Solved: Meta Ads Campaign Not Converting to Kickstarter Followers

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on why you might be seeing good clicks on your Meta ads but not getting the pre-launch follows on your Kickstarter page that you're after. It's a pretty common scenario, tbh, where the ad itself works okay (gets clicks) but the next step in the funnel falls flat.

Let's talk about the campaign objective first...

You mentioned you're running a Leads campaign. Now, Leads campaigns on Meta are typically designed to optimise for someone submitting their contact information via a Lead Form. This form can pop up directly on Facebook or Instagram, or sometimes you can point it to a form on your own website and use your pixel to track those submissions.

The goal you have here, getting a "Notify me on launch" follow on Kickstarter, is a bit different. It requires someone to click your ad, leave Meta entirely, land on your Kickstarter pre-launch page, and then *specifically* click that 'Notify me' button.

A Leads campaign isn't inherently optimised for driving that particular action on an external site. It's trying to find people who are likely to fill out a *lead form*. The people most likely to fill out a form might not be the same people most likely to click a button on a third-party crowdfunding site after seeing an ad.

This could be a key reason for the disconnect between your good CTR (the ad is engaging enough to get a click) and zero follows (the people clicking aren't the right fit for the desired action, or teh campaign objective isn't pushing for that specific outcome).

What might be better to test?

You could try a Traffic campaign. This is the most basic option and simply optimises for getting clicks and sending people to your destination (your Kickstarter page). It's less "smart" than other objectives as it just aims for volume of clicks, which might mean lower quality traffic, but it's often cheaper and could be a starting point to see if you can drive *any* traffic that eventually leads to follows.

A potentially better option, if you can set it up, is a Conversions campaign. This would involve using your Meta pixel to track when someone clicks that 'Notify me on launch' button on your Kickstarter page. You'd need to investigate if Kickstarter allows custom pixel event tracking on that specific button click. If you can set up a custom conversion event for that button click, you could then run a Conversions campaign optimising for that specific event. This would tell Meta to find people most likely to perform *that exact action* after clicking your ad.

It's worth investigating the pixel setup possibilities on Kickstarter. Without tracking the actual conversion action you want, Meta's algorithm is just guessing at what a "good" click is based on the (potentially incorrect) objective you've given it.

If you absolutely can't track the 'Notify me' button click, optimising for something slightly further down the funnel than just a click, like a 'Page View' conversion event on your Kickstarter page (meaning someone loaded the page fully after clicking), could still be slightly better than a pure Traffic campaign, but it wouldn't be as effective as optimising for the actual goal.

Next, let's consider your audience targeting...

Targeting 'Kickstarter' and 'Crowdfunding' interests using Advantage+ audience is a reasonable starting point, and it's probably contributing to your good CTR because you're reaching people who are familiar with the platform. However, as you've seen, familiarity with the platform doesn't automatically mean they're interested in backing *your* specific project.

This is likely where a significant part of the problem lies. You're getting clicks from people interested in the *concept* of crowdfunding, maybe even creators themselves, or people who backed a project years ago, but not necessarily people who are passionate about the *subject* of your project and are actively looking for something new to back in that area.

You need to get much more specific with your targeting, moving beyond the platform itself and focusing on the psychographics and interests of your ideal backer. Think about:

- What is the *type* of project? (e.g., Board Game, Tech Gadget, Book, Film, Art, Gadget, Design, etc.)

- Who is the person who would be *most excited* about this specific type of project? (e.g., gamers, tech enthusiasts, readers of a specific genre, fans of a certain style of art, people interested in sustainability, hobbyists in a particular area)

- What other things are these people interested in? What pages do they follow? What media do they consume? What other products or services do they buy?

- Are there specific brands, publications, events, or influencers in your niche that your target audience follows? Can you target interests related to those?

For example, if it's a new board game, targeting interests like specific popular board games, board game review sites, board game conventions, or even mechanics within board games (like 'deck-building' or 'worker placement') would likely get you in front of a much more qualified audience than just 'Kickstarter'.

If it's a tech gadget, target interests related to the specific function of the gadget, tech blogs, specific tech brands they might use, or relevant tech-related behaviours Meta tracks.

By targeting based on the *subject matter* of your project, you're reaching people who are intrinsically more likely to be interested in *backing* it, not just interested in the platform in general.

You can test layering these niche interests together. Start with your best guesses for the most relevant interests and test them against each other or layered combinations. Don't be afraid to go quite specific.

Another thing to consider is excluding audiences that are clearly not your target, if possible. Though with Advantage+ audience this might be harder to control initially.

Also, definitely set up retargeting audiences. Create an audience of everyone who clicked your ad but didn't convert (didn't become a follow). You can then show them slightly different ads, maybe highlighting different features or benefits, or creating a sense of urgency as the launch approaches. People often need multiple touchpoints before they take action.

Finally, the critical role of your Kickstarter pre-launch page...

You've done well to get people to click with your creative and good CTR. That means the ad is doing it's job in getting attention and promising something interesting enough to warrant a click.

However, once someone lands on your Kickstarter pre-launch page, the ad's job is done. It's now up to that page to convert the visitor into a follower. Since you're getting zero follows, despite clicks, it strongly suggests there's a significant drop-off happening *on the page itself*.

Put yourself in the shoes of a cold visitor who just clicked your ad. They land on your page – what's their immediate impression? Does it instantly tell them what the project is, who it's for, and why they should care? You have a very short window to grab their attention and convince them to scroll down and explore further.

Things to critically evaluate on your pre-launch page:

- The main headline and sub-headline: Are they clear, concise, and benefit-driven? Do they immediately convey the core idea and value proposition of your project?

- The hero image or video: Is it high quality, compelling, and visually representative of your project? A good video explaining the concept and showing prototypes or visuals can be incredibly powerful.

- The description: Is it persuasive? Does it clearly explain the problem your project solves or the unique experience it offers? Does it build excitement for the launch?

- Visuals throughout the page: Are there enough high-quality images or GIFs showing off the project from different angles? Visuals are crucial for conveying the quality and appeal of physical products or the interface of software.

- Social Proof (if any): Do you have any early testimonials, mentions in media, or signs of community building that you can display? Even early follower counts if visible can help build trust.

- The Call to Action: Is the "Notify me on launch" button incredibly prominent and easy to find? Does the text around it reinforce the benefit of clicking it (e.g., "Be the first to know", "Don't miss out on early bird offers")?

- Trust and credibility: Does the page look professional? Does it feel trustworthy? For physical products, showing prototypes or behind-the-scenes can build confidence. For software, clear explanations and perhaps team photos can help.

Think about the visitor's journey on that page. Are there any points where they might get confused or lose interest? Is the value proposition compelling enough to overcome the inertia of needing to click yet another button on a new site?

You might benefit from getting fresh eyes on your pre-launch page. Ask friends, family, or people familiar with your niche (but not your project) to look at it for 10 seconds and tell you their first impression and whether they would click 'Notify me on launch', and more importantly, *why* or *why not*.

Without a compelling pre-launch page, even the best ad targeting and objective won't convert cold traffic into followers.

To summarise, I'd focus your testing efforts on these three areas:

Trying different combinations of these elements in new campaigns or ad sets is key. It's all about finding the right message, shown to the right people, with the right objective pushing them towards the desired action, all leading to a page that seals the deal.

Running effective paid advertising campaigns, especially for specific conversion goals like this on third-party platforms, involves a lot of testing and optimisation. It can be complex to troubleshoot why things aren't working and figure out the best path forward.

Sometimes, having an expert eye look at your specific setup – your account structure, past data, creative, targeting, and destination page – can quickly identify the most likely issues and suggest solutions you might not have considered. It can save you a lot of wasted ad spend and speed up the learning process.

If you'd like a more in-depth review of your campaigns and Kickstarter page, we're happy to offer a free consultation to discuss your specific situation and see if we can help.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh