Meta Ads Lead Generation: Low-Cost Message Hacks

Meta Ads Lead Generation and sending messages (Inbox) are incredibly popular strategies among Digital Marketing in Thailand. They are perfect for businesses focusing on gathering leads or contact information. While Meta’s standard “Message Engagement” ads work well, they are not the only way to achieve results.

Why You Should Explore Alternative Meta Ads Formats

As “Message” ads have become the go-to standard, competition has skyrocketed. More advertisers mean higher bidding costs, resulting in a significantly more expensive Cost Per Message. Therefore, it is crucial for marketers and business owners to look for alternative ad formats to lower costs while maintaining results.

At Digital Break Time, we constantly test various ad formats to generate messages and leads. Since many of our clients rely heavily on Lead Generation, our goal is to reduce the cost per message while increasing the volume. Instead of sticking solely to the standard Engagement (Message) objective, we track success using metrics like “Messaging conversations started” and “Cost per Messaging conversations started”—the same metrics used for standard message ads.

Here are two alternative strategies we found effective:

1. Leads Ads: Combining Instant Forms with Messenger

Personally, I have always used Leads Ads (Instant Form). However, Meta Ads now allows you to select multiple channels for your Leads campaigns. By choosing both Instant Form and Messenger, you can significantly increase message volume while maximizing lead capture.

How it works:

When a potential customer clicks on the ad, the system may direct them to a form or start a chat conversation. If it triggers a message, the user will see a list of automated questions (similar to a chatbot). Once they answer all questions, the system captures it as a “Lead.”

• Benefit: You get the Lead data, and you can also interact with the customer in real-time to qualify them, ensuring you get High-Quality Leads.

Pro Tip:

Even if you use only Instant Forms, enable the “Start conversations on Messenger” option. After a user successfully submits their form, the system will prompt them to send a message to your page. This is a great “indirect” way to open a line of communication immediately after capture.

2. Leads Ads: The ‘Call Now’ Objective

Discovering this method was actually a happy accident. A client wanted to explore new channels for Digital Marketing in Thailand, so we proposed the “Call” objective.

Initially, we were skeptical. Consumer behavior in Thailand suggests that people rarely call a business directly from an ad because it requires high effort compared to sending a quick message. However, since the client was willing to test it, we proceeded.

The Results:

Typically, this campaign is measured by “Call Placed” (users clicking the call button and confirming the dial). Competition for this ad format is very low.

The Surprise:

Unexpectedly, this campaign generated a shockingly high number of “Messaging conversations started.” Even more surprising, the cost was lower than direct Message ads.

Real-World Example:

• Call Campaign: Cost per Messaging conversations started = 2xx THB
• Message Campaign: Cost per Messaging conversations started = 5xx THB

The Call campaign’s cost per message was significantly lower than the dedicated Message campaign. This proves that using a Call Campaign can be an effective “hack” to generate messages at a lower cost.

Note: If you want to measure the true quality of the calls, look at the “60-second Call” metric. If someone stays on the line for over a minute, it’s likely a genuine inquiry, making it a solid KPI for this campaign type.

Conclusion: You Don’t Always Need ‘Message Ads’ to Get Messages

To summarize, increasing your message volume doesn’t always require running direct Meta Ads for Messages.

Both methods mentioned above—Leads (Instant Form + Messenger) and Leads (Call)—have been tested and proven to deliver real results. They allow you to capture Leads while simultaneously driving message conversations. This approach not only increases the quantity of your leads but also improves the chance of acquiring quality prospects for your business.

If you are exploring Digital Marketing in Thailand and have discovered other unique ways to drive messages, feel free to share your experiences with us!

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Originally in Thai. Translated to English with the help of Gemini.