Facebook lead ads setup

From ad to customer

1. 01

   Ad

   Clear offer and who it is for.

   Output: Interested people

2. 02

   Instant form

   Questions that qualify.

   Output: Submitted lead

3. 03

   Routing

   Sent to CRM, email or sheet.

   Output: Lead in your system

4. 04

   Follow-up

   Contact promptly.

   Output: Conversation

5. 05

   Feedback

   Record which leads became customers.

   Output: Lead quality data

Designing the form

A short form produces more leads; a slightly longer one with a qualifying question produces better ones. Questions such as 'When are you looking to start?' or 'Which service are you interested in?' help your team prioritise and put off people who are only browsing. Avoid asking for more than you need: every extra field is personal data you must handle properly.

Make the offer clear in both the ad and the form. People should know what happens after they submit: a call within a day, a brochure by email, a quote.

Getting leads to your team

Meta's developer documentation says leads can be retrieved through its API, through webhooks that notify you as leads arrive, or from its Leads Center. Downloading a file every few days leaves leads waiting. Connecting the form to your CRM, an email alert or a shared sheet, directly or through an integration tool, means your team can respond while the person still remembers submitting.

Privacy information and marketing consent

People should be told who is collecting their data and how it will be used, with a link to your privacy information. Responding to the enquiry they made is different from sending them marketing later. ICO guidance on electronic mail marketing says unsolicited marketing emails or texts to individuals need consent, given by a clear affirmative action, or must meet all the soft opt-in conditions. If you want to add leads to a marketing list, include a separate, unticked consent option.

Example: a kitchen fitter

Lead ads set-up checks

Speed of follow-up

People who submit a lead form may have been browsing casually and can forget quickly. Contacting them while the enquiry is fresh gives the best chance of a conversation. Plan who responds, how fast and what happens outside working hours.

Judging lead quality

Cost per lead is only part of the picture. Track which leads become customers and what they are worth. A campaign with a higher cost per lead but more customers is the better campaign.

Special ad categories

Lead ads for housing, jobs or financial products fall under Meta's special ad categories, which must be declared and restrict targeting. Check before launch.

An immediate acknowledgement

An automatic message confirming the enquiry and saying when you will be in touch reassures people and reminds them who you are. It is a service message about their request, not marketing, so keep it free of promotional content unless they have agreed to receive marketing.

Duplicate leads

The same person may submit more than once. Check your CRM for duplicates so they are contacted once.