“Sociable” is the latest commentary on important social media developments and trends from industry expert Andrew Hutchinson of Social Media Today.
Meta announced new embedded appointment bookings for lead ads, which will integrate third-party booking platforms directly into the ad itself. The update includes pre-filled fields within the booking form in order to streamline signup.
As shown in this sequence, with this updated approach, prospective customers who choose to submit their information will be taken directly from the lead ad to an advertiser’s third-party booking process.
The integrated approach will ensure that warm leads are directly fed into the booking process on an advertiser’s website, reducing friction in the booking process.
As explained by Meta: “The gap between form submission and appointment booking has always been a challenge for service-based advertisers. A lead might fill out your form with genuine interest, but by the time they receive a follow-up email or navigate to your booking site hours later, that intent has cooled. With embedded appointment booking, you eliminate that gap entirely. The booking experience appears immediately after form submission, right when the lead's interest is at its peak.”
That should ensure that more leads follow through on initial interest. This may also drive more direct sign-ups from the ad itself.
Meta said the setup process requires no coding. Advertisers can simply paste a scheduling link, select "book time” as their call to action, and publish. The system will then auto-detect the calendar provider and incorporate that tool (if supported).
The process currently supports booking via Calendly and HighLevel. Meta said that HubSpot support is coming in early August, and the company plans to add more scheduling partners over time.
It’s a good update, and it should see more people signing up directly from Facebook ads, subsequently driving more direct response and bookings.
Embedded appointment booking is being rolled out for Facebook ads only, with full global availability expected in October.
