Facebook Lead Generation vs Conversions Objective – The difference, pros and cons explained. 

When looking at implementing a digital marketing strategy on Facebook, from the outset it is imperative to choose the correct objective. Are you trying to generate leads or increase online sales? This will depend entirely on the nature of your website and service/product offering. This blog will unpack the difference between lead generation and conversions, explain the benefits and disadvantages of each as well as provide guidance on which is the right advertising objective to select based on the nature of your business.

What is lead generation?

Lead generation is the process of cultivating consumer interest or enquiry into products or services of a business. Facebook lead generation campaigns allow you to drive more sales leads, such as email addresses, from people interested in your brand or business. 

Lead generation is the best objective to go for if your business does not have an e-commerce website or if you sell high-value items such as property, cars or expensive bicycles. Potential customers are unlikely to buy expensive items directly online as they require more information before committing. Lead generation allows for a more personal selling approach, making it easier to convert leads into customers.

Lead generation is also the only option to go for if your business is in the service industry, as customers can not purchase your service directly online and are also unlikely to convert into a lead (fill in a contact form) on your website due to endless navigation and browsing options. Building a campaign that aims to generate leads through a lead capture form on Facebook is likely to be much more successful than sending customers to your website in the hope that they will reach out through the contact page.

Pros of lead generation 

• A lead form is prepopulated and is therefore easy to fill out. If a prospect is interested in your offering they simply have to submit a prepopulated form. 
• Simple and quick to set up.
• Lead forms are very customisable and you ask any questions you want.
• Good for generating volume.
• Easy to track the number of leads generated and cost per lead.
• Easy to integrate with CRM platforms.

Cons of lead generation 

• Requires a manual sales process which means a sales team, time and effort.
• Leads quality is always subjective and difficult to control.
• Difficult to track actual sales and revenue and therefore harder to measure ROI accurately.
• If the leads are not contacted quickly they may lose interest.

What are conversions?

The conversions objective aims to drive a valuable action on your website, such as add to cart, purchase, or submit an enquiry. This objective is more suitable to businesses in the e-commerce industry selling products online, as the conversion, such a purchase, needs to take place onsite. The conversion objective will also work best for brands that sell lower-value items such as clothing or cosmetics, as these items are often repeated purchases that require little or no research prior to buying due to the low-risk factor involved.

Pros of conversions (online purchases) 

• Conversions can happen instantly online.
• No manual sales process involved.
• Can track the number of purchases, purchase value, ROAS, and ROI.
• Numbers reflect the results and there is no room for debate on quality and performance.

Cons of conversions 

• Difficult to set up conversion events to track.
• Potential customers may not be ready to purchase your product at the exact moment of seeing your advert.
• It can be expensive if going after cold traffic. Targeting people who are already familiar with our brand will be more effective.

Do you need help selecting the perfect objective for your digital marketing campaigns? Let us help you! Contact us for more information.