What’s the biggest challenge for today’s marketers? According to HubSpot’s research, generating traffic and leads is the No. 1 answer by a longshot. Lead generation continues to be the primary standard upon which many marketing units are judged, but is only becoming more difficult as competition grows and attention shares shrink.
Lead Gen Forms on LinkedIn are among our most popular ad products, because of the way they directly support this crucial directive. By integrating the feature with your LinkedIn campaigns, you can collect valuable, accurate professional lead data while minimizing hassle and friction for users.
Providing maximum convenience on both ends, Lead Gen Forms are proving to be a powerful marketing tool, as they drive 5X higher conversion rates than landing pages. If you want to learn more about what Lead Gen Forms on LinkedIn are, and how to use them, we’ll cover that in a quick overview. If you’re already familiar, skip ahead to learn 10 different ways you can increase your success with this critical feature for LinkedIn lead gen campaigns.
What Are Lead Gen Forms on LinkedIn?
Like any other lead generation form, the LinkedIn version captures pertinent lead data from an individual, in exchange for a valued asset or experience. The key differentiator is that fields in Lead Gen Forms automatically based on a member’s profile data. This nuance is important in general, saving time and effort for the user, but especially on mobile where typing text into several tiny fields can be tedious and frustrating.
Lead Gen Forms can be used in combination with several LinkedIn ad products, including single image ads, carousel ads, video ads, and messaging ads. Incentives to compel form fills should be distinctly appealing to your target audience, and can range from eBooks to product demos, webinar registrations, program info, and more.
10 Ways to Get More Out of LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms
Drawn from our new LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms Playbook, here are 10 tips for getting the most out of this feature, based on proven techniques used from top performers on the platform.
1. Develop a Strong Offer
This of the essence. You want your ad copy to quickly convey the value of what a member stands to receive, and why they don’t want to miss out. We recommend hooking your audience with a clear yet concise question (120 characters or fewer), and taking advantage of real estate; first a user sees your ad, then clicks into the Lead Gen Form where additional context is provided, so you want to create a cohesive experience.
2. Use Bold Images, Videos, and Messages
In general, this is a best practice for LinkedIn ads, but it’s especially key for compelling Lead Gen Form completions. The specifics vary based on which ad format you’re using, but in general we advise:
- Showing an image of the product, service, or asset someone is signing up for
- Including sharp, poppy colors that stand out on a member’s feed
- Tailoring the message and creative to your specific audience
- Making your video, image, or messaging ads distinctive and unique
3. Keep the Number of Questions Short
What is the absolute most critical information for your organization to collect for leads? Zero in on these fields and cut out any that aren’t necessary. We find that forms with five or fewer questions see the highest completion rates.
4. Make Your Custom Question Easy to Answer
Sometimes custom fields are necessary, because your organization requires lead-qualifying information beyond what is listed in a member’s profile. You have this ability through Lead Gen Forms, but be cautious: the addition of even one free-response custom question can yield a 3-4% drop in submission rate. Whenever possible, consider using dropdown options for custom fields rather than write-ins.
5. Follow Up with Leads in a Timely Manner
If someone signs up to receive a piece of content, make sure to include a direct link on the confirmation page. If they signed up for an event or newsletter, use that confirmation page to build excitement. You want to provide an immediate payoff when someone fills out a form, and keep the momentum rolling.
6. Keep Your Lead Gen Forms Fresh
Advertisers see only 10% of forms receive leads after the first ~10 weeks. Rotating in fresh creative and copy (and even offers) will help keep your Lead Gen Forms producing steadily without going stale.
7. Optimize Your Target Audience Using Demographic Data
Using campaign demographics, you can gain insight into which specific segments of your audience are engaging with and completing Lead Gen Forms. Using this data, you can learn which cohorts align best with which content, then optimize accordingly.
8. Optimize Your Page So Members Can Learn More About Your Brand
When engaging with a Lead Gen Form, a member can easily click on your organization’s name to learn more on your LinkedIn Page. Make sure you’re providing a clear, consistent, and comprehensive overview of your brand in this space. For starters, you’ll want to complete your Page and post content regularly. It’s also worthwhile to focus on growing your following and network, because our research finds that Pages with at least 150 followers and 30 mapped employees are perceived as more credible.
9. Pair Lead Gen Forms with Brand Campaigns for Higher Conversion Rates
Strong brand awareness campaigns can prime members for conversions, creating familiarity in the mind of your audience. We find that members who are exposed to both brand and acquisition messaging are 6X more likely to convert. Consider using the Matched Audiences feature to expand your targeted reach.
10. Test, Test, Test!
At the end of the day, this is the most helpful activity for the ongoing health of your campaigns. Any assumption or hypothesis about what will resonate and drive results in a Lead Gen Forms campaign is only that until you actually test it in the wild. Experiment with alterations of single variables — copy, visuals, CTA — and measure it against your KPIs. Over time, you’ll come to recognize what works best in each facet.
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms Case Studies
Want to learn from others who’ve excelled with Lead Gen Forms? Read about these four companies that achieved stellar results:
Bynder generates high-quality leads faster with Lead Gen Forms
IR drives results from a focused target audience with Sponsored Content and Lead Gen Forms
Paycor powers up bottom-line impact with strategic Lead Gen Forms on LinkedIn
Talkdesk dials up tremendous ROI gains with targeted Lead Gen Forms
Launch Your Next Lead Gen Campaign on LinkedIn
Ready to power up your pipeline with Lead Gen Forms on LinkedIn? Hop into Campaign Manager and create an ad, pairing the product with either Sponsored Content or Messaging Ads.
If you’d like to first get the full scoop on best practices, plus a checklist for success, download the LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms Playbook.
