Facebook provides small businesses with various growth opportunities, including opportunities for fast and cost-effective lead generation. If you have just started an eCommerce company and are looking for ways to acquire first customers, consider running lead generation ads.
In this article, you will find tips on how to set up an effective Facebook lead ad campaign and make your eCommerce brand stand out.
What are the benefits of running Facebook lead ads?
You may be wondering why you should spend money on Facebook advertising if you can use the lead generation form on your website for free.
Here is the list of key benefits of Facebook lead ads.
- In contrast to other lead generation forms, Facebook lead forms are specifically designed and sized to fit mobile screens. So if you want to engage mobile-first users, Facebook lead advertising is a perfect solution for you.
- It takes users less time and effort to fill in the form on Facebook. Once users click a CTA button, they see a pre-filled form that already contains their contact information like name, surname, location, email, etc. Automation of the form filling process positively influences the form completion rate.
- Facebook provides audience selection and optimization products that allow reaching the right audience and the right time. That’s exactly what small eCommerce businesses need to maximize their marketing and lead generation efforts.
- You can sync newly generated leads with your CRM and take immediate actions to move leads down to the sales funnel.
Use lead generation ads to accomplish your marketing goals
Depending on the niche you work in and the current stage of your eCommerce business development, you can use Facebook lead ads for one of the following purposes:
- Identify potential customers for your newly founded business
- Learn more about the interests, preferences, and behaviors of potential clients
- Grow your email list to increase sales and expand business
- Improve brand awareness and loyalty by encouraging customers to download content (white papers, checklists, brochures, etc.)
- Increase your income by getting people to sign up for your platform or enroll in your program/class
8 Steps to set up an effective lead generation ad on Facebook
Define your target audience
The most important thing about running a successful ad campaign, no matter whether it’s a Facebook ad or over-the-top (OTT) advertising, is having a clear picture of who your target audience is. When you understand who will interact with your ad, you can create the most appealing ad message.
Your task here is to define not only the demographics but also the psychographics of your target audience. In other words, you should find out not only how old your customers are and where they live, but also what lifestyles, attitudes, and believes they have.
Focus on adding value
Facebook users will agree to fill in your form only if you offer something valuable in return.
Leading paid media agencies recommend to provide a piece of valuable content:
- White paper
- How-to guide
- Check-list
- Templates
- Infographics
- E-book
- Marketing report
- Brochures
Also, you can provide something that has a material value:
- Discounts
- Coupons
- Free products or samples
Analyze the preferences of your target audience in detail and define a type of “reward” that will hold value to your prospective customers. If you opt for creating high-quality, valuable content, find writers who can assist you. Preferably, you need to hire writing experts with backgrounds in your niche. For instance, if you sell medical equipment, you should find a writer with medical experience to help you create a how-to guide.
Also, you can consider another option. You can collaborate with micro-influencers in your niche. They also know how to create great content to engage your audience.
Pick the right type of Instant Form
There are two types of Instant forms. The “More Volume” form is easy-to-complete and easy-to-submit. You can use it if your main goal is to collect as many leads as possible.
The “Higher Intent” form will include a review step that gives users a chance to review and confirm their answers before submission. This type of Instant form works well for attracting qualified leads.
Choose a suitable text and image for the Intro section
If you have ever run Facebook ad campaigns before, it will be easy for you to set a lead ad because it has the same text and image requirements as link ads. Depending on the message you are going to promote, you can use a single image, multiple images, or a short video.
The length of the text shouldn’t exceed the 125 characters limit. The maximum length of the textual link description is 30 characters. To make sure your text is well-written and doesn’t contain any grammatical errors, explore some professional thesis writing services.
Here is an example of a Facebook lead ad designed by Microsoft CEE.
At this step, you should briefly explain what your offer is all about. You should describe the “value” you provide and convince users to click the call-to-action button.
Add a hashtag
When it comes to social media marketing, hashtags always play an important role. They help to improve brand visibility and make social media posts more memorable and engaging. So if you come up with a relevant hashtag that describes your campaign, make sure to put it in the Intro section.
Ask questions
Facebook allows you to add up to 15 questions to your lead generation form. However, it will be wise of you to keep your form short. The fewer questions your form will contain, the more the users will complete the form.
You should decide which information you would like to have prefilled in your form. Here is a list of prefill questions currently available on Facebook:
- Contact Fields
-
- Phone number
- Street address
- City
- State
- Province
- Country
- Post code
- Zip code
- User Information
-
- Full name
- First name
- Last name
- Demographic Questions
-
- Date of birth
- Gender
- Marital status
- Relationship status
- Military status
- Work Information
-
- Job title
- Work phone number
- Work email
- Company name
Add a link to the privacy policy for your eCommerce business
Facebook requires all business owners and advertisers to have a privacy policy on their business’ websites. For this reason, you must offer users to read your Terms and Conditions before clicking the “Submit” button. You will get access to collected data only if users agree with your privacy policy.
If you find it necessary, you can add a custom disclaimer in addition to the Facebook privacy disclaimer. You may need to use such a disclaimer if you want to share users’ information or complete other specific actions.
Say “thank you”
You should say “thank you” to users who complete the instant form. You should show people that you appreciate their input. It will help you to improve brand loyalty and increase engagement.
Wrapping up
If you want to get the most out of your investment in Facebook adverting, consider running an A/B test to measure completion rates, cost per lead, and cost per conversion. Compare the results of using forms of different lengths and types to find the best advertising solution for your small eCommerce business.
BIO: Jessica Fender is a copywriter and blogger at Academyfest with a background in marketing and sales. She enjoys sharing her experience with like-minded professionals who aim to provide customers with high-quality services.
