What is a Facebook Landing Page?
A Facebook ad landing page is the page that your visitors are taken to after clicking on your ad, and is focused on converting that visitor into a lead or customer.
Your landing page (marketing speak) is simply the post-click destination of your Facebook (or Instagram) ad.
It’s where you send all the people that click through your ad so that you can deliver a little more information and get them to grab hold of your offer in exchange for a payment or a piece of information (often an email address).
It’s easy to want to cheer when someone clicks through your Facebook ad (and we do) but unless your landing page provides an easy path to your final goal (conversion), then your campaign isn’t worth the $$ you paid to get it off the ground. Yes, we’re a little biased, but it really is all about the landing page.
Whether you’re capturing leads with a free lead magnet, promoting a membership offer, or selling an e-commerce product/service, your landing page is your opportunity to close the deal - and if you don't do it well, you're letting leads (and money) slip through the cracks.
Need more resources on landing pages?
Check out this robust landing pages guide, featuring:
Do you need a landing page for Facebook ads?
You’ve paid good money to serve ads to a highly targeted group of Facebook’s 1.62 billion daily users - and you’re going to just leave them hanging on some homepage or static website?
We seriously hope not.
The No. 1 way to waste your money with paid ads is to have an offer that is inconsistent from ad to a landing page.
Facebook ads only generate a return on your investment if they're able to drive conversions. A landing page takes the click across the finish line.
Can I just build up my fan page?
Facebook as an advertising platform is particularly fabulous because of its 1.6+ billion daily users (and because of its unparalleled algorithms that let you precisely segment those 1.6+ billion). Your message can reach an unprecedented number of people all within a single digital space.
But, what if Facebook disappeared tomorrow? Where would it leave your business?
If Facebook folds, all your fans and all their contact information fold along with it.
Of course, that scenario is highly unlikely, but the fact remains: if your audience only exists on Facebook, your relationship with them is at the mercy of the platform’s next algorithm change or business decision.
And even if nothing changes, you don't "own" your Facebook fans in the same way you own your email list. Most of them never even see your updates as it is.
By creating a Facebook landing page that tracks them with the Facebook pixel and gets fans onto your email list, your audience has the opportunity to experience your content beyond social media. You can send them personalized messages about product announcements, upcoming events, and cool giveaways—and add them to automated email sequences to ultimately turn them into customers.
By sending your Facebook ad traffic to a unique landing page, you're able to track them, offer an opt-in (lead-magnet), and follow-up with marketing messages whenever your heart desires.
Improve results with your Facebook ads through consistency
Consistency between your Facebook ad and landing page is key.
Just imagine you receive an invitation in the mail for a Halloween party. But when you show up on your friend’s doorstep (in full-on bunny gear), the door opens onto...a formal cocktail soiree with your boss. Oops. You didn’t get what you bargained for, right? And you’d probably turn & run. Well, when your landing page and digital ad don't align, your traffic turns and runs too.
Your goal is a friction-less, frustration-free transition from ad to action. That means giving clear signals (...like a single call to action) and a streamlined path (art and copy that carries your audience along, reassuring them they are in the right place and that they can trust you to deliver on your promise).
Delivering this frictionless road trip involves a few different factors:
- The same message: Most importantly, you should use the same headline (or a near-identical variant).
- The same look & feel: Keep consistent imagery (particularly the hero image) and color palette.
- The same language: Don’t confuse people by swapping the voice, tone, or content of your campaign. That’d be’ a mighty strange thang that happened mid-stream.
- The same great offer: Obviously you want to send people to the landing page that contains your delicious offer. Check your links & sales copy to make sure everything is copacetic.
Should I use a landing page or a lead ad for Facebook and Instagram?
Your Facebook ad is very versatile in the fact that you can point traffic to a number of different destinations, ranging from your Facebook business page, your website, a lead ad, or a high-converting landing page.
What is a lead ad?
Lead ads get Facebook users to enter their information within the social platform in order to be added to your email list. Sounds great, but they may not be as effective as landing pages long term.
Lead ads sound appealing, and in some cases, they are the right choice for getting new subscribers.
Use a dedicated landing page and not your Facebook business page
Our recommendation is that your Facebook business page and website should almost never be used as landing pages. That sounds harsh—but here's why. By creating unique landing pages that are custom-tailored to perfectly pair with your ads, you can get right to the point and easily test different variations. Your static website was not built to sell or persuade in the same way and it's certainly not meant for quick tweaks and A/B tests.
The best idea is to try out a few different destinations to figure out what works best for your business and for the type of audience you’re trying to convert (ex. cold traffic vs. retargeted traffic, mobile vs. desktop).
We recommend that you do (or don't do) the following.
1 - Don’t send ad traffic to your Facebook Business Page
Facebook business pages are crowded, chaotic, and don’t allow for a single call to action.
2 - Don’t send Facebook ad traffic to your website's homepage
This is the easy way out, but experience has taught us that you’ll pay for it in the long run.
It’s true that linking to an external website (URL) gives you greater control of the content and design you incorporate into a landing page. But it’s also true that your website isn’t tailored to each individual campaign, and therefore likely won’t convert as well as a custom landing page will.
Your landing page should be finely tuned, high-converting, and in alignment with exactly what you promised in your ad.
3 - Send paid traffic to a high-converting landing page
Directing traffic to a unique, high-converting landing page allows you to better position your offer, better qualify your leads (by explaining your offer in greater detail), and gather retargeting data from the Facebook pixel that is automatically-placed by Leadpages.
Unlike static web pages, landing pages have a singular purpose: to convert traffic into taking a single (valued) action - such as signing up for a webinar
How to create a Facebook landing page
When you create a Facebook ad landing page, you'll want to be sure to include the following:
- Enticing offer – If your offer isn’t valuable and relevant to your target audience, no ad or landing page is going to be strong enough to convert those clicks into customers. You’ve got to bait the hook with something mouth-wateringly delicious. Here are some ideas for effective Facebook ad lead magnets.
- Mobile-responsive design – Why? Because an estimated 66% of Facebook’s 1.62 billion daily users access the site from a mobile device.
- Power-house headline – Grab people’s attention and be both compelling and consistent by carrying the same headline through from the ad to the landing page, to the thank you/ confirmation page & email. Check out our tips for writing landing page headlines.
- Sub-headline – Support the main headline with a little extra info.
- Trustworthiness – Everything you do either builds up or breaks down your credibility. Include a clear privacy policy and elements of social proof to encourage your audience that you’re legitimate.
- Sales copy – Your landing page should include a more in-depth description of what you’re offering. Try delivering this information in the form of bullet-points or a short video.
- A single call to action (CTA) – Don’t beat around the bush. What is the one (ONE) single action that you hope your audience will take? This is the goal of the landing page and the point of ‘conversion.’ You’ve told them about what you’re offering, now how do people get it? Check out these calls to action that convert.
How do I change my landing page on Facebook?
Luckily, you can change your Facebook landing page easily, with the use of Leadpages. Our landing page templates are easy to use right out of the box. All you need to do is drop in your copy, images, and move things around as you see fit using the drag-and-drop interface. You can also tweak anything you want at any time. Learn more about creating Facebook landing pages on Leadpages.
How do you optimize for Facebook landing page views?
Setting up your Facebook ad campaign involves selecting an objective: AKA determining what measurement (metric) you want the Facebook ad algorithm to optimize for on your behalf.
Facebook recently introduced landing page views as a new optimization.
In the past, you probably selected Link Click optimization, which targets an audience that is most likely to click on the link in your ad. However, with Landing Page View optimization, you’re able to target people who are most likely to click on your Facebook ad AND wait for your landing page to fully load. (That’s kind of incredible, isn’t it?)
This new optimization lets you get even more precise in your targeting and get even more from your Facebook ad spend.
You can also take a look at clicks on your ad vs. landing page views, which should help you determine what element of your campaign is pulling its weight and where you can potentially make improvements.
This optimization requires that you have the Facebook pixel installed so that Facebook can recognize when the landing page has fully loaded. Thankfully, Leadpages makes it easy to include your pixel on your pages.
Facebook landing page examples
Take a look at the following Facebook ad and Facebook landing page examples so that you can see how brands are able to create one cohesive, consistent, and compelling experience from the first click to the final action.
Jackie Ellis - Facebook ad & landing page example
Falcon.io - Facebook ad & landing page example
Exactly Write - Facebook ad & landing page example
WeWork - Facebook ad & landing page example
Salesforce - Pardot - Facebook ad & landing page example
Moz - Facebook ad & landing page example
7 Facebook Ad Landing Page Best Practices:
- Focus on key visuals: Did you know that 65 percent of people are visual learners and that 50 percent of the brain is involved in visual processing? In fact, studies have shown that people’s natural sequence for reading involves a very specific order: image first (if there is one), then a quick scan of the headline, then reading the body copy (if the headline is interesting enough).
- Consider user intent: (what you see is what you get)
- Ensure visual & message continuity: (deliver on your promise)
- Optimize for mobile: Forcing your visitors to scroll around and try to square up their screen with a non-responsive form, is only going to drive people crazy and drive them away from your site.
- Limit your field forms: The more personal data (email, first name, last name, business name, title, etc.) you ask for, the more hurdles you’re asking people to overcome before they click on that final call to action. This is known as barriers to conversion and they work against you. Keep your form fields to a minimum (sometimes, email only).
- Include a single call to action: Are you splintering your audience’s attention and intent? Are those ‘social share’ buttons necessary or noisy? Is your single call to action the most valuable point of conversion and is it well-phrased?
- Stay compliant with Facebook ad Policy: One of the more common reasons for your Facebook ad not to be approved is that your landing page is not compliant with the rules of the platform. (Tips: your landing page shouldn’t trigger automatic downloads, it should contain a privacy policy, don’t include anything that prevents visitors from leaving your landing page such as aggressive pop-up boxes, keep your ad copy/ design consistent with the landing page).
Facebook also has a lot of Facebook Ad Landing Page Optimization tips that you can check out.
A quick note about Facebook ads
Facebook has become an amazing tool for marketers. It allows them to reach the prospects they want, where they are, and in a way that's relevant to them.
When crafting your Facebook ads, keep Facebook ad specs in mind. There will be limitations on image size and copy character count. Because you want the messaging to stay consistent between the ad and the page, this is something you'll need to take into consideration from the outset.
Facebook ad landing pages make all the difference
The goal of your Facebook campaign is not to get people to click on your ad – the goal is to convert clicks to customers – and that happens on the landing page. Facebook advertising is a powerful tool in your marketing toolbox, but you’ve got to know how to use it correctly.
Now it's your turn!
What's your favorite Facebook ad landing page tip to share?
(We'll be waiting for you in the comments section below!)
