Can You Really Get Leads From Facebook and Instagram?

Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: Yes, but with the right approach.

Watch out for the vultures…

As someone who reads about social media marketing and engages with a lot of content, I’m of course targeted relentlessly for all sorts of services by all sorts of agencies and gurus. 

And I can’t tell you how many get-rich-quick ads I see, sharing how you can scale your contracting business up until you’re on a beach making millions while your team handles the glowing, red-hot leads pouring in from social media. 

That’s just not real. If it was, I’d be sitting on a beach right there with you. 

Here’s the real deal when it comes to social media lead generation for small businesses.

If you have a huge budget, the needle WILL move faster. Absolutely. You can sort of fast-track the process, to a degree, but you need to have exceptional creative, ads management, and a dynamite team fielding responses and inquiries. 

If you’re more of the “average” small business owner who doesn’t have loads of cash to throw at Facebook and Instagram ads, you need to be willing to invest in the right ads, the right budget, and the right response approach, then watch results over time. If you do this really well, it can be a tortoise and the hare scenario. People will actually enjoy your content rather than feel like they fell prey to it…

Let’s break it down.

1. The right ads…

People are sold to constantly on social media. I’ve found that ads that are less overtly salesy and more conversational and engaging perform better. 

It takes more effort, but educate, speak to (literally, in video format), and connect with people. 

When I set up a new lead generation campaign here at Launch, I typically start with three types of ads: 

1. A simple visual (nice photo of your product or service, a before/after, etc.).
2. Some footage of your team in action. Are you a window washing service? Show what that looks like in a 30-second video. Are you a chiropractor? Share a quick “what to expect” office walkthrough video. 
3. And lastly, a direct video from YOU (or someone on your team) talking to the viewer. This is who we are, this is what we do, this is where we are, and why we’d love to meet you… 

These three types of ads can be shown all at once, giving you a chance to gauge which ones work best for you and your target audience. 

2. The right ads budget…

There’s no magic number here. If you live and work in a more rural area where ad competition isn’t as intense, you might be able to get away with a smaller ad budget. Some of my clients get good traction spending $350-600/mo in ads here in New Hampshire, for example. I also have clients in other parts of the country that are more urban, and for those folks the budget needs to start at $1,000/mo+. It really comes down to your region and then managing expectations. 

Remember too that a “conversion” (a prospective client sharing their information and taking the next step) is the highest-value goal you can have when you set up Facebook and Instagram ads. In other words, if you tell Facebook your objective is to get as many views of a new video as possible, it can do a LOT with $500. If you tell Facebook you want people to watch that video and THEN fill out a form sharing their information, your $500 won’t go as far. 

So really consider what your goals are and invest what you need to in order to get the results you want. 

3. The right response approach…

This will literally make or break your efforts. 

Do you have a plan in place to respond IMMEDIATELY? And not just a passive, follow-up email, but a call, voicemail, and text message? Remember that your leads from Facebook and Instagram are going to be pretty cold at first. You’ll need to stay in front of them with a consistent plan of engagement. 

There is another option, using retargeting ads to get back in front of people who have already engaged with your content, but that’s a topic for another blog. Stay tuned!

So, what’s your top-level takeaway?

Yes, lead generation from social media works. I work with a window washing company that started a lead ad campaign with me, and by their second month had over 40 solid leads in a 30-day period. 

I work with a painting company that went from being uncertain about social media lead gen to having Facebook be in their top three lead sources. But, it took time (about 5 months of consistency). 

I’ve also worked with companies that have seen lead generation efforts fizzle, typically due to a lack of budget and/or a lack of good content to use for the ads. You have to be all in and get behind it for it to work, and to have a real plan in place. There’s no set-it-and-forget-it option. 

Have more questions?

Launch is a local, NH-based content marketing business, but we work with clients across the country and across a wide variety of industries. There’s absolutely no pressure - if you have a question, just reach out. I’d love to talk with you.