Posted by Automation is an essential part of lead generation. On a platform as big as LinkedIn, you will want to employ a few tools that help you segment your audience and push the right content in front of the right people.
Marketers simply don’t have the time to worry about finding individuals separately and sending connection requests. That’s why they use Linkedin automation tools.
LinkedIn automation is all about saving time and effort and minimizing the challenges you face while looking for new prospects.
But it’s much easier said than done. As a platform, LinkedIn has grown at an unprecedented rate. Today, there are more than 740 million active members.
After its acquisition in 2016 by Microsoft, the user count has only gone up. Here’s the unprecedented rise of LinkedIn shown in a simple chart:
Source (link to https://www.statista.com/statistics/274050/quarterly-numbers-of-linkedin-members/ )
That’s not all. LinkedIn is incredibly popular amongst the 25-34 demographic, with almost 60.1% of its user base falling in that demographic. Segmenting such a vast audience will be demanding, and that’s why you need to look for viable LinkedIn automation tools.
Source (link to https://www.statista.com/statistics/273505/global-linkedin-age-group/ )
How do LinkedIn Automation Tools Work?
These lead generation automation tools work by helping you automate mundane tasks that would otherwise take up a great deal of your time.
It’s no secret that personalization plays an important role when looking for prospects on LinkedIn. LinkedIn connection requests (link to https://growth-x.com/blog/using-linkedin-for-sales-in-2021-how-to-get-ahead/ ) need to be adequately personalized to show you are focused on that prospect.
More importantly, these tools help you segment your audience to know that you are targeting the right people.
With Linkedin being the most effective lead generation for B2B (link to https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/business/marketing-solutions/global/en_US/campaigns/pdfs/Linkedin_SophGuide_020314.pdf ), it’s essential to understand that you have to focus your efforts with the right tools.
Here are five common features that you should look for in any LinkedIn automation tool.
- Instead of sending each request individually, the LinkedIn message automation tool should allow for bulk sending while automatically including the recipient’s name in the message, allow to exclude companies (e.g. competitors) and track links and clicks on call to actions.
- It should simplify LinkedIn automated outreach, letting you choose your audience by geographical area, industry, or other parameters.
- They should provide a high degree of personalization so that it never seems that you are relying on automated LinkedIn outreach. It affects your business credibility by a considerable margin.
- The tool should produce comprehensive reports highlighting the success or failure of different campaigns. Information about responses received, conversions, and funnels should be available at a glance.
- The LinkedIn automation software you use should integrate to a certain extent with third-party tools like SalesForce, Zapier, or Hubspot CRM.
The 5 Best LinkedIn Automation Tools
If you want to succeed with LinkedIn prospecting and marketing, you need to use a LinkedIn lead generation automation tool. Here are 5 of our best picks.
Ideally, you will want access to Sales Navigator, LinkedIn’s in-house prospecting tool. When combined with the LinkedIn automation tools given below, Sales Navigator can help you generate more leads.
1. Growth-X
(changed picture so we can use the inbox one below)
Growth-X is one of the most popular tools for LinkedIn automation. It is used by more than 500 companies, including big names like Paypal, Dell, WeWork, Merck, and many others.
Growth-X builds on the prospecting features offered by Sales Navigator and helps you create incredibly effective custom campaigns.
Once you have identified your target audience, the platform allows you to create a message sequence, including multiple follow-up messages.
In 2019, it was revealed that 90 million LinkedIn users were influencers in senior positions. Out of those, more than 63 million were in positions to make critical decisions.
That number has only risen since 2019. You can’t expect people to respond right away to your messages.
More importantly, you also don’t want them to forget about you. With a lead generation automation tool like Growth-X, users can get all relevant information at a glance about where their campaign stands.
Growth-X also has another excellent feature for users who want feedback on their campaigns.
Being a customer-centric company, they don’t just provide a tool. Instead, they assign a Customer Success Expert to each account. Growth-X’s LinkedIn Marketing Expert will meet with you on a video chat (e.g., zoom) weekly and carefully review each campaign and provide their feedback about any changes or alterations that need to be made.
Growth-X helps users with content, targeting, campaign optimizations, a/b testing, and comprehensive analysis in your weekly status calls to ensure that your campaigns and conversions are on track.
With comprehensive A/B testing, Growth-X allows users to figure out what works and what doesn’t, which eventually culminates in creating a successful targeting campaign.
In addition, Growth-X has a “Smart Inbox”(added picture above) that allows users to manage their chats and respond to messages directly with templates, snooze, and other CRM-like features. This “Smart Inbox” saves loads of time so that you will spend no more than 15-20 min per day on all your engagement – that is it!
Embed the video or a demo:
By creating tailored LinkedIn messages (link to https://growth-x.com/blog/8-tips-for-writing-high-converting-linkedIn-messages/ ), users will increase the conversion ratio significantly. Growth-X is a cloud-based LinkedIn automation tool so that users can access their dashboard from anywhere in the world through a browser. Growth-X is one of the top LinkedIn automation tools and the only one that provides a close collaboration with a LinkedIn Marketing Expert on a weekly basis and helps users get the best out of their campaigns.
Starting Price: $297/mo (after the present promotion of 40% off). You can scheduled a call with sales for your promotional coupon code here (link to https://meetings.hubspot.com/growth-x/meeting-with-growth-x )
Pros:
- Weekly status calls with a dedicated Customer Success Expert
- Twitter integration, AB-Testing, Nurturing Campaign, and CRM integrations
- Smart Inbox
- User behavior, psychology, and content are their forte
- Incredibly safe solution for automation on LinkedIn algorithms for
mimicking human behavior - They provide fully managed services as well
Cons:
- The VIP plan might be a bit expensive for beginners
- No free trial (You can schedule a free demo, though)
2. Zopto
Zopto (link to http://www.zopto.com ) is a LinkedIn lead generation automation tool to help users improve the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Users will need a Sales Navigator account, or at least LinkedIn Premium, to fully utilize its features.
When selecting a tool, users will want to be wary of the LinkedIn automation ban. Zopto has a few integrations for that, but there are several downsides.
Zopto has a dashboard with a slightly aging user experience. The bigger problem is that if a user sends requests to the wrong group of people, canceling the campaign is not possible with Zopto.
Zopto is a good choice for users who are savvy with LinkedIn automation and don’t need much support. To access a Customer Success Manager, users need to opt for Zopto +, which costs significantly more. For an included “fanatic” customer success support, Growth-X may be a better choice.
Starting Price: $215- $895/ mo
Pros:
- Some personalized support
- Twitter integration
- A/B testing
Cons:
- The time stops for “Schedule” only allow a single start-stop. You can’t have multiple run cycles in a day.
- Cluttered dashboard
- Steep learning curve
- No dedicated Customer Success Manager
3. Expandi
Expandi (link to http://www.expandi.io ) is also a popular LinkedIn prospecting automation tool. Companies use it for lead generation automation, and you might find quite a few reviews about the program. It has all the right features for LinkedIn automated outreach, such as:
- Integration with different CRM tools
- Personalization options with images
- Multi-step campaign support
- Important insights
But, the problem with Expandi is in hyper-automation. It goes against LinkedIn’s terms of use, so their website has a disclaimer at the bottom, stating: “Use of Expandi is at your own risk.”
LinkedIn automation requires a tactful approach. Users need to make sure that their campaigns mimic human behavior instead of sending hundreds of connection requests and waiting for one to stick.
While programs like Expandi offer lots of features, most are rarely used. There’s no dedicated representative or Account Manager who can guide you in tailoring your campaigns.
Starting Price: $99/mo/account
Pros:
- Single pricing
- Cloud solution
- Some metrics
Cons:
- The search function has limited filters
- Customer support is lacking
- Profile security is questionable
4. SkyLead
SkyLead (link to http://www.skylead.io ) is another LinkedIn message automation tool that is entirely cloud-based. It has a smart inbox and allows integration with other CRM tools.
SkyLead allows users to run multiple campaigns and offers an array of metrics to track.
It also offers multi-campaign support and allows users to combine several steps, including profile visits, connection invites, and messages, all in one go.
While it’s a great tool to automate LinkedIn connections, SkyLead’s limited support may deter users and lack profile security.
Starting Price: $100/mo/account
Pros:
- Cloud solution
- Multi-account support
Cons:
- Limited security options (increases chances of a ban)
- Support is often hard to reach
- Lack of profile security
5. MeetAlfred
MeetAlfred (link to http://www.meetalfred.com ) is not just a lead generation automation tool for use with LinkedIn. It’s designed for use with email and Twitter as well. It focuses on end-to-end social campaign management while still offering personalization options.
MeetAlfred allows you to send multiple connection requests in a short period.
But be careful: sending bulk messages could land users in hot waters on LinkedIn. MeetAlfred allows users to personalize their messages and has a pretty streamlined user interface, making it easy for users to track a host of different metrics like engagements and conversions.
These actionable insights can be used to customize campaigns. It’s worth noting that the program does not assign a Customer Service manager.
They also don’t accept payments via debit card, so you need an Amex or MasterCard for payments.
That might not be suitable for people who want to manage separate profiles through a centralized platform.
Starting Price: $39/month
Pros:
- Has a free trial
- Team management support
- Clean UI
Cons:
- No inbox templates
- No profile auto warm-up options
- Doesn’t auto-reload searches
- Lacking Profile Security
Frequently Asked Questions
I know many readers will have questions regarding lead generation automation on LinkedIn. Here are five of the most commonly asked questions.
1. What is LinkedIn automation?
LinkedIn automation simply refers to tools to send out requests, follow-up messages and invites to other users.
Actions that you would have to perform manually for each user can be automated to save time and maximize your lead generation efforts.
2. Does LinkedIn allow automation? How does LinkedIn detect automation?
No. The platform does not allow automation. The platform monitors individual activity and has daily limits. If you exceed those, your profile will be flagged and could be banned. This is why Growth-X places lots of effort and development on your Profile Security.
3. How to automate lead generation on LinkedIn?
Tools such as Growth-X simplify LinkedIn automation by offering a centralized dashboard to track and send personalized messages. They make it easy to mimic human behavior as each message is thoroughly personalized for the recipient.
4. Does automating LinkedIn work?
If done correctly with the right tool, yes, it does. For instance, Growth-X has helped companies grow their product from 0 to 150M users with a $0 budget. LinkedIn has enormous upside potential, as long as a user knows how to tap into it.
5. Can you automate LinkedIn messages?
Yes. Growth-X allows users to automate and create different follow-up messages, simplifying the process. Users can also respond to messages through the centralized dashboard.
The Bottom Line
While there are more than 20 or so lead generation automation tools in the market, Growth-X manages to set itself apart because of its safety features, its dedication to customer success, and its LinkedIn Marketing Expertise. Growth-X is incredibly safe to use; it’s not an extension for Chrome, it’s fully cloud-based.
Its weekly status calls feature and highly experienced Customer Success experts will help users maximize their lead generation efforts. More importantly, their expertise in user behavior and psychology allows companies to tailor their content for the maximum impact, thus offering fantastic value for money.
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