Nearly everyone has a Facebook account these days, from pre-teens to grandparents. Each generation uses it a little differently, but there’s no denying it has tremendous influence in today’s digital world. Facebook’s ad targeting capabilities are second to none, and Facebook Lead Ads can be an incredibly powerful tool to help build your email list. But are they right for you? Here are a few reasons they work well and are worth testing…and one reason you might want to focus lead generation efforts elsewhere.
Use Facebook Lead Ads For…Reach
With 2 billion monthly active users on the site, Facebook is one of the largest single websites to offer reliable deliverability of ads. It’s available in over 100 languages across even more countries, and 
growing every day. There are mobile apps, desktop versions and stripped down, “lite” functionality to meet a variety of user needs and business objectives. Clearly, Facebook has cornered the market on people, encouraging brands to spend millions of dollars every year to reach its growing pool of users. Facebook Lead Ads are no exception, and allow marketers to reach a vast pool of users around the world.
Use Facebook Lead Ads For…Targeting
With the impressive reach of a site like Facebook, it’s no wonder their targeting capabilities are second to none. Custom audiences allow you to match known customer email lists or website traffic to Facebook users for highly intelligent retargeting messaging in Facebook Lead Ads or any other advertising type. And what other site offers a database of users by not just demographic info, but likes and interests and behavior as well? Facebook users voluntarily provide a wealth of information to the site, and Facebook provides advertisers the opportunity to create highly targeted, specific messaging to the users of their choice. When combined with Facebook Lead Ads, you’re practically guaranteed quality email addresses to add to your list.
Use Facebook Lead Ads For…Sequencing
Facebook Lead Ads aren’t the only product available to marketers. In fact, this highly specific type of advertising is better served as part of a sequences campaign that includes brand awareness ads and a retargeting campaign. Facebook’s diverse advertising product catalog allows you to run multiple, sequences campaigns to the same or similar targeting groups to create a continuous lead funnel that ends with Facebook Lead Ads that are served to warm potential leads who are now familiar with your brand and highly qualified for your offer.
Don’t Use Facebook Lead Ads For…Cost Saving
The one potential drawback to Facebook Lead Ads? Competition, and therefore cost. Not as many advertisers use this specific ad type, but those that do are in specific industries and are well-versed in Facebook targeting option and creative requirements. This drives the cost of Facebook Lead Ads up. And since this is an action-based objective, with the goal of gaining email addresses, Facebook puts a premium on Lead Ads as well. Highly specific targeting helps ensure quality leads, but they come at a price. All these factors can add up to a costly campaign.
Are Facebook Lead Ads right for you? They’re certainly worth testing. But your best bet for effective email list building is to diversify your lead generation strategy.