When was the last time your company launched an ad campaign that was set up to gather leads or capture email addresses and phone numbers? Yesterday, right? Most ad campaigns are set up with one of three goals in mind: Build brand awareness, get sales, or capture leads.
Several years ago Facebook made the barrier to capturing leads just a tad bit easier when they introduced Lead Form Ads. With a Lead ad, you can also easily capture new leads. In our experience, there are certain industries where this form of advertising is highly effective and can land you dozens or hundreds of leads from a single campaign.
The Benefits Lead Generation Ads on Facebook
If you’ve ever experienced severe bounce rates with your lead generation, it may be because the visitor had to leave your site to convert into a buyer. Facebook solves this hurdle by reaching people on the same social media page where they visit.
All Lead ads on Facebook appear directly on the page the user is already viewing. All they have to do is click the ad and Facebook allows them to autofill their data. This info is then sent to you to use as lead generation data.
So, how do you get started in making an appealing Lead ad there? Go to Facebook Business and click on the Ads Manager icon.
In there, you can start to create an ad best representing your brand or particular offer to prospective customers. Simply click “Create Ad” in the Ad Manager section. Facebook will lead you through a series of questions to help set up what your objectives are for the ad.
Lead Generation Targeting and Placement
How you target your ad, and which pages it gets placed on, make all the difference on click-through rates. Two choices are given: letting Facebook automatically place your ad where it might perform the best (based on information you give them), or you can customize placements with your own preferences.
The latter may benefit you just so that you’re sure your ad gets the proper targeting. You get to choose which pages the ad will appear on, whom you target, when it’ll appear, and how much money you’re willing to put out on ad spend.
The type of audience targeting can also become more detailed. This means creating lookalike audiences, targeting local customers, or audiences who follow you already online.
Many major companies and institutions around the world that use this process to successfully target their core customer base. Here are a few examples for companies seeking to test Lead Form Ads.
- A college or university may launch a Lead Form ad to increase student recruitment efforts.
- A real estate company could launch a Lead Form ad to capture leads from interested home buyers or sellers.
- A digital marketing agency could offer a checklist or eBook download and capture information from each lead before they can download the free item.
The Lead Generation Contact Form
This section of the Lead ad is going to be as important as the ad itself. A standard outline of a contact form would likely include a short intro, a few questions, info confirmation, your privacy policy, then a “Thank You” logo.
All of these are easily tweaked thanks to Facebook’s options. Regardless, you want to know what really creates an enticing offer, such as a deal, contest, product pre-order, or even an e-book download. Be clear what you’re offering, along with giving a strong incentive to buy in.
Content in the ad should also be well-targeted, something you can do compellingly through a short video or image. Like every type of ad for your business, it should be designed for your specific buyer persona and short enough for viewers on the scroll.
In this day and age, a significant part of your job as a digital marketer is not just to attract leads to your brand; it’s to make that lead’s journey to becoming a conversion easy. By using Facebook’s Lead ad form campaigns, their journey is simplified to a single form that you can nurture. Not to mention how easy it is for you on the backend to manage your ad campaigns, refine targeting, track ad analytics, and store lead data all in one place.
You can check out more of our lead generation tips for Facebook on our blog, as well as many other social media advertising topics. Also stay tuned for our upcoming lead generation tips for Google Ads! To learn how we can empower your digital marketing or request a free consultation, please contact us!
