Facebook Is All-In On Mobile Marketing—Removing Barriers in Lead Generation for Higher Education

Carnegie Higher Ed Oct 13, 2016 Carnegie Higher Ed Persona The Visionary Frontrunner

In today’s mobile-centric world, the most effective marketing strategies are designed around the needs of mobile users. In fact, the most recent rollout of Google updates were developed with mobile users at the forefront. But Google isn’t the only one acknowledging the shift to mobile—Facebook’s all-in on the mobile marketing game as well.

Facebook’s native lead ads, featuring pre-populated forms that keep users in-app, connect students with colleges and universities in just a few clicks of a button (or taps of a finger). While these ads offer a seamless user experience, they also deliver qualified leads and allow higher ed marketers to gather more information about our audiences. Here’s a look at three common lead generation issues in higher ed and how Facebook lead generation ads are saving the day.

1. Your marketing efforts are bringing in leads, but they’re not always qualified
Facebook lead generation ads give marketers a few different ways to ensure the quality of their leads. One feature of these ads is called a “context card,” which appears once a user clicks on your ad, offering more information about your institution or program. This card is customizable, so you can decide what’s pertinent for users to know about your program. Of course it’s best to keep this information short and sweet, so users can move on to submit their information. This optional feature injects more information into the decision-making process for a user than what is included in your ad copy, ensuring those who submit their information are qualified leads.

Another way to get warmer leads is to add custom fields to your form. For example, a form could have name and e-mail address form fields that pre-populate with Facebook data—but you can also use custom questions as a way to get more information about the user that might help tailor your follow-up with them. Users are more likely to fill out custom fields since the rest of the standard form fields are already completed by Facebook!

Last but not least, Facebook now allows you to build audiences off of how users have interacted with your ads, allowing you to retarget people who show high intent. For example, you can choose to stay top-of-mind for someone who opened your form but didn’t end up submitting it. You can also use this feature to drive your leads further down the funnel. For example, maybe you’d like to target people who have completed your form and serve them ads encouraging them to take another step.

2. Your campaign has strong engagement, but it’s not bringing in leads
Let’s face it, sometimes it comes down to a few seconds—and while our intent might be there, just a few more clicks or a manual field is enough to lose a user in their journey, especially on mobile devices. If your website isn’t optimized to capture an inquiry or a registration, or if it isn’t mobile-friendly, it’s likely why you aren’t getting the leads you expected. Native lead ads make it easier for potential students to submit their information to you across all devices, with simple, pre-populated forms—reducing the risk that a user will be lost in their journey once they click on your ad.

3. The age-old question: which leads came through my digital marketing campaign?
Often times schools find it challenging to match up which students might have come through offline efforts and which are results of their digital campaigns. Sometimes conversion tracking isn’t possible, or you’re just having difficulty connecting your current digital tactics to actual, quantifiable inquiries and registrations. With Facebook lead ads, you can simply download your leads directly from the Facebook platform. This data also integrates with a list of CRMs, allowing you to move your leads directly into your communication flow. Either way, this feature allows you to access your leads in real time and, most importantly, follow up with them in real time.

By removing common barriers to lead generation, Facebook creates a seamless bridge between students and institutions that hasn’t existed in this way before. And more importantly, it helps institutions gather qualified leads that they can connect to their digital efforts.

Need help getting a Facebook campaign up and running for your institution? Carnegie can help!

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