Email tracking tools are losing reliability, with metrics like open and click rates inflated by over 50% due to bots and technical issues. Add challenges like spam filters and compliance hurdles, and it’s clear why marketers are shifting focus. LinkedIn offers a more accurate way to track outreach and engagement, providing real-time insights and direct access to decision-makers.
This article reviews three LinkedIn-based tools:
- Sales Navigator: Advanced prospecting and relationship tracking.
- Shield Analytics: Performance insights for LinkedIn personal profiles.
- Closely: AI-powered LinkedIn automation with multichannel outreach.
Each tool serves different needs, from manual engagement to automated workflows. For teams prioritizing accurate metrics and better engagement, LinkedIn-first strategies are proving more effective than email trackers.
Closely Review (LTD BACK) – LinkedIn Outreach Automation Tool 2025
1. Sales Navigator
Sales Navigator is LinkedIn’s premium tool designed for prospecting, offering direct engagement data straight from the platform. It’s a powerful alternative to traditional email tracking, providing sales teams with unique insights and opportunities for meaningful outreach. Below, we break down the standout features of Sales Navigator.
Tracking Features
Sales Navigator excels in tracking activities like InMail performance and profile engagement. It lets you see when prospects view your profile, interact with your content, or respond to messages. Another useful feature is its ability to monitor changes in a prospect’s professional status, so your outreach stays relevant and timely. Plus, it includes relationship mapping through mutual connections, making it easier to secure warm introductions.
Analytics and Insights
The platform comes with an analytics dashboard that highlights key metrics such as message response rates and profile view trends. Advanced filtering options help you identify recent activity and spot opportunities tied to company growth. Sales Navigator also delivers company-level insights, keeping sales teams informed about organizational updates that could influence their approach.
Integration Capabilities
Sales Navigator integrates smoothly with popular CRMs, syncing prospect data via API. Its browser extension is particularly handy, offering real-time insights directly within your workflow. This integration ensures you have the right context when reaching out, all without disrupting your process.
2. Shield Analytics
Shield Analytics stands out by focusing solely on tracking and analyzing your LinkedIn personal profile performance. Unlike tools built for managing multichannel outreach, this platform hones in on LinkedIn-specific metrics, offering a clear picture of how your profile is performing.
Tracking Features
Tailored for personal branding, Shield Analytics zeroes in on metrics like profile views, post engagement, and follower growth. It deliberately avoids tracking direct messages or private conversations, keeping its focus sharp and relevant. This targeted approach ensures you get actionable insights without unnecessary distractions.
Analytics and Insights
The platform provides detailed performance breakdowns, helping you identify your best-performing content and the times when your audience is most active. With this data, you can fine-tune your posting strategy to boost visibility and engagement. The dashboard is designed to be user-friendly, presenting essential metrics in a way that’s easy to digest and apply.
Integration Capabilities
Shield Analytics operates as a standalone tool and does not integrate with content creation platforms, CRMs, or marketing automation systems[1]. While this singular focus is ideal for those who prioritize analytics, it could be a drawback for users who need a more comprehensive solution that includes scheduling or posting capabilities.
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3. Closely
Closely combines LinkedIn automation, email outreach, and AI-powered personalization to create a seamless multichannel sales workflow. With LinkedIn at its core, this platform is tailored to meet the demands of modern sales outreach, positioning itself as a one-stop solution for teams that rely heavily on LinkedIn for engagement.
Tracking Features
Closely simplifies tracking by consolidating LinkedIn and email engagement data into a single dashboard. From connection requests and message responses to profile views and email opens, everything is monitored in one place. It goes further by incorporating lead scoring and web research tools, which automatically enrich prospect data and assign scores based on engagement levels.
Analytics and Insights
The platform’s analytics dashboard provides detailed performance metrics for LinkedIn and email campaigns. Teams can track conversions, response rates, and overall engagement trends to refine their strategies. AI-driven personalization takes it a step further by analyzing prospect data to recommend customized messaging that goes beyond generic templates. These insights sync directly with your CRM, making it easier to turn data into actionable outreach efforts.
Integration Capabilities
Closely integrates seamlessly with top CRM systems like Salesforce, Pipedrive, HubSpot, and GoHighLevel [2][3]. LinkedIn activities are automatically synced to your CRM, updating contact, account, and deal records without manual effort.
The platform also allows users to bulk export leads from LinkedIn, including Sales Navigator searches, post engagers, and individual profiles, directly into their CRM. For added flexibility, Closely supports webhooks for custom integrations and offers white-label options, making it a great fit for agencies handling multiple client accounts.
Pricing and Plans
Closely’s pricing is designed to accommodate different team sizes and usage requirements, offering a range of features across its plans:
- Starter: $49/month – 1 LinkedIn account, unlimited email accounts, and 1,000 credits.
- Growth: $127/month – 3 LinkedIn accounts, 3,000 credits.
- Essential: $205/month – 5 LinkedIn accounts, 5,000 credits.
- Custom: $350/month – Up to 10 LinkedIn accounts with flexible credits.
All plans include white-label functionality and 24-hour live chat support. Higher-tier plans also provide access to customer success managers for tailored strategic guidance.
Tool Comparison
Selecting the right LinkedIn-focused tracking tool comes down to understanding your needs, team size, and budget. Each platform has its strengths in monitoring LinkedIn outreach and engagement. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of their key features:
| Feature | Sales Navigator | Shield Analytics | Closely |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Lead identification and prospect tracking | Content performance and social selling metrics | Multichannel campaign automation and tracking |
| Tracking Capabilities | Smart Links, prospect activities, intent signals | Content impressions, engagement rates, profile views | LinkedIn and email engagement, connection acceptance, message open/reply rates |
| Analytics Depth | Team usage data, Social Selling Index (SSI) | Real-time content performance and audience demographics | Campaign performance tracking and lead scoring |
| Integration Options | BI platforms (Tableau, Power BI) and CRM synchronization | Minimal third-party integrations | Native CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive) |
| Automation Features | Manual outreach with alerts | None – analytics only | Complete automation |
| Pricing | Varies | Varies | $49–$350/month |
| Best For | Teams with dedicated sales development representatives | Professionals focused on content creation and personal branding | Small to medium teams aiming for multichannel outreach |
Sales Navigator stands out for its advanced prospect identification and tracking features, making it a favorite among sales teams. It provides tools like Smart Links and intent signals, but outreach is manual. To unlock its full potential, integration with external BI tools like Tableau or Power BI is recommended. This makes it a great fit for teams that rely on real-time prospecting insights and have the resources for manual follow-ups.
Shield Analytics caters to professionals focused on building personal brands or leveraging organic LinkedIn content. It excels in analyzing content performance, offering insights into engagement rates, impressions, and audience demographics. However, it’s not designed for automated outreach or paid campaigns, and its lack of historical data tracking might limit its appeal for long-term strategists.
Closely combines LinkedIn automation with email outreach, offering a streamlined approach to prospecting and campaign execution. Its AI-powered personalization and lead scoring provide in-depth campaign insights, making it ideal for teams looking to automate their outreach while maintaining visibility into performance metrics. Closely also integrates seamlessly with popular CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, simplifying workflow management.
Ultimately, your choice depends on your team’s workflow. Sales Navigator suits teams that prioritize manual engagement and advanced prospecting tools. Shield Analytics is perfect for those focused on organic content strategies. Meanwhile, Closely is a go-to for teams seeking automation and multichannel tracking with minimal setup.
Final Thoughts
Each tool serves a unique purpose based on specific outreach needs. LinkedIn’s built-in engagement metrics offer a level of insight into prospect intent that traditional email tracking – like open rates and click-through data – just can’t match.
Sales Navigator is ideal for manual, highly personalized outreach. It helps sales development reps time their follow-ups effectively, making it a great fit for enterprise deals where a personal touch is crucial. However, it does require a significant time investment.
Shield Analytics stands out for tracking organic content performance. By monitoring engagement rates and audience demographics in real time, it supports content-driven strategies. That said, it lacks automated outreach features, which can limit its scalability for larger teams.
Closely provides the best of both worlds by combining LinkedIn engagement tracking with multichannel automation. With pricing ranging from $49 to $350 per month, it offers AI-powered personalization, native CRM integrations, and scalable outreach – making it a strong choice for US-based sales teams managing a high volume of prospects.
To sum it up, Sales Navigator works best for enterprise teams focusing on personalized follow-ups, while high-volume teams can benefit from Closely’s automated multichannel capabilities. Meanwhile, Shield Analytics is perfect for those prioritizing content-driven strategies and personal branding.
For many US sales teams embracing a LinkedIn-first strategy, using a combination of these tools tailored to team size and sales cycle complexity often delivers the best results. A LinkedIn-first approach isn’t just about moving away from email trackers – it’s about leveraging LinkedIn’s professional environment to build stronger connections. Whether you opt for manual precision or automation, LinkedIn’s engagement data offers insights that email tracking simply can’t provide.
FAQs
How does focusing on LinkedIn improve outreach and engagement compared to using email tracking tools?
A LinkedIn-first strategy elevates outreach and engagement by enabling more genuine, real-time interactions with prospects. Unlike the slower, more detached nature of traditional email tracking, LinkedIn allows you to engage in a way that feels immediate and personal. By tapping into the social context of a prospect’s profile, you can tailor your approach, making conversations more relevant and meaningful. This often translates into better response rates and stronger professional relationships.
On top of that, LinkedIn’s tools, like Sales Navigator, offer precise targeting, helping you zero in on the right prospects effortlessly. The platform’s combination of personalization and networking features allows you to refine your follow-ups, build trust more quickly, and, in turn, increase your chances of converting leads into opportunities.
How do Sales Navigator, Shield Analytics, and Closely differ in their LinkedIn tracking features?
LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator is a powerful tool for prospecting, offering advanced features like detailed search filters, real-time updates, and CRM integration. It’s designed to help you efficiently find and manage leads, making it an essential resource for sales professionals.
On the other hand, Shield Analytics focuses on performance tracking. It provides insights into audience demographics, engagement trends, and historical data, helping you fine-tune your LinkedIn content strategy for better results.
Closely takes a different approach by blending LinkedIn and email automation with AI-driven personalization. This allows for smooth multichannel campaigns, streamlining outreach efforts. While Sales Navigator specializes in prospecting and Shield delivers deep analytics, Closely prioritizes automation and lead generation, making it a versatile choice for sales teams looking to scale their efforts.
What challenges might sales and marketing teams face when using LinkedIn-based tools?
LinkedIn-based tools come with impressive capabilities for outreach and engagement, but they aren’t without their challenges. For starters, advertising on LinkedIn can be expensive, and the platform’s organic reach is fairly limited, which means scaling your efforts often requires a hefty budget.
On top of that, LinkedIn frequently updates its rules and algorithms. These changes can throw a wrench into well-established strategies, forcing users to constantly adjust and refine their approach.
Another hurdle is the platform’s restrictions on the number of profile views or search results you can access. These limits can make large-scale prospecting tricky, requiring a more thoughtful and strategic approach to ensure your outreach efforts deliver the best possible results.