How to Craft the Perfect Funnel for Facebook Ads — A Full Guide

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Sales funnels are popular in the realm of social media marketing, and that couldn’t be more true with Facebook Ads.

If you’re running Facebook advertising and looking to create the perfect Facebook sales funnel that would get you the best results possible — you’ve made it to the right place.

This post will cover everything you need to know from structure to publishing optimized sales funnels for your Facebook Ads.

Let’s get started.

1. What is a Facebook Ad sales funnel?

A normal sales funnel is the journey that users take before becoming paying customers.

A Facebook Ad sales funnel is a preconstructed sales funnel designed to capture the traffic coming in from ad campaigns.

Since you’re probably advertising to a cold audience, you need a way to turn those cold prospects into loyal customers.

And a Facebook sales funnel is your answer to achieving exactly that.

2. Benefits of having a Facebook sales funnel

A well-built Facebook sales funnel would help you achieve a number of strategic business goals:

1. Turning prospects into warm leads

A sales funnel that’s built for Facebook ads would carry out the task of nurturing the incoming cold traffic.

As soon as they reach your landing page, they’ll get to know more and more about your brand and what you’re offering.

That will increase their brand awareness, and help them establish a very important connection with you or your brand.

2. Simplifying your Facebook marketing

Having a well-made Facebook sales funnel would play a huge part in crafting a clear and predictable sales cycle.

That in turn, streamlines the process of making ad campaigns geared toward different sales funnels that have different objectives.

3. Grow your email list

A Facebook sales funnel should be able to capture emails of Facebook users through squeeze pages and other methods.

The importance of this can’t be overstated because these are the contact details of target users who are already interested in what you’re offering.

With time, that will grow into a very targeted email list which is arguably the most important thing in your email marketing efforts.

By the way, if you don’t know, email marketing has an ROI of $42-$1.

So if - by a long shot - you’re not doing it, here’s an email marketing guide to get you up and running with the rest of the pack.

4. Better performance tracking

An optimized Facebook Ad sales funnel would give a high overview of the performance of ad campaigns.

You’ll be able to watch crucial metrics like:

Customer life value — The amount of money you extract from each customer on average
Sales cycle period — How long it takes a lead to make a purchase
Lead acquisition cost — How much it costs to turn a prospect into a warm lead
Return on traffic — How much ROI you get on a certain size of ad traffic, this will help judge the quality of your traffic
Other technical KPIs — We’ll dig into them later down this post

So safe to say, creating a Facebook funnel is pretty much standard for anyone looking to play their cards right when launching Facebook Ads.

5. Easy product testing environment

This one links back to simplifying your Facebook marketing.

The fact that you can create Facebook sales funnels to capture different traffic coming in from different ad campaigns is extremely valuable.

Why?

Because that lets you pin down certain variables that aren’t performing well in your products.

For example, say you’re launching 2 Facebook ad campaigns to advertise 2 variations of a product that have the same audience targeting.

You set up 2 exact sales funnels with the only difference being the product variations — if one performs better than the other, then you know for sure which one is at fault.

This is called split testing and we will show you how to do it a bit later in this post.

3. What are the different sales funnel types for Facebook Ads?

A distinct target audience for a distinct Facebook Ads campaign will create the need to have different types of sales funnels.

Building the right Facebook funnel would mean higher overall success rates, so pay close attention to what sales funnel you’re going to build.

3.1. Lead generation funnel

One of the most common Facebook Ads funnels out there are lead generation funnels.

These carry out the task of bringing in new leads for your business.

If you have Facebook campaigns aiming to:

Build brand awareness
Address a certain problem
Teach people about a targeted niche
Reach a new custom audience

Then a lead generation funnel would make the most sense for you to build, as you can carefully tailor everything in the funnel to:

Capture the attention of incoming traffic
Garner more and more of their interest
Direct them to the right solutions — yours!

3.2. Webinar funnel

If you’re running Facebook ads to have people register for a live webinar, or even an automated webinar, then a webinar funnel is exactly what you need.

This Facebook funnel is a great lead magnet, and should handle:

Gathering user info from incoming traffic
Registering leads into your webinar events
Sending Thank You emails to leads who sign up
Growing a niche email list for later retargeting campaigns

3.3. Product launch funnel

If you already run Facebook Ads for your business, then you need to build anticipation with ad campaigns.

But that’s not enough, you’ll need a product launch funnel that will:

Introduce the product to custom audiences
Teach prospects how to utilize your product or service
Give prospects the chance to sign-up for a waiting list
Give prospects a launch offer (if you’re soft-launching)

You can achieve this in your Facebook sales funnel by:

Displaying educational content about the product or service
Having a warm audience sign-up for exclusive launch day offers
Giving out limited training for free to students who sign up (if you’re running a course)
Including leads in launch day email campaigns

3.4. Survey funnel

As simple as it gets, a survey funnel displays questions that your Facebook Ads traffic will have to answer.

After answering the questions, each prospect would be directed to a different lead magnet or offer.

We recommend keeping the number of questions to 3 or lower so as not to scare away any users who might not have the time or patience to deal with a full-blown questionnaire.

This would also serve your research of finding the most detailed buyer personas about new and existing customers.

3.5. Membership funnel

These sales funnels are the least common on the list, and that’s because few people can utilize them or even understand them, for that matter.

First, a membership funnel is a sales funnel that can be used in different ways — not always to make sales.

For example, non-profits use this kind of funnel to nurture traffic coming in from ad campaigns about a certain cause they’re advocating for.

Leads who sign up are members of that non-profit organization’s journey; they donate, contribute in different ways, and share stories.

A membership funnel can also be used for a coaching service or something similar. It should handle:

Educating new prospects
Managing new members and integrating them into communities
Checkout processes for any financial actions members can take

4. How to structure sales funnels for Facebook Ads

Now that you’ve learned about Facebook sales funnels, why they’re important, and the different types you’ll frequently see . . .

How exactly do you plan and build your own Facebook sales funnels?

4.1. Plan the different funnel stages

Every sales funnel has 3 stages:

1. Top of the funnel or TOFU

This is where lead generation happens and it’s considered the attention or awareness stage.

You want to provide information to potential customers, address any talking points they may have, and introduce your brand.

2. Middle of the funnel or MOFU

This is where lead nurturing happens.

Here you want to present your product or service as a solution that will fit the prospects’ needs.

Feel free to share video tutorials, research papers, case studies, digital downloads, useful education sources, and more.

3. Bottom of the funnel or BOFU

This is where to close it with a killer offer and push prospects into making a purchase decision

You can provide special coupons, limited-time offers, a demo, a free consultation call, or success stories — anything that adds value.

You can also target existing customers in this step for repeat purchases.

4.2. Follow the AIDA formula

Integrating the AIDA formula (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action) into your different funnel stages has proven to be a very effective way to get the best conversion rates for sales funnels.

It’s easy to make the mistake of building your Facebook marketing funnel around only one stage or phase.

But for cold traffic that’s coming from a Facebook campaign, this will cripple your funnel.

To better understand what we mean, take a look at this infographic:

The different sales funnel stages

Think about it, if you tailor your Facebook funnel to only capture leads, only educate leads, or only go for the sale . . .

Then you’ll lose all of the leads you would have gained by extending your sales funnel to be more complete.

That’s why you want to build a comprehensive Facebook marketing funnel that covers all fronts.

4.3. Create a landing page

A normal sales funnel can be 2 webpages or more, but every sales funnel has a landing page.

A landing page is a webpage where your Facebook traffic will land after clicking on an ad.

Because users leave a website in 15 seconds (on average), you need to make an excellent first impression to turn traffic into a warm audience that’s willing to stay.

Here are some general guidelines for your Facebook landing page:

It has a consistent tone with what your ads are offering
Tailored to either the custom audience or lookalike audience you’re advertising for on Facebook
Has the same color palette as your ads
Has a clear unique value proposition (UVP)

4.4. Other pages and content

Depending on the sales funnel you’re going to build, you may need different pages to achieve the funnel’s goal.

Considering the tools you’re using to build out your Facebook sales funnel, here are a few pages to consider:

A checkout page
Webinar pages
Contact page
Upsell and down-sell pages
Thank you page

Keep in mind that the longer your Facebook Ads funnel is, the less likely the average Facebook user is going to make it all the way through.

To keep your Facebook audiences intrigued throughout your funnel, you’ll need some terrific content.

So when creating the different pages of your Facebook ad funnel, focus on these elements:

Strong copywriting

Your copywriting needs to be on point to garner user interest.

The first thing you want to make sure of is having clear fonts and well-readable text.

Next, make sure to shine a light on your unique value proposition and then focus on using your copywriting to develop a certain intention within readers.

Get them to do the actions that would lead to your business’ success (e.g. subscribing, making a purchase, etc.).

Media-rich pages

Always look to add helpful videos and images to better convey the message you’re going for while keeping your pages nice and tidy.

People tend to trust a product or service more when they see it in action, or when they figure out how it works and how they can utilize it.

Don’t forget to add alt text to your images so if for whatever reason they don’t load for users, they get a text conveying what was there.

Clear CTAs

Call-to-action or CTA buttons are the last step your target audience looks at before they continue to the checkout process.

Make sure to use direct language like “Buy Now” or “Sign Up” to tunnel-vision users into making a purchase decision (use no more than 5 words).

You also want your CTAs to have a different color scheme and font to make them stand out.

4.4.1. Adjust for ad format

Your Facebook sales funnel needs to follow the tone of your Facebook ad.

Generally speaking, you’re going to be running:

Image ads
Video ads
Carousel ads
Facebook Messenger ads
Slideshow ads
Instant experience ads

Each of those types is optimal for certain objectives and you want to have the same objectives translated to your Facebook sales funnel.

Say you’re running awareness ads to a cold audience, and you’re using a video ad to do so.

Your objectives are probably:

Build social proof
Increase brand awareness
Use a strong lead magnet, like a free giveaway, to bring in leads

Your Facebook sales funnel will likely start with a video welcoming the website traffic coming from the ad and affirming what they’re coming for — the free giveaway.

And this translates to other ad examples as well.

5. What platforms should you use to build your sales funnel?

If you don’t have a team of devs laying around, you’re going to need software that will get your Facebook sales funnel up and running.

Luckily, there are plenty of good options out there, here’s a mini list:

5.1. Systeme.io

systeme.io logo

Systeme.io is an all-in-one marketing platform that has all the tools to launch, test, and scale your business.

And here’s what makes us excel at building your Facebook marketing funnel:

A modern sales funnels builder

Sales funnels dashboard in systeme.io

Easily create all kinds of pages with a drag-and-drop style that requires no technical experience — and if you want to get technical, the option is there.

Tap into advanced features like A/B testing, automation rules, specialized analytics dashboard, deadline timers, upsells and down-sells, and more:

Proven templates

Templates in systeme.io

Systeme.io is all about getting you up and ready in no time, that’s why we provide sales funnel templates to build, refine, and deploy skillfully.

And don’t forget about page templates that are crafted carefully for optimized results and an easy quick Facebook marketing funnel launch.

Email marketing features

Email dashboard in systeme.io

As mentioned earlier, email marketing is your secret weapon for Facebook marketing funnels.

Systeme.io takes your email marketing efforts to the next level with in-house tools that would satisfy any email marketer.

With us, you can set automated responses that get triggered when users do certain actions, like signing up or purchasing an upsell.

An effortless course builder

If you’re looking to advertise your online course, why not build and market it in one place?

Systeme.io lets you build your online course and integrate it into your Facebook sales funnel like a breeze.

You can also create course bundles to upsell your prospects, give out access to certain course materials with drip courses, automate course entry to prospects who sign up, and more.

5.1.1. Systeme.io’s pricing

systeme.io pricing

All of our plans - including the free one - gives you access to all the mentioned features.

Here are our plans:

Free plan — $0/month
Startup plan — $27/month
Webinar plan — $47/month
Unlimited plan — $97/month

And for any hiccup that you may face, we have a world-class support team with an average response time of under 2 hours that’s there for you at every step of the way.

The Free plan is free forever and it offers everything you need to get started building a Facebook sales funnel.

5.2. Leadpages

Leadpages’ homepage

Leadpages is a popular landing page builder that delivers a zero-code experience.

It offers ready templates to get you going as fast as possible, and pre-built add-on pages.

The platform has a set of marketing tools and plays nice with Facebook integration, for example, it has automated pixel placement features.

Although not a dedicated sales funnel builder, you could use their website builder to build your Facebook sales funnel.

5.2.1 Leadpages’ pricing

Leadpages’ pricing plans

Leadpages offers 2 plans:

Standard plan — $49/month

Offers you all the standard integration, free hosting, and one site (or one sales funnel)

You don’t have access to online sales and payments, nor access to their split testing feature.

Pro plan — $99/month

You have access to most of the features.

If you want full access to all the features you’re going to have to contact them for their Advanced plan, share your marketing strategy and needs, and then get a custom price.

You can also get a 3-month-free discount, a custom domain, and a few extra support options if you sign up for a yearly plan.

5.3. Instapage

Instapage’s homepage

Instapage is dedicated to creating targeted, post-click landing pages to help businesses in their digital marketing efforts.

For you, that means it’s a platform dedicated to building the ideal Facebook Ads funnel.

They claim that their users get 400% more from their ad spend — a bold claim for sure.

Instapage comes with:

A drag-and-drop builder
A huge library of templates
Easy integration with paid advertising
Team collaboration features
Heatmaps and Admaps
Analytics
A/B testing

And more.

It doesn’t come with a free plan though, and the price is quite expensive compared to most others

5.3.1. Instapage’s pricing

Instapage’s pricing plans

Building plan — $299/Month

Gets you access to everything you need to build a Facebook sales funnel.

You’ll enjoy having unlimited domains, a dedicated customer success manager, all sorts of useful integrations, and more.

Converting Plan — Custom pricing

Gets you access to the most advanced features Instapage has to offer.

If you’re going with Instapage and want to utilize it fully, you better have deep pockets.

Even with a 33% discount on annual subscriptions, it’s still pretty expensive.

They do have a free trial you can try out to check if it’s right for you.

6. How to optimize a sales funnel for Facebook Ads

Whichever platform you choose, now you’re ready to craft that perfect Facebook sales funnel.

Keep reading to discover 4 best practices for creating Facebook ad sales funnels:

6.1. The Meta pixel (formerly known as the Facebook pixel)

For the uninitiated, a Facebook pixel is a small unique script that you get when running a Facebook ad campaign, and you can get it in your ad manager account.

The pixel will track website visitors and generate all sorts of useful data about your ad campaign performance.

You’ll need to add your Meta pixel to your sales funnel pages. This is actually required by Facebook’s ad policies.

There’s no unified way of adding the Meta pixel into all platforms, some make it easier than others.

For example, in systeme.io, you simply add your Facebook pixel into your tracking code box in the sales funnel settings.

You’ll have to resort to support and checking resources for the platform you’re using.

6.2. Stay in line with Facebook Ads’ policies

These rules are set to protect Facebook users from an unwanted or not welcomed experience on the platform.

Not following these ad policies would get you locked out of your ad manager account, or even get your advertising account deleted altogether.

Here are the rules that Facebook advertisers follow to optimize their Facebook funnels:

They aren’t under construction and don’t show any errors
Don’t have any kind of pop-ups on arrival or leaving
Have the Meta pixel
Don’t include any content that’s banned on Facebook
Don’t have auto-downloads, malware, spyware, or any harmful software
They aren’t a dead-end — They should have links to get out of the funnel itself; you can put a site menu in to solve this

In other words, be on par with what Facebook expects from their own marketplace or a normal Facebook page.

6.3. Use proven templates

systeme.io’s page builder

As mentioned earlier, a lot of platforms provide you with templates to use — make it your own, and launch.

You not only save time and money, but you also get to stand on the shoulders of established formulas that brought others success already.

That doesn’t mean it’s as easy as just selecting a template, adding your logo, putting in your offer, and calling it the day.

You’ll need to choose templates based on the Facebook audience you’re advertising for.

Keep these 5 questions in mind when choosing a template for a Facebook marketing funnel:

1. Is the funnel being advertised to custom audiences or lookalike audiences?

2. Is the funnel being advertised to warm audiences or cold audiences?

3. If you create lookalike audiences, are you planning on split testing your funnel to experiment with the results?

4. If you create custom audiences, are you planning to point them to the same or different funnels?

5. Are you running ads to target past website visitors?

Answering those questions would give you the knowledge to craft a Facebook Ads funnel that would get the most conversions.

6.4. Monitor KPIs

Key performance indicators or KPIs are metrics for crucial data information about your business.

Knowing your KPIs will let you know how fast sales are growing, where your Facebook Ads funnel is performing well, where it’s not, and more.

For any Facebook Ads funnel, here are important KPIs to monitor:

Opt-in rate
Conversion rate
Cart abandonment rate
Average session rate
Email open rate
Cost per lead
Cost per sale

Knowing these metrics for your Facebook marketing funnel is your ticket to working out any issues with the current design, growing sales, and reaching an optimal ROI.

7. FAQs

Here are some FAQs if you’ve got any questions:

7.1. Do sales funnels really work?

Yes! Sales funnels are very effective at what they do and are considered to be a marketing standard in digital marketing.

7.2. How long does it take to build a sales funnel for Facebook Ads?

It can take from a few hours to a few days or even weeks to build a fully fleshed-out Facebook Ads funnel.

It depends on the software you’re using, how big the funnel is, and the expertise of the people building it.

7.3. How much does it cost to build a sales funnel for Facebook Ads?

Not as much as you think!

With systeme.io, you can get your Facebook ads funnel running without spending a penny!

7.4. What’s a good conversion rate for a sales funnel?

According to Databox, the average conversion rate for a sales funnel is 3.1%-5%.

Of course, that number differs based on the audience and the offer you’re promoting.

8. Conclusion

As we reach the end of our post, we hope you enjoyed this dive into such an interesting topic.

Here’s a brief summary of this post:

You need a Facebook Ads funnel to get better ads performance
You need to structure your Facebook funnel right
Plenty of funnel builders out there — And if you’re just starting out, systeme.io is a great option that’s totally risk-free
Optimizing your Facebook Ads funnel is key to its success

Make sure to check out our how-to-create-sales-funnels guide for a step-by-step look at sales funnel building with examples.