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When it comes to marketing on LinkedIn, both Message Ads and Conversation Ads offer unique approaches to reaching and engaging your target audience. But what exactly is the difference between these two types of ads? Let's break it down.
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Messaging Ads: The Traditional Approach
Conversation Ads: The Future of LinkedIn Advertising
The Evolution: Conversation Starter Ads
Preparing for the Change
Messaging Ads: The Traditional Approach
LinkedIn Messaging Ads, previously known as Sponsored InMails, is a form of direct marketing that allows businesses to send personalised messages directly to the LinkedIn inboxes of targeted users. This ad format has been a popular choice for marketers due to its direct and personalised approach.
The structure of a Messaging Ad typically includes a greeting, body text, and a call-to-action (CTA). The greeting is personalised to include the recipient's name, making the message feel more individualised. The body text is where the advertiser can share their message, whether it's about a product, service, or event. The CTA is a crucial component that prompts the recipient to take a specific action, such as visiting a website, registering for an event, or downloading a resource.
However, despite these advantages, Messaging Ads have some limitations. They are a one-time direct message with a single CTA, which can limit the level of engagement and interaction compared to more dynamic ad formats. Furthermore, LinkedIn has announced plans to sunset this ad format by June 2023, encouraging marketers to transition to the more interactive Conversation Ads format.
Conversation Ads: The Future of LinkedIn Advertising
Conversation Ads are set to become the new standard for LinkedIn advertising, offering a more interactive and dynamic approach compared to traditional Messaging Ads. Here's a detailed look at this innovative ad format:
Interactive and Personalised Conversations
Conversation Ads are designed to mimic a real conversation, providing a more engaging and personalised user experience. Unlike Messaging Ads, which prompt a single call to action (CTA), Conversation Ads can feature multiple topics and CTAs. This allows users to choose their path through the ad, creating a more interactive and personalised experience that aligns with their interests and needs.
Multiple Call-to-Action Options
One of the key features of Conversation Ads is the ability to include multiple CTA options. Up to five actions can be added per message, providing users with a range of responses to choose from. This not only enhances user engagement but also allows for more nuanced tracking of user preferences and behaviours.
Dynamic Messaging
With Conversation Ads, the conversation evolves based on the user's responses. Each time a user selects a CTA, a new message is sent, creating a dynamic and interactive conversation that keeps users engaged and provides them with relevant information based on their choices.
Lower Cost-Per-Lead
According to LinkedIn data, Conversation Ads have been shown to significantly lower the cost-per-lead, making them a more cost-effective advertising option. This is likely due to their interactive nature, which encourages higher engagement rates.
Active User Targeting
Conversation Ads are only delivered to users who are active on the platform. This ensures that ads are seen and engaged, maximising the effectiveness of the ad spend.
Key points to remember about Conversation Ads:
- They offer a more interactive and personalised user experience compared to traditional Messaging Ads.
- They allow for multiple CTAs, providing users with a range of response options.
- The conversation evolves based on the user's responses, keeping users engaged and providing them with relevant information.
- They have been shown to significantly lower the cost-per-lead, making them a more cost-effective advertising option.
- They are only delivered to users who are active on the platform, maximising the effectiveness of the ad spend.
The Evolution: Conversation Starter Ads
In 2023, Conversation Ads will evolve into Conversation Starter Ads. The main difference lies in the new Focused Inbox experience. Starting in December 2022, LinkedIn users will be greeted with a two-tabbed inbox, powered by AI, which categorises messages based on relevance. If the inbox deems the Sponsored Message relevant, it will send it to a primary tab that the user automatically sees. If deemed less relevant, the Sponsored Message will land in the secondary tab.
Preparing for the Change
There are several reasons why marketers should consider transitioning to Conversation Ads. According to Q2 ’22 data from LinkedIn, cost-per-leads are >50% lower for Conversation Ads and only getting better. Furthermore, Conversation Ads are only delivered to users who are active on the platform, ensuring no wasted spend on users who would never see the message.
To minimise disruption to campaigns, it is recommended to shift all Sponsored Messaging assets to Conversation Ads as soon as possible. This can be done by tweaking existing content to fit the Conversation Ad format or by copying and pasting Message Ad copy into a Conversation Ad intro message with a single CTA.
LinkedIn's shift from Messaging Ads to Conversation Ads represents a significant evolution in the platform's advertising capabilities. By offering a more interactive and personalised ad experience, Conversation Ads can help businesses engage their target audience more effectively and drive better results from their LinkedIn advertising campaigns.
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