LinkedIn ads allow advertisers to generate leads by having users fill out forms with their contact information. The form details refer to the specific fields and configuration options available for these lead generation forms.
What are the different form fields available?
There are several standard form fields that can be included on LinkedIn lead gen forms:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Email Address
- Company
- Job Title
- Phone Number
- Country
- Postal Code
- Industry
- Number of Employees
In addition to the standard fields, advertisers can also create up to 5 custom fields to gather more specific information from leads. For example, a custom field could be used to ask about specific product interest, budget, or role in the buying process.
Are the form fields required or optional?
By default, the First Name and Email Address fields are required on LinkedIn lead gen forms. All other standard and custom fields are optional for the user to fill out.
However, advertisers can mark any of the fields as required if they want to mandate that leads provide certain information. This helps ensure you collect all the essential contact and qualification details from prospects.
Can I rearrange the order of the form fields?
Yes, advertisers have full control over the order of the fields displayed on the lead gen form. The fields can be arranged in whatever sequence is logical for capturing information from your target audience.
Typically, you would want to list the essential fields like First Name and Email first. Demographic and qualifying questions can be placed lower down to be completed once prospects are already engaged with the form.
What form customization options are available?
In addition to adding and reordering fields, LinkedIn provides a few other form customization options:
- Headlines – Add headline text to introduce different sections of the form
- Descriptions – Provide instructions and guidance for filling out each field
- Legal text – Include disclaimers, terms, or a privacy policy
- Custom styling – Match the form colors and fonts to your brand style
- Progress bar – Display a progress indicator showing form completion
Leveraging these options can improve form completion rates and lead quality by clarifying the purpose and making it easy for prospects to provide their information.
How do I add a form to my LinkedIn ads?
There are a couple steps to add a lead gen form when creating LinkedIn ad campaigns:
- Select “Lead Gen Forms” as the objective when setting up the campaign
- Choose to use an existing form or create a new one
- Add and customize the fields for your form
- Place the ad creative that will link to the form
- Complete the campaign targeting and budget
Once your ad campaign is live, the form will be shown to prospects who click on the ad. Submitted leads will be visible in your LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
What type of ads support lead gen forms?
LinkedIn currently enables lead gen forms for these ad formats:
Ad Format | Description |
---|---|
Sponsored Content | Attention-grabbing in-feed native ads |
Message Ads | Direct response messaging ads |
Dynamic Ads | Automated customized ads |
Text Ads | Right-rail text ads |
The form will appear either on the LinkedIn page or via a full screen overlay when prospects click on one of these ad types. This allows tailoring the call-to-action to the user browsing context.
What information is captured from the lead gen forms?
The submitted form data includes the values entered by users into each of the required and optional fields included on the form.
In addition to the field values, LinkedIn also captures:
- Timestamp of when the form was filled out
- IP address of the user
- Member ID if the user was logged into their LinkedIn account
- LinkedIn profile data like name, company, title, etc. if available
- User agent data identifying the device and browser
This additional metadata can help in analyzing and qualifying leads. The member ID is particularly useful for identifying known prospects who engaged with your ad.
How do I access the lead gen form submissions?
All form submissions are available to view and export from the LinkedIn Campaign Manager. Under the “Assets” tab, advertisers can:
- View table of all individual form submissions
- Filter leads by criteria like date, field values, etc.
- Export leads to a CSV file for further processing and follow-up
The exported lead data can be integrated with your CRM system. Many CRMs like Salesforce also offer connectors to import LinkedIn leads automatically.
What kind of ads perform best with lead gen forms?
Here are some best practices for high-performing LinkedIn ads using lead gen forms:
- Detailed targeting – Target by job role, industry, skills to ensure ad visibility among potential leads
- Compelling creative – Clear call-to-action and relevance to audience for high CTR
- Short form – Only essential fields, clear descriptions, optimized flow
- Thank you page – Provide follow-up content and next steps after submitting
- Retargeting – Remarket to prospects who engaged but didn’t convert
Proper targeting and retargeting helps drive interested prospects to your ads and form. Optimizing the form and post-submit experience converts them into high-quality leads.
What are some use cases for LinkedIn lead gen ads?
Here are some examples of effective uses of LinkedIn lead gen ads for different business objectives:
High-Intent Leads
Target decision makers and professionals researching solutions to capture leads at the peak of their buying cycle.
Event Registrations
Promote webinars, seminars and generate registrations from LinkedIn audiences.
Content Downloads
Gate access to gated assets like whitepapers, ebooks in exchange for lead contact information.
Newsletter Sign-ups
Build email lists and subscriber base from LinkedIn users to expand reach.
Free Trials
Offer freemium access to products or services to generate trial sign-ups from LinkedIn traffic.
Conclusion
Lead generation forms provide a powerful capability within LinkedIn ads to convert professional audiences into sales prospects. Marketers can customize forms with essential fields and offer compelling content to capture lead information.
By optimizing targeting, creative, and form design – LinkedIn advertisers can achieve outstanding results and ROI from their investment. Lead gen ads establish a critical inbound channel for driving new pipeline and revenue.