Results-driven marketers are likely to take to Facebook’s new Lead Ads feature, now in test, that lets consumers fill out forms sharing their personal information with just two taps on an ad. The company is trying different variations that would allow users to connect to newsletters, receive pricing information, or ask for follow-up calls.
“Any process that eliminates steps for consumers to engage with businesses is inevitably going to increase conversion rates, so I’d expect Lead Ads to receive wide adoption from companies who depend on email collection for the beginning of their purchase funnel,” said David Rodnitzky, CEO of tech agency 3Q Digital.
“It’s worth noting,” Rodnitzky added, “that Twitter already has a similar product that has been well-received by advertisers. The difference here, however, is that Facebook’s existing ad units have already proven highly effective for direct-response marketers, whereas Twitter’s have not.”
Others in the ad tech community expressed similar acclaim for the service. “Lead Ads reflects the increasing demand from advertisers for two things: greater accountability in their ad spending and more user data to facilitate people-based marketing across all channels,” said Ryan Schulke, CEO of Fluent, an ad tech platform focused on ROI.
Kiran Gopinath, CEO of Adadyn, a programmatic ad platform focused on personalization, called Facebook’s intro a “turning point for the industry” that will make personalized marketing accessible to mid-sized companies. “Facebook’s introduction of Lead Ads underscores the fact that if ads are simple, relevant, timely, and engaging, consumers will opt-in. I believe Facebook will see rapid adoption of this feature and that we’ll soon see more providers follow suit,” Gopinath said.
Facebook offered no details on how they’ll charge for the service, though Schulke noted that the user flow is optimized toward a cost-per-lead model.
