Facebook now lets advertisers send leads to Salesforce, Marketo, and other CRMs

Facebook has done quite a bit with its ads that do more than its traditional cousins. Not only can marketers still direct users to their brand’s website, but the social network offers other ad types based on the campaign’s needs.

One such objective is geared towards improving sales — thus the creation of Lead Ads. With this, marketers don’t have to deal with having potential customers fill out any forms and can tap into the data already provided to Facebook. Starting today, brands better leverage this ad type thanks to new customer relationship management partner integrations that include Salesforce, Sailthru, Maropost, Marketo, Driftrock, and Eloqua.

In a time when customers are looking for more personalized approaches from brands, Facebook’s Lead Ads are giving brands a good starting point. Whether it’s to subscribe to a newsletter, service, or whatnot, companies can take that initial engagement and grow from it.

With the CRM integration into Lead Ads, brands not only collect information in real time, but that data is being collected in a secure system and can be utilized for other opportunities, such as sales, marketing, and customer service.

Additionally, businesses can now customize their lead ad forms using open-ended questions or multiple choice questions. You’re no longer beholden to what Facebook defaulted.

It’s not surprising that Salesforce has jumped at the chance to be a part of Lead Ads. After all, if there’s anything involving collecting user data and improving customer interactions, it’ll likely include Salesforce. But this isn’t Salesforce’s first integration with Facebook: In 2012, the two companies partnered on targeted ad delivery. Today’s announcement is pretty much the same model, only with a different ad type.

The addition of the other CRM partners gives Facebook a broader base to appeal to. While Salesforce is among the top of its class, the social network needs to make sure its ads sync up with more platforms to really show businesses that Lead Ads can be an important tool to help generate sales and leads beyond just a fancy display ad on one of the world’s top sites.