Facebook ads for real estate in Malta
The four property audiences, ad formats, housing ad rules and a simple 90-day plan.
Facebook & Instagram ads · Lead generation
Facebook lead ads.
How they work,
and how to get customers.
Facebook lead ads show an ad with a built-in form, called an instant form, so people can send you their details without leaving Facebook or Instagram. They bring more enquiries than a website for most service businesses in Malta. Whether those enquiries become customers depends on three things: the questions in the form, how fast you reply, and whether you track who actually buys.
Instant form
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Full namePhone numberWhen do you want to start?SubmitKey takeaways
- How do Facebook lead ads work? The ad opens an instant form inside Facebook or Instagram with the person’s details pre-filled. They answer your questions and send it, and you receive the lead.
- Where do I find my Facebook leads? In the Leads Center in Meta Business Suite, or wherever you connected the form, such as your CRM or email.
- How do I test a Facebook lead form? Use Meta’s Lead Ads Testing Tool to submit a test lead and check it arrives with all fields.
The basics
What a lead ad is, in plain terms.
A lead ad is a normal Facebook or Instagram ad with a form attached. When someone taps the button, a form opens with their name, email and phone already filled in from their profile. They check the details, answer any questions you added and send it. You get the lead; they never left the app.
In Ads Manager you create one by choosing the Leads objective and “Instant forms” as the conversion location. The same objective also lets you send people to Messenger, Instagram Direct, WhatsApp or a phone call instead, which matters if your business closes sales in chat.
| Lead form (instant form) | Website landing page | |
|---|---|---|
| Where people stay | Inside Facebook or Instagram | They visit your website |
| Details | Pre-filled from their profile | Typed in by hand |
| Volume | Usually more leads | Usually fewer leads |
| Intent | Some low-intent leads; add questions to filter | Often better informed |
| Needs a website | No | Yes |
Who they suit
Which Malta businesses should use lead ads.
Lead ads suit businesses where the sale happens in a conversation: clinics and aesthetics, real estate, home improvement and trades, solar, schools and courses, car dealers, insurance and B2B services. An online shop usually does better with a sales campaign, because the customer can buy straight away on the website.
The journey
How a lead becomes a customer.
The ad gets attention and the form captures details. Everything after that is up to you. A lead called within minutes still remembers the ad and why they tapped it. A lead called the next day often does not, and may already have spoken to a competitor.
Setting it up
How to set up an instant form, step by step.
Start with the form type. Meta offers More volume, which is quick to send, and Higher intent, which adds a review screen so people confirm their details. If you have had many fake or careless leads, switch to higher intent.
Next, the questions. Keep the contact fields Meta pre-fills, then add two or three multiple-choice questions that tell you whether this person is worth calling first: what they need, where in Malta or Gozo they are, and when they want to start. Multiple choice keeps the form fast; open text questions slow people down.
Meta requires a link to your privacy policy on every form. Finally, write a completion screen that says what happens next (“We’ll call you today between 9 and 6”) and add a button to call you or visit your website.
Proof
478 leads at €9.68 each.
This is a lead generation campaign we ran on Facebook and Instagram from 1 May to 25 July 2026. It brought 478 form leads from €4,625.31 of ad spend, which is €9.68 per lead, on a €6.00 daily ad set budget. The screenshot is straight from Meta Ads Manager, with the ad set name blurred.
Want leads like this for your business? Message us on WhatsApp
Want leads that turn into customers?
Send us your ad account or lead form on WhatsApp. We’ll show you what to fix in the form and the follow-up. Free, no obligation.
Testing and getting leads
Where your leads go, and how to test the form.
By default, leads are stored in Meta. You can see and download them in the Leads Center in Meta Business Suite. That is fine for a test, but nobody should be downloading a file on Friday afternoon. Connect the form to your CRM, email or a sheet so each lead arrives the moment it is sent.
Before you spend any money, submit a test lead with Meta’s Lead Ads Testing Tool for developers and check it arrives where it should, with every field filled in. It takes five minutes and saves a week of lost enquiries.
Speed wins
Sending leads to WhatsApp, and replying fast.
Many people in Malta would rather chat on WhatsApp than take a call from an unknown number. There are two ways to use that. You can run a Leads campaign with WhatsApp as the conversion location, so the ad opens a chat instead of a form. Or keep the form and send an automatic WhatsApp message the moment a lead arrives, through the official WhatsApp Business Platform and your CRM.
Either way, set a simple rule for your team: every lead gets a personal reply within the same working hour, and three tries over a few days before it is marked as lost.
The number that matters
Cost per lead vs cost per customer.
Ads Manager shows cost per lead. Your bank account cares about cost per customer: the cost per lead divided by the share of leads who buy. A €9.68 lead costs €193.60 per customer if 1 in 20 buy, and €32.27 if 3 in 10 buy. Better follow-up often lowers cost per customer more than cheaper ads do.
Record which leads became customers. Sending those outcomes back to Meta through the Conversions API helps it find more people who buy, not just people who fill in forms.
Common mistakes
Mistakes that make lead ads “not work”.
A form with no questions, so every curious scroller becomes a lead. Leads sitting in Meta for days because nobody connected the form. Judging campaigns on cost per lead instead of cost per customer. Writing open-text questions that people abandon. And changing the campaign every two days, which stops Meta from learning.
A few straight answers
What you might be wondering.
How do Facebook lead ads work?
The ad opens an instant form inside Facebook or Instagram with the person’s details pre-filled. They answer your questions and send it, and you receive the lead.
Where do I find my Facebook leads?
In the Leads Center in Meta Business Suite, or wherever you connected the form, such as your CRM or email.
How do I test a Facebook lead form?
Use Meta’s Lead Ads Testing Tool to submit a test lead and check it arrives with all fields.
Can Facebook lead ads send leads to WhatsApp?
You can run a Leads campaign that opens a WhatsApp chat, or keep the form and send an automatic WhatsApp reply through the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Do I need a privacy policy for lead ads?
Yes. Meta requires a link to your privacy policy on every instant form.
What does lead ads management cost?
Our Meta ads management starts from €1,249 a month plus ad spend, excluding VAT.
How do I download leads from Facebook?
Open Leads Center in Meta Business Suite, select the leads and download them as a CSV file. Better still, connect the form to your CRM or WhatsApp so leads arrive straight away.
Why do Meta leads feel lower quality than Google leads?
Instant forms are pre-filled, so they are very easy to send. Use the Higher intent form type, add one or two qualifying questions and reply within minutes.
Keep reading
Related guides.
Facebook ads in Malta: a practical guide
Costs, setup, campaign types, creative and mistakes to avoid, with real Ads Manager results.
Facebook ads vs boosted posts
Boosting is quick. Ads Manager gives you control. What the difference means for enquiries and sales.
A useful first step
Ready for better leads?
We set up the form, the questions, the WhatsApp follow-up and the tracking, then run the ads.