours after the connection and is a simple response to see how they’re getting on:
However, for this campaign, we are more interested in the response to the question about LinkedIn automation. We’ve done our homework and we know recruiters spend time using LinkedIn and we know LinkedIn automation is a debatable topic. Together, that’s going to help the message stand out and trigger a response.
We then set up 2 more follow-up messages for the days after:
Depending on the reply to the follow-up messages, we then start responding manually and pivot the conversation:
If they say “Yes I have tried automation”.
We say, “Great, what is it you’ve used before? Have you ever tried Dux-Soup?”
If they say, “No, I haven't tried automation”.
We say, “Oh that’s fascinating, we have thousands of recruiters who have used Dux-Soup. I’m curious why you haven’t used automation?”
The goal of the campaign was to strike up a conversation and maneuver it toward scheduling a meeting. In both scenarios, the conversation is already heading in the right direction.
This campaign invited 413, of which 220 were accepted. There were 151 follow-ups and 111 responses and by using our knowledge of the audience and tailoring the approach to suit them, several meetings were set up.
To find out more about how to pivot a response to get what you want and achieve your call to action, read the blog How to book over 100 sales appointments a month using LinkedIn and Dux-Soup in which Scott Wright gives more real-life examples.
Email + LinkedIn
Combining email and LinkedIn communication platforms is a powerful way to reach your audience. Woodpecker’s integration with Dux-Soup in 2023, allows you to create a single workflow that interlaces Dux-Soup efforts with Email, maximizing the impact of your LinkedIn outreach.
- This marriage leverages Woodpecker's “Conditions” campaign. Conditions include:
- If Opened/Clicked Email X Times
- If Accepted LinkedIn Invite
- It allows you to use multiple different LinkedIn profiles in one Woodpecker account.
- It also allows A/B testing of LinkedIn messages and emails.
Multi-channel examples
Let’s take a look at a simple multi-channel example combining email and LinkedIn. This can be set up in Woodpecker with Dux-Soup.
Here’s the breakdown:
Step 1.
Use Dux-Soup to visit a profile on LinkedIn.
Why a visit?
When you visit a profile, you will show up on that prospect's feed, making you instantly visible. It’s a way to ‘warm them up’ to your profile, and if they’re curious they may even choose to visit you back. Many Dux-Soup users visit a profile before sending a connection request, and finding this initial step increases their connection acceptance rates.
Step 2.
Less than 24 hours later, send out email #1. This will be a friendly connection message, for example: “Looking to connect with other like-minded folks…”.
1-2 hours after the email, send a LinkedIn invite, repeating the content of the email.
Adding the email step close to the time of the LinkedIn connection request boosts the responses to the connection messages. Now we’re starting to see the benefit of multi-channel campaigns. Using two platforms you stand a higher chance of gaining a response than just using one.
Step 3.
Over the next few days send out email #2 and a few days after that email #3. Craft your emails by using casual conversational language to ask engaging questions and put forward topics that will entice a response.
Step 4.
Send a LinkedIn message to them as well, this again will increase the number of responses.
This is a simple multi-channel campaign that’s easy to set up using Woodpecker and Dux-Soup.
Now let’s use the Conditions in Woodpecker (one can be used per campaign) to split the prospects into two groups and change the outreach approach based on the initial reaction.
In this sequence, an email is followed by a LinkedIn invite.
In Woodpecker a condition is added that asks “Have they accepted the invite? Yes or No”. To give the prospect time to respond it’s triggered within 15 days of the invite being sent.
If they have accepted the LinkedIn invite, the prospect is sent a LinkedIn message and depending on whether or not they reply, it’s followed a few days later by another LinkedIn message.
If they do not accept the LinkedIn invite, the prospect is sent email #2, and depending on whether or not they reply, it’s followed by another email.
A word of caution about using LinkedIn as a means to follow up with a prospect on the email, this tactic can leave people feeling hounded and put off. Instead, take a calm networking approach, be yourself, be genuine, and use LinkedIn to simply strike up a conversation and you’ll get results.
Once they’ve accepted your connection on LinkedIn, it means you're connected from here on out (unless they deliberately remove you, which rarely happens) and you can send messages to them for the foreseeable future. A slow and steady approach can yield fruitful results.
Is Dux-Soup safe?
Mimicking human behavior
LinkedIn users can be hesitant about using LinkedIn automation tools. Concerns for the safety of their accounts; getting banned, restricted or flagged with a LinkedIn Warning often arise. LinkedIn automation can be used safely, it’s ‘how’ you use it that matters.
The blog Using LinkedIn Safely outlines how LinkedIn works and gives guidance on the activity levels that keep a LinkedIn account safe.
Dux-Soup is a long-established and trusted automation tool and has taken this all into account. It is designed to replicate human behaviour on LinkedIn, ensuring authenticity in engagement and interactions. It has long been a favorite of many businesses and their success stories explain how automation has enabled them to save time and close more deals.
Pay for LinkedIn
Investing in LinkedIn Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter is highly recommended when you use Dux-Soup. It’s not a requirement by any means, but paying for LinkedIn will enhance your networking capabilities and give you access to advanced features. Check out our article on LinkedIn Premium Plans.
Anti-Spam Policy
Strictly adhere to LinkedIn’s policy against spamming to maintain credibility and avoid account restrictions. The easiest way to do this is to put yourself in the other person's shoes and think about how you’d respond to a direct pitch with calendar invites and links galore…?!
Stick to genuine, conversational communications and you won’t be treated as spam on the platform.
Gradual scaling
Abide by default parameters and gradually increase connection requests, visits and messages over time to avoid triggering LinkedIn’s monitoring systems. Dux-Soup is designed to work out of the box with the safest preset limits already set. Daily limits can be personalized and the speed of Dux-Soup controlled in the Throttling tab, but we recommend it’s done slowly, week by week.
SSI Awareness
Stay vigilant about your Social Selling Index (SSI) as LinkedIn monitors various variables and rate of change, ensuring sustained growth and effectiveness in networking efforts. If your average connection rate is dropping below 20% (this is visible in both Woodpecker and Dux-Soup) take time to review and revise your messaging.
Conclusion
The best LinkedIn automation tools have really become a game-changer for businesses. As well as saving time, they allow teams to focus on building relationships and streamline operations. Planning a considered multi-channel approach that suits your audience and using automation at a pace that won’t break LinkedIn rules, will reap you far greater rewards than any fast, one-shot, spam of a campaign could ever do.
