If you're looking to push your lead generation game, you're in the right place.
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are a powerhouse for capturing high-quality leads, that can drive your business forward. With over 930 million professionals on LinkedIn, you're tapping into a goldmine of potential customers.
If you're serious about generating leads, securing top leads and increasing conversions, it's time to make LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms a cornerstone of your marketing strategy.
What are LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms?
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are a powerful tool for capturing leads directly from LinkedIn. When you see an ad on LinkedIn, you can quickly fill out a form with just a few clicks.
The form is already filled in with your LinkedIn profile information. This makes it easy for you to share your company page and details without typing everything out. Companies use these forms to get your contact information and learn more about you.
Why Lead Generation on LinkedIn Matters in 2024
1. Access to a Professional Audience
LinkedIn’s user base includes professionals from diverse industries, such as key decision-makers, influencers, and industry leaders.
- Professional Network: LinkedIn is home to professionals who are serious about their careers.
- Decision-Makers: Many users hold key job titles such as managers, directors, and executives, making them prime targets for B2B marketing.
2. Advanced Targeting Capabilities
LinkedIn allows you to target your ads with precision, ensuring that your Lead Gen Forms are seen by the right people.
- Targeting Options: You can narrow down your audience by job title, company size, industry, and other criteria.
- Better ROI: By focusing on a specific audience, you increase the chances of generating qualified leads, leading to a higher return on investment.
3. Integration with Marketing Tools
Seamless integration with your marketing tools ensures that the data collected through LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms is automatically transferred to your CRM or email marketing platform.
- Automation: Leads are automatically imported into your systems, reducing manual data entry.
- Follow-Up: This integration allows for timely follow-up, which is crucial for converting leads into customers.
4. Higher Quality Leads with Better Conversion Potential
LinkedIn leads are generally of higher quality because they come from a professional network or social media platform where users are more likely to be interested in your offerings.
- Professional Environment: The leads generated are more likely to convert because they are already engaged in a professional context.
- Conversion Rates: According to LinkedIn, Lead Gen Forms have a 13% higher conversion rate compared to landing pages.
5. Enhanced Trust and Credibility
LinkedIn is a trusted platform, and when users interact with your Lead Gen Forms, they are more likely to trust your brand.
- Brand Trust: Being on LinkedIn enhances your brand’s credibility.
- User Confidence: Users are more likely to share their information, knowing that LinkedIn is a secure and professional platform.
Key Features of LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms
1. Pre-Filled Data Fields
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms come with a feature that automatically fills out the form fields with information from the user's LinkedIn profile. This includes details like their name, email address, and job title.
- Pre-filled forms save time for the user, which leads to higher completion rates. When a user doesn’t have to fill out every detail manually, they are more likely to submit the form.
- This feature reduces drop-off rates, ensuring more leads complete your form, ultimately increasing your lead generation efficiency.
2. Customizable Fields and Questions
Another key feature is the ability to customize the fields and questions on your Lead Gen Forms. You can tailor these forms to ask for the specific information that matters most to your business.
- By customizing the questions, you gather the exact data you need to qualify your leads better. For example, if you need to know the company size or industry, you can include these as required fields.
- This customization ensures that you’re not just gathering leads, but gathering qualified leads that match your ideal customer profile. This leads to more effective follow-up and higher conversion rates.
3. Built-In Conversion Tracking
One of the standout features of LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms is Built-In Conversion Tracking. This feature allows you to monitor how well your lead generation forms are performing in real-time.
- By knowing which ads generate the most leads, you can adjust your campaigns to focus on what works. This makes your leadgen LinkedIn strategy more effective and efficient.
- With this data, you can make informed decisions and get better results from your LinkedIn lead generation efforts. It’s like having a roadmap that guides you toward the most successful strategies.
4. Easy CRM Integration
Another important feature is Easy CRM Integration. CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, is a tool that businesses use to handle interactions with both potential and existing customers
- This integration saves time because you don’t have to manually enter the lead data into your CRM. It also ensures that no leads are lost, as their information is captured immediately.
- By automatically adding new leads to your CRM, you can follow up quickly and efficiently. This helps you stay organized and ensures that your sales team can act on fresh leads right away.
5. Instant Downloadable Content
One of the great features of LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms is the ability to generate leads and offer instant downloadable content.
- This instant access keeps the user engaged and provides immediate value, which can increase the chances of conversion.
- By delivering content right away, you keep the user interested and satisfied, making them more likely to continue interacting with your brand. This feature also makes your leadgen LinkedIn strategy more effective by quickly delivering the promised value.
6. Advanced Targeting Options
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms offer advanced targeting options, allowing you to make new campaigns to reach the right people.
- Targeting ensures that your forms are shown to the most relevant audience, which improves the quality of the leads you collect.
- By focusing on the right audience, you’re more likely to gather leads that are genuinely interested in your product or service. This precision in targeting makes your leadgen LinkedIn campaigns more efficient and effective.
7. Optimized for Lead Quality
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are designed to optimize the quality of the leads you capture.
- High-quality leads are more likely to convert into paying customers, saving you time and effort in the long run.
- By using LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, you can focus on leads that have a higher potential to become customers. This means your marketing efforts are more targeted and your sales team can follow up with confidence, knowing they are working with quality leads.
How to Create an Effective LinkedIn Lead Generation Campaigns
1. Access LinkedIn Campaign Manager
To start your campaign, you need to access LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager. This is where all the magic happens. LinkedIn Campaign Manager is the tool you use to create and manage your leadgen LinkedIn campaigns. It’s your command center.
Why it’s important:
Without this tool, you can’t run or track your advertising campaigns. It gives you control over your ads and helps you monitor their performance.
How to implement:
- To access the Campaign Manager, log in to your LinkedIn account.
- In the top right corner of your homepage, click on the “Work” icon.
- From the dropdown menu, select “Advertise.” This will take you to the LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
- If this is your first time, you may need to set up a new account or choose the account you want to manage. Once inside, you’re ready to create your campaign.
2. Create a New Campaign
After accessing the Campaign Manager, the next step is to create a new ad campaign. Creating a new campaign involves setting up a specific advertising project within LinkedIn, where you define your objectives, select your target audience, and allocate your budget.
Why it’s important:
A well-structured lead generation campaign allows you to target the right audience and achieve your lead generation goals more efficiently. Without a clear campaign, your digital marketing efforts may not reach the right people or achieve the desired results.
How to implement:
- Click on “Create Campaign”: In the Campaign Manager, click the “Create Campaign” button.
- Choose Your Objective: Select “Lead Gen Forms” as your campaign objective. This ensures your campaign is optimized to collect leads directly on LinkedIn.
- Set Your Budget and Schedule: Decide how much money you want to spend each day and how long your campaign will run. LinkedIn allows you to set a daily budget or a total budget for the campaign duration.
3. Set Up Your Target Audience
Setting up your target audience means selecting specific groups of people on LinkedIn who will see your ads. You can target by job title, industry, company size, location, and more. This step helps ensure that your ads are seen by the people who are most likely to be interested in your product or service.
Why it’s important:
When you tailor your ad format to the right audience, you improve the likelihood of your ad creative attracting high-quality leads. These are people who are more likely to engage with your ads and become your customers.
How to implement:
- Go to Audience Settings: In the LinkedIn Campaign Manager, find the section for setting up your audience.
- Choose Your Criteria: Select the criteria that best describe your ideal customers. For example, if you’re selling software to large companies, you might target decision-makers with job titles like "IT Manager" or "Chief Technology Officer" in companies with over 500 employees.
- Refine Your Audience: Use LinkedIn’s tools to narrow down your audience even further. This might include targeting specific LinkedIn Groups, industries, or regions. The more specific you are, the better your chances of reaching the right people.
4. Design Your Lead Gen Form
After setting up your audience, the next step is to design your lead gen form. This is the form that people will fill out to give you their contact information. It asks users for information like their name, email, job title, and company.
Why it’s important:
A well-designed lead gen form makes it easy for users to share their information with you. The easier it is, the more likely people are to complete the form, giving you valuable leads.
How to implement:
- Keep It Simple: Only ask for the information you really need. The more fields you include, the less likely people are to fill out the form. Stick to essentials like name, email, and job title.
- Use Pre-Filled Fields: LinkedIn allows you to pre-fill some fields with information from the user’s LinkedIn profile. This saves them time and makes it more likely they’ll complete the form.
- Create a Strong Call to Action (CTA): Your form should have a clear and compelling CTA, like “Download Your Free Guide” or “Get Your Free Quote.” This motivates users to fill out the form.
- Test Your Form: Before launching your campaign, test your form to make sure it’s easy to use. Consider running a small test campaign to see how well your form performs and make adjustments if needed.
5. Create a Compelling Offer
A compelling offer could be a free ebook, a discount, a webinar, or exclusive access to a product or service. It’s something that your target audience finds valuable enough to exchange their contact details for.
Why it’s important:
Without an attractive offer, people are less likely to fill out your lead gen forms. The better the offer, the more leads you can generate. Your offer needs to resonate with your audience's needs and interests.
How to create it:
- Understand Your Audience: Know what your target audience cares about. What problems do they need solving? What information or resources would they find helpful?
- Focus on Value: Make sure your offer provides real value. It should be something that genuinely helps your audience or provides them with useful information.
- Be Clear and Specific: Clearly state what the offer is and why it’s valuable. For example, “Download our free guide to boosting sales in 30 days” is specific and clearly communicates the benefit.
6. Add a Persuasive Call to Action
A call to action button (CTA) is a statement that encourages people to take a specific action, like filling out your lead gen form. The CTA is the button or link that prompts users to take the next step. It might say “Download Now,” “Sign Up Today,” or “Get Your Free Trial.”
Why it’s important:
A strong CTA can make the difference between someone just viewing your ad and someone actually filling out your form. It guides the user on what to do next and pushes them toward converting into a lead.
How to add it:
- Be Direct: Use clear and action-oriented language. Phrases like “Download,” “Get Started,” or “Claim Your Offer” are direct and encourage immediate action.
- Create Urgency: Adding a sense of urgency can increase conversions. For example, “Sign Up Now – Limited Spots Available” makes the offer feel more exclusive and time-sensitive.
- Match the Offer: Ensure that your CTA aligns with the offer. If you’re offering a free ebook, a CTA like “Download Your Free Ebook” is more effective than a generic “Submit.”
- Test Different CTAs: If possible, test different CTAs to see which one performs better. Sometimes small changes in wording can have a big impact on conversion rates.
7. Link Your Form to a Thank-You Page
After someone fills out your LinkedIn lead gen form, it’s important to guide them to a thank-you page. A thank-you page is a LinkedIn page that users encounter immediately after submitting their information on your lead gen form.
Why it’s important:
Linking to a thank-you page creates a positive experience for the user. It confirms that their information has been successfully submitted and often gives them immediate access to the offer they signed up for, such as a download link or next steps.
How to implement:
- Create a Thank-You Page: Design a simple page that thanks the user and delivers what you promised in your lead gen form. This could be a link to download an ebook, a confirmation of their registration for a webinar, or instructions on what to expect next.
- Link the Form to the Page: In LinkedIn Campaign Manager, go to your lead gen form settings and add the URL of your thank-you page. This ensures that users are automatically redirected to the thank-you page after submitting their information.
8. Use A/B Testing to Optimize Ad Formats
A/B testing, also known as split testing. A/B testing involves creating two versions of an ad with slight variations, such as different headlines, images, or CTAs. You then run both versions to see which one generates more leads.
Why it’s important:
A/B testing helps you understand what resonates most with your audience. By testing different elements of your ad, you can optimize it for better performance, leading to more qualified leads and a higher return on investment.
How to implement it:
- Choose Elements to Test: Decide what elements of your ad you want to test. This could be the headline, the image, the CTA, or even the layout of the ad.
- Create Two Versions: Make two versions of the ad, each with a slight difference in the element you are testing. For example, one version might have a different image, while the other keeps everything else the same.
- Run the Test: Use LinkedIn Campaign Manager to run both versions of the ad simultaneously. Make sure the ads are shown to similar audiences to get accurate results.
A solid LinkedIn lead generation strategy involves continuous testing and optimization.
9. Set Up Conversion Tracking
Conversion tracking allows you to monitor the actions users take after clicking on your ad. Marketing activities such as filling out a form, signing up for a webinar, or downloading a resource.
Why it’s important:
Tracking conversions helps you understand which parts of your campaign are working and which need improvement. It gives you the data you need to make informed decisions and optimize your campaign for better results.
How to implement it:
- Use LinkedIn’s Insight Tag: The LinkedIn Insight Tag is a piece of code that you add to your website. It tracks the actions that users take after they click on your LinkedIn ads.
- Install the Tag: Go to LinkedIn Campaign Manager, find the Insight Tag option, and follow the instructions to install it on your website. If you’re not comfortable with code, ask your web developer to help.
- Set Up Conversion Events: Once the Insight Tag is installed, you can set up specific conversion events. These could be actions like a user completing a lead gen form or making a purchase. This helps you track and measure the effectiveness of your campaign.
10. Align Lead Gen Campaign with Your Marketing Funnel
Aligning your LinkedIn lead gen campaign with your marketing funnel. A marketing funnel is a model that describes the journey a customer goes through from discovering your brand to making a purchase. It typically includes stages like awareness, consideration, and decision.
Why it’s important:
Different stages of the funnel require different approaches. By aligning your campaign with the funnel, you can create more relevant and effective ads that speak directly to where the customer is in their journey. This increases the likelihood of converting leads into customers.
How to implement it:
- Identify the Funnel Stages: Determine where your target audience is in the marketing funnel. Are they just learning about your brand (awareness), comparing options (consideration), or ready to make a purchase (decision)?
- Tailor Your Ads: Create ads that match each stage of the funnel. For example, for the awareness stage, you might focus on educational content that introduces your brand. For the decision stage, your ads might include a strong call to action and offer a free trial or discount.
- Use Targeted Messaging: Align your lead gen forms and messaging with the funnel stage.
- For instance, an awareness-stage form might only ask for basic information like an email address, while a decision-stage form could ask for more detailed information, knowing that the lead is closer to making a purchase.
Best Practices for Lead Gen Form Fill Rate Optimization
1. Keep It Short and Simple
When creating a lead generation process and gen form, simplicity is key. Users are more likely to complete forms that are short and easy to understand. A short and simple lead gen form is one that only asks for the most essential information, such as name, email, and job title.
Why it’s important:
The more fields you add, the more likely users are to abandon the form. By keeping it short, you reduce the time and effort required to complete it, which increases the chances of users submitting their information.
How to implement:
- Limit the Number of Fields: Ask for only the information you absolutely need. For example, if you’re offering a downloadable resource, you might only need the user’s name and email address.
- Use Clear Labels: Make sure each field is clearly labeled so users know exactly what information to provide. Avoid using technical terms or jargon that might confuse them.
- Use Auto-Fill Options: If possible, use LinkedIn’s auto-fill features to make the process even easier for users. This allows them to fill out the form with just a few clicks, increasing the likelihood of completion.
2. Offer Incentives for Completion
Offering an incentive can greatly improve your lead gen form fill rate. An incentive is a reward or benefit that users receive for completing your lead gen form. This could be a discount, a free ebook, or access for website visitors to exclusive sponsored content.
Why it’s important:
Incentives motivate users to complete the form. When people see that they will receive something valuable, they are more willing to provide their information. This can lead to higher conversion rates and more qualified leads.
How to implement:
- Choose a Relevant Incentive: Select an incentive that is valuable to your target audience. For example, if you’re targeting professionals, offer a free industry report or a discount on your services.
- Promote the Incentive Clearly: Make sure the incentive is prominently displayed on your form. Use clear, persuasive language to explain what users will get and why it’s worth their time.
- Follow Through Quickly: After users submit the form, deliver the incentive right away. This builds trust and encourages users to engage further with your brand.
3. Incorporate Conversion Tracking
Tracking conversions is crucial for understanding how well your lead gen forms are performing.
Why it’s important:
Conversion tracking helps you see which parts of your form or campaign are working and which need improvement. By analyzing this data, you can make informed decisions to optimize your forms and increase their effectiveness.
How to implement:
- Set Up LinkedIn Insight Tag: Install LinkedIn’s Insight Tag on your website to track user actions. This tag collects data that shows how users engage with your forms.
- Define Conversion Goals: In your LinkedIn Campaign Manager, set specific goals, like form submissions or downloads, to track the success of your forms.
- Monitor and Adjust: Regularly review the conversion data. If you notice areas where users drop off, consider simplifying the form or improving the offer.
4. Mobile Optimization is Key
Many users access LinkedIn from their mobile devices, so your lead gen forms must be optimized for mobile use.
Why it’s important:
If your forms are not mobile-friendly, you risk losing potential leads. Users are more likely to abandon a form if it’s difficult to navigate on a small screen.
How to implement:
- Use Responsive Design: Make sure your forms automatically adjust to fit different screen sizes. This ensures a seamless experience for users on any device.
- Simplify the Layout: Keep the form layout clean and straightforward. Avoid too many fields and use larger buttons that are easy to tap on a touchscreen.
- Test on Multiple Devices: Before launching your campaign, test the form on various mobile devices to ensure it looks and works well across all platforms.
5. Minimize Distractions on the Landing Page
A cluttered landing page can distract users and reduce the chances of them completing your lead gen form.
Why it’s important:
A focused landing page helps users stay on track to complete the form. The fewer distractions there are, the more likely they are to fill it out and submit their information.
How to implement it:
- Remove Unnecessary Elements: Keep the landing page simple. Remove any banners, sidebars, or pop-ups that don’t directly support the form’s purpose.
- Highlight the Form: Make the form the central element of the page. Use contrasting colors and clear headings to draw attention to it.
6. Incorporate Trust Signals
Trust signals are elements that help build confidence in your lead gen form. Trust signals include badges, testimonials, privacy statements, and any evidence that shows your form is secure and trustworthy.
Why it’s important:
When users feel secure, they are more likely to complete the form. Trust signals reduce the fear of data misuse, increasing the likelihood of form submission.
How to implement:
- Add Security Badges: Display badges like SSL certificates or secure payment icons that show your site is protected.
- Include Testimonials: If possible, add short testimonials from satisfied customers or clients. This social proof can encourage new users to trust you.
- Highlight Privacy Policies: Clearly state that user information will be kept private and not shared. This reassurance can help users feel more comfortable providing their data.
7. Integrate with Your CRM
CRM integration means connecting your LinkedIn lead gen form directly to your CRM software, allowing you to automatically capture and store lead data.
Why it’s important:
This integration helps you manage and nurture leads more effectively. By automating the process, you can quickly follow up with leads and track their journey through the sales funnel.
How to implement it:
- Choose a Compatible CRM: Ensure your CRM system is compatible with LinkedIn’s lead gen forms. Popular options include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho CRM.
- Set Up the Integration: Use LinkedIn’s tools or your CRM’s settings to link the form with your system. This typically involves a few simple steps in your CRM’s setup menu.
- Test the Integration: Before launching your campaign, test the integration to make sure lead data is flowing correctly from LinkedIn to your CRM. This ensures you’re ready to manage new leads efficiently.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are a powerful tool for capturing quality leads. By optimizing your lead gen forms and integrating them with your CRM, you can capture high-quality leads more effectively. Following best practices will ensure that your leadgen LinkedIn campaigns are successful. Start applying these to linkedin lead generation forms today to see better results and more leads.