Standing out from the crowd and capturing the attention of potential customers in any paid strategy is challenging. But what if you started promoting your Interactive Demos to enhance your paid media campaigns?
We’ve collected 13 tips and best practices for effectively using Interactive Demos to drive engagement for paid search and social.
1. Harness them for Retargeting
We recommend testing out three different retargeting campaigns with Interactive Demos.
- Promote the demo and gate it
- Promote the demo and don’t gate it
- Promote the product, not the demo
Test these against each other and track the results to find the best-performing approach. How many demo requests/sign ups/free trials did the campaigns generate? If the difference isn’t statistically significant, then consider continuing the gated version because you’ll net more leads and sunset the ungated.
If it’s bringing demo requests down, then before removing the gated campaign measure the quality of those conversions. Are they highly qualified? Are they moving through your funnel well? Is the combination of gated leads + demo requests contributing to more revenue than just a straight demo request campaign?
The gated leads might not convert to revenue as fast, but you have to decide if your business can tolerate that lag time in exchange for more revenue over time.
2. Promote them as Sitelinks on Brand Searches
Add your Interactive Demo as a sitelink in your brand search campaigns — not the main link. This approach keeps the focus on the core product while providing an additional option for researchers to explore further.
3. Promote them as Sitelinks on Product Searches
Use your Interactive Demo in a sitelink for product-specific searches. But for these, you should also test them as a main link. This allows researchers to directly experience your offering.
4. Avoid Promoting Demos on Informational Queries
Interactive demos are not suitable for informational queries. Instead, save them for stages of the customer journey where prospects are actively seeking solutions.
5. Capitalize on "Demo" Keywords
If there’s demand for demo-related keywords (“acme demo”) in your product category, definitely promote them there.
6. Mobile Optimize your Demos for Social Promotions
If you’re promoting on social, you should mobile optimize your Interactive Demos since a lot of social traffic is mobile. Why? You can’t run different ads on LinkedIn for mobile vs. desktop viewers.
7. Tailor Search Ads Depending on Device
If your interactive demo isn't mobile optimized, disable the sitelink promotion for mobile and keep it active just for desktop.
8. Use Clear CTAs in Search Ads
Don’t be vague. Use direct and clear CTAs in your search ads like "Take a Tour" or "Launch Interactive Demo".
9. Balance "Why" and "How" Content on Landing Pages
Strike a balance between problem-centric content and interactive demos on your landing pages. Like tip #1, focus on the “why” for first-touch campaigns and use the landing page to support the higher intent prospects with an Interactive Demo (or multiple) — just don’t lead with it.
The one exception to this is a very simple and straightforward product comprised of only a few workflows. In that case, you can probably get away with showing demo content much sooner, if not right away.
10. Consider using Anchor Links on Landing Pages
If you’re using a single landing page to promote your entire platform (versus a specific feature), structure the page to cover the "why" content first. For those wanting to explore the product immediately, create a navigation with anchor links to the demo content and other sections.
11. Don't Gate Demos on Landing Pages if your Goal is to Drive Demo Requests
The one exception is an “on exit” popup. If someone is leaving the site, it’s assumed they aren’t ready for a demo. In that case, it’s worth testing an on exit popup that either links to another landing page with a gated demo or presents them with a form in the popup to access a gated demo.
12. Once you Introduce your Demos, Don’t Overdo It
After you’ve communicated your “why” content thoroughly, then it’s time to introduce the “how” with demo content. It could be a few sections below, just don’t overload them with the entire platform by getting in the weeds with individual features and workflows.
Show a quick 5-10 step platform overview that highlights various aspects of the product. If the landing page does go into feature details, this is where you can add more demos that highlight those features but in no more than 10 steps.
The idea isn’t to overwhelm buyers with too much information inhibiting their ability to understand your product quickly.
13 .Don’t use them for first-touch campaigns
This tip is for when not to use Interactive Demos. Don’t use them in your creative for first-touch campaigns. Instead, focus on addressing the pain points and problems of your audience. Emphasize the "why" behind your offering to pique interest and create a compelling narrative.
Adding Interactive Demos into your paid media strategy can be a game-changer. Save these strategy tips for your next campaign so you can drive higher engagement and ultimately revenue growth.