James Dooley:
So I’ve got Dan Grant who’s the director at FatRank and PromoSEO. Today’s video is about Facebook ads lead generation and whether Dan thinks using Facebook ads for generating leads is a good strategy for UK companies or not.

Dan Grant:
I definitely think Facebook ads can be a good strategy and they work for a lot of companies. For businesses that understand what they’re doing with the text, scripts and creative, and who know their demographics properly, Facebook ads can work really well. If you’re experienced or outsourcing to someone who is, it can be effective. If you’re trying to do it yourself without the right knowledge, it becomes expensive and the money gets wasted. It depends how good you are at Facebook advertising. If you specialise in it, great. If not, you’re usually better off putting your budget into channels that are more consistent and less risky.

James Dooley:
Overall I think Facebook ads is great for certain things like retargeting. You can put a Facebook pixel on your website and run ads to bring people back who didn’t convert. I’m a massive advocate of retargeting. I’m also a big advocate of interruption marketing. If someone doesn’t know they want a log cabin or a new dress or a stag do outfit, and you target the right demographic, Facebook can work brilliantly. They weren’t searching for it. You put it in front of them. That’s where Facebook is amazing. But you need a decent Facebook ads agency. They aren’t cheap. You have to pay for the ads, the agency, the videos, the images, the scripts. It gets expensive. For trades and service businesses, the conversion rate on Facebook ads is usually much lower than PPC or pay per lead. Explain a bit about why VSLs matter because you’ve done them before.

Dan Grant:
Getting your script right for a VSL is crucial. You need an advert that connects with the audience. It should speak to their fears or concerns. For example, instead of saying “Do you need a boiler?”, you say “When was the last time your boiler was serviced? Did you know problems happen if you leave it too long?” You guide them into something that benefits them instead of forcing a sale. If you can’t create scripts like that, Facebook ads become difficult and expensive. There are much easier ways to generate good quality leads cheaply. Most companies aren’t experienced enough with sales psychology or online marketing to get VSLs right.

James Dooley:
For the viewers, let us know your thoughts on Facebook ads as lead generation in the UK. Is it great ROI or is it expensive? We use it holistically. Retargeting. Branding. Being seen on multiple platforms helps conversion later. But we’ve now moved towards our pay per performance lead generation model. Dan, explain how Facebook ads fits into our overall strategy and how it compares to our pay on conversion model.

Dan Grant:
We use Facebook ads in certain situations where it makes sense. But if we relied on Facebook ads alone for lead generation, we’d be in a much worse position than we are now. Our pay on conversion model is completely risk free. With Facebook, you put in time, money and research, but you might not get anything back. With pay on conversion, if you’re in a nationwide UK industry we can generate enquiries completely for free. You don’t pay for the leads. You only pay when you convert a job. We agree a fee based on the converted work. It’s risk free. You don’t need to learn anything like you do with Facebook ads, where people need years of training to run it properly. Comparing the two, one is free and risk free, the other requires money, time and expertise. For the average business owner, pay on conversion is far better.

James Dooley:
It removes the risk for business owners. A dentist might be brilliant at implants but they haven’t trained in marketing. Our team has videographers, designers, script writers, SEOs, link builders and content specialists. Would you expect a business owner to run all of that? We know what converts best. Button colours. Call to action wording. Everything. For the viewers: have you ever used a pay on conversion model? It’s like no win no fee. You only pay if you convert jobs and make profit, and we take a percentage of the profit. We are selective. You need to be good enough to convert the leads and have a strong sales team. Let us know how you compare Facebook ads lead generation with a pay on performance model. Are you using Facebook ads for retargeting, branding or lead generation in the UK? Leave a comment and let’s discuss how it compares to pay per performance.