For marketers, nothing is more sought after than proven strategies. Knowing which strategies to use and when, can be the difference between good and great results.
This is what makes our role as marketers unique. Our creative ideas and innovative approaches can inspire action. Yet, even the best marketers know we do this more effectively when we have the right tools.
Recently LinkedIn introduced Retargeting by Lead Gen Forms. This feature, available at no cost in Campaign Manager, is a way for marketers to stay connected to an audience based on how they interacted with a Lead Gen Form that is attached to an ad in the Feed or a Sponsored Message. While this approach is a new way of reaching audiences on LinkedIn, we’re seeing marketers globally take to this tactic. Recently we analyzed over 2,000 campaigns to understand how marketers are using this tactic successfully.
What we were surprised to find is that retargeting someone who opened a Lead Gen Form or submitted a form, on average, boosted CTRs of +65% and -29% reductions in CPLs when compared to campaigns not using this type of retargeting. In other words, it’s becoming a way to reengage a captive audience and drive action.
Knowing this, let’s explore what campaigns seeing success have in common.
How to master retargeting by Lead Gen Forms
Provide Relevant Content to Boost Conversion Rates
It’s no surprise that as we looked at the top performing campaigns they commonly understood the complexity of the B2B buying cycle. A great example of this is TOPdesk, as a fast growing service management platform in an ever-competitive industry, the team needed an effective way to provide content that was relevant to what a buyer needed as they went from researching potential solutions to shortlisting TOPdesk as a vendor.
To do this, TOPdesk created a thorough, in-depth strategy that used a combination of Video Ads and Single Image Ads with Lead Gen Forms attached to educate buyers during the research stage. And, using retargeting, they were able to provide those same buyers the option to sign up for a free-trial. Most importantly, this strategy enabled TOPdesk to be strategic in the types of content they provided based upon the buyers job function and where they were in their buying process.
The result was an increased conversion rate of 20%, while reducing cost per conversion by 24%.
The bottom line: If you’re using Lead Gen Forms today on LinkedIn -- adding in a campaign to retarget those who opened a Lead Gen Form is an easy but effective strategy to carry interest through to action.
Build Pipeline Using Company Targeting + Retargeting Lead Gen Form Openers
Interestingly, marketers are commonly using retargeting as a part of an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy. An example here is Jabra, a global leader in audio equipment. Jabra needed a way to build a B2B pipeline as companies searched for equipment to make the shift to a digitally based, distributed workforce.
For this, Jabra leveraged retargeting and Company Targeting to reach key buyers at their high priority companies. Using compelling content Jabra was able to tell a story of how it was helping companies make the shift to a digital workforce powered by its technology. Through this approach, Jabra beat its benchmarks for engagement while increasing conversion rates.
The result was two to three times higher CTRs and a higher qualification rate from MQL to SQL.
The bottom line: ABM campaigns have long been about fostering relationships with key accounts in a methodical manner. Retargeting those who engaged with a Lead Gen Form keeps you in front of key buyers who have some awareness of your brand but weren’t yet ready to engage and provide you their information.
Focus Your Campaign Budget by Excluding Those Who Submitted a Lead Gen Form
Who you aren’t targeting can be just as important as who you are targeting. Using the right mix of exclusions will give you greater control and better focus your budget.
As we looked across campaigns, we were pleased to see that customers were not just using retargeting as a way to reach a more targeted audience, they were also using it to exclude audiences who may have already converted from campaigns with awareness or consideration objectives. This approach doesn’t avoid a buyer from submitting their information multiple times, it also better focuses your budget while providing a better customer experience.
The bottom line: this is a no-brainer solution as it’s simple to implement and excluding those who submitted a Lead Gen Form has been shown to work when trying to capture your target audience.
Putting it all together
As you begin to think about what this could look like for your campaigns, I wanted to highlight what a strategy could look like across the buying journey, using the recommendations above.
If you’re interested in how to get started with any of these retargeting strategies, view our Getting Started Guide which will walk you through, step-by-step, the process to create an audience. Over the course of the next few months we’ll continue to release new retargeting options. Stay tuned to our blog for the latest product releases.
