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LinkedIn Lead Generation Funnel
I’ve spent the last decade working with B2B brands to increase leads through content, SEO, and paid ads, and are one of the most effective tools I’ve seen for targeting and gathering B2B leads. They reduce friction for users and allow brands to ask all the questions they need to successfully qualify leads.
I spent some time scrolling through LinkedIn to collect a few LinkedIn Lead Gen Form examples that I think do a great job showing off what the format can do. LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are templated forms that can be attached to LinkedIn ads to collect qualified leads from users—without ever taking them away from LinkedIn. Users click a on an ad, same as always. But instead of sending them to a landing page hosted on another website, use a pop-up overlay right on LinkedIn. They also pre-fill the lead’s information with whatever information LinkedIn knows (which is a lot: things like name, email address, phone number, company, company size, and Linkedin profile URL). This makes it easier to collect high-quality, robust leads from LinkedIn’s hundreds of millions of users, especially on mobile.
Benefits of Lead Gen Ads
The benefits of lead gen ads are hard to ignore: they offer detailed targeting, so you can reach people in the right demographic or at the right stage of the marketing funnel; they’re super customizable, so businesses can qualify leads however they see fit; and they’re really easy for leads to complete. LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms also allow you to automatically move the new leads you collect into your other business-critical apps.
11 Brands that Use LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms
Before you dive into LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, make sure you know what works and what doesn’t. These 11 brands use lead gen forms to collect leads, drive brand awareness, and get people to their events. And they use all sorts of different ads and form fields to get the job done.
Salesforce
This LinkedIn Lead Gen Form example from Salesforce encourages users to download their State of Marketing report, which they use as a lead magnet. The ad itself focuses on a stat from the report to encourage clicks on that CTA. The form itself is pretty long, but that’s ok, since most of it is pre-filled. And the information they’re asking for is valuable for building retargeting lists.
MarketingProfs
MarketingProfs uses LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms to promote an upcoming book launch for their Chief Content Officer. The CTA is to register for the free event, but take a peek at the form and the checkbox at the bottom. It doesn’t ask for much information, but by registering for the webinar, you’re also signing up for their newsletter. (You’re required to check the box, but they’re transparent about what it means.) So this form does double duty: it helps them gather leads—people who are interested enough to attend an event—but it also helps build their email list.
Access Health
We usually think of lead magnets as something downloadable: an eBook, a whitepaper, or a report like the one Salesforce offered above. This ad from Access Health instead offers business owners a quote (in this case, on health insurance). The form collects your name, company name, company size, and industry, along with both an email address and phone number. It’s a lot of information, but for something like enterprise health insurance, this is all important for them to be able to qualify you and start to gather information to give you the quote you want.
HubSpot
State of the industry reports, like Salesforce’s above, are great lead magnets. HubSpot takes a different approach with a more actionable download: an eBook that teaches businesses how to leverage Instagram more effectively. HubSpot promotes this eBook in various places on its site, so putting it in front of LinkedIn users offers another channel for the lead magnet.
Wpromote
Wpromote uses a LinkedIn Lead Gen Form to promote their downloadable report. But where most advertisers use a screenshot of the report cover or a static image featuring a stat, they use a video. They also don’t ask for a ton of information, which might make people a little more likely to click that button.
Eltropy
IT agency Eltropy uses its ad to actually offer a free service. Unlike many businesses using LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, they’re targeting users closer to conversion. This LinkedIn Lead Gen ad example teases the service (a free ROI analysis) and tells you exactly how long it will take. The form then reiterates the offer, giving you even more specifics on the timing.
Dialpad
Dialpad’s offer isn’t terribly unique: users get a free business continuity template if they fill out the form. But they do something interesting with their form. Most brands use the space at the bottom of the form only for disclaimers, but Dialpad shares more about their company.
GetFeedback
Demo signups are a key metric for many software companies. Here’s an example of GetFeedback using LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms to move the needle. But the reason this ad makes the list here is because of a small checkbox at the bottom of its form: “Does your company use Salesforce?” GetFeedback is a Salesforce app, so this information is crucial to qualifying leads and knowing what to focus on in the demo.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a software company offering collaboration and work management tools. Since Microsoft is a main competitor, they have to get creative to stand out. This ad targets a core objection they’ve likely identified with their audience: why would someone choose Smartsheet over Microsoft Project? The offer here is to watch a video comparing the two platforms. This is something that lots of companies offer without asking for anything in return, but if Smartsheet can get contact information at the consideration stage of the customer journey, they have a much better chance of moving leads toward a signup.
TI Health
TI Health is a healthcare data marketing and predictive analytics company, and its ad here promotes a case study. What caught my attention here was the copy on the form itself: “We’d like to know more about you first. Please introduce yourself below.” It helps shift the tone from a transactional interaction to a more personal one. Of course, I know that I’m giving my information to a company that’s trying to sell me something, but it lightens that blow a bit.
Minnow Technologies, Inc.
I like the tongue-in-cheek humor on this ad from Minnow Technologies, Inc. And the ad copy is just as effective—it speaks directly to a pain point (“messy food tables in your lobby”) and offers itself up as a solution. The form keeps up the unique factor. It asks for email address, name, and company, but it also has three super-specific dropdown questions, giving it an extra layer when it comes to qualifying leads.
Conclusion
These Linkedin Lead Gen ad examples should help you increase the quantity and quality of leads you get. As they start flowing in, amplify their impact by customizing notifications, adding leads to your marketing stack, and staying organized with Zapier. Zapier is the leader in no-code automation—integrating with 5,000+ apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Build secure, automated systems for your business-critical workflows across your organization’s technology stack.
Tips for LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms
- Tease valuable content in the ad to encourage the clickthrough.
- Take advantage of the pre-filled forms by requiring more information than you normally would, so you can better qualify leads.
- Offer high-quality content, like original research, in exchange for the information you’re asking for.
- Be transparent in your form. People are more likely to give you their personal information if they feel like they can trust you.
- For leads, keep the form short and sweet.
- Explain the offer clearly in the CTA.
- When you click on this ad, you know you’re getting a quote. Tell people exactly what will happen when they submit their information (in this case, it says they’ll call you).
- Explain clearly what value someone will get from reading your eBook. In one short sentence, HubSpot describes four things you’ll learn from this one.
- Don’t create content for LinkedIn lead gen ads—repurpose content you’re using elsewhere.
- Don’t overcomplicate the CTA. The form itself doesn’t offer much room for branding (it just shows your logo and banner image). By using a video, you have more flexibility to show off your brand in the ad itself.
- LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms can include videos, images, carousels, message ads, conversation ads, and documents.
- Don’t forget the “see more” option. While the first 100 characters of the post should be enticing, you can add more content. Just make sure you give people a reason to click.
- Offer something really valuable, like a free service. That’ll help nudge folks toward giving you the information you’re asking for.
- Try targeting folks throughout the marketing funnel, but be sure to tailor the offer to the journey stage.
- Make use of all the space, including the ad copy, the image/video, the CTA and accompanying text, the form header, and the form footer.
- LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms offer 12 form fields, but you can create custom questions—take advantage of that.
- If you’re targeting a specific audience, ask for more information to be able to qualify leads.
- Don’t be afraid to promote content that targets your audience’s objections or concerns.
- Stay true to your brand voice. If you have a human, personal voice, lean into that, even on the form itself.
- If you’re offering something very focused on your product or service, ask for less in return from the lead.
- Dropdown questions with limited answer options are easy on your lead while still helping you get super-targeted with your lead qualification process.
- It’s ok to ask questions that are relevant only to your business—they don’t have to be generic questions.
About the Author
Danielle Antosz is an Ohio-based content marketing and SEO specialist. She has more than a decade of experience writing and developing strategy for B2B, tech, and SaaS companies. You can stalk her on Twitter @dantosz.