How to Instantly Follow Up on Facebook Lead Ads With Custom Notifications

When someone walks into your store or sees your ad and calls your office, it’s easy to know they’re interested in buying what you sell. It's far more difficult online. People may skim your website and Facebook Page without taking any action. Then one day they finally click your ad, share their contact info, and let you know they’re interested.

When that happens, you need to know as soon as possible so you can act on the opportunity when their interest is at its peak. Facebook Lead Ads keeps a list of everyone who fills out your Lead Ad so that you can email or call them with extra info about your products. But you have to do that manually, checking Facebook to see if anyone new has filled out your ad.

There’s a better way. Here’s how to instantly know when someone fills out your Facebook Lead Ad with a customized Zapier-powered notification.

→ New to Facebook Lead Ads? Check our Getting Started with Facebook Lead Ads guide to learn the basics, then come back here when you have an ad ready.

How to Get Your Leads Out of Facebook Lead Ads

Facebook gives you a spreadsheet with all your lead details—perfect for imports, less ideal for getting back in touch quickly

Facebook Lead Ads are great at getting contact info for prospects interested in what you're selling. The problem is, the data is stuck there. The default way to get the data out of Facebook by default is to open your Facebook Page, click the Publishing Tools tab in the top then the Forms Library tab on the left side, and then download the .csv spreadsheet file with all your leads. Or, in the Facebook Ads Manager, you could download a combined spreadsheet with the leads from all of your ads.

You could open your Facebook Page several times a day and re-download the latest spreadsheet file with new leads. But at best, you'll have a few hours delay between when someone fills out your ad and when you call them back.

"It's automated, so as soon as a lead comes into Facebook, a Zap sends it to my CRM and I get a notification instantly."- Kim Dempsey

The better option is to automate things and make custom notifications for new Facebook Lead Ads that let you know whenever a new lead comes in, automatically. App automation tool Zapier is designed just for that. You tell Zapier to watch your Facebook Lead Ad for new entries, then set how you want Zapier to let you know—via SMS, email, push notification, Slack message, and more. The next time someone fills out your Facebook Lead Ad, you'll know instantly—no need to download a spreadsheet file again.

Best of all, you can build it into your workflow, with multi-step Zaps like the one KD Realty broker Kim Dempsey made to both save the lead and send her an instant notification automatically.

How to Get Instant Facebook Lead Ads Notifications

Facebook Lead Ads's Setup screen is the simplest way to get customized notifications

First, you need to decide how you'd like to get notified about Facebook Lead Ads. Want the modern equivalent to someone calling your number from a yard sign? Zapier can send you an SMS or push notification as soon as someone fills out your Facebook Lead. Then you can tap their phone number and call them back immediately.

Want more details? Zapier could send you an email with the full details of your new lead.

Want to share the lead with your team? You could have Zapier put the lead in your team chat app like Slack, so anyone on your team could grab the followup.

Start by making a new Zap—what we call Zapier's workflows—with Facebook Lead Ads. There are three easy ways to do that:

• In Facebook. Open your Facebook Page, click the Publishing Tools tab in the top, then select the Leads Setup tab on the left sidebar. Facebook shows a search box near the top where you can search for a CRM—or, for any other of the 1,300+ apps that work with Zapier. Search for SMS, Email, or any other app where you want to get notifications. Zapier will then auto-select your Facebook Page; all you have to do is choose the ad you wish to to be notified when it's filled out, and click Continue.
• With a Zap Template. Below in this article, you'll find example pre-made Zaps. Click the Use this Zap button to get started—then connect your Facebook account, and select your page and ad.
• In Your Zapier Account. Already a Zapier user? Click the Make a Zap button in Zapier (or click that link) to make a new Zap, then choose Facebook Lead Ads as the trigger.

Now, how would you like to get your notifications?

Via SMS

The quickest way to get notified is via SMS. Someone fills out your form, and moments later your phone buzzes with their contact details. Tap their phone number, and you'll be on the phone with that lead before they close the Facebook app.

Zapier can send you an SMS from its built-in SMS by Zapier too. Choose that as your action app, and authenticate it with your cell number. Then in the Zap, click the + button on the right of the Message box to add the details you want from your Facebook Lead Ad. Turn the Zap on, and you'll get an SMS message every time your ad is filled out.

Outside the US or Canada? You'll need to use another phone service to get SMS messages from Zapier, such as Twilio which costs $1/month for a phone number then around 1-3¢ per SMS message.

Via Push Notification

Outside the US, and want a free option? Download the free push notification app Pushbullet on your phone. Then in your Zap select Pushbullet as your action app and choose its Send a Note action and fill in the details as with an SMS. You'll then get notified whenever you get a new lead, and can look back at your older leads in Pushbullet anytime you need to follow up.

Via Email

Have a detailed Facebook Lead Ad with several form fields? You might not be able to fit it all in an SMS. Email's a better fit. Using Email by Zapier, you can have Zapier email you a detailed message with everything you want to know about your leads. As before, click the + button to customize your message—only this time, you can add far more details.

You could also use Zapier's Gmail integration instead if you'd like to have your emails sent from your team's G Suite account. Or, if you want to automate your follow up, you could have Zapier email your lead directly—just select their email from Facebook in the To field instead of writing your own.

→ Learn how to get customized emails about anything you want with our Email by Zapier guide.

Via Slack Team Chat

Or, if you're working with a team, you might not need to call that new lead back right now. Someone else on your team might be free and could grab it for you. If so, have Zapier share the lead's info to your team chat app like Slack—and anyone who sees the notification can jump on a call for the fastest possible follow-up.

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No more opening Facebook Lead Ads every day to download yet another spreadsheet of your new contacts. With your new automated Facebook Lead Ads notifications, you'll know as soon as anyone's interested.

They're interested in finding a home—and your best chance to get them to buy from you is to get in touch first. That's now easy with an SMS, email, or notification whenever you get a new lead.

Learn More

Automate your Facebook marketing for your store, events, insurance, real estate, and more with Zapier's other Facebook Lead Ads guides:

• Start with our Getting Started with Facebook Lead Ads guide
• Learn from others with our stories about how real estate agents use Zapier with Facebook Lead Ads to speed up sales and closing
• Find more ways to Automate Facebook Lead Ads with Zapier

Open House sign photo by Pixabay via Pexels.

source https://zapier.com/blog/facebook-lead-ads-notifications/