How to REALLY Run a Twitter Lead Generation Campaign

Step 1: Set Up Conversion Tracking. · Step 2: Choose Your Twitter Ads Campaign Type Wisely · Step 3: Adjust Your Twitter Ad Targeting Options. HowtoREALLYRunaTwitterLeadGenerationCampaign LarryKim February9,2016 | SocialMedia Home—Blog—HowtoREALLYRunaTwitterLeadGenerationCampaign Doyouwantmorequalifiedleads? ThereareamazingreasonstouseTwitterads.Twittercangeneratequalifiedleadsatalowercostthanmostoftheothermajoradplatforms.It’strue!ButnotifyoufollowTwitter’sinstructions.Why?BecauseTwitter’sadviceforcreatingleadgenerationcardsiscompletelywrong. Inthispost,you’lldiscovermyunusualsix-stepstrategyforusingTwitterleadgenerationcardsforludicrouslysuccessfulleadgen. Step1:SetUpConversionTracking.JustDoIt! Thisiskindofburiedintheuserinterface,butit’sactuallythemostimportantthingyouneedtodo.Withoutconversiontrackingsetupyou’reblind. Allthemajorplatforms,exceptforTwitter,havea“universaltag”– whereyouputinonetagonyoursitesoyoucanfigureouttheconversionsjustbytypingintheURL. ButonTwitteryouhavetocreatedifferentJavaScripttagsforeachthankyoupage.Eachonegetsanameandyoucancategorizethetype(download,purchase,sign-up)sothatyoucanreportonitlater. I’mblownawayhowmanypeopleforgetthiscriticalstep.Basicallyyouneedtodefineadifferentconversionpixelforeverygoalcompletiononyoursitesothatyoucantrackwhethereverythingisworking. Step2:ChooseYourTwitterAdsCampaignTypeWisely Therearesixpay-per-performancecampaigntypes,dependingonyourmarketingobjective.Youspecifythemostyou’rewillingtopayforeachtypeofcampaign. Whynotjustspecify$0.01asyourcostperaction?Well,basicallyifyousetthebidstoolow,you’llgetnoimpressions.It’sanauction.ChancesareotherTwitteradvertisersarewillingtopaymorethanapenny. Themoreyou’rewillingtopay,themorelikelyyouradswillbeshown.Youhavetofigureoutwhatit’sworthtoyou;Twitterwillfigureouthowmuchquantityyou’llgetforthatamount. Asforthecampaigntypes,eventhoughtweetengagementsarethemostpopulartypeofadcampaign,theyoffertheabsoluteworstROI.Avoidliketheplague! Why?Twitterchargesper“engagement.”Thisincludesengagementssuchasapersonviewingyourprofilepage,expandingyourimage,expandingthetweetfromthetweetstream,orclickingonahashtag.Twitterwilllovetakingyourmoney,butthesecampaignswon’thelpyouachieveanyofyourmarketingobjectivesasyouwasteyourbudget. Whatyoushouldreallybeinterestedinpayingforiswebsiteclicks,appinstalls,followers,leads,oractualvideoviews. Step3:AdjustYourTwitterAdTargetingOptions Atthebasiclevel,youcansimplytargetTwitterusersbylocation,gender,andlanguage. Twitteralsoprovidessomewhatmoreadvancedoptions: Theseadvancedtargetingoptionsinclude: Keywords:Youwilltargetspecificsearchesoruserswhousewithcertainkeywordsintweets. Followers:Youwilltargetaccountsofpeoplewithinterestssimilartofollowersofthoseaccounts.Forexample,entering@SMExaminerwilltargetpeoplewhoarelikelytobeinterestedinsocialmedia. Interests:Youwilltargetusersinterestedin any categoriesyouenter. Tailoredaudiences:ThisisthecrownjewelofTwitteradvertising.Remarketingandcustomlistsaresopowerful.Spendherefirst!TailoredaudiencesofferthebestROIbecauseyouhavecertaintyoverwhoyou’retargeting.Peoplewhoaremorefamiliarwithyourbrandaremorelikelytobuy–it’syourlowest-hangingfruit. TVtargeting:Youwilltargetpeoplewhoareinterestedinaspecificprogram,TVnetwork,orTVgenre. Behaviors:Youwilltargetuserswhosharespecifiedonlineandofflinebehaviorsandcharacteristics. Tweetengager:Thisisabrandnewoption–it’skindoflikeremarketingforTwitter.It’stargetingpeoplewhointeractedwithyourtweetsinthelastfewdays.Ifyouhaveabusinesswhereyouneedtogetlotsofpeoplereallyexcitedaboutsomething(likeapoliticalpartytryingtoenergizethebaseaheadofanelection),thenthiscanbeapowerfultypeoftargeting. Eventtargeting:Youwilltargetpeoplewhoareinterestedinglobalorregionalevents. Step4:CreateYourAd–ButDON’TUseTwitterLeadGenerationCards! Nowit’stimetocreateyourleadgenad.Twittertellsyoutousealeadgenerationcard.WRONG! Never,everuseTwitter’sLeadGenerationCardsforleadgeneration.Ihaverunthousandsofcampaignsandtheleadgenerationcardsconsistentlyloseandlosebadly. Eventhoughithasanicelayoutwithcustomizablecall-to-actionbuttonslike“buynow”andallsortsoffancybellsandwhistles,itlooksmorelikeanad.Twitterpeopleareallergictoadvertising;whentheyseeaTwitteraditmakesthemwanttoclickonitless! IfsomethinglookslikeanadonTwitter,userswillignoreyou!Thatmeanslowerengagementand2-4xhighercosts. Insteadyoushouldjustattachafunnyphoto.Useimagesthathavedonewellorganicallytosavemoney. Gonutsontheimageyouchoose.Don’tbeafraidtobeabitsnarkyorgoofy.Usefunnyimagesormemes,evenifitmeansgoingabitoff-brand.Twitterisaplacewhereyou’llberewardedifyourbrandshowsitcanhaveabitoffun(withingoodtaste,ofcourse),oryou’llbeignoredifyougoallcorporate. Andofcourse,useemojistofurtherincreaseengagementratesby30%. Step5:SetBids–NoAutomaticBiddingAllowed OK,first:NevereveruseTwitter’sAutomaticBidding.It’sforsuckers. Automaticbiddingwillmakesureyourbudgetisspentveryquickly.Sure,ithelpsyouwinadauctions,butyoudon’treallyhavetoorwanttowineveryauction. Keepinmindit’snotlikesearchadvertisingwhereyou’rebiddingonrarepricelesskeywordsthatgetsearchedon10timesperyear.Thisisdisplayadvertisingandthereareplentyofadspotsavailabletobuy. Alwaysusemaximumbidding.Formostcompaniesdoingleadgeneration,it’snottheendoftheworldiftheleadcomesintomorrowvs.today. Theonlytimeyouwoulduseautomaticbiddingisifyouneedtopromotesomethingheavilyandyouneedthoseadimpressionstoday(e.g.,youhavea24-hoursale)orifyou’retargetingaverytightaudience,maybe1,000people.Inthesecases,thenyoudohavetouseautobidding– orjustbidreallyhigh. OK,sohowtheheckdoyousetbids?It’sseriouslycomplicated–it’sprettymuchrocketscience. YouneedtouseTheForce. Basically,you’retryingtogetasmanyimpressionsasyoucanforaslittlemoneyaspossible.Ifyoubidtoolowyouradswon’tshow.Butifyoubidtoohighyourbudgetwilldie. Whenyoubidtoohigh,you’reessentiallypayingforpremiumnext-dayairservicewhenusually(99%ofthetime)aregularpostagestampwillsuffice.You’repayingmuchmoreforthesameclicksinordertobedeliveredfaster. Twitterhasatoolthatshowshowyourreachchangesbasedondifferentmaximumbidamounts. Ignore!Ignore!Ignore!It’scompletelywrong.EvenwhenitsaysIwillgetnoimpressions,Igetmillionsofimpressions.Itisjusttryingtogetyoutoraisebids. I’vereverse-engineeredtheTwitteradauction.BasicallyTwitterdeterminesifyouradsshowornotbasedonyoureffectiveCPM.(Yourmaxbidtimesapplicablepredictedengagementrate).Soifyourbidis$1perclickandyou’redoingaclickcampaignusinganadthatisaveraginga1%click-throughrate,thenyourpredictedeffectiveCPMis$10. Towinmoreadauctions,youhavetwochoices:eitherbidmoreorposthigherengagementstuff. Ilovepromotinghighengagementtweets(15%+engagementrates)withverylowmaximumCPCs(5-10cents).Thehighertheengagement,thelessyou’llneedtobidforyouradstobeeligibletoshow. Step6:Report,Rinse,Repeat Yourlaststepistofigureouthowthingsdid.YoucangetdetailedinformationaboutexactlywhathappenedafterspendingmoneyonTwitterads:Clicks,Retweets,Followers,Conversions(etc.)   Intheabovecampaignyoucanseethatwewereabletogenerate440downloadsforjust$6.50peraction.That’sextremelycost-effectivecomparedtoothermarketingchannels.Incomparisonsearchadsinthisverticalcancostcloserto$5perclick(notperdownload). Deletecampaignsthataren’tworking.Doubledownonstuffthatworks.Repeat. Inconclusion… Twittercanbeverypowerful.Forexample,TwitteradcampaignscandeliveragreatreturnonyourinvestmentonceyoumastertheTwitteradsqualityscorealgorithm. Butyouhavetoavoidthepitfalls(hello,TweetEngagementcampaigns!).Whenitcomestoadvice,Twittercan’tbetrusted.ForgeteverythingTwitterhastriedtotellyouaboutleadgeneration.IgnoreTwitter’s“bestpractice”adviceonbidding,creative,audiencetargeting,campaigntypes…andprettymucheverythingelse. Instead,doTwitterleadgenerationmyway.TheRIGHTway.🙂 MeetTheAuthor LarryKim LarryKim isthefounderofWordStreamandCEOofMobileMonkey,achatbotbuildingplatform. SeeotherpostsbyLarryKim MoreArticlesLikeThis 41Fun,Free&Ready-to-PublishChristmasSocialMediaPosts(+CanvaTemplates!) Ifthisisn'ttheeasybuttonforholidaysocialmediaposting,thenwedon'tknowwhatworldyou'relivingin. ButReally,WhenIStheBestTimetoPostonInstagramin2022? FindoutthebesttimetopostonInstagramfromthelatestdata—byday,industry,timezone,andposttype—plustips! FacebookAdNotApproved?Here'sWhattoDo(+10TipstoAvoidIt) ThisisyourguidetosmoothsailingthroughtherockywatersofFacebookadapproval. Comments PleasereadourCommentPolicybeforecommenting. Signupforourweeklynewsletter! Loading... RelatedArticles 41Fun,Free&Ready-to-PublishChristmasSocialMediaPosts(+CanvaTemplates!) ButReally,WhenIStheBestTimetoPostonInstagramin2022? FacebookAdNotApproved?Here'sWhattoDo(+10TipstoAvoidIt) 6FacebookAdStrategiesWorkingforUsRightNow(PostiOSUpdate)