As a B2B brand, it’s likely that you’re already familiar with how attainable lead generation with Linkedin ads is.
But that’s only if you understand how the platform’s algorithm works, the importance of accurate audience-building, and the type of campaign you should be choosing for each individual marketing objective.
One such campaign type is lead magnets, which consists of offering your targets something for “free” in exchange for their details that you can then store into your system and guide through the sales funnel to final conversion.
Our LinkedIn ads agency can guide you through the process of implementing a lead magnet strategy. Also, if you’ve never used a lead magnet campaign before, this article explains in depth what it is, why it’s auspicious, and how to create your first lead magnet ad.
Understanding Lead Magnets
Lead magnets are transactional marketing that offers the reader something free (such as a voucher, discount, eBook, etc.) in exchange for their information (an email address, phone number, etc.).
It works via reciprocity, meaning that if a brand dangles something free in front of a lead, they’re far more likely to win their trust, and therefore generate them as a lead in order for future conversion.
While it sounds like a foolproof tactic (who doesn’t love something free, right?!), it’s not as success-guaranteed as you might think. This is because thousands of marketers across the globe are utilising this tactic and bombarding us – the reader – with these offers every day, and it’s actually very difficult to offer something that stands out amongst all the rest.
To reap success means to offer something free that has a USP (unique selling point), is high quality, but isn’t costly to the point that the company loses money by giving something valuable away for free without a guaranteed ROI (return on investment).
Do I Need A Lead Magnet?
If you’re wondering whether you should invest your time, money, and energy into a LinkedIn lead magnet marketing campaign when there’s the fear it may get lost in the bottomless ether of advertising campaigns, then let us explain why you shouldn’t be put off creating one.
The value in this marketing tactic goes back to what we said about people loving something that doesn’t come with a price tag! All they have to do is fill out their phone number or email address, which, nine times out of ten, they’ll be more than happy to do to receive something for free.
It may be off-putting to the marketer to give something valuable away for free, but in reality, it’s not for free because it generates a lead, who will then be twice as likely to convert at a later date if they’ve already experienced a product or service your company has.
Why it’s a lucrative marketing tactic is because people aren’t keen on giving out their contact information for no rhyme or reason. Exchange it for a free product, however, seems like a fair exchange.
The trick is to make the campaign look appealing and not like a fad – or worse – spammy.
Creating Your First LinkedIn Lead Magnet Campaign: A Step-By-Step Guide
We will teach you the five key steps to take when creating your lead magnet campaign to ensure success.
Step One – Outlining Your Audience
Where many marketers fall short with lead magnet campaigns is by being too broad and unspecific with their audience.
Just think – the end goal isn’t to get them to click on and receive something free. It’s to gather their details in order to target them in future to be converted into a customer/client. To do this, they need to be the sort of person who would benefit from your brand.
This means creating a buyer persona to better understand what prospects make the most likely (and profitable) clients. When it comes to creating your buyer personas and building your audience, you can (and should) be picky.
To simplify: if you target just anyone for the sake of giving away a free prize, chances are you’re missing out on the leads who are most likely to become long-term customers.
If your brand already has buyer personas, you need to select the one that best-suits the free product that’s up for grabs.
Step Two – The ‘Value Proposition’
Now that you’ve defined the group you wish to target, you need to focus on how you’re going to hook them to download the free item (AKA, the lead magnet).
As we’re looking at B2B audiences, your value proposition should be something that your leads need (as in, something that will solve a problem). If you do this, convincing them to download it (and in return, provide you with their contact details) will be a piece of cake.
Try to avoid offering something that they may just want – it holds less value. This is why your buyer persona is so important – it helps you understand the problems and requirements of your target audience, making them far more likely to want to invest in your brand.
Step 3 – Choosing a Headline
This is essentially giving your lead magnet a name.
Your headline is one of the most important parts of your campaign and will often be what converts (or diverts) a lead, and it should tie into the value proposition in order to be successful.
Identifying the value proposition will make crafting an irresistible name for your lead magnet much easier.
Step 4 – Choosing the Lead Magnet
It’s likely you’ll already know what the lead magnet you want to offer is, but in case you don’t, here are a few ways to help you choose one.
- Aim for simplicity. The secret of lead magnet success lies in keeping it simple. The more complicated and long-winded, the more you’re defeating the purpose. Keep it simple, direct, and value-focused.
- Select the right magnet that is in-keeping with your strengths. This will also help “sell” the lead magnet. For example, if you’re tech-savvy, offer a webinar. If you’ve got the gift of the gab, write an eBook. And so on.
- Now it’s time to focus on the ad format and which one will ensure rapid consumption and quick generation. The quicker they can be generated, the quicker they will move through the sales funnel.
When it comes to lead magnet categories, the top nine are:
- Cheat sheet
- Report/guide
- Video training
- Sales material
- Toolkit/resource list
- Free trial
- Assessment/test
- Discount
- Quiz/survey
There is no more or less lucrative category. You should opt for the one you feel most comfortable creating/that is most relevant to your brand.
Step 5 – Creating Your Lead Magnet
Now that you’ve finished strategising, it’s time to create your lead magnet campaign.
When creating your lead magnet, never lose sight of the value, the promise, and the audience. Keep them in mind at all times and you will be able to build an ad that appeals to them.
Lead Magnet Campaigns: Top Tips
When creating your lead magnet, here are the top tips to optimise your ad for the best results.
Tip 1 – Make The Value, Er, Valuable!
This means the value proposition of your lead magnet must be actionable. Leads will only be willing to divulge their information if there’s something relevant in return. This means giving them a taster of what’s in store if they opt in for your magnet.
You can do this with snippets of the magnet (such as photographs of what it is, excerpts from an eBook – if that is what it is, etc). Leads will only bite if they know for sure what’s in it for them.
For this aspect of the campaign-building process, you’re advised to make the best use of LinkedIn’s campaign tool and make sure your ad formatting is as top-quality as possible (high-resolution images, sharp video quality, etc.). Anything that looks amateur looks unprofessional and you will lose your lead.
Also, it is important to nurture your lead once they’ve given you their details. You won’t be able to convert them immediately, so have a plan in place for the nurturing process.
Tip 2 – Sales Funnel & Why You Should Use Different Lead Magnets
When targeting (or retargeting), you shouldn’t be using the same lead magnet for every stage of the sales funnel.
Depending on where your leads are in the funnel, your lead magnet needs to cater exclusively to that stage with content (and the lead magnet itself) being relevant to that stage.
Tip 3 – A/B Test Your Magnets
As with all of your other LinkedIn campaigns, you’re well advised to A/B test your campaign before launching it to guarantee the best engagement. This will give you an insight into whether or not your lead magnet is hooking your leads, and whether results could be better.
This can mean testing which lead magnet category is best, whether your headline is compelling enough, if your images/video is drawing people in, etc.
Tip 4 – Don’t Just Go Down The eBook Route
Many marketers opt for the eBook lead magnet because it is cost-effective, but resist the urge owing to oversaturation. If you can offer something a little more compelling than an eBook, you should.
This can be a free online mini-course, a service trial, a webinar, or a free quote. The list is endless, so use your imagination to carve an idea as to what medium your clients will truly want to get their hands on. It generally depends on what industry your brand is. For example, a SaaS brand could benefit from offering a free demo or freemium account.
Tip 5 – Do A Bit Of Research
We mean into your past campaigns and look at what was your best-performing content. Often the secret to success will lie there.
Use your LinkedIn KPIs to provide that data.
Conclusion
Once you push past the fear of giving away something for free (because really, nothing is for free!) and adhere to the process steps of creating an eye-catching and value-filled lead magnet campaign, you are onto a winner.
If you’d like to learn more about how we help B2B SaaS and Tech companies grow their MRR through LinkedIn advertising, contact us online or send us an email today at info@getuplead.com to speak with someone on our team.
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