Make the most of LinkedIn messages for Business

Content360; Randburg; On-site; ZAR 30 000 - 60 000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a dynamic individual to enhance their customer engagement through LinkedIn messaging. This role involves managing direct communications with clients, ensuring timely responses, and fostering positive interactions. The ideal candidate will possess strong customer service skills and a knack for social media management. You will be part of a forward-thinking team dedicated to optimizing customer experiences and driving brand loyalty. If you are passionate about connecting with customers and have a flair for communication, this opportunity is perfect for you!

Benefits

Flexible Working Hours

Remote Work Options

Professional Development Opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in managing customer interactions on social media platforms.
• Strong communication skills to engage with diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Manage and respond to customer inquiries via LinkedIn messages.
• Implement best practices for customer engagement on social media.

Skills

Customer Service

Social Media Management

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Marketing or Communications

Tools

LinkedIn

Social Media Management Tools

Job description

The company LinkedIn messages are a game changer.

When you enable company messages on LinkedIn, users can directly chat with you via your LinkedIn Page.

Want to provide personalized customer service right on the LinkedIn platform? Empower your team to interact with your audience on your brand’s behalf? Do a little social selling and create some good ol’ fashioned leads?

LinkedIn company DMs are here to make it happen.

How do messages for LinkedIn Pages work?

LinkedIn company messages are a fairly new feature, launched in June 2023.

Before the update, direct messages were limited to member-to-member interactions. LinkedIn users could only communicate with a company via public comments or, if they were particularly crafty, by tracking down individual employees.

Now, however, Messages for LinkedIn Pages allow for immediate communication between businesses and individual LinkedIn users.

When you enable the Pages Messaging feature, your salespeople won’t have to deal with pushy customers in their DMs anymore.

LinkedIn users can now send their messages directly (and, importantly, privately!) to a Company Page, initiating a two-way conversation.

If you are an admin of your Company Page, you’ll find the direct messaging option right on the main navigation menu, where you can manage conversations. Just like person-to-person messaging, you can attach files, images, and GIFs.

How to set up LinkedIn messages for your company

Navigate to your LinkedIn business page. Click the Inbox tab on the left-hand side. See the image below.

Here, you’ll be notified that your messages are currently turned off. Click the Turn on messages button.

You’ll be prompted to toggle on the Message button and choose a few conversation topics—think “Service request” or “Careers.” Click Save. Your inbox is now live!

Your page will now feature a Message button near the top.

When someone sends you a message, a little red circle with the number of unread messages will appear next to the Inbox tab. Click on it to review your messages.

On the left, you’ll see a column with all your messages. You can search these messages (using the search bar at the top) or filter by conversation topic and more.

On the right, you’ll see the ongoing chat with your customer. Any of the administrators of your LinkedIn company page can respond to these messages, but only your team will be able to see who sent individual messages.

If you’re getting a bunch of messages (popular!), this inbox could become pretty overwhelming fast.

Best practices for LinkedIn messages

Whether you are a successful business owner, genius entrepreneur, or savvy social media marketer—you do not need us to explain the basics of customer service.

But beyond “be kind,” “be patient,” and “treat others the way you want to be treated,” here are a few LinkedIn-specific practices for managing your new inbox that are probably good to keep in mind.

Do you want to manage the deluge of messages all by yourself, or are you hoping that your LinkedIn inbox becomes a team project?

If it’s the latter, make sure that the right people in your organization have been assigned a super or content admin role (go to your page, click Settings, and then click Manage Admins).

This will allow others to reply to messages and ensure your customers get the response they need as quickly as possible.

This could just be your social media team members, or it might involve an HR rep to deal with career questions, too.

If you are going to turn on LinkedIn messaging functionality, be prepared to be attentive to the DMs that come in.

Whether it’s fair or not, people expect immediacy from brands on social media—McKinsey reports that 79% of customers expect a response within 24 hours on social media. Basically, everyone needs your attention right now.

Of course, if your brand receives a high volume of DMs, it isn’t necessarily realistic to send a perfectly crafted response the minute you get each one.

At the very least, acknowledge receipt of their message so they are not met with silence. That could be as simple as thanking them for reaching out and informing them how long it will take to get back to them. Easy breezy!

Of course, if you just need a little help to keep on top of all your different social media inboxes, consider getting a social media management company like Content 360.

When setting up LinkedIn messages for your business page, you’ll be prompted to select some “conversation topics.” When someone messages you, they’ll be offered the option to categorize their message under one of those topics.

Choosing topics that are appropriate for your business or that you feel qualified to discuss will help filter out spam or redirect queries to the appropriate channel.

For instance, if you want to open your message inbox to chat with potential job candidates, choosing “Careers” is better than “Service Request.”

If someone has mislabeled their conversation with the wrong topic, it’s easy to change. Hover over the timestamp on a message until it turns into a three-dot icon. Click on that icon for options, including “Edit conversation topic.”

Properly identifying what each message covers allows your team to divide and conquer—customer success can handle service requests, sales can manage demo requests, and so on.

Toggle on your notifications so you never miss a message to your LinkedIn Page. As we mentioned, customers hate being ignored.

To do this, go to your LinkedIn business inbox and tap the three dots at the top of the conversations column.

Select Manage my notifications and set up your preferred alert delivery system.

Ensure your brand voice remains consistent across all your communications. Everything you post on the platform, from public posts to private DMs, should reflect your brand’s tone.

If your usual tone is friendly and warm, your DMs should match that. Avoid bluntness, jargon, irony, or sarcasm, as these can create misunderstandings or offend.

Keep your messages clear, concise, and polite. Short sentences and paragraphs make responses easier to read.

If you need guidance on how to respond promptly and helpfully, we can assist.

Always review your message before sending—check for spelling, grammar, flow, and correct attachments. A well-crafted message leaves a positive impression and encourages further engagement.

Finish with a polite sign-off, whether offering further assistance or wishing a good day, to leave a positive impression.

Follow these tips to ensure your LinkedIn company messaging fosters happy leads, fans, and customers chatting with you in no time. Want more advice on optimizing your LinkedIn business page? We’ve got you covered.

Manage your LinkedIn Page and other social channels effectively with a social media management tool or by outsourcing to a company like Content 360.