Digital marketers running lead generation campaigns for education agencies often face challenges with lead quality. In a recent discussion in The eCom Mafia community, marketing professionals shared valuable insights on handling fake leads in study abroad advertising campaigns, particularly targeting issues with leads from specific regions in India.

The Problem: Increasing Fake Leads in Study Abroad Campaigns

A digital marketer running campaigns for an overseas education agency reported receiving numerous fake leads who were sharing unwanted content. Despite excluding certain geographic regions, the issue persisted across their Meta Ads Manager campaigns, particularly for WhatsApp message campaigns.

Expert Solutions from Marketing Professionals

Understanding the Root Cause

Abdul Raqeeb, Paid Media Executive at Property Finder, suggested first identifying what triggered the increase in fake leads:

"Figure out what's causing these spam leads. Since you mentioned this started happening recently, check if you've added a new creative or if any creative is suddenly performing too well. From experience, creatives with women tend to attract unwanted leads."

Strategic Approaches to Improve Lead Quality

Several proven strategies emerged from the discussion:

1. Creative Optimization

   • Use directly relevant creative assets that specifically appeal to serious study abroad prospects

   • Avoid generic or overly flashy visuals that might attract irrelevant audiences

2. Lead Form Enhancements

   • Move beyond auto-filled fields in Meta Instant Forms

   • Add custom qualifying questions that serious prospects will complete

   • Implement phone verification via SMS before form submission

3. Advanced Audience Management

   • Create and maintain a database of fake leads

   • Upload this as a custom audience for exclusion

   • Build lookalike audiences from qualified leads for better targeting

4. Alternative Conversion Paths

   • Consider directing traffic to landing pages instead of instant forms

   • Accept potentially fewer but higher-quality leads

Algorithm Training and Optimization

Shebin PT, Paid Social Account Manager at GroupM, emphasized understanding Meta's algorithm:

"First, understand the learning process of the Meta algorithm—it gets trained with the data it feeds. So if you want to get quality leads, first feed it with that data. Use conditional questions in lead forms to filter leads based on prospecting questions."

Technical Implementation for Better Results

Christopher John, Founder of Social Tribe, highlighted the importance of technical setup:

"Ensure you have your Conversions API (CAPI) setup for your CRM connection. Once you integrate this, the quality of the leads goes up dramatically because this is what is actually feeding back into the Meta algorithm."

He also recommended:

• Using narrowed-down interests rather than broad targeting

• Optimizing for high-quality leads rather than high volume during ad set setup

Conclusion: A Multi-Faceted Approach

Handling fake leads in international education marketing requires combining strategic targeting, thoughtful creative development, technical optimization, and continuous refinement of lead qualification processes. By implementing these expert recommendations, study abroad agencies can significantly improve their lead quality and marketing ROI.

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