We drove over 2,300 leads for this client using Facebook and Instagram ads, and that’s just one client of many.
By the end of this post, you’re going to know everything you need to know about how to do Instagram lead ads…
…and start seeing results like the ones we drive for our clients.
Keep reading, as today we’re going to show you how to set up Instagram lead ads to start driving qualified leads today.
And if you stay until the end of the post, we’re sharing 5 important money-burning mistakes to avoid when setting up your campaign.
What Is A Lead Generation Ad?
If you’re familiar with Facebook lead gen ads, then you’re familiar with Instagram lead gen ads, because they’re basically the same thing.
Facebook owns Instagram, so it looks and works the same on Instagram for the most part, with the exception of a few differences that we’ll cover today.
But essentially, when someone clicks on your ad…
…a form pops up, that you’ve previously created within the Ads Manager, that they can fill out without leaving the app.
The leads you obtain there are stored within your Ads Manager where you can download them manually.
Or, automate to export into your preferred CRM whenever you get a new lead (which we’ll get into more a little later).
How To Set Up An Instagram Lead Generation Ad
Step 1: Head to Ads Manager and click the green Create button to start a new campaign.
Step 2: Choose the Lead Generation campaign and click next through to the ad set level.
For the sake of this post, we’re going to look at the instant lead form option.
But if you want to learn more about the automated chat and calls option…
…you can read our post on how to perform Facebook lead ads because we cover those options in that post.
Step 3: From there, you’ll scroll down and set up your targeting the way you want.
Step 4: And then, keep going down to get to placements.
Click manual placements, and then uncheck all the main platform boxes except for Instagram.
This will automatically select the Instagram placements that are available for the lead generation campaign, such as:
- Feed
- Explore
- Stories
You can point your mouse over other placements to ensure that they’re not compatible with the lead gen campaign.
And if you hover your mouse over the placements that are compatible, you can see the design ratios and dimensions to make the ads.
Step 5: From there, you can click next to the ad level screen.
Make sure you’ve got the correct Instagram account selected and then scroll down to see all the Instagram placements you originally selected.
Step 6: If necessary, you can edit the media for each placement, and we would advise you do this if you’re running ads for multiple placements.
For example here, we would want a different size photo to run on the Stories placement than the feed placement, because Stories are vertical!
If you want to learn more about using Instagram Stories for small businesses, then read this post next.
Step 7: From there, you’ll add your text and select your CTA button.
Now, this part is specific to the lead generation campaign. Here you will create the form that will appear when people click on your Instagram lead ads.
Step 8: We already made one previously just to demo in this post, so we’re going to edit our existing form.
But if you’ve never made one before, just click Create Form.
Step 9: Essentially, on the first page you want to customize everything the person will see, like the cover photo, headline, and intro text.
Step 10: You’ll also tell Facebook what you prioritize: higher intent leads or more leads.
Step 11: From there, you’ll select the questions you want leads to answer.
This includes contact information, as well as any custom questions you want to put in there to better qualify your leads.
Step 12: You also have the space to include a short note encouraging people that their information will not be shared.
Step 13: From there, you can click to the privacy page, where you’ll include a link to your privacy policy.
Step 14: And then lastly, on the completion page, you fill out the confirmation screen text you want viewers to see.
And, you can also add a link to your website on this page.
But before you click off this screen, it’s important to note that if you hit the blue Publish button, you cannot go back later and edit this form.
You can only edit lead forms if they’re saved as a draft.
So if you hit Publish and then realize you’ve got a spelling error in there, you’ll have to start from scratch.
So either save it as a draft to come back to later, or double-check everything before tapping Publish.
Step 15: Once you’re satisfied with your lead form and how all your placements look, you can hit the green Publish button to publish your ad campaign.
Once you’ve got your campaign up and running and you start receiving some leads, you’ll want to have a plan in place on what to do with those leads.
Like we mentioned earlier, you can either download them manually (which we wouldn’t recommend)…
…or you can set up an automation so that they’re automatically input into your CRM and marketing funnels (which we would recommend).
Downloading the leads manually leaves too much room for error and too much time for the leads to lose interest.
These days, leads need to be responded to immediately.
There are several studies that discuss how 5 minutes may not even been quick enough anymore.
So even if it’s just an automated confirmation email to say you’ve received their message and will reach out to them within 1 business day…
…that’s better than waiting to download leads every few days.
Step 16: To connect your CRM, you’ll head to your Facebook business page, click Publishing Tools, and then Lead Ads setup.
Here you can connect your CRM, if you haven’t already.
If you don’t see your preferred CRM listed as one of the options to choose from, you can use a third-party option like Zapier.
Tools like this can help you to automatically download leads from Facebook into a spreadsheet…
…and then from that spreadsheet into your email marketing software, like MailChimp for example.
So, that’s all of the technical information you need to set up an Instagram lead ads campaign.
Differences Between Facebook Lead Gen Ads And Instagram Lead Gen Ads
1. Not all of the prefill questions for lead ads are supported on Instagram.
If you include the “Date of birth” field on your Instant Form, your ad will not be delivered on Instagram.
2. Instagram does not currently support the Store Locator or Appointment Request questions.
If your lead ad includes one of these question types, the ad will still run, but that question will not be shown.
3. Instagram does not currently support dynamic ads for lead generation.
4. Lead ads are only available on the Instagram mobile app.
Your lead ads will not appear on the desktop version of Instagram.
So if you’re currently running a Facebook lead generation campaign and are planning on adding the Instagram placement…
…take note of these variations to ensure that your leads will run smoothly on both platforms.
5 Costly Mistakes To Avoid When Running Instagram Lead Ads
Mistake #1: Using video that is longer than 60 seconds.
Instagram will cut videos off after 60 seconds, and they’ll actually cut them off after 15 seconds in the Stories placement.
So again, if you’re just mass-using creatives across your Facebook and Instagram campaigns…
…please take a moment to adjust and optimize your creatives for Instagram.
If your creative seems cut off in any way, it’s going to distract the viewer from receiving the value and message from your ad.
And it’s also going to create a poor brand impression, both of which could cause you to lose a perfectly good lead.
Mistake #2: Using the same text from Facebook to Instagram.
Just like you don’t want to use the same creatives without adjusting them, you don’t want to use the same captions without adjusting them either.
Text on Instagram isn’t formatted like it is on Facebook.
Instagram doesn’t have text breaks, and there aren’t headlines, for example.
You need to utilize the primary text box in a precise and effective manner without getting into the long-form copy.
Instagram is a visual platform, so we would suggest using a video that does most of the talking or explaining for you anyway…
…as opposed to banking on people to read your caption.
But either way, you want your Instagram caption to be optimized along with your creatives.
This is so that you don’t waste money promoting an Instagram lead ads campaign that’s not going to convert.
Mistake #3: Not being specific enough in your form questions.
We’ve seen a lot of business owners ask for no more than:
- name and email, or
- name, email, and phone number
…in the lead form because they’re afraid it will deter leads.
But sometimes, as a result, the opposite, unwanted effect happens. They don’t deter leads, but instead, they get a flood of unqualified leads.
Facebook actually auto-fills the information it knows about leads.
So when someone clicks on your ad and opens the form…
…Facebook will automatically have their name, email, and whatever other information it has on them filled out in those slots.
Now the lead has the ability to edit any of that information.
But more often than not, if those are the only prompts to complete, we’ll see leads just hit Submit…
…without actually reading anything else in your lead form for fully understanding what they just submitted.
Then when they receive an email or phone call from you, they don’t know who you are or how you got their info, even though they filled out your form!
They probably just don’t remember doing it because Facebook helped them fill it out, and also because that’s just how people are.
But a great workaround to this is to add custom questions that forces them to have to read your lead form a little more.
As well as understand and answer your questions before submitting.
It also helps qualify your leads, because if someone outside your target audience clicks on your lead form…
…they might get to a certain question and think “Oh, this doesn’t really apply to me”, and click out of your lead form.
This will save you money in the long run, because you won’t waste time and labor nurturing a lead that was never going to convert anyway.
Mistake #4: Failing to provide value.
You have to give your leads a reason to click and submit their information.
Otherwise, why would they? This is often done most easily via a lead magnet.
A lead magnet is a free offer that you give in exchange for people’s contact information.
This can include a free eBook, guide, audit, consultation, coupon code, etc.
Your offer should be something of value to your audience that is related to your business to help you attract the right people.
The more related the lead magnet is to what you offer overall, the more likely you are to filter out unqualified leads.
And the more related the lead magnet is to a pain point or goal your audience has, the more likely they are to click and fill out your lead form.
So we would suggest jotting down a list of things that fit both of those descriptions.
And once you nail down a solid lead magnet, build your lead ads around that.
Check out this post next to learn more about online lead generation.
Mistake #5: Failing to properly nurture leads.
Obtaining leads is only half the battle. Nurturing them is the other half and is what leads to actual conversions.
We briefly touched on this earlier when we talked about having a system in place so that leads are automatically responded to, but it goes beyond that too.
What does a customer’s experience with your company look like from start to finish?
What objectives and pain points of theirs are being addressed in your follow-up marketing material?
Every interaction leading up to them converting, from a lead to sale, matters.
So while it’s crucial to create a great lead generation campaign…
…you’re going to waste a lot of money running it if it’s not followed by an effective, well-executed marketing and sales funnel.
If you want more information on how to develop an effective funnel for your leads…
…check out our new social media ads webinar which was developed by Sherman.
He’s actually one of our cofounders, and he’ll show you how to really dive deep with your social ads and create a strong campaign from start to finish.
So that about wraps it up for today’s post!
And if you need help with your Instagram ads, work with our Instagram advertising company today.
Our team of LYFE savers is always ready to help businesses like yours. Get in touch with us to get started!
