Facebook Creates The “Lead Ad”

A few months ago Facebook began testing improvements to their Lead Ads.   These improvements are now available to any business advertising on Facebook, effectively simplifying the collection of potential customers based on a set of customizable parameters.

What is a Lead Ad?

Basically, a Lead Ad provides a simple way for users to complete forms from their mobile devices. Increasingly consumers are using their mobile devices as their main access point to the Internet. This means businesses need to re-think and re-develop how they present their information and, more importantly, to ensure that opt-in forms are easy to fill out and submit.

How do Lead Ads benefit me as a Business?

Lead Ads ensure that users are able to opt-in to your offer regardless of where they are. This means that you don’t lose a potential customer just because they are out and about. Once you have their attention you can capture their information.

How are Facebook’s new Lead Ads Different?

Facebook has taken the concept of Lead Ads one step further and developed forms (questionnaires, requests for quotes, opt-ins) which automatically fill with information previously submitted by a Facebook user on the account or profile.

Effectively Facebook is streamlining the blending of lead generation and Facebook marketing, whereby opting in is a now a simple two-click process – the first click opens the form which is populated with relevant information from your Facebook account, and the second click submits the form.

Already I can hear the shrieks of horror as users all of a sudden become concerned about their privacy!

From what I can tell, Facebook does not and cannot auto-fill your form with any information that you have not already submitted. Facebook can only pull and populate forms with information you have already provided. Opening one of these pre-populated forms may surprise you in terms of just how open you have been.

While you do have the option of editing the information, if you don’t want to put down your ice-cream to change any other information, one tap of your little finger will do it all for you. Facebooks’ new Lead Ads maximizes your multi-tasking potential!

How do I use it?

So what exactly do these changes to Lead Ads mean for businesses and consumers? Short answer: The easier gathering of information for businesses, and quick and easy opt-ins for consumers.

For businesses it allows the capturing of information from potential customers, the majority of which would normally be too busy (or possibly lazy) to type in their details, navigate the murky waters from one field of input to the next, wrestle with drop-down boxes of options, and then have to press the Submit button as well.

Ideally this should all result in larger, yet more refined contact lists – which should, theoretically, result in greater revenue for the business. There are, however, a couple of issues to take into consideration. For example, some people may click on the Submit button because just at that moment they don’t really know how to navigate away from the pop-up form. At this early stage it is questionable as to whether the increased submission of forms will actually convert into increased business and revenue.

Submitted forms can be used by businesses to create Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences, allowing further more efficient marketing to existing customers, and the development of customized marketing to catch potential customers. Further, by employing one of the bigger CRM solutions such as Driftrock or Salesforce, businesses can collect leads in real-time – capturing, collecting, and collating information as soon as it is submitted. This should further assist businesses in streamlining and customizing their social media and digital marketing offerings.

Ideas:

• Businesses are obligated to provide something unique or of value to people who opt in otherwise customers are getting tired of Inboxes full of blatant marketing materials….does this create more work for the business? And is it in the right proportion to the amount of increased revenue? Have to keep consumers and potential consumes engaged/interacting/interested.

To read more about this update, visit Facebook’s announcement here.