Marketing Tools
Apr 1, 2023
Have you heard about Instagram's new lead form feature? The update provides a new way to get direct responses right from your business Instagram account. So, if you use social media to grow your business, you'll want to know about it!
In short, Instagram's lead forms can help you get more leads, build your email lists, and even convert followers into customers, all from your Instagram profile.
In this article, we're covering everything you need to know about this new feature, including what it is, why you need it, and how you can implement it on your Instagram profile.
What is Instagram's New Lead Form Feature?
Instagram recently announced it would be adding lead forms to its business profile. The forms will function like call-to-action (CTA) buttons, letting your followers quickly connect with you about your products or services.
With this new feature, you can create customizable forms for your followers to fill out on Instagram. In other words, they don't have to leave the app to connect with you!
This new option will sit alongside existing action button options like "Book" and "Contact." Once a person clicks your lead form's CTA button, they'll be shown your business's lead form.
You can customize your lead form to collect the information you need, including:
- Name
- Phone Number
- Plus, Custom Questions
For now, lead forms can include three custom questions and four standard information points (like email, name, phone number, etc.).
This feature was designed to make it possible to gather leads right from the Instagram platform. Previously, if you wanted to capture information, you had to send people away from Instagram to a separate website or lead form. So, this is a huge step forward and presents many benefits for your business.
3 Benefits to Using Instagram's New Lead Form Feature
So, you might be saying to yourself, "What I'm doing on Instagram already works. Why should I implement another new feature?" Look, we hear you. Half of running a business seems to be just keeping up with what the social media platforms are doing.
However, unlike some of the more painful updates and additions (we're looking at you, Reels), incorporating these lead forms into your strategy has many benefits. Here are three of them.
- Makes it Easier for Prospects to Engage
Getting people to leave what they're doing to view your offer is one of the biggest obstacles to lead generation. Grabbing people's attention and convincing them to stop scrolling, click on your link, leave the app, and view your offer is too much to ask most people who are just casually scrolling social media.
That's why one of the most significant benefits of this new lead form feature is that it makes it easier for your prospects to engage with your brand. By streamlining the process, Instagram has eliminated one of the biggest hurdles for users to engage.
In addition, Instagram plans to add even more features to its lead forms in the coming months, including the ability to pre-populate forms with info from a person's Instagram, making it even more frictionless to connect with your business.
- Allows You to Collect Valuable Data
Leads are an essential part of every business strategy. From multi-tier marketing strategies to comprehensive sales pipelines, leads are a critical component of all of it.
Instagram's lead forms allow you to collect crucial data about your potential customers that you can use to improve customer experience, optimize marketing efforts, personalize sales initiatives, and more. With this type of data, you can totally transform your business outcomes.
And the best part is that you can completely customize the form to fit your unique needs. In other words, you can include whatever information you need to develop your marketing goals and sales initiatives.
- You Can Use It for Other Things
Just because it's a lead form doesn't mean it's only for generating leads. You can also use it for scheduling events and appointments. So, for example, rather than sending your users to a secondary location to schedule a demo with you, you can have them fill out a lead form with the pertinent scheduling details.
There are probably countless other use cases for the lead form, too. It's all about making it work for your business. For example, you can use it for things like surveys, free offers, webinar sign-ups, and more. It's really about making the form work for your business.
How to Implement the New Feature
Right now, the feature is being tested with a smaller group of businesses, but Instagram expects to roll it out to every business profile shortly. So, if you don't see the option to create lead forms yet – don't fret! It's on its way.
To check if it's available on your account:
- Step One: Make sure you have a business Instagram account.
- Step Two: Navigate to your profile and click edit.
- Step Three: Select the "Contact" button.
- Step Four: From there, you should be able to customize and create your form.
If yours isn't available, keep checking.
Getting Started with Instagram Lead Forms
Instagram lead forms are going to make generating leads and connecting with your followers and prospects easier than ever. Now, rather than leaving the platform, users can engage with your brand right from the Instagram app.
While it isn't available to everyone yet, you'll want to stay on the lookout for this feature and implement it when it becomes available to you. Then, test different options and figure out which works best for your long-term goals.
Ultimately, the lead forms feature is valuable for helping you gather leads and connect with potential customers. And that's something we can all get excited about!
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