Twitter’s long-gone Lead Gen Ads are getting a second life on X – in the form of a call-to-action ad, letting users submit their contact information directly within a promoted post, without ever having to leave the application.
The format is not new – a similar call-to-action ad with similar functionality existed years ago on Twitter, and was quietly retired in 2016, but is being brought back with tweaks and presented as new.
How the New Version Works
The format itself is simple – a promoted post features a colored bar along the bottom with a call-to-action button, the color of which has been pulled from the dominant color in the main image or video of the promoted post.
What is novel about this product is largely in the presentation.
According to X, a lead gen ad’s native form, accessed by tapping the call-to-action button, can be completed and submitted without ever being redirected away from the main platform.
“X said when a user is captured by a Lead Gen Ad, just one tap opens a native form on X that can be completed and submitted for instant lead capture without leaving the platform.”
Notably, the format has a convenience built in for first-time submissions: once a Lead Gen ad has been used to submit contact information on a user’s behalf, the next Lead Gen ad form to appear on that user’s timeline would be pre-filled with their previously-submitted details, in an attempt to streamline the lead capture process.
X put it bluntly: the new form designs are “designed to cut the drop-off that typically comes with redirects, external landing pages and retyping forms”, and the company’s stated results from implementing these changes as promised are more leads, better leads, and lower cost per-lead.
Whether that is the case in practice would be something for advertisers to measure for themselves, but the value of reducing steps between seeing an ad, deciding to engage with it and submitting information on the advertiser’s website is generally understood.
Twitter’s Version Looked Almost Identical
What makes this rollout notable is that it is essentially identical to the Twitter version, save for one small tweak.
X’s promotional materials for this roll-out even feature the same fictional business example that Twitter used in the lead gen ad’s promotional materials at the time that this format was originally available and later retired.
The two versions feature the same basic design and purpose. Twitter experimented with a variety of lead generation advertisements – a similar, simplified version of this format was briefly available as a separate product for advertisers – over the years before retiring the concept entirely.
It has been roughly a decade since this sort of direct response ad was available to marketers on the platform, so this is X re-appropriating an old concept rather than developing a new one. That is not a bad thing, per se – direct response advertising always favors formats that minimize friction, and a native lead form is a perfect example of that.
If the concept worked for Twitter a decade ago, and there has not been a significant change in user behavior since then, there is reason to believe that re-introducing these ads would see similar benefits to those seen on Twitter at the time.
Where the Format Fits Into X’s Ad Business
X stated the new lead gen ads can support a range of campaign goals, including booking demos and appointments, growing email or waitlist sign-ups, and capturing quote requests or sweepstakes entries.
X has made the format generally applicable to a range of advertiser needs, rather than designing this around a single purpose.
It is also not restricted to a single advertising format. X said Lead Gen Ads support image, video and carousel promotions, plus Timeline Takeover ads, giving advertisers some flexibility in how they present the lead gen offer before their call-to-action begins.
The updated format is now inside of the X Ads Manager, ready to be used. There is no staged launch for this product, it is immediately accessible as soon as an advertiser wants to set one up.
Why Timing Matters Here
X has been pushing to rebuild its advertising business for some time now, and features like this fit naturally into this effort.
Direct response formats tend to appeal to a different sort of advertiser than brand awareness-focused campaign formats do.
Where the latter are concerned with maximizing reach or having engaging messaging that viewers will share, direct response – especially lead gen – campaigns are all about conversion, about whether the lead submitted on their behalf will actually come through.
Reviving a format that minimizes the number of steps between seeing the ad and filling out the form is a logical step for X if it is looking to appeal to performance advertisers – native forms that do not require users to leave the platform are more likely to deliver a higher conversion rate for these sorts of campaigns, because the more steps there are between seeing an ad and filling out a form, the more opportunities there are for users to become distracted and move on to another task instead.
It also offers a convenient tool for X to demonstrate to performance advertisers who may be hesitant about investing in the platform’s offerings.
A format with a clear mechanism to improve results, and a stated reason for doing so, is far more useful for persuasion than a vague promise of engagement. None of this suggests that Lead Gen Ads are likely to be a major driver of X’s ad revenues. Many ad formats are announced with a confident outlook on performance, only to quietly fade away, but the fundamentals of this format are sound, and the format has a demonstrable history of being effective on the platform.
For advertisers who are already using X’s advertising platform for direct response marketing, this is likely to be worth testing, particularly for campaigns that are concerned with conversion and have a clear customer value proposition, such as appointment booking or list-growing campaigns. For brand advertisers, it would be a harder fit — but the ability to pair the native lead gen form with a carousel or video ad gives advertisers the ability to build a creative around a conversion-focused value statement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What are X’s new Lead Gen Ads?
X’s new Lead Gen Ads are a call-to-action ad format which enables users to submit contact information directly via a native form, without being redirected to an external landing page.
Q2: Is this a completely new ad format?
No. It is a revived and updated iteration of Twitter’s original Lead Gen Ads, which were retired in 2016.
Q3: How does the call-to-action button work visually?
A colored bar appears along the bottom of the promoted post, the color of which has been pulled from the dominant color in the main image or video of the promoted post, to make the action point stand out.
Q4: What happens when a user taps a Lead Gen Ad?
A native form opens on X. Users can fill it out and submit it without leaving the platform or being redirected elsewhere.
Q5: Does the form remember user information for future ads?
Yes. X says after a user’s first submission, future Lead Gen Ad forms will be pre-filled with their information to reduce drop-off.
Q6: What campaign goals can Lead Gen Ads support?
X says the format works for booking demos and appointments, growing email lists and waitlists and capturing quote requests and sweepstakes entries.
Q7: What ad formats support Lead Gen functionality?
X said Lead Gen Ads support image, video and carousel promotions, as well as Timeline Takeover ads.
Q8: Where can advertisers access this feature?
The updated Lead Gen Ad format is now accessible directly in X Ads Manager.
Q9: What results does X claim this format delivers?
X states the format is designed to produce more leads, higher lead quality and a lower cost per-lead.
Q10: Why did X revive an older ad format instead of building something new?
The original version had a working track record on the platform, and reducing the number of steps between ad interaction and lead submission is a well-established way to improve conversion in direct-response advertising.
