Facebook and Instagram lead generation ads can help you get more leads.
Today we are going to discuss:
- What are lead generation ads?
- Why you should be using them?
- How to create them on Facebook and Instagram?
We will also share three valuable tips that will help you increase the conversion rate of your lead ads.
Want to get more leads with paid advertising?
Continue reading…
What are Facebook and Instagram Lead Generation Ads?
Lead generation ads, also known as lead ads, are ads designed specifically for the purpose of lead generation.
Here’s how Facebook and Instagram lead generation ads work:
- You show the potential customer an ad that promotes your lead magnet.
- The potential customer clicks the button on the ad (e.g. “Sign Up”, “Download”, “Subscribe”, etc.)
- The potential customer is then presented with an opt-in form that is automatically pre-filled with details from their Facebook or Instagram account.
For Example:
Here’s a Facebook lead generation ad from Sleeknote:
What’s the Difference Between Facebook and Instagram Lead Generation Ads?
You probably know that Facebook bought Instagram back in 2012 for $1 billion in cash and stock and owns it to this day.
That’s why you will need to use Ad Manager to set up lead generation campaigns on either platform.
That being said, while lead generation ads on both platforms are similar, there are several important differences that you should keep in mind:
- Instagram lead ads are only available on the Instagram mobile app. Your lead ads won’t appear on the desktop version of Instagram
- Instagram doesn’t support some prefill questions (e.g. if you include the Date of Birth field in your Instant Form, your ad won’t be delivered).
- Instagram does not support the Store Locator or Appointment Request questions. If your lead ad includes one of these questions, it will still be run but that question will not be shown.
- Instagram does not support dynamic ads for lead generation.
Make sure to pay attention to these limitations when you are setting up a lead generation campaign on Instagram.
Top 3 Reasons for Using Lead Generation Ads
Okay, so now that you know what lead generation ads are, the question is: should you be using them?
This is quite a controversial topic since there’s an ongoing debate between marketers who prefer lead generation ads and marketers who prefer regular ads.
There isn’t a clear-cut answer to the question of which type of ads is better. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve.
That being said, let’s take a look at the top three reasons for using lead generation ads…
#1: Validate Your Lead Magnet
Lead generation ads provide an easy way to validate your lead magnet.
You can create a minimum viable product (MVP) version of your lead magnet, then promote it with lead ads to see if people are interested in it.
Once you know that there’s a demand for whatever it is that you are offering as your lead magnet, you can then invest in creating a landing page for it.
Then you can experiment with both regular ads and lead generation ads to see which ad type is more effective at generating leads for your business.
#2: Get More Leads
Here’s the problem with generating leads with regular ads that send potential customers to the lead magnet landing page:
People who browse social media apps on their phones might click on an ad, go to the landing page, then decide that they can’t be bothered to fill out the opt-in form and leave without providing their contact information.
This isn’t surprising when you think about it. Anyone who ever had to fill out a form on their mobile phone knows how tedious that can be. In fact, according to Facebook, it takes almost 40% longer to manually complete a form on mobile vs. desktop.
And that’s the problem that Facebook and Instagram lead generation ads attempt to solve.
They make it as easy as possible for the potential customer to provide their contact details. No need to leave the platform, no need to read landing page copy, no need to type… The potential customer can download the lead magnet with just a few clicks!
WordStream did a study to see whether lead generation ads converted better than regular ads. They looked at over 3,000 campaigns and about $9.5 million in ad spend.
Take a look at the data:
They found that while cost per action was higher, lead generation ads converted to leads at a 2.07% higher rate.
This is not surprising given that lead generation ads remove the main obstacle that stands in the potential customer’s way: the need to type on a smartphone.
#3: Streamline Your Sales Process
Facebook lead ads integrate with the most popular customer relationship management (CRM) apps.
That allows you to reach out to the most promising leads immediately, keep track of them, and nurture those relationships over time.
This is especially important for high-touch products and services that require a sales call to close the deal.
How to Create Lead Ads on Facebook and Instagram
So how can you create lead generation ads on Facebook and Instagram?
Here’s Facebook’s step-by-step tutorial on how to create lead ads from Ads Manager:
- Go to Ads Manager.
- Click + Create in the top left.
- Choose the Lead generation objective and then click Continue.
- Add your campaign details, A/B test and campaign budget optimization information if needed, then click Next.
- In the Page section, choose the Facebook Page you’d like to use to create lead ads. If this is the first time you’re creating a lead ad on this Facebook Page, click View Terms. Review the Lead Ad Terms and select I Agree to Terms and Conditions.
- Choose your budget, audience, placements and optimization. Note that unlike other campaign types, you can’t show lead ads to people under the age of 18. Click Next.
- In the Identity section, select your Facebook Page and attach your Instagram account, if applicable.
- In the Ad Setup section, select Single Image or Video or Carousel.
- In the Ad Creative section, choose the image(s) or video(s) that you would like to use for your ad.
- Add the headline, description, and other text to include in your ad. Include the Call to Action button that is most relevant to your form.
- In the Question Format section, select Instant Form.
- Note: You can also use the Lead Generation objective to encourage people to start a chat with your business in Messenger. To do so, choose Automated Chat instead of Instant Form and follow the instructions here.
- If you chose Instant Form, you have several options for creating a form:
- Click Create Form to create a new Instant Form.
- Click the Duplicate button next to a form you’ve already created. This creates an exact copy that you can modify.
- Click the Edit button next to a draft to modify the form. You cannot edit a form that has been published, but you can duplicate a published form and make changes.
- If you clicked Create Form, the Create Form window will open. Name your form in the Form Name section.
- In the Form Type field, choose which type of Instant Form you wish to use.
- Choosing More Volume will allow you to create a form that is quick to complete and submit on a mobile device.
- Choosing Higher Intent will add a review step that gives people a chance to confirm their information before submission.
- In the Intro section, add an introduction screen to your Instant Form. You can use this introduction section to include an image, headline and description that explains more about your product or service.
- In the Questions section, click + Add Question to add up to 15 questions. Custom questions allow you to get answers to the questions that are most important to your business or organization. You can also include prefill questions to ask for user information.
- In the Description field of the Prefill Questions section, inform people how their information will be used or shared. You may only use the information collected in your lead ad for the purposes stated in this notice.
- Choose which information you’d like to have prefilled in your form. You can add categories using the + Add Category button.
- In the Privacy section, add link text and a URL in the Privacy Policy field. You can also click + Add Custom Disclaimer if you want to add additional disclaimers to your Instant Form. Custom disclaimers have no character limit.
- In the Completion section, add a headline, description, call-to-action button and link to help keep your leads engaged after they submit the form. The Headline and Call-To-Action Text fields can include up to 60 characters.
- Click the arrows at the top of your Form Preview to make sure your complete form looks the way you want it.
- Click Publish to complete your form. Click Save Draft if you think you’ll want to make changes later. Once an Instant Form has been completed, you cannot edit it.
- Complete the rest of your ad by adding information in the Tracking section, if applicable.
- When you’re done, click Publish to publish your lead ad.
Note that you will also need to include the URL for your company’s privacy policy in your form, so make sure that you have that page ready.
By the way, Facebook advises having your legal team review the questions that you intend to ask on your form, as well as the Lead Ads Terms of Service and Advertising Policies. You may want to consult a lawyer just to be safe.
How to Increase the Conversion Rate of Your Lead Ads
Here are three tips that will help you increase the conversion rate of your lead ads:
#1: Make Your Lead Magnet Super Valuable
Your lead magnet is at the core of your lead generation campaign.
As we shared in one of our Instagram posts:
People are not going to give you their contact information unless you give them something super valuable in return.
That’s why the key to designing an effective lead magnet is to create something that your dream customers desperately want… And then give it to them for free.
#2: Emphasize the Main Benefit of the Lead Magnet
Want to learn how to write ad copy that converts?
Then you need to understand the difference between features and benefits:
- A feature is a quality or a feature of a product (e.g. “These shoes are waterproof!”)
- A benefit is a benefit that the customer will derive from using your product (e.g. “These shoes will keep your feet dry!”).
There’s an old copywriter saying:
“Features tell, benefits sell.”
People make purchasing decisions based on benefits, then justify those decisions with features.
And while you may not be charging for your lead magnet, you still need to sell the potential customer on it if you want them to download it.
So figure out what the main benefit of your lead magnet is and emphasize it in your ad copy. How will downloading the lead magnet make the potential customer’s life better?
#3: Don’t Ask for too Much Information
Ad Espresso did a study where they analyzed 30,000 Facebook campaigns to see how the number of questions on a lead ad form affected the cost per lead (CPL) of that ad.
Here are the results:
As you can see, the more questions you ask, the higher the cost per lead.
But what’s especially interesting is that CPL more than doubles when you go from five questions to six questions.
AdEspresso team concluded that it’s best to only ask 1-3 questions and that you should never ask more than five questions.
So determine what information is absolutely necessary and don’t ask for anything else on your lead ad form.
Conclusion
Lead generation ads can help you get more leads. That’s what they were designed for!
However, merely running lead generation ads is not enough, you also need to make sure that they convert:
- Offer a super valuable lead magnet.
- Emphasize the main benefit of your lead magnet in the ad copy.
- Only ask for information that is necessary. 1-3 questions is ideal. Never ask more than five questions!
Keep tweaking your lead ads until you figure out what works best. Then double down on it!
Also, if you want to maximize your return on investment, you should build a sales funnel.
We created our 5 Day Challenge to show you how to do that.
You will learn how to:
- Generate unlimited leads
- Create your first lead magnet
- Build your first sales funnel
- Create a simple 6-email follow-up sequence
- And launch your funnel
…in just five days!
So don’t hesitate.