Creating digital strategies for lead gen accounts can sometimes be thought of as dull. There doesn’t seem to be as many shiny PPC objects such as Shopping campaigns and dynamic retargeting and all that jazz that ecommerce accounts utilize. Well my friends, today we will reveal several Facebook strategies for lead gen that will blow your mind and hopefully help create some new opportunities for your social PPC strategies.
You may be thinking that your lead gen client is focused more on business to business and would never convert on a social platform such as Facebook. That may be true if you are only looking at a last-click, direct response strategy. However, if you know the personas of your target market you may be able to help fill your funnel by targeting users while they are on social networks, like Facebook, and then using cross-channel attribution to help fill your funnel and grow your total lead or conversion volume. Here’s how to go about it.
Strategy 1: Funnel-Based Story Telling
Funnel-Based Storytelling is when an advertiser walks a potential customer down the sales funnel. This strategy works well with advertisers that have a long conversion funnel. For example, education, automobile, insurance.
Facebook Recommends using a 3 phase process –
- Phase 1: Meet The Brand
- Phase 2: The Teaser
- Phase 3: The Hook
For lead gen, focus messaging offering a softer sell using the funnel-based storytelling.
Phase 1: Meet The Brand
Whether an advertiser is new to the market or reintroducing consumers to their brand, a funnel-based marketing approach begins with a basic introduction and may be a good strategy for less-well-known brands. The hypothesis is that by educating the consumer about the values and substance of the brand prior to presenting the call to action, the brand earns the opportunity to present specific products for consideration.
Lead Gen Strategy – Focus on messaging educating users about your brand. Using video ads could be an opportunity for introducing the brand or potentially carousel ads showcasing what you do.
Phase 2: The Teaser
After introducing the brand, the advertiser’s next ad showcases an example of what the brand has to offer. In enticing consumers with an article or a collection from a seasonal line, this ad builds on the brand’s value to the consumer by providing a peek into what the advertiser offers.
Lead Gen Strategy – Focus on getting the user excited about your brand. Potentially use a blog, article or case study as a landing page using Newsfeed ads.
Phase 3: The Hook
The final step in the funnel-based marketing approach is to clearly communicate a call to action.
In this messaging, the advertiser is tying the brand’s story together and encouraging consumers to act, which could include calls to action such as asking people to sign up for a newsletter, shop or learn more about the advertiser and its products.
Lead Gen Strategy – Close the deal by advertising the call to action. If your lead gen account has a story to tell or multiple offerings, using carousel ads could work well with messaging such as “Learn More” or “Sign Up.”
Strategy 2: Use Carousel Ads To Tell A Story
Lead Gen Strategy – Use carousel ads to tell a story about your brand. For example, in the images below, Mini is using Carousel Ads to showcase different features available getting users excited and engaged with the brand. Carousel Ads support up to 5 images with a link.
Facebook states that carousel link ads drive 30-50% lower cost-per-conversion and 20-30% lower cost-per-click than single-image link ads.
Mobile app developers now also have access to the same ad format for app install and engagement ads.
Strategy 3: Mobile Lead Ads – Tap, Tap Done
Of all three of the Facebook Lead Gen strategies, Mobile Lead Ads I feel will be the most impactful for advertisers as building an email list is imperative to any business.
Facebook Lead Ads make filling out a form a simple 2 Tap process for users by automatically populating the fields below with info entered in their Facebook profiles.
- Full Name
- Street Address
- Phone
- Zip
- City
- State
- Country
- Company Name
- Job Title
The lead information will then be available to advertisers in a CSV file.
While I know everyone is ready to jump on this bandwagon right away, Mobile Lead Ads are still in beta and Facebook is only rolling this feature] out to a select few advertisers at this time. Stay tuned as more information on these ads becomes available.
Lead Gen Strategy – Use for sign up for newsletters, price estimates, follow-up calls and business information.
Conclusion
Facebook for lead gen may not be the “norm” but as social and mobile PPC continue to expand, it will be important for lead gen advertisers to constantly be evolving and thinking one step ahead of the game. What lead gen strategies have worked well for your accounts?
