Using social media platforms like Facebook for lead generation to build your email marketing database can be highly effective.

Before you get started, you should think about why you want to build your email subscriber list. Simply adding numbers to your database is unlikely to generate any revenue or sales for your business, so consider what type of person you want to add and why. Perhaps you have a new product to showcase, or maybe you want to reach a sales goal. Email subscribers should be treated just like any other prospective client and the process in which you are getting them to subscribe is lead generation.

The Sales Funnel

Assuming you want to generate revenue, then at some point in any sales funnel, you are likely to be emailing your subscribers to engage with them and helping to move prospects along a journey until they do convert with a purchase.

Think of building your email subscriber list as the way you will populate your funnel at the top. You will be generating leads through advertising, in this case, on Facebook  to populate a funnel. Your objective in the first instance should be to find relevant prospects. Consider what makes a great customer and then look at Facebook's targeting options and interest groups to locate this audience. 

Once you have selected your audience, you will want to promote something to this target group to gain their attention and engage them to subscribe to your email list. Here are some ideas of what you can use in your advert to effectively use Facebook for lead generation. 

Top 5 ideas to use Facebook for lead generation in your business

1. Promote free tips: Most people like useful tips. These might be something they may not have read before or tips that make their life easier. You can use tips as a way to promote your services and showcase your knowledge by giving your email subscribers information about what you do. If you run a VA business, you could offer time management tips for entrepreneurs to attract their attention, or perhaps if you run an IT company, you could offer Microsoft Excel tips. Take care to select the right audience for the type of tips you are planning to offer, that way you will be making your advert relevant and targeted. 
   
   
2. Give away your e-book or guide: A great way to generate more email subscribers might be to engage your prospects with a guide or book. You do not need to be an author to create something in this case. As an expert in your field, you already have experience and knowledge that would be helpful to your customers. Using a tool like Canva  can help you bring your e-book to life and create a professional document that prospects will want to receive. 
   
   
3. Run a competition. This is a great way to generate lots of subscribers in a short space of time. Do you have a physical product you can give away as a prize, or perhaps you could give a subscription to your service. Consider what your prospects might like to receive and promote this in your advert to generate subscribers to your email list. We recommend that you always add terms and conditions to your competition and set boundaries of what you are prepared to offer.
   
   
4. Offer a coupon or code. A great way forB2C businesses to build their subscriber list with Facebook lead generation ads is to offer a coupon or code to prospective customers. These leads will be highly engaged in what you offer and will look to redeem the code with a purchase in your store or on your website.
   
   
5. Give information. Sometimes all you have to do is ask. Building yourself a great advertising campaign telling your prospects about your business or service is sometimes all you need to do. Then go ahead and simply ask to send more information. Highly engaged and potentially warm leads will welcome more information about your products or services in this case.   
   
   

Having an up-to-date email marketing list of potential customers is a great way to market your products and services. You can use this list to send them newsletters and updates or perhaps an offer, helping to move prospects through your sales funnel until they convert with a purchase. In its simplest form, generating more subscribers for your email list is the process of lead generation, in this case, you are using Facebook to do it.

We recommend that once a subscriber has signed up, you use their information as you have promised. If you said that you'll send them an e-book, then always make sure you do. Or, if you promised some information about a service, make sure to send that to them as quickly as possible. And, always give subscribers a way to optout. Just because they chose to subscribe, it doesn't mean they have to stay forever. 

Summary

There you go, 5 ideas to help you grow your email subscriber list using Facebook for lead generation. If you have any questions, you can reach out to our team on Facebook  and get in touch with Shape to find out more about our Digital Advertising  and lead generation services.