Tips on Using Facebook Lead Ads for Small Businesses
February 8, 2017
If your marketing goal is to generate leads by capturing contact information, Facebook Lead Ads is a valuable tool.
There are two things that dramatically help with online lead generation:
- Creating a low-risk first step that entices people to act without the sense they’re under any obligation or that they’ll get spammed.
- A super easy, short form that can be filled out in no-time.
One lead-generation tool that really meets these criteria is Facebook Lead Ads.
What are Facebook Lead Ads?
Facebook Lead Ads are a type of sponsored ad that appears in your audience’s timeline just like other Facebook ads. However, the goal with lead ads is literally to capture the lead’s info without them leaving Facebook. That is to say, these ads don’t link to a website landing page, creating an additional step. For example:
The above ad encourages dental practices to get a quote for Facebook advertising management. This call to action is to request a quote, but you can choose from different calls to action, including:
- Sign Up
- Subscribe
- Learn More
- Apply Now
- Get Quote
- Download
When someone clicks on the “Get Quote” button on our ad, this form appears:
Facebook will autofill the form with the user’s existing profile info, so there is no long lead form to fill out. In the case of this form, we customized it so the lead has to add their phone number. We do this to better qualify the lead (we want a phone number in addition to an email).
Notice on the form there is a link to both the company and Facebook privacy policies. This is required, and also alleviates the sense of risk some people have about sharing their contact info.
After the lead submits their information, they have a chance to link to the company website:
You can also create an optional welcome screen that gives the lead context as to what they’re getting and why they should connect with you.
This welcome screen serves as a type of landing page that explains your offer and entices action.
Ad Creatives and Customization
These are advertisements that appear in people’s timelines, so you want professional, well-composed images. Remember that you’re dealing with a social media platform, so people are not ostensibly shopping for services. You have to draw them in with something eye-catching and interesting. At the same time, you are targeting your ads (our dental ad, for example, is targeted only to people who work in the dental profession or who previously visited our website), so the strategy is to direct ads only to those who are interested in your offer. You can run a video, slideshow, or carousel depending on how much content you want to show in your ad.
You can customize the info you want to get from the lead, including:
While Facebook will autofill this information, it’s recommended that you only include what’s essential to qualify the lead. The more that’s asked, the more likely they are to cancel the submission.
You can also ask up to three open-ended or multiple-choice questions, but ask only what’s essential because they make people type (more effort means less conversion, especially on mobile devices).
You can integrate your Facebook ads into your CRM software, making it easy to get this new lead information right into your system. Most small business leads are time sensitive, so it’s vital that you reach out to them in a timely, organized manner.
If your goal is to collect emails and/or phone numbers, Facebook’s Lead Ads are a powerful tool. It’s a lead-generation form that’s targeted, easy to fill out, and low risk. That’s a winning combination.
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