• by Colin Kirkland , November 9, 2023

In terms of harnessing leads via messaging, the tech giant says that the lead objective is being expanded from Messenger and Instagram Direct to ads on Facebook and the main Instagram platform, inviting consumers to begin a WhatsApp chat directly from the ad. Select advertisers, the company says, will now be able to add a Q&A flow in Ads Manager.

In addition, advertisers are now able to offer consumers a coupon for completing the question-and-answer flow on Instagram Direct. The consumer can then apply these discounts to their next purchase or service.

For increased exposure, Meta is introducing an instant form advertising format intended to help people discover and connect with multiple businesses at once.

“Imagine seeing an ad to sign up for a bridal hair trial,” the company explains. “Once a person fills out the form, they are given the option to share their contact information to other businesses, for example a nail salon, that may also be relevant.”

Meta is also testing the ability for businesses to call prospective leads directly through Facebook and Messenger, with the business's logo and name appearing on the incoming call screen to help leads know who is reaching out to them.

As for artificial intelligence, Meta says it is testing a feature that fully creates advertisers’ lead-generation campaigns, automating targeting, creative, placement and budget via Meta Advantage machine-learning technology.

Automated instant-form generation based on a brand's website content is also being tested for Facebook, the company says.

Finally, Meta is naming marketing CRM platform HubSpot as the company’s newest CRM integration partner, while also simplifying its CRM integration with online automation tool Zapier.