Often times we are looking for more efficient tools to add to our small business marketing plan. Lead generation forms are always effective but using Facebook Messenger instead could even be a smarter way to gain leads. Especially since there are a reported 1.2 billion users every month on Facebook Messenger.
A common method used in small business marketing plans is to send newsletters that include content offers that might interest your target audience. Usually this entails the person clicking on a call-to-action to be directed to fill out a lead generation form to be able to gain access to the content that is being promoted. Marketers are using email to both promote and deliver to the target audience with this method.
But recently HubSpot did a mini experience to see how Facebook Messenger could replace the lead generation form in this and other scenarios. They gave viewers the opportunity to either use email to fill out the form or to skip that step and just get the content offer through Facebook Messenger. HubSpot ran the experiment for four weeks and in the end, the email option had an open rate of 33 percent, with the Facebook Messenger option doing 242 percent times better with an open rate of 80 percent.
Small businesses also set budgets for Facebook ads to gain leads. These ads usually feature compelling content that would interest your target audience. The viewer would click on the ad and then be taken to a landing page to fill out a lead form to access the content offered. This requires the user to leave Facebook and be directed to a different site.
Instead of using this approach, HubSpot created a Facebook ad and when an interested viewer would click on the ad, they would answer questions that are included in the lead form through Facebook Messenger instead. Then, they would automatically get access to the content offered through the messenger as well. This means the viewer is able to get it all done in one place. HubSpot reported that the quality of the leads decreased a little bit this way, but they saw a 477 percent reduction in cost per lead.
Depending on your small business marketing goals, email is still always going to be a great and effective way to generate leads. But using Facebook Messenger might also be another useful marketing tool to use when trying to gain leads as well.
