How to Use Facebook Lead Ads to Grow Your Business

If your objectives include market research, customer feedback, or even increasing conversions, Facebook lead ads are the right choice for you.

Facebook lead ads can accomplish a variety of marketing objectives, but they’re best at helping with one of marketing’s golden rules: Know thy audience.

Many marketers think they know their audience, but often confuse customer data with customer analytics. In a mostly online ecosystem, it’s easy to forget that sometimes the best way to learn about customers is to just ask questions. That’s exactly what Facebook lead ads (sometimes called Facebook lead forms) do.

If your objectives include market research, customer feedback, or even increasing conversions, Facebook lead ads may be the right solution. This guide will answer all of your questions about the ad format, including how to create a campaign and how to optimize for success.

What are Facebook lead ads?

Facebook lead ads are essentially promoted forms. These forms allow marketers to capture details from customers while offering opportunities to connect, such as newsletter subscriptions, demo requests, or contest registration.

When someone clicks on a lead ad, they presented with a form that’s pre-populated with information from their Facebook profile. The rest can be completed in a few easy taps.

A major attribute about lead ads is that they are optimized for mobile. That’s key for Facebook’s 88 percent share of mobile users–especially since it typically takes 40 percent longer to complete forms on desktop.

Another advantage Facebook lead generation ads offer is that generated leads can be synced directly with your company’s customer-relationship management system or downloaded as a .CSV file. This allows marketers to follow-up more efficiently, which is vital for closing the deal.

Tips for creating Facebook lead ads that convert

Offer an incentive

People are more willing to share their personal information with you if you offer something in return. Whether it’s a promo code or a free download, a good incentive shows customers you value their information.

Popular incentive examples include:

• Get deals and offers

• Enter sweepstakes and contests

• Receive product samples

• Attend an event

• Pre-order products

• Download studies and whitepapers

Be clear about your offer

Share your value proposition upfront so that people understand what they are signing up for. While optional, Facebook recommends you include this information in your promotional copy and in the introduction at the beginning of your form. Also, add branding throughout the experience so there isn’t any ambiguity as to who people are sharing their info with.

It’s also important to choose imagery that supports your messaging. For instance, point-of-sales systems provider Revel Systems tested different creative for its lead ad campaign, and found images with the product as a focal point were much more effective.

Use compelling content and formats

Just like any other Facebook ad, lead ads best served when the medium fits the message. For instance, if you want to showcase multiple products or features, perhaps a carousel format is the best choice. Short video, on the other hand, is a good format for storytelling and increasing brand awareness.

Don’t assume that because you’re offering an incentive creative doesn’t matter. Include high quality images and videos, sharp copy, and a CTA button for best results.

Keep your form simple

It’s simple: The easier your form is to fill out, the higher your completion rate will be. According to Facebook, with each question you add, the chance of someone abandoning the form increases.

Only ask for the most relevant information. If your form includes multiple-choice questions, limit the number of choices between three and four.

Ask the right questions

If Facebook’s provided questions don’t meet your needs you can create custom questions for your form. Choose between short answer, multiple choice and conditional questions, which change based on how a previous question was answered.

Your form can also include Store Locator and Appointment Scheduling fields which let people search for a nearby location or schedule visits.

Need help brainstorming questions? Facebook’s rubric of business goals and examples is a good place to start.

Target the right audience

Your target audience should align with your lead ad’s objectives. There are three primary audience types you can choose from:

• Lookalike audiences: If your goal is to expand your customer base, create a Lookalike Audience modeled off of your most valuable customers in order to find similar users. Learn more about how to use lookalike audiences.

• People near you: If you have one or more locations and your account is managed by a Facebook representative, you can use the business locator feature and target ads to people in range of your stores. This audience segment is ideal if your aim is to schedule appointments, demos, or simply encourage customers to visit.

• Custom audiences: Examples of custom audiences can include people who are subscribed to your newsletter, recent site and app visitors, or people in your CRM.

Plan to follow-up

A swift follow-up can significantly improve the chances of a conversion. And the quicker you do it the better. A landmark study published in Harvard Business Review found that businesses that make contact with customers within an hour are seven times more likely to secure qualified leads.

Keep in mind that messaging apps are now consumers’ preferred way to connect with brands. Two-thirds of customers rank messaging ahead of phone, live chat, and face-to-face communications.

Test and optimize

The best lead ads are often the result of A/B testing and fine-tuning. Consider running two lead ads with different imagery or copy. Or try running lead ads with different form lengths to measure completion rates.

Successful Facebook lead ad examples from brands

Revel Systems: Optimizing pays off

With the goal of generating more customer leads for its point-of-sales system, Revel Systems tested lead ads against link ads that directed people to a campaign landing page.

Early results showed that the in-app lead ad format led to 619 times the amount of leads and a 74 percent lower cost per lead. The company also tested different images, finding that images that focused on the product performed better.

Myra: Slimming down sampling costs

The UL Skin Sciences brand Myra is a big brad in the Philippines and was able to grow its national customer base through offering samples offline. To grow its business online and reduce costs, Myra turned to Facebook lead ads.

Using lookalike and custom audiences, the beauty brand targeted an existing customer base and a new qualified customer segment. The campaign was able to secure 110,000 sign-ups at a 71 percent lower cost per sign-up rate.