Facebook is one of the most valuable tools for any online business. The channel has 2.93 billion monthly active users and connects with customers all around the world. It’s also fantastic for influencing customer purchasing decisions, building brand relationships, and more.
Given its massive audience, businesses and marketers alike can’t afford to ignore Facebook as a channel for brand awareness and growth. Perhaps one of the most significant factors making Facebook so valuable to brands is its wide range of tools and services to business leaders, designed to improve the relevance and ROI of ads.
One of these incredible tools is Facebook lead ads, a reasonably new offering from Facebook, perfect for getting more conversions through social media.
What are Facebook Lead Ads?
So, what are Facebook Lead ads? Simply put, they’re a specific form of advertising tool on Facebook, which allows marketers to generate leads among customers interested in their products or services. Facebook Lead ads are an alternative to the traditional “landing page” most companies use to collect customer contact details.
Customers still give you their contact information, but the form they fill out is within the social media environment, so clients are jumping less around. You can customize your lead forms to ask for basic details like name, email address, and other contact details.
When a prospect completes one of your Facebook Lead ad forms, they’re instantly added to your email list, where you can nurture them with updates and offers. Brands can adapt their lead ads to reach a specific audience and choose from several campaign types, such as:
- Demos
- Downloads
- Events
- Discounts
Facebook showcases lead ads in different areas of the social platform, including Facebook Messenger, news feeds, and articles, to give you the best chance of reaching your prospects.
How Do Facebook Lead Ads Work?
Facebook Lead Ads are relatively straightforward and perform similarly to other forms of social media advertising. You can create your ads within the Facebook (Meta) Ads Manager environment and establish a budget for how much you’re willing to spend.
Users can also customize their lead ads however they choose, adding descriptive text, videos, and images, to boost conversion rates. Plus, you’ll have full access to Facebook’s targeting features, so you can cater to certain demographics or specified interests.
Once you’ve created a Facebook Lead ad, it will show on your user’s feeds, where they can respond to an offer by entering their details. From the perspective of a potential prospect, a lead ad looks just the same as a standard link ad. However, once they click on the campaign, they’ll be taken to a form rather than a website landing page.
You’ll get to decide what’s included on the form, and you can explore different question formats, such as:
- Appointment requests
- Conditional questions (based on specific user data)
- Store locator menus
- Short answers
- Multiple-choice questions
Why Use Facebook Lead Ads?
The most significant benefit of a Facebook Lead ad is that it gives your prospects an easy way to fill out your forms and engage with your business. Many consumers today don’t like having to visit different websites and pages to connect with a company. They want their interactions to be as streamlined and straightforward as possible.
You can even use a “pre-fill” option, which enters the information Facebook already has about your prospect into the form automatically, reducing the amount of time they spend on the page.
With a Facebook Ads expert for guidance, companies can also access a range of other benefits from Lead ads, such as:
- Better audience targeting: Reach a specific audience or demographic with built-in targeting features from Meta Ads Manager.
- Easy data collection: Rapidly collect leads through Facebook and add them to your existing lead nurturing and sales tools.
- Mobile responsiveness: Connect with your audience on mobile platforms as well as on the web for more reach.
- Increased conversions: If customers don’t have to do as much to engage with your brand, they’re more likely to convert.
- Enhanced insights: You’ll be able to use your Facebook advertising analytics to learn more about your target audience and their preferences.
How much does it cost?
The amount you spend on any Facebook advertising strategy can vary based on a number of factors. According to recent benchmark data, the average cost for each lead across all industries on Facebook is around $19.68. For Facebook lead ads, the costs are relatively similar.
According to WordStream analytics, the average cost-per-action for lead ads is around $17.98, with a conversion rate of 12.54%. In comparison, campaigns with a landing page generally have a conversion rate of 10.47% and a cost per action of $13.26. So, the price of your ads might be a little higher, but your conversion rate will increase too.
How to Set up Facebook Lead Ads
Creating a Facebook Lead ad should be relatively straightforward if you’re already familiar with the Facebook ad platform. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with the terms of service and advertising policies held by Facebook to ensure your ads are approved. Plus, you need a link to your privacy policy, as this should appear on the lead form.
To create a Facebook Lead ad, start by logging into your Facebook Business account and visiting the “Publishing Tools” page. Go to the “Forms Library” on the left of the page, click +create, then select either “new form” or “duplicate” if you have an existing form you want to use. Give the form a name, then:
- Choose your form type: Select between “more volume,” which gives you fillable forms for mobile users, or “higher intent,” which allows users to confirm and review their details before submitting any form information.
- Go to the “intro” section: Create an introductory screen for your ad, Facebook has some useful advice on how to do this, but generally, you’ll need to include images, headlines, and descriptions of your services and products.
- Add your questions: In the “Questions” section, you can list up to 15 questions you want to ask your audience. It’s best to keep queries short and sweet where possible. You can also use the “Pre-fill questions” to help your audience, though you’ll need to tell Facebook how you plan on using the information your customers provide.
- Link your privacy policy: Visit the “Privacy” section and include your link text and URL for your privacy policy. You can also add a disclaimer.
- Fill out the “Completion” section: Visit the “Completion” section and add your headline, CTA button, links to your website, and descriptions. You’ll have up to 60 characters for headlines and CTAs.
- Preview your form: Preview what your form is going to look like, then select whether you want to save your form as a draft to edit later or publish it to your Facebook page. You can also “Boost” your form to send it out as an ad. This will require you to set a budget, choose your audience, select your content, and pick a time period for your promotion.
- Promote your ad: Click on “Promote” to get your lead ads up and running.
7 Tips to Get the Most out of Lead Ads
Like any Facebook or digital ad strategy, getting the best results from your campaigns will require some testing and optimization. The more you experiment with your Facebook ads, the easier it should be to determine how you can attract the most customers.
A few ways to improve the results of your Facebook Lead ads include:
1. Include an Offer
Your customers are more likely to share their personal information if they believe they’re going to get something from you in return. When NeonAmbition tested 1,500 lead ads to determine if offers generated a higher return on investment, they discovered offers performed better 67% of the time.
Consider providing your clients with a discount, free shipping, or access to an exclusive bundle to make them more likely to sign up. You could even include a lead magnet, like a free download.
2. Keep your text short
Ads should generally be short, sweet, and focused directly on the benefits you can offer your customers. Rather than trying to outline everything your company can offer in one small section, try to reduce your text to just a couple of lines.
A good strategy is to place the offer or value of your product right at the beginning of your text segment. For instance, try “Get early access to our upcoming sale here.”
3. Engage with your followers
One of the main things that differentiate Facebook Lead ads from standard landing pages is they give your customers a way to connect with you and share their comments or opinions. Paying attention to what people say about your offer can help you to improve your future campaigns.
Plus, if you respond to your customer’s comments, this shows them they’re dealing with a highly responsive brand focused on customer service. Make sure your responses maintain the same consistent tone of voice you’ve built for your company.
4. Add text to your images
Since customers don’t want to spend a lot of time reading the content above your Facebook Lead ads, you might benefit from adding annotations to the videos or images you use. Implementing small pieces of text which highlight the offer available can make it more compelling and eye-catching.
If you’re adding captions to videos or annotations to images, make sure the font you choose is easy to read on all devices.
5. Integrate your lead ads with your sales funnel
Facebook Lead ads are all about generating new opportunities for your business. Linking your ads to your lead funnels can make it easier for your sales teams to sort through prospects and pinpoint the most valuable leads for conversion. Facebook Lead ads can already naturally integrate with a range of email automation and CRM systems, including HubSpot and Salesforce.
Connecting the various pieces of your software in one environment should also make it easier to collect valuable details about your target audience and the customer journey.
6. Follow up quickly
When leads do connect with your business through Facebook Lead ads, it’s important to engage them as quickly as possible. Setting up an automated email marketing campaign so you can welcome your new subscribers and let them know what to expect from your business is crucial.
When you’re following up with leads, try to focus on drawing attention to the benefits your customers are going to get from connecting with you. This is a good way to ensure your clients feel positive about the decision to give you their contact details.
7. Test your ads regularly
As mentioned above, the cost of your Facebook Lead ads can vary based on a number of factors, including what kind of customers you’re trying to reach. To get the best return on your investment and reduce the cost per lead, you’ll need to commit to some regular testing.
A/B testing and split testing strategies are a great way to boost the value of Facebook and Instagram campaigns. You can run multiple ads at the same time while collecting insights into which campaigns generate the most leads and conversions.
3 Great Examples of Successful Facebook Lead Ads
As a valuable tool for increasing lead acquisition and engagement, Facebook Lead Ads have rapidly caught the attention of a wide range of different companies. Businesses from a host of different niches have already begun using this strategy to their advantage. Here are some examples:
1. The Wealth Factory
The Wealth Factor used a Facebook Lead ad with a free PDF as a lead magnet to generate more attention from their target audience. Promising customers a free PDF with access to valuable information targeted at specific clients leads to a massive ROI.
In this lead ad example, the Wealth Factory draws quick attention to the benefits users are going to get from the lead magnet, listed in the form of bullet points. The Facebook users who encounter this ad also only need to complete a super short form to get started.
2. Boux Avenue
Another great way to enhance the value and return on your lead ads is to provide your customers with an instant discount. This makes them feel like they’re getting a great deal, which means they’re more likely to convert.
Boux Avenue promises its customers a 20% discount as soon as they sign up, so they can leverage the advantages of the offer straight away. The company gets straight to the point with its text and uses an eye-catching image to draw customer attention.
The Boux Avenue Facebook Lead ad is particularly effective because it takes advantage of pre-filled form sections, so customers have to enter as little detail as possible. Offering a discount and simplifying form completion can be an excellent way to enhance your conversion rates. You can also create urgency by letting customers know they only have so much time to get the offer.
3. NBA Milwaukee Bucks
Annual season tickets to a game with the NBA can cost a lot of money and be extremely difficult to get hold of. The Milwaukee Bucks took advantage of the desire their customers have for instant access to low-price tickets with their Facebook Lead Ad.
The ad leverages “Fear of Missing Out” to convince people to get involved and lets users know what kind of benefits are in it for them (Guarantee your seats).
Image Source
In the follow-up confirmation page for the ad, the company asks users whether they want to make sure they can skip the lines and be the first to grab tickets – increasing excitement. The simple and straightforward form ensures customers don’t have to exert much effort to get involved.
FAQs
Are Facebook Lead Ads Effective?
Facebook Lead ads make it quick and simple to collect important contact information from your prospects. You access a conversion rate of 12.54% with this kind of ad and reduce the risk of your customers losing interest before they’ve finished filling out your forms.
What are the other types of Facebook Ads?
Outside of Facebook Lead ads, businesses on Facebook can leverage Instant Experience ads, Image ads, carousel ads, video ads, collection ads, poll ads, slideshow ads, and dynamic ads. There are also ads designed specifically for Messenger, Stories ads, and Augmented Reality ads available. Businesses on Facebook have access to a diverse range of ad examples, formats, and templates through the FB Ads Library, enabling them to create compelling and personalized ad campaigns.
How can I increase my leads on Facebook?
The key to generating the most leads from Facebook is targeting the right audience. Ensuring you create a specific persona for your ads and creating content that appeals to your customer base is crucial. It’s also worth experimenting with offers and discounts to increase conversions.
Finishing Thoughts on Facebook Lead Ads
There’s no denying the potential impact of Facebook on business marketing strategies. The platform has a phenomenal reach and plenty of different ways for companies to connect with prospects and leads. Facebook Lead Ads are just another way to make sure you collect as many potential customers for your business as possible.
To make the most of your Facebook Lead ads, ensure you’re working with a specialist capable of optimizing your campaigns. A Toptal Facebook marketing expert will be able to help you customize your form fields and targeting strategies for the best return on investment.
