With the state of our world and everything going online business leads become more and more important daily. Most businesses would tell you however, getting consumers to do what we want them to do online, can be challenging. Think about it; we are busy humans. Now more than ever. We are working remotely, doing school remotely, shopping remotely, managing our business remotely and consuming a lot of online content and trying to balance it all. Before COVID-19 the average conversion rate on a website was 2.35%. And a website contact page conversion average is only 1%.

So, how can we get these consumers to become leads? Instead of making them come to us, let’s go to them. Marketing to consumers where they are and have them convert there can make things much easier. This is where Facebook Lead Ads come in. Facebook? Really? Yes. It is a common misconception that Facebook is not what it used to be and it is fading on fans. Not true!

Adults still use Facebook and this is across all age groups. Users 26-35 is just as strong as users 56+ and in between.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the leading social platform used by not only B2C marketers but B2B marketers, is Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On average we spend almost an hour each day on Facebook alone.

 

 

 

 

 

So, with all these people on Facebook it’s time to scoop them up and get some leads.

Facebook Lead Ads look very similar to traditional Facebook single image, carousel or video ads, but it has a different call to action. The ads can include an image or video, headline and call to action like, “Subscribe”, “Apply Now”, “Book Now” and once clicked a short lead form opens and populates with questions you want to ask your potential lead. Questions can be as simple as Name, email, phone, etc. and even short answer questions or multiple-choice questions. We recommend the fewer the questions the better to gain as many leads as possible and you should always include contact information so you can follow up with them.

Let’s see a Lead Ad in Action.

Lead notifications when someone submits the form, come via email to the business and can be accessed from the admin section of your Facebook business page.

Traditional digital campaigns can be cumbersome to gain leads by making a consumer click on an ad, drive them to a website that has more content and they get distracted or even intimidated by a form or more information. Lead Ads eliminate unnecessary steps and convert them right from the Facebook platform.

And Ta-da, you have leads! It’s that easy. We found them and we captured them without having the consumer go thru too many hoops to get in touch with the business.

A few tips and best practices we recommend are as follows.

To help your lead ad perform better

  • Include an engaging image or video and relevant call to action in your ad:Your lead ad should encourage people to click on it to open the Instant Form. Make your ad as engaging as possible and clearly communicate why people should fill out your form.
  • Run your ad on Facebook and Instagram:Extend the reach of your campaign by using Automatic Placements to deliver ads on both Facebook and Instagram. This optimizes delivery to reach the most relevant people in a platform-agnostic manner. Note that not all features are available on Instagram.
  • Reach people who look like your best customers:Use a Lookalike Audience to reach people with characteristics similar to your current customers. For lead ads, we recommend using an audience based on existing customers rather than those who have submitted a form so you can reach the people that are likely to provide the most value to your business.
  • Reach people who previously engaged with your lead ad:Create an Engagement Custom Audience to reach people who started your Instant Form but never finished it. Capitalize on this intent to encourage them to finish and submit your form.

To help increase conversion rates for your Instant Form

  • Use the Intro section: Include relevant information in the Intro section of your Instant Form to communicate more information about your business and what people can expect when they submit your form.
  • Keep your Instant Form simple: Avoid overwhelming your audience with too many questions. Keep your questions aligned to your goal and ask as few questions as possible to make it easier for people to submit your form.
  • Include prefill questions: Make it easier for people to submit your form by including questions that will prefill answers based on the information people have already given to Facebook.
  • Use multiple-choice questions to better qualify your leads: Ask multiple-choice questions to help you better understand or qualify your leads. For example, ask for their timeline for purchasing, or their preferred product/service. Fewer multiple-choice questions result in a higher conversion rate, whereas more multiple-choice questions typically result in fewer, higher quality leads.
  • Limit the number of short answer questions: Requiring people to type in multiple pieces of information may prevent them from submitting the form. As an alternative, try using multiple choice questions to collect similar information.
  • Use the Completion screen: Customize the screen people see after they submit your Instant Form to encourage them to take another action.

Ask the Right Questions on Your Instant Form

The questions you include on your Instant Form are likely to change depending on the type of product you sell or the service you wish to advertise. Choosing the right questions will help you better qualify your leads and reach your business goals.

This table includes some example questions based on specific business goals.

Business Goal Common Industries Common Prefill Questions Common Custom Questions
Application or Pre-Order Education, Financial services, Professional services, Retail and ecommerce Full name, Email, Phone number What product are you interested in? What is your desired field of study?
Contest All Full name, Email, Phone number Which product/flavor/category would you vote for?
Download a White Paper or Ebook B2B First name, Work email, Job title, Company name How many employees does your company have? When are you looking to evaluate a service? What is your biggest challenge?
Event or Conference Registration B2B, Entertainment and media Full name, Work email, Company name Which sessions are you interested in attending? What is the size of your company? What industry do you work in?
Insurance Quote Financial services Full name, Email, Phone number, Zip code, Marital status Do you currently have [type of] insurance? When do you plan to switch insurance plans? What is your car’s annual mileage?
Sampling Consumer packaged goods (CPG) Full name, Street address, Gender Which product are you interested in trying? How many adults live in your household?
Sign Up for Newsletter All First name, Work email, Job title How often do you want to hear from us? Which topics are you most interested in?
Sign Up for Offer or Coupon Restaurants, Retail and ecommerce First name, Email, Phone number, Zip code Which item would you like to receive a coupon for? Which store are you most likely to visit?
Test Drive or Showing Automotive, Real estate Email, Phone number, Zip code What model are you interested in? When would you like to purchase your next vehicle? Are you planning on leasing or buying?

 

About Privacy Policies for Lead Ads

You are required to have a privacy policy to run lead ads on Facebook or Instagram. A privacy policy informs people what you will do with their information and can be useful for building trust with your prospective and current customers, who may be more likely to share information with you based on the information outlined in your policy. It is important that your privacy policy be accurate and not misleading.

Some topics that you might consider covering in your privacy policy include:

  • What kinds of information do you collect?
  • How do you use this information?
  • Do you share this information with any affiliates or third parties?
  • Can customers review or delete the information you collect about them?
  • How do you respond to legal requests?
  • How do you notify customers if your privacy practices change?
  • How can customers contact you with questions?
  • What is the effective date of your privacy policy?

You should consider posting your privacy policy in a place where it’s easy for users to find, such as in the footer of your website or in the settings menu of your mobile app. Check your local laws to determine if you need to post your privacy policy in any particular location or manner.

When you create an Instant Form for a lead ad, you will be required to link to your privacy policy in the Privacy section. Your privacy policy cannot link directly to a PDF file, JPEG file, image or direct download

 

If leads are important to your business, we recommend giving Facebook Lead Ads a try.