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.
I think that the quicker and easier it is to opt in, the more people will be willing to do it. Especially if they are on the go, it needs to be quick and easy. This reminds me a bit of the ‘auto-fill’ feature on Google Chrome. It’s made my life so much easier!
I think you’re right and yet, ironically, our instant subscribe features have often been less successful than people’s willingness to subscribe directly on the BoostBlog, for example.
I see this as being more effective if you’re targeting ads towards people who are already fans of your page, big time brand advocates, very specifically being retargeted to, etc – since there’s not going to be a lot of info in that ad for them to buy into, although it does of course make the process of agreeing very simple. Alas, I will have to play around with these to get some actual grasp on their effectiveness 🙂
You’ll have to let me know what you find out!
Do you think capturing information on the spot will be really effective if you then have to download that information and add it into your own lead nurturing system?
I like this idea! I know some already hate their FB featured ads, but I, for one, find them useful. They are usually related to things that I already like and I’ve become a customer for some business’ because of them. I like that they are making it easier for the consumer to opt in. The less effort it is for me, the better!
As strange as it seems, I really appreciate remarketing and very precisely targeted ads – especially in regard to the things I search for as gifts for other people. It is like a never ending gift guide!