9 Keys to Success with Facebook Lead Generation Ads
In this tutorial, I’m going to share with you the nine keys to success with Facebook lead generation campaigns.
Now, Facebook lead generation ads have been around for a while and more and more people that advertise on Facebook are turning to them after the big updates with iOS 14. So I thought it would be a perfect time to publish a guide on how to get the best results possible with Facebook lead generation campaigns.
We’ve been using this campaign type for many years in our agency, both for our selves and for our clients and we know what it takes to get great results.
Just to be super clear on what I’m talking about, I’m not referring here to conversion campaigns where we’re optimizing for leads, which is of course a viable alternative to lead generation campaigns.
I’m talking specifically about the lead generation objective.
With lead generation campaigns, when someone clicks on a Facebook or Instagram ad, they are taken directly to a lead form where they can submit their information, instead of being sent somewhere else such as your website or landing page.
You’ve probably seen this sort of thing at some point. Maybe you’ve tested it out yourself.
Ask for Phone Numbers
One of the most important things you can do with Facebook lead generation campaigns is ask for people’s phone numbers. That’s because most businesses that are looking to generate leads are going to be service providers, or there’s some sort of interaction that you’re likely to have with your prospects before they go on to become a customer.
Asking your prospects for a phone number is going to make it much, much easier for you to get in touch with people after they submit their information.
One of the complaints that a lot of businesses have about Facebook lead generation campaigns is that the lead quality is poor and they struggle to make contact with the leads they generate. That’s why people often go with conversion campaigns instead.
But if you have someone’s phone number you’ll find it far easier to get in touch. Emails are too easily ignored.
A phone call is far more likely to get someone’s attention and get you talking to your leads, which is critical to converting them into customers.
Follow Up Quickly
The second key to success with Facebook lead generation ads is to follow up as quickly as you possibly can.
If a prospect submits their information via one of your lead generation ads and you wait 48 hours to get in touch with them, you greatly decrease the likelihood of converting that prospect into a customer.
But if you contact people within a few hours of them becoming a lead, your chances are much, much better.
It’s very easy for someone to see a Facebook ad, open it and submit their data via a lead form. That process may only take a few seconds.
That lack of friction makes Facebook lead generation ads very cost effective, but also makes it easy for your prospects to forget all about you quite quickly.
If you catch leads while they are fresh, you can benefit from their enthusiasm around your product or service. If so, you’ll find the conversion process much easier.
I would recommend that someone from your company checks multiple times per day to see what leads have come through and attempts to contact those people as soon as possible. Doing so can make a big, big difference in your conversion rate.
Use a Low Barrier to Entry Offer
The third key to success is to use a low barrier to entry offer.
You don’t want to run a lead generation campaign that’s asking someone to commit to a $10,000 deposit on a $50,000 service.
It’s much better to offer something that’s very easy for people to say yes to. Offers like a free survey, free quote or free consultation all work well. It’s just a whole lot less scary to sign up for something free initially.
Target Lookalike Audiences
Item number four on the list is to target lookalike audiences in at least one of your ad sets in your Facebook lead generation campaign.
The ideal lookalike audience to target is one based on people who have already submitted a lead form of yours. You can create a custom audience out of anyone who has already submitted a lead form and use that as your source audience.
If you are just getting started this option may not be available to you yet. You need at least 1000 people in an audience to create a custom audience. That’s fine, you’ll get there 🙂
Retarget Your Leads
Key to success number five is retarget people that submit your lead form but do not convert into customers.
There will probably be lots of people that submit a lead form that you aren’t able to get in touch with or you do get in touch with but don’t convert initially. You don’t need to give up on those leads just yet.
I would recommend retargeting those people with the exact same lead generation ads. This way your ads will remind them to complete the action they were thinking about taking, provided they are still interested.
The easiest way to set this up is to include a retargeting ad set in your lead generation campaign. In that retargeting ad set, target a custom audience of people that have opened or submitted your lead form.
Just make sure you exclude the people who have gone on to become a customer.
Integrate Your Lead Campaign with Your CRM
Key to success number 6 is to integrate your own CRM.
I know not everyone has a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM), but lots of businesses do and if you have one, you can set it up so that when a Facebook lead comes in you are automatically notified. That way you can follow up with people quickly and it’ll be easier to track of your leads.
Most major CRMs do have a Facebook integration that’s pretty easy to set up. If not, you can use Zappier to connect your Lead form to your CRM or email marketing software.
Don’t Overcomplicate Your Offer
Number seven is to try not to over complicate what you’re offering in your Facebook lead generation ads.
Just focus each ad on one offer and make it clear what it is that your offering.
If you have a service based business and you offer a free consultation as your initial step then just offer that. Nothing else.
Don’t try to pitch the full service or offer three or four different things in one ad. Confusing your prospects never works well.
You want the process to be as simple as possible for your target market.
Only Ask For What You Really Need
Number eight is to take out all unnecessary requests for information. You really just want their name, phone number and email.
That’s it.
If you ask for anything else you will almost certainly increase your cost per lead.
If you do find that your lead quality isn’t good enough you can always add more questions and criteria, but start with asking for as little information as possible.
Always include an Intro Section.
Number nine, All lead generation ads give you the option to include an intro section within your ad.
What’s great about an intro section is it gives you a chance to give leads a quick summary of your product or service and what to expect.
The intro also serves to get leads excited and primed to keep reading — and eventually follow through and buy.
Not including an intro is a missed opportunity because you will give up the option to:
- Add a catchy headline and offer a hook to get users curious.
- Include a custom image, different from the main one in the lead ad. This is another way to catch user attention.
- Add a short paragraph or bullet points to quickly inform leads.
The Bottom Line on How to Be Successful with Facebook Lead Generation Ads
Facebook lead generation ads can be very effective and highly cost efficient. Here are the 8 keys to success shared above:
- Ask for phone numbers
- Follow up quickly
- Use a low barrier to entry offer
- Target lookalike audiences Retarget your leads
- Integrate your lead campaign with your CRM
- Don’t overcomplicate your offer
- Only ask for what you really need
More Free Facebook Ads Training
To help business owners succeed with Facebook ads I’ve created a FREE 5 part Facebook ad template swipe file that you can use to copy and paste proven ads to generate low cost leads and sales. You can download here.
When you download this Template you’ll learn:
- Our "Value-First" strategy that uses Facebook's social nature to consistently generate low cost leads and sales. (This strategy works in ANY market).
- The 5 elements of any Facebook ad that you need to get right to convince your target market to click and most importantly CONVERT.
- How to quickly and easily create (or find) eye-catching images that are relevant to your business (using the right ad images will massively boost your ROI).
