You can send a series of scheduled LinkedIn messages to candidates and contacts using LinkedIn Sequences. This helps your team stay in touch with prospects automatically, leading to better response rates and a smoother recruitment process.
Please note:
To use LinkedIn steps in sequences, you'll first need to purchase the LinkedIn Messages Integration from your Plans & Billing section. LinkedIn Messages Integration is an Enterprise plan feature which can also be added at an additional cost to Pro or Business plan subscriptions.
Once the feature is active, LinkedIn Integration will be enabled on your account.
Make sure your LinkedIn account is connected here to start using LinkedIn Sequences.
How to set up a sequence
1. Go to Admin Settings > CRM Process Customization > Sequences.
2. Click on "Create Sequence".
3. Select either "Candidates" or "Contacts" as the recipient of the sequence.
4. The next step is to name your sequence and select the LinkedIn step that needs to be executed. You can choose to either select an existing Message template or create a new one dedicated to the sequence.
You can create a LinkedIn-only sequence or mix task steps with email steps and SMS steps as well, as long as you respect the limit of 40 steps in total (10 each).
5. Then, specify the number of days and the time when the sequence step should be executed.
It is important to know exactly when the LinkedIn message will be sent in relation to the starting date of the sequence. To calculate this, you can use the following formula:
Send Date = Start Date + Specified No. Of Days (Send SMS In)
Here, "Start Date" represents the date when the sequence was initiated.
"Specified Date" or "Send SMS In" is the number of days you have indicated for the message to be sent after the start of the sequence.
The resulting "Send date" is the calculated date on which the message will be sent.
For example: If you start the sequence on January 1st and specify that the SMS should be sent in 2 days, the Send Date would be calculated as follows:
Send date= January 1st + 2 days =January 3rd.
You can also set the "Send Message In" days count as 0, establishing the beginning of your sequence in Day 0.
This way, the first message will be sent on the same day you enroll prospects into a sequence.
6. Add steps to the sequence as required, up to a maximum of 40 steps, which includes a maximum of 10 LinkedIn steps, 10 email steps, 10 SMS steps and 10 task steps. You can easily rearrange the sequence steps by using the drag-and-drop functionality.
7. Set a specific number of days for each step to execute, with a range of 1 to 250 calendar days or business days.
Tasks can be created on the same day as the sequence initiation by setting the day as "0".
When implementing a task on the 0th day, it's crucial to align the step timing with the previous steps or set it for a later time than the preceding step to ensure a seamless workflow.
Criteria for enrolling prospects into LinkedIn Sequences
1. You must be connected on LinkedIn
If you're not already connected with the prospect on LinkedIn, you'll need to send them a connection request manually first.
2. LinkedIn URL is required
Make sure each prospect’s profile in Recruit CRM has their LinkedIn profile link added.
3. Different LinkedIn URLs for prospect and sender
The LinkedIn URL added for the prospect must not be the same as the one connected for your user account. This is to ensure the system correctly identifies the sender and receiver.
4. LinkedIn Conversation Must Be Initiated Manually First
You should initiate the conversation on LinkedIn by clicking the LinkedIn tab on the prospect’s details page. This will fetch the prospect’s profile and connection status. Once this is done, you can proceed to enroll them.
This step helps prevent your LinkedIn account from being temporarily blocked due to API rate limits.
Enrolling prospects into a sequence
1. Start by bulk selecting the prospects you want to enroll and click on Enroll.
2. Then select the sequence you want to enroll them in, these could include Email, Tasks, SMS or LinkedIn steps.
3. Once they have made their selection, the system will automatically check if each selected prospect meets the necessary requirements for that sequence (like having an email ID, LinkedIn URL, etc.).
Only the prospects who pass all the checks will be enrolled into the sequence.
If your sequence includes LinkedIn and SMS, the system checks for A2P 10DLC (US), KYC (UK), and SMS consent before sending.
Key points to note
1. Prospect Replies to LinkedIn Sequence
If a prospect replies to your LinkedIn message, they won’t be automatically unenrolled from the LinkedIn Sequence due to technical limitations. You’ll need to manually unenroll them from the sequence.
2. LinkedIn Disconnected
If your LinkedIn account gets disconnected from Recruit CRM, any active LinkedIn Sequences will be paused automatically.
3. LinkedIn Add-On Expiry
If your LinkedIn Add-On expires and you try to enroll prospects in a sequence, the system will ask you to renew the LinkedIn Integration first.
4. Updating LinkedIn URL in Another Tab
If you have Recruit CRM open in two tabs, and you change the LinkedIn URL from the candidate details page in one tab, you’ll need to:
Close the validation popup in the other tab
Refresh the page
Try enrolling again
This ensures the system picks up the updated LinkedIn URL.
5. Limitations in LinkedIn Sequence Analytics
In LinkedIn sequencing, metrics like 'Open rate,' 'Reply rate,' and 'Unsubscribe rate' cannot be tracked.
That's it, I hope this helps. Happy recruiting :)