How do I run a successful ad on social media to generate leads?

Do you know the best way to invest in social media is through social media ads which help us in generating leads? There is a plethora of social media platforms to run a successful ad. Choosing which platform suits best for you depends on several factors such as where you can find your target audience, demographic locations, type of customers, etc. You can use one platform or a combination of several platforms to run a successful campaign to suit your requirements and optimize your ad budget.

Social media ads on Facebook

Since Facebook has a very large user base and is the world’s largest social media platform, it is a very reliable advertising platform especially if all its other platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger are included. Facebook lead ads target a specific audience and collect user’s information such as contact numbers, email addresses, etc without leaving the page. To run a successful ad on Facebook we should consider the following points

• Customers love Discount codes

When companies offer discount codes in ads it leads to higher engagement with customers who are fascinated by discounts and end up placing orders or joining the newsletter. For example, if the companies give offers such as you get 20% off on your first order, all you have to do is click the (CTA) button to sign up, the consumers are tempted to sign up thus converting into potential leads.

• Encourage Giveaways or Host a competition

At times offering discounts might not do well with consumers because they might perceive that your product is of lesser value as compared to your competitors. For example, Audi cannot offer discounts on their physical product so introduced a competition where users can win a 30-day test drive for their new car, the only requirement was users had to give their names and addresses for a giveaway. This helped the company find genuine leads which could be converted using additional marketing tools

• Introduce online courses

Facebook lead generation ads are not only a boon for e-commerce but also help online educators, skill developers, coaches, bloggers, etc to acquire new readers and students. For example, if a company introduces a new online course and generates an ad using eye-catching visuals and invites you to join using instant forms through Facebook it collects all the vital information about the prospective people who would like to join the course.

• Encourage users to download brochures

Every business is different and some businesses may not be selling directly to users and may have dealers or sub-dealers. You may have to generate leads that can be handed over to these dealers or resellers. In case the company is selling complex products it needs to pass all the detailed information about the product to the consumers. So many companies follow this practice of delivering brochures once you share your contact information on Facebook lead ads. For example, a brand selling spectacles will focus on giving you all the detailed information about the type of lens used, different types of frames to suit your face, prompting you to visit the store and make the purchase in case you want to try and buy.

• Collect leads before launch

Facebook ads are best whenever a brand wants to create excitement around its products before launch. For example, Nissan targeted Facebook ads to collect the email addresses of people by tempting them that they will be the first to know about the launch. This way they get a list of highly interested prospects. To make these ads more impactful we should try and make them more creative and add a mystery before launch.

Social media ad on Instagram

Instagram ads are an extremely useful visual platform that helps businesses drive awareness and convert into potential sales. Instagram advertising should be focused on optimizing visuals, images, and videos. Instagram lead ads focus on collecting users' information such as phone numbers, job titles, email addresses, etc. The following points will enable you to run a successful Instagram ad to optimize your ad budget

• Research what your competitors are doing

Before you start make a thorough research about the types of ads, images, calls to action that is used by your customers. Analyzing your target audience, and interviewing your past customers will give you an idea of what types of posts are getting a lot of engagement and help in generating a successful lead ad.

• Set a goal in mind

Before you start your campaign have clear goals for what you want out of the campaign. Whether you want people to visit your site or you are looking for sales or if you aiming at app installs. Clearly defining your objectives helps in making an effective Instagram lead ad.

• Choose specific audience

If you choose your target audience wisely considering several factors such as age, gender, location, language, etc you can optimize your ad budget as this will help in creating a targeted campaign.

• Work on which elements to include in the ad

You have to prepare which elements will you be using. Whether it is photos, captions, videos, calls-to-action. etc. This helps in creating a successful ad.

• Make sure to link Instagram to your Facebook account

Make sure you link your Instagram account to Facebook if you want your lead ad to be a success.

• Create an ad and preview it

Once you create your ad using all the necessary elements preview the ad to make necessary changes so that you can maximize your views.

• Track your results

It is necessary to track an ad to see if our campaign is doing well or not. It is also helpful in analyzing if we need to increase the ad budget in case the ad is doing well.

• Organise an Instagram contest-

An ad that encourages followers to complete a survey to win a prize or asks followers to Tag-a-Friend or partners with influencers helps generate numerous leads for the businesses.

Instagram ads running exclusive sales or promotions also give the consumers an incentive to buy. The more people get attracted to your incentives the more leads you generate.

• Set product launch reminders and Post ads at the right time

Ads focussing on the prelaunch of products tend to attract user’s attention so target the right audience and post ads at the right time so as to get maximum visibility.

Social media ad on Twitter

Twitter Ads can lead to big impacts on our results. We should focus on creating an ad that resonates with our audience.

• Insist on urgency

Work on giving people a reason to make an immediate call such as using phrases like “sign up now”, “stocks lasting soon”, “Early bird offer”, etc.

• Offer Discounts in percentage

Discounts in percentage such as 20% off attract potential customers.

• Free, Free, Free

Consumers love this word and prompt the user to make the maximum number of clicks. Even if the purchase doesn’t work out it generates a number of leads.

• Avoid irrelevant hashtags

In case you aim to make the user visit your website avoid distracting hashtags.

• Ask a Question

Asking a question often resonates with the audience and they feel as if they are a part of the conversation and often increases the engagement.

Social media ad on YouTube

YouTube is one of the best platforms for online video advertising. Initially, it may be seeming complicated to advertise on YouTube but if we follow the following steps, we can spend our budget wisely.

• Choose your Ad format wisely

YouTube has different ad formats so you have to choose which format suits best for your requirement. For Example, if you want to raise brand awareness you should run a discovery ad but if you are looking at targeted leads then you should focus on sponsored ads.

• Segment different ads into different campaigns

Different formats of ads work differently and have different budgets so you should use them accordingly to optimize your budget.

• Drive engagement by adding elements

Add elements like calls-to-action button, auto-end screens which encourage viewers to download the app, linking shopping cart with video add.

• Take advantage of YouTube targeting

YouTube helps to focus on demographic targeting, you can target your potential customers according to demographic locations.

• Focus on video Remarketing

If people have shown interest in your website, you can follow your website visitors with the help of YouTube advertisements.

• Create high-quality content for your ad

Create compelling content for your ad which does not cause disturbance rather it should be as such that the users can relate to it and will make their experience memorable.

Social media ads on LinkedIn

LinkedIn has a very large professional network so advertising on this platform helps in reaching a large corporate audience. LinkedIn lead generation is highly effective in the case of B2B marketing. It is generally free and the conversion rates are higher, but even the paid ads on this platform lead to higher conversions and the cost per click is less as compared to other platforms.

• Choose the right format for the ad

LinkedIn sponsored ads are ads that run on linked feed for a specified target audience. There are several formats such as video ads, single image ads, carousel image ads, etc. For example, in case you want to share content with a specific audience and do not want to publish it on your LinkedIn page direct sponsored ads are best suited for you.

• Create Lead generation forms

Lead generation forms can be added to sponsored ads to enable the sponsors to collect leads from within the platform and the users need not go off-site also. Sponsors can also offer resources to users in exchange for their contact information. This facilitates them to collect a number of leads that have a high conversion rate at a reduced cost per lead.

• Set your goals clearly depending upon your requirement to find the right ad for you

Dynamic ads appear on the sidebar of LinkedIn.

Follower ads are dynamic ads that are used when you want to encourage users to follow your LinkedIn page.

Spotlight ads are dynamic ads focus on driving users to your landing page or website using call-to-action.

Content ads are dynamic ads that have a high reach and a very low risk and facilitate the user to download content such as white paper and connect directly to LinkedIn Campaign Manager.

Display ads are online ads that are charged on a (CPC) cost per click basis. They have texts, images, videos, etc and their main aim is to take action that is to make a purchase. They are mainly used in the case of B2B advertising.

So, all the above factors will help you to create a successful ad to generate maximum leads.