You can use Formidable Forms to capture leads from Instagram, however associating each lead with an ad isn't feasible. Similarly, after a lead turns into a customer, you can't trace them to the exact Instagram ad.
The absence of tracking data makes it hard to evaluate Instagram ad performance, keeping you uninformed about which ads yield leads and customers. This leads to spending on various ads without clarity on their conversion rates.
A convenient solution is available to map each lead to the exact Instagram campaign, ad set, and ad that brought it in.
Let's go through it step by step!
How to track Instagram ads in Formidable Forms
Step 1: Add Leadsources in the head tag of your website
Leadsources makes tracking lead sources simple. When integrated into your website, it logs up to 7 source data points for every lead.
➡️ Sign up to Leadsources.io for free
➡️ Add the Leadsources tracking code to your site
Step 2: Add the UTM parameters to your Instagram ads
In your ad URL, add UTM parameters to track Instagram campaign, ad set, and ad information. Here’s an example:
UTM_medium=paidsocialUTM_source=instagramUTM_campaign=campaign-nameUTM_term=ad-set-nameUTM_content=ad-name
In its final form, the URL should look as shown here:
https://www.yourdomain.com?UTM_medium=paidsocial&UTM_source=instagram&UTM_campaign=campaign-name&UTM_term=ad-set-name&UTM_content=ad-nameNote: Leadsources tracks all lead source data, capturing every detail even when UTM parameters aren’t used.
Step 3: Add the hidden fields in Formidable Forms
Hidden fields are hidden form elements that capture information, which is submitted with the rest of the form data.
Upon receiving a submission, Leadsources automatically fills the hidden fields in your Formidable Forms with Instagram ads data. It then saves this information directly in your Formidable Forms.
Step 4: Capture the Instagram ads data in Formidable Forms
When users click on your advertisements and arrive at your website, Leadsources fetches the Instagram campaign, ad set, and ad data, among other things.
Leadsources populates the hidden fields of Formidable Forms with the captured Instagram ads data.
Thus, upon submitting the form, the Instagram ad data and lead details will be accessible in Formidable Forms.
How does Leadsources work?
Every time someone accesses your site, Leadsources fetches Instagram ad data and populates it within the hidden fields of your form. When the form is submitted, this information, along with lead details such as name and email, is sent to Formidable Forms.
Leadsources compiles all of this source data for every lead:
| Lead source data | Fetched automatically |
| Channel | ✅ |
| Source | ✅ |
| Campaign | ✅ OR use UTM_campaign |
| Content | UTM_content parameter is required |
| Term | UTM_term parameter is required |
| Landing page | ✅ |
| Landing page subfolder | ✅ |
As outlined in the table above, when UTM parameters are ineffective—like with organic sources such as Google search or referrals—Leadsources captures certain lead source data:
- Channel
- Source
- Campaign
- Landing page
- Landing page subfolder
Unlike other applications, Leadsources captures lead sources throughout all marketing channels, whether organic or paid.
Choose a channel to check the lead source information that Leadsources embeds into your form.
Performance reports: Lead, sales, and revenue by source
By inserting Instagram ad data in Formidable Forms, you can generate performance reports that outline:
- Leads, sales, and revenue by channel
- Leads, sales, and revenue by source
- Leads, sales, and revenue by campaign (aka. Instagram campaign)
- Leads, sales, and revenue by term (aka. Instagram ad set)
- Leads, sales, and revenue by content (aka. Instagram ad)
This permits you to adjust your Instagram budget to align with the campaigns, ad sets, and ads that generate the most leads, sales, and revenue.
Let’s point out several reports you can create:
1. Lead source reports
Generate performance reports that account for the number of leads acquired from:
- Channel
- Source
- Campaign (aka. Instagram campaign)
- Term (aka. Instagram ad set)
- Content (aka. Instagram ad)
- Landing page
- Landing page subfolder
Example #1: Leads by channel
This report makes it easier to see which channel produces the largest number of leads.
Example #2: Leads by Instagram campaign
You can now concentrate on one lead source (e.g., Instagram) and keep track of the lead generation from each Instagram campaign.
Example #3: Leads by Instagram ad
Once you've discovered the Instagram campaign that generates the highest lead count, you can analyze which ad set or individual ad is responsible for that result.
2. Sales and revenue source reports
Now that we've identified the Instagram campaign, ad set, and ad that attract our leads, it is crucial to determine if these leads result in sales and revenue.
To realize this objective, integrate your leads with a CRM like GoHighLevel. This allows for tracking sales and revenue from various channels, sources, Instagram campaigns, ad sets, ads, landing pages, and landing page subfolders.
This information provides the opportunity to refine your Instagram ad strategy to highlight the channels, sources, campaigns, ad sets, and ads that yield the most effective sales and revenue.
You have the option to create numerous sales and revenue reports, for example:
- Sales and revenue by channel
- Sales and revenue by source
- Sales and revenue by campaign
- Sales and revenue by term (e.g., Instagram ad set)
- Sales and revenue by content (e.g., Instagram ad)
- Sales and revenue by landing page
- Sales and revenue by landing page subfolder
Example Scenario:
| Channel | Search Paid | Social Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Leads | 50 | 75 |
| Sales | 5 | 6 |
| Average Order Value | $150 | $100 |
| Revenue | $750 | $600 |
Once ads were launched on Google and Instagram, the early "Leads by Channel" report demonstrated that Social Paid ads (Instagram) resulted in more leads than Search Paid ads.
Nevertheless, after analyzing the sales and revenue insights in your CRM, you found that the Search Paid channel produced higher revenue with fewer leads than the Social Paid channel. Consequently, you decided to adjust your budget to allocate more towards the Search Paid channel.
