4 simple steps to track Instagram Ads in Freshsales
Need to know how many leads and customers you get from your Instagram Ads? In this post we'll show you how to track them from right within Freshsales.
Tools like Google Analytics are great for monitoring how many website visitors you get.
However, if your aim is to genuinely gauge the Return on Investment (ROI) of your Instagram Ads, you need the capability to monitor the quantity of leads and customers generated by them, not solely website visitors.
In this article, we'll walk you through the process of using a tool called Attributer to precisely track the count of leads and customers stemming from your Instagram Ads.
4 simple steps to track Instagram Ads in Freshsales
Tracking the number of leads and customers you get from Instagram Ads in Freshsales is actually very easy when you follow these 4 steps:
1. Add UTM parameters to your Instagram Ads
The first step is to add UTM parameters into your Instagram Ads.
In case you're not familiar with UTM parameters, they're essentially additional pieces of text added to the end of the URL you're using to direct individuals from your campaigns.
For example, if the page you're guiding someone to is attributer.io/integrations/freshsales, your end URL (including UTM parameters) might look something like this:
attributer.io/integrations/freshsales?utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_source=instagram&utm_campaign=brand-campaign
Although you can structure the UTM parameters however you want, the general best practice for Instagram Ads is something like:
- UTM Medium = Paid social
- UTM Source = Instagram
- UTM Campaign = The name of your campaign
- UTM Term = The name of the ad set the ad belongs to
- UTM Content = The specific ad
Adding UTM parameters to your URLs is easy and there are free tools available on the web which can help you build them.
2. Install Attributer and add some hidden fields
Step two is to install Attributer on your website.
When you sign up for a 14-day free trial, we'll give you a small piece of code to install on your website (instructions on how to add it can be found here).
After you've added the code, you'll need to include a series of hidden fields to your forms, including:
- Channel
- Channel Drilldown 1
- Channel Drilldown 2
- Channel Drilldown 3
- Channel Drilldown 4
Attributer works with dozens of form builders (including Gravity Forms, Webflow Forms, Typeform and many more). Depending on what form builder you use on your website, it's usually very easy to add these hidden fields and step-by-step instructions for many form builders can be found here.
3. Attributer writes Instagram Ads data into hidden fields
once the setup is complete, Attributer will start tracking the sources of your website's traffic, including those originating from your Instagram Ads.
Subsequently, it will classify each visitor into various channels, such as Paid Social, Paid Search, Organic Search, and more, storing this data within a cookie in the visitor's web browser.
When that visitor fills out a form on your website, Attributer will automatically populate the hidden fields with information about their source.
4. Instagram Ads data is sent to Freshsales
Lastly, when a visitor completes a form on your website, the lead source information, along with the lead's name, email, and other details, is collected by your form tool. All of this data can then be seamlessly transferred to Freshsales.
Once this data is sent to Freshsales, you can leverage it for the following purposes:
- Generate reports: Create reports that provide insights into the number of leads obtained from your Instagram Ads, conversion rates to customers, total revenue generated, and more.
- Personalized Sales Outreach: Utilize the data to tailor your communication with new leads. For instance, if their source can be traced back to an Instagram ad promoting a specific product or service, you can directly address this in your emails and calls, enhancing your sales follow-up strategy.
What data gets captured in Freshsales?
With each form submission, Attributer will send the below information:
1. Marketing channel data
Attributer will send information about the lead's source on your website.
Consider this scenario: You work as a marketer for a signage company, and your current marketing campaign revolves around Instagram ads to promote your latest collection of LED signage.
When someone clicks on one of your ads and then fills out a form on your website, the following information would be captured (depending on the UTM parameters you've attached to your ads):
- Channel: Paid Social
- Channel Drilldown 1: Instagram
- Channel Drilldown 2: LED signage
- Campaign (or the specific campaign name)
- Channel Drilldown 3: Red Ad (or whatever ad creative they clicked on)
2. Landing page data
Attributer also sends information related to the initial landing page (e.g., ledsigns.com/blog/sign-types) and its corresponding landing page category (e.g., /blog).
This functionality enables you to track the number of leads coming from different content categories on your website, such as your blog. Furthermore, it allows for a more detailed analysis, allowing you to pinpoint which specific blog posts are driving the highest number of leads.
What is Attributer and why use it?
Attributer is a compact piece of code that you add to your company's website.
Upon a visitor's arrival to your site, Attributer assesses where they came from and categorizes them into standardized marketing channels (e.g., Paid Social, Paid Search, Organic Search, etc.), saving this data within a cookie stored in the user's web browser.
When a website visitor submits a form on your website, Attributer seamlessly transfers the attribution information into the hidden fields within your forms. Subsequently, this data can be sent to the tools you have connected to your forms, including your CRM, email marketing platform, billing system, analytics tools, and more.
There are several reasons why Attributer stands out as the superior method for tracking your Instagram Ads within Freshsales:
- Captures other attribution information - In addition to capturing the source of leads stemming from your Instagram Ads, Attributer also records information about leads arriving via other channels like Organic Search, Organic Social, Referral, or Direct. This comprehensive approach ensures you can track the origin of ALL your leads and customers, not solely those from your Instagram Ads.
- Remembers the data - Attributer securely stores UTM parameters within a user's browser cookie. This means that regardless of which page a user chooses to complete a form on, the UTM parameters consistently pass through, providing you with precise and consistent data on the quantity of leads and customers generated by your Instagram Ads.
- Cleans the data - Attributer was built to expect inconsistencies in UTM usage, such as using utm_source=instagram in some campaigns and utm_source=instagram.com in others. It would assign these leads to the correct channel (Paid Social in this case) regardless of these inconsistencies, again ensuring you have more accurate data.
3 example reports you can run when you track your Instagram Ads in Freshsales
Before building Attributer, I ran marketing and analytics teams at several technology companies for more than 15 years.
Over my career I've invested in excess of $1 million in advertising across platforms like Instagram and other social networks. Additionally, I've conducted extensive analyses, comprising hundreds of reports, to gain insight into the most effective campaigns.
Here are several of the reports that have proven most invaluable over the years:
1. Leads by channel
The chart shown above, displaying the monthly lead count categorized by their respective sources, helps you gain a high-level perspective on the origins of your leads and where your growth efforts should be concentrated.
For example, if this report shows that the bulk of your leads come from Organic Search, yet you're allocating a significant portion of your budget to Instagram Ads, it may be smart to adjust your strategy accordingly.
2. Customers by network
If you're running Instagram Ads, it's highly likely that you're also running advertisements on Facebook and other networks.
In such a scenario, this report can prove quite beneficial. It provides insights into the number of customers generated from your advertising efforts on each network and aids in determining where to strategically allocate your budget to achieve the most favorable Return on Investment (ROI).
3. Revenue by campaign
This chart shows the revenue generated from your different campaigns currently active on Instagram.
It serves as a valuable tool for identifying campaigns that are truly delivering a positive Return on Investment (ROI), thus guiding your decisions on where to allocate additional budget for optimal results.
Wrap up
If you've been looking for a way to monitor the quantity of leads, customers, and revenue generated by your Instagram Ads, Attributer offers a solution.
With Attributer, you gain the ability to pinpoint the precise source of each lead, down to the specific campaign, ad set, or ad they engaged with.
The best part? Getting started is completely free, and the setup process typically takes only about 10 minutes. So start a free 14-day trial of Attributer today to see how it can help you!
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About the Author
Aaron Beashel is the founder of Attributer and has over 15 years of experience in marketing & analytics. He is a recognized expert in the subject and has written articles for leading websites such as Hubspot, Zapier, Search Engine Journal, Buffer, Unbounce & more. Learn more about Aaron here.