How to turn leads into footfall: Lessons from Peter Posh.

A trusted British provider of men’s formalwear, Peter Posh were looking for a way to bring their online audience in-store. Sound familiar? From clothing stores and hotels to car showrooms and pottery painting, if you offer real-life experiences, then it’s time to use online channels to drive offline interactions. And it’s all about paid social. 

Here’s what Peter Posh did, their results, and other ways to increase footfall by optimising your paid ads. 

Peter Posh: Our solution

For Peter Posh, the goal was to simplify their online appointment booking process while boosting their visibility in key local markets. Using Meta’s in-platform lead forms to run a highly targeted paid social campaign, we allowed users to submit their details directly within the ad without leaving the platform. 

Their results

This strategy minimised the number of steps and made the booking process effortless, significantly reducing drop-offs. Between October to December 2024, the result was a 2,100% increase in showroom bookings with a 19.1% reduction in ad spend compared to the previous year. Achieving more with less, the campaign drove significant footfall to Peter Posh’s showrooms while giving their local brand presence a boost.

The results for Peter Posh prove it’s more than possible to bring your online audience into your stores. Paid social is a powerful marketing tool that gives you direct access to a targeted and engaged audience, and once you know how to use it effectively, you can tap into that audience to drive real growth.

How to drive footfall through paid ads

Here are 6 strategies you can start using today to optimise your paid ads for your online audience and increase footfall.

1. Eliminate barriers

Tools like Meta’s lead forms make it easy for potential customers to take action. Social is a space for entertainment, and if you take users out of that space, you interrupt their scrolling experience. That creates friction. 

Instead, keeping users within their original platform respects their experience and makes engagement so seamless they don’t even need to think about it. It avoids interrupting their downtime while reducing the steps needed to take action, making it both an effortless and enjoyable experience in itself.

2. Think local

If you’re based in Shropshire, that’s where you’ll want to target your ads. This will help you get the maximum ROI from your advertising budget, increasing your visibility with local customers who are more likely to visit. Keep in mind how far people will be willing to travel and use local searches to drive high-quality leads. 

And it’s not just your paid social ads. Mention location wherever you can, from website content and blog posts to geo-tagging your organic social posts, which will all work together to support targeting your local audience. It’s also worth making sure that your address and contact details are clear by mentioning them in your social bios, giving users greater confidence to visit.

3. Follow up

They didn’t book? Show them again. Just because they didn’t follow through the first time, it doesn’t mean they’re not interested. Customers of today need real connection, so nurture this relationship by reminding them of what they’re missing and keeping your brand top-of-mind. 

This boosts brand awareness and builds familiarity, inspiring trust and encouraging them to take action. So whether it’s a special offer, a limited-time deal, or just a reminder, strategic follow-ups can help turn hesitation into conversion.

And if someone previously visited your physical location, you can actually remarket your business to them with Meta’s Offline Conversion. This lets you track offline activity to get a more accurate idea of the offline return on your ad spend, as well as letting you remarket to people based on their offline actions. And with Lookalike Audiences, you can target your ads to even more online people who are similar to your offline customers. 

4. Give people a reason to visit

Offering exclusive deals or in-store promotions is another great way to encourage visits. At the end of the day, customers are your VIPs and they want to know about it. That means VIP treatment with exclusive experiences and discounts that are only redeemable in-store. This could be a set discount, a free gift, or some other unique reward. 

Or if you really want a unique campaign experience, then consider augmented reality treasure hunts that hide digital collectables in the real world. This fully immerses users in your brand story while giving them a fun reason to explore your business’ physical location.

5. Signpost their next steps

One of the most obvious yet overlooked elements of a paid social campaign is the call to action (CTA). A clear and engaging CTA is how you tell users what to do next, and without it, even a well-crafted, engaging ad can fall flat. 

Instead of vague phrases like ‘learn more,’ your CTA should be direct, action-oriented, and aligned with the user’s intent. Whether that’s ‘book tickets,’ ‘get directions,’ or ‘call to talk,’ the more precise and relevant your CTA, the more likely users are to take the next step and arrange their visit. 

6. Mobile-first web design

The last step between seeing an ad and visiting your store is typically your website, whether that’s to learn more about your business, find your contact details, or to get in touch. This means your website needs to be mobile-first, as any point of friction could cause users to abandon the idea of visiting altogether.

Simplify navigation, keep buttons and menus finger-friendly and tappable, and make sure everything loads properly. And by integrating maps, you make it even easier for them to get to the right place. A seamless experience from ad to website removes barriers and makes it as easy as possible for customers to transition from online interest to in-person visits.

Test, refine, optimise

And like anything to do with growing your brand, you’ll need to continuously track and refine your campaigns. Try different approaches, take note of what works for you, and use this to shape future strategies and maximise your results. Even just tweaking a CTA from ‘Sign Up’ to ‘Join Now’ could make a big difference.

Turn online leads into footfall

If you’re looking to increase footfall from a local audience like Peter Posh did, then get in touch with our team. Working with brands across the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, our Shrewsbury-based marketing agency will help you put together a brand-led strategy that turns online interest into real-world visits.

Ready to get started? Let’s talk shop.