6 Simple Steps to a Facebook Lead Ad that Converts like Crazy

More than 95% of users access Facebook via mobile, which means that a ton of scrolling through newsfeeds, watching Tasty videos, and, yes, clicking on ads happens on a smartphone.

Facebook lead ads are mobile-friendly, budget-friendly ads that can help you reach your audience and acquire more leads – even when they’re on their phones.

But more leads doesn’t always mean better leads. By following these six simple steps, you can make sure your Facebook leads ads are not just capturing leads, but also converting into new clients and customers.

Before jumping into these simple steps to increase the quality of your ads in order to increase your conversion rates, let’s make sure we’re clear on the basics.

What are lead ads?

Facebook lead ads are a great way to encourage people to contact your business and to request information or services from you with minimal effort. Bottom line, they are the best ad unit for Facebook lead capture. This user-friendly, mobile-friendly ad format enables potential customers to provide you with their contact details and further information about the products or services they are interested in. Not only do lead ads allow people to request specific information, but they also allow you to capture customer details for later targeting without the person visiting your site.

Lead form ads include a call-to-action that opens a form pre-populated with any information the user has already provided via the Facebook platform. These details can then be reviewed and edited before submission.

Why you should use Facebook lead ads

By skipping the need to visit your website, Facebook lead ads make filling out Facebook lead forms shorter and easier for your potential leads. But what does that mean for you? Here are few reasons why lead ads can help your Facebook marketing strategy:

• Optimized for mobile:  Pre-populated forms make data submission quick and easy, enabling potential customers to share their details even when they’re on the move. This will only become more convenient over time as people are using mobiles more frequently.
• Fewer drop-offs lead to more conversions: The simple and easy nature of lead ads means more people are likely to finish and send forms, giving you a higher volume of people to retarget.
• You can easily reach the people that matter to your business: People that have submitted forms already qualify as a “warm audience.” This audience type is important for future retargeting and can be easily encouraged towards conversion.
• Forms can be customized:  This means that you can request specific information relative to your business, streamlining your sales process and allowing you to identify high-quality leads easily.
• Benefits go beyond leads: The customizable nature of Facebook lead ads allows you to use the format for multiple purposes, whether that’s to acquire a newsletter distribution list, book call-backs, manage quote requests, or for event registrations.
• CRM integration: You can sync your lead form ads to your CRM for immediate follow-up.

This Range Rover ad is one of our favorite Facebook lead ad examples. 

What you can use Facebook lead form ads for

Before you create any ad type, you should have an objective in mind. Here are some ways you can use lead form ads:

• Collect email sign-ups: Get more people to subscribe to your newsletters and email marketing with lead ads. This allows you to keep in touch and increases the size of your customer database for remarketing.
• Manage inquiry forms:  Collect inquiries from potential customers, asking them questions to learn more about what they’re interested in. This allows you to follow up more easily and to provide them with more relevant information.
• Offer deals or promotions: Entice people with special deals and promotions to create interest in your business. Get them to fill out your lead form to access the deal.

Your 6-step guide to setting up Facebook lead ads that convert like crazy

Now that I’ve gone over what a Facebook lead ad is and how it’s used, I’ll provide you with tips to make sure you are producing high-quality lead ads to generate high-quality leads.

1. Give people a reason to fill out your lead ad

To get someone to give you their personal information, you need to be offering them something they want – it’s important to consider this before creating your ad. Think of something specific to your business that’s an achievable giveaway at little cost and gets you the information you want from a relevant target audience, enabling you to achieve your objective.

For example, a lot of lead ads offer free content. This is great for people trying to increase their reach and expand their mailing list. However, if you’re a business offering a bespoke service, you may want a lead form ad that offers a free consultation or quote.

Other things you could offer to people in return for form submission include:

• Competition entry
• Event registration
• Test drives
• Newsletters 
• Early access to new products or services

2. Know what information you require

Lead ads are a useful way to gather information from your target audience, but it’s important not to request too much information. This can be time consuming and deter potential leads. And, after all, this would contradict the very appeal of an easy, user-friendly lead form ad. For this reason, it is important that you focus on the information you require to meet your objective and nothing else. Facebook offers a lot of fields to request for data, but don’t be tempted to ask for more than you need.

3. Customize your questions

While Facebook provides a large selection of default questions that can be included in your form, make sure you get the information you really want by asking customized questions. The questions you want to ask will depend on your business goals and what your lead ad is offering.

Image via Facebook Business

You can add up to 15 of these to your form, but in most instances it’s better to include just a few at the most.

4. Target the right people

As with all ad formats, it’s important that you target the right people. To gain conversions, your easiest audience to start with is a lookalike of lead audience. To target this custom audience, upload a customer database of your leads and then create a 1-2% lookalike of this database. If you don’t want to target all of your leads you can target a lookalike of purchasers only. You can also target people who  have engaged with your business, and you can use Facebook’s engagement targeting options to reach these people.

5. Verify the details

In order to ensure the information you collect is accurate and prevent the likelihood of typos, add a page that allows people to check their details. This is also useful in case someone’s contact details have changed since they last filled them out on Facebook.

To add this option to your form, select “Higher intent” when choosing your form type.

6. Customize the thank you page

A customized thank you page is a great way to encourage people to stay engaged with your business after they submit their lead form. Add a headline to promote brand awareness and include a call-to-action button to entice your new leads.

Thank you page via Copy Hackers

These CTAs work well on thank you pages:

• View website: Direct people to your website.
• Download an offer: Allow people to download a white paper or coupons, for example.
• Call business: Encourage prospects to call your business for more information.

Turning Leads into Deals

The overall objective of each these six steps is to customize your ad to suit your business, reach your objective, and gain high-quality leads. By following these steps, you should be attracting prospects that will stay in your sphere of influence longer and continue to engage with your business. Even better, these high-quality leads will be more likely to convert into new clients and customers.

About the author

Jordan Bucknell is the CEO and founder of Upbeat Agency, a Facebook and Instagram ads agency based in London. The agency offers ad strategy and creation for both platforms as well as customized Messenger bots. Their purpose is to help companies drive sales, generate leads, and scale their businesses.