Lead Generation through Interactive Ads

With third-party cookies going away, we’ve been relying more on first-party interactive demo data for retargeting over third-party intent data. But with 72.5% of our top customer demos being ungated* (including ours) we retargeted on the account level (through IP enrichment) instead of the contact level. We’ve been tracking this experiment for a quarter and so far we’ve seen: ▪️ 11 won deals (~3x ROI for won deals) ▪️ 27 qualified opportunities (~7X ROI for pipeline) Here is the step-by-step process to recreate this experiment: Step #1 - Build Your Tech Stack 1) An interactive demo platform 2) LinkedIn Ads 3) A platform to connect target accounts to LinkedIn Ads (we used Hubspot but you can do this with a .csv export) Step #2 - Sync Interactive Demo Accounts to Your LinkedIn Ads If you don’t use Hubspot, you can just skip this with a CVS import directly to LinkedIn ads. If you use Hubspot, create an ad audience list with the filter with an interactive demo property = known. Step #3 - Select LinkedIn Ad Creatives I retargeted with LinkedIn thought leadership ads since we’ve seen them have higher engagement than other ad types. I ran two rounds of retargeting: Ad #1) Interactive Demo Benefits Ad Type: Advisor LinkedIn posts - which tend to be more high-level benefits of interactive demos Ad #2) Specific Interactive Demo Use Cases Ad Type: My LinkedIn posts - which tend to be more specific interactive demo use cases or stats Step #4 - Track Results and Tweak First, I cross-check our Hubspot dashboard with our LinkedIn Demographic report to ensure ads are being served to target accounts and adjust accordingly. Then continuously swap in and out thought leadership ads See the full write up of my experiment ⬇️ *Stat from our State of the Interactive Product Demo ‘24 - stay tuned for the report coming live soon.

🚨Meta Ads Lead Generation is not as simple as it looks. I recently audited an IVF clinic’s meta ads account. IVF leads are costly. But what really hurts is calling people who were never ready. On the dashboard, everything looked fine. Plenty of leads. Decent CPL. But when I spoke to the counsellors, the reality was different. Most leads were just exploring, not planning treatment. So we changed one thing first: We stopped chasing volume and started filtering for intent. What we did (very simply): • Rebuilt lead forms to ask the right questions • Qualified leads using real IVF signals like age, TTC duration, past treatments • Built audiences from people who actually booked consultations • Changed creatives from discounts to trust, care, and reassurance • Took weekly feedback from counsellors and fed it back into Meta What happened next (in 90 days): → CPL dropped by 34% → Lead-to-MQL conversion improved by 46% → MQL to SQL moved from 19% to 37% → Consultation bookings went up by 39% → Cost per booked consultation fell by 41% Big takeaway for me: IVF marketing isn’t about hacks or aggressive optimisation. It’s about empathy, clarity, and meeting people at the right moment. #HealthcareMarketing #MetaAds #LeadGeneration #PerformanceMarketing #DigitalMarketing #MarketingStrategy

Native lead ads, where you collect prospect information directly on LinkedIn and Facebook ads, have a reputation for generating lower quality leads. However, Meta has made two new key innovations that 2x lead quality and for some reason, very few B2B marketers currently use them. We’ve literally never seen other companies/agencies use them when we do audits. Here they are: On Facebook you can use CAPI (conversions API) to send signals back to Facebook that will improve lead quality. But what lot of people don’t know? You can use CAPI for native lead ads. So if you’re running just native lead ads? You can set up a version of CAPI that makes them trigger only on your highest quality leads. I talk about how important conversion events are all the time. But historically, native lead ads don’t have conversion events. Now they do. The other thing that is often overlooked and underused in native lead ads is native lead ad conditional form filtering. For example: On top of other form questions such as name, email, etc… Let’s say you ask a client the qualifying question of - “do you have a budget of at least 100k/y?” For that specific question, you can actually set it up in Facebook that if they answer ‘yes’, they become a lead. And if they say ‘no’, they get redirected somewhere else. That is also a conversion signal, because Facebook doesn’t count it as a lead unless they’re qualified. We’ve seen this be very successful across our native lead ad clients. 60% of our clients find better ROIs with native lead ads on FB/LinkedIn than they do through sending to website. To me, this is indicative that you need to be using more native lead gen strategies.

We analyzed over 110,257 web sessions and 150 deals to measure the impact of interactive demos on conversion rates and time to convert. How we did it? We used Factors.ai to build anonymized funnels, mapping website sessions. Then, we compared the performance of prospects that engage with an interactive demo against the overall average from our dataset. The results: 24.35% website conversion rate (sign-up, form submission, etc.) from website visitors that engaged with an interactive demo. 3.05% average website conversion rate when there is no interactive demo. That’s nearly 8x greater... 8x! Big win... 🤯 So here are 3 takeaways: 💡Interactive content drives engagement & conversions. It’s stickier than static content. It resonates better and keeps visitors engaged longer. 💡Placement matters, so make interactive demos easy to find. Position prominently on high-intent pages. Don’t bury demos in the footer or behind too many clicks. 💡Don’t gate too early. Let the demo sell first. Instead of gating with a form upfront, let prospects explore first. A well-placed lead form inside the demo (after a few steps), leads to better conversions. #interactivedemos #websiteconversion #plg #conversionoptimization

Performance Max for lead generation is a money pit... Unless you structure it right. Most lead gen advertisers jump into PMax too early and wonder why they're burning through budget on junk leads. The problem is the approach. Here's how we set up PMax for lead gen campaigns that work: Start with Search campaigns. You need conversion data and volume before PMax can do its job. There are no shortcuts here. Build your foundation with Search, get the system learning from real conversions, then expand. Structure your asset groups by offer type. Different services need different messaging. Your emergency plumbing offer shouldn't use the same creative as your routine maintenance campaigns. Give each service its own asset group with relevant messaging. Set your location targeting at the campaign level. Your local plumber doesn't want leads from across the country. Make sure your campaign boundaries match your service area. Stop garbage leads before they start. Every junk lead you pay for teaches the algorithm the wrong lesson about what you want. Feed offline conversions back to Google. This is key. If you only track form fills, PMax optimizes for form fills. If you track which leads actually turn into customers, it optimizes for revenue. The agencies that treat Performance Max like a plug-and-play solution wonder why their clients fire them. The ones that take time to teach the system what good leads look like? Those are the campaigns that scale profitably. Setup determines everything.

Case Study: How I Helped a Client Double Their Leads in 90 Days 👉Client Overview A mid-sized e-commerce brand specializing in eco-friendly household products approached me with a pressing problem: their lead generation efforts had stalled, and their sales pipeline was drying up. Despite investing heavily in ads and email marketing, the ROI just wasn’t there. They needed fresh ideas—and fast. 👉The Challenge Lead Volume Stagnation: The brand had plateaued at 500 leads per month, far below their target. 👉Inefficient Campaigns: Their Google Ads were expensive and underperforming, with low click-through and conversion rates. 👉Unfocused Messaging: Their value proposition wasn’t resonating with potential customers. 👉Low Conversion Rates: Traffic was reaching their website, but the leads weren’t converting due to unclear landing page design. 👍My Strategy —>1. Audience Insights and Segmentation The first step was to dive into their data to identify who was clicking, what they were searching for, and why they weren’t converting. I broke down their audience into three distinct personas and tailored campaigns for each. —>2. Google Ads Overhaul Conducted a full keyword analysis, identifying long-tail keywords that were cheaper and had higher intent. Restructured their campaigns with precise targeting, segmenting by geography, behavior, and purchasing power. Introduced dynamic ad formats with compelling offers. 3. Landing Page Optimization I redesigned their landing pages with bold headlines, trust badges, and a simplified form that only required the essentials. Implemented A/B testing to identify the highest-converting design. Added a sense of urgency with time-limited offers, increasing conversions. —>4. Content Marketing Integration To supplement paid ads, I developed a content strategy focusing on value-driven resources, like downloadable eco-friendly tips and interactive product calculators. This gave the audience a reason to engage beyond the initial ad click. —>5. Automated Email Follow-Ups The Results Within just 90 days, the results exceeded expectations: Leads Doubled: Monthly leads surged from 500 to 1,000. Cost Per Lead Reduced by 40%: Smarter targeting and optimized ads saved the client thousands. Landing Page Conversions Improved by 120%: The revamped pages turned casual visitors into committed leads. Sales Increased by 30%: A steady pipeline of qualified leads translated into higher revenue. What the Client Said "We were on the verge of giving up when Irina stepped in. Her marketing strategies not only brought in more leads but also made our entire process more efficient. It was a complete game-changer for us." Conclusion This case study proves the power of a holistic approach to #marketing. By combining data-driven strategies, creative #messaging, and relentless #optimization, I helped this client double their leads and achieve sustainable growth. Could your business be next? Let’s talk!

Let’s talk about what makes a great #LeadGen strategy on LinkedIn. Firstly, the macro goal of any lead gen strategy is to make the brand easy to buy by removing “friction” in the buyer journey. This matters because once a buyer moves (on their own) into the 5% In-Market, they often decide fast, usually picking the first to mind, the first they see in feed, the easiest ad to convert. We remove friction on LinkedIn in the following ways: ❇️ Choose the goal in Campaign Manager with the least friction We have 7 goals in CMT. For lead gen, “Lead Gen” and “Website Conversions” are most common. “Lead Gen” is usually lower friction because conversion happens on-platform (vs your site, which can create bounces and low ToS). ❇️ Choose formats with the least friction 'Lead Gen Forms' and 'Conversation Ads' typically reduce friction vs Sponsored Content, Video, Carousel, or Document Ads because the lead capture stays on-platform. ❇️ Use content with a powerful CTA Your creative should always drive prospective customer to take an urgent action now, and the types of content that makes that happen for lead gen is: Power of Now (“Buy now”) Power of Free (“Free consult / trial”; "Buy1Get1Free") Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) (“Last chance”; "One Day To Go") Scarcity (“We Have Limited spots”) ❇️ Target audiences with the least friction - Retarget people already exposed to brand/consideration campaign; who have attended our events; existing customers - In the buying committee, target 'Target buyers' for lead gen rather than both Target and Hidden buyers because Target buyers make the recommendations. Hidden Buyers (e.g. a CFO) is not going to make a lead enquiry on Cybersecurity solution, it will be the Target Buyer (CIO or CTO). ❇️ Be “Always On” with rolling timed campaigns Being 'Always On' is important because we cannot convince a buyer in the 95% to buy now, they will move into the 5% when they decide and we marketers usually cannot predict this, and so we just need to be 'Always On' to capture that lead when they decide to convert. Often buyers will take action if it's the right moment (they control this), at the right time (you control this by being always on). Within this Always On strategy, run rolling campaigns back-to-back to spur those who have triggered but are slow to take action with the CTA's above, regardless of seasonality. ❇️ Optimise for metrics that prove reduced friction A frictionless campaign must be two things: efficient and effective. Business KPI: CLTV Marketing KPI: Efficient = CAC + ROAS/ROI; Effectiveness = MMM Campaign KPI: Efficient = CPC/CPA; Effective = lead quality CAPI (MQLs/SQLs) Of course, there are nuances to all of these points, but as a template, these are good foundations for effective lead gen on LinkedIn.

One demo. 60+ qualified leads. 2 weeks. Here's how this PMM did it. 👇 You may not know but interactive demos are a lead-generation powerhouse. Here’s the truth: traditional case studies often feel too polished. They’re like fairy tales, problem solved, the end. - But what about the messy middle? - The “how did this actually happen?” - THAT is where the magic is. That’s why Storylane's Demo Kitchen is so awesome. It's a creative twist on traditional case studies. It’s more than just storytelling; it’s about teaching us PMMs how to cook up compelling, self-guided interactive demos that drive real results. Take their first episode with Katie Burke Fairbank, Director of Product Marketing at CodeSignal as an example: ✅ Their ICP (engineers) hate sales calls, so they adapted. Marketing to devs is difficult! ✅ Instead of forcing the issue, they embraced self-service, building guided demos that mirrored their best sales scripts. ✅ In just 2 weeks, they launched a demo strategy that generated 60 qualified leads, influenced opportunities with companies like eBay, Visa, and Netflix, and opened doors for expansion opportunities! It’s proof that product marketing truly can drive direct impact on ARR, and increase leads. ❌ Because let's be real, no-one likes being sold to, especially not technical folk like developers. The point is to meet prospects where they are. Most people just want to see the product without the sales pitch. By giving them that freedom, Katie and her PMM team actually sped up the sales process. This is an awesome example of how removing friction from the buying process can actually accelerate it! ✅ It's counterintuitive that selling less, sells more. So it's worth you enabling your prospects to freely explore your product on their terms, because they’re actually more likely to engage, and faster. If you'd like to read a full breakdown of how Katie and her PMM team did it, this is worth a read: https://lnkd.in/e5AYUzMD Let's keep crushing it PMMs! 🤝 #DemoKitchen #Storylane #ProductMarketing #InteractiveDemos

Everyone chases new content. I generate leads from what's already published. Most companies let their white papers, webinars, and reports sit passively. What if you could actively convert that content into sales opportunities? Here’s our method for turning static assets into a dynamic lead generation engine. Identify a white paper with strong downloads and engagement metrics. Use the core themes of that paper to pinpoint ideal prospects on industry forums or specialized online communities. Craft a highly relevant email campaign (Send47) that directly references key data points and arguments from the white paper. Trigger automated, personalized follow-up calls (Awaz) to individuals who opened the email but didn’t immediately convert. Qualify leads and schedule demos directly during the AI-powered call. This is not cold outreach. This is about intelligently distributing valuable research to the people who need it most. Relevant content + proactive distribution = higher engagement and more efficient lead generation. More breakdowns like this coming soon.

In B2B marketing, building trust and understanding your audience is more important than ever. With longer sales cycles and multiple decision-makers involved, creating personalized, relevant experiences can make all the difference. That’s why in my latest newsletter, I explore “The Role of Quizzes and Interactive Assessments in B2B Lead Generation.” Inspired by Ryan Levesque's ASK Method—a framework I’ve seen transform businesses firsthand—I dive into how tools like quizzes and surveys can help: ->Engage prospects by offering personalized insights. ->Segment audiences for more tailored messaging. -> Build trust through small, incremental steps (micro-commitments). If you’re looking for practical ways to make your marketing more relevant and effective, this approach is worth considering. I’d love to hear your thoughts—what role do quizzes or assessments play in your lead generation strategy? Let’s discuss in the comments. #B2BMarketing #LeadGeneration #Personalization #ASKMethod