If a business's overarching goal is to reduce customer acquisition cost (CAC) while increasing lead volume, what specific Meta campaign objective provides the auction system with the most relevant optimization signal to achieve this balance?

The specific Meta campaign objective that provides the auction system with the most relevant optimization signal to reduce customer acquisition cost (CAC) while increasing lead volume is the Leads objective, specifically optimizing for the Lead event. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total expense a business incurs to acquire one new customer. Lead volume refers to the total number of potential customers who have shown interest in a business's offerings, typically by providing their contact information. A lead is a person who has taken a specific action indicating interest, such as filling out a form. The Meta auction system is an automated process that determines which ads are shown to which users, based on factors like bid, estimated action rates, and ad quality. Its effectiveness hinges on receiving a clear optimization signal, which is the specific action a business wants people to take. By selecting the Leads objective, a business explicitly instructs Meta’s algorithms to find users most likely to perform a lead-generating action. The most precise optimization signal within this objective is the Lead event, which is a standard conversion event tracked by the Meta Pixel or Conversions API. This event signifies that a user has completed a specific lead action on a business’s website, such as submitting a contact form or signing up for a service. Alternatively, utilizing Meta's Instant Forms (formerly Lead Ads) directly within the Leads objective also optimizes for lead submissions that occur entirely within the Meta platform. When the auction system optimizes for the Lead event, it leverages data to identify individuals most likely to become leads. This direct alignment between the campaign objective and the business goal ensures that advertising spend is efficiently directed towards reaching the most relevant prospects. This results in an increase in the overall number of leads generated (lead volume) and a simultaneous decrease in the cost per lead, thereby reducing the Customer Acquisition Cost, because the system is precisely targeting users with a high propensity to convert into leads rather than simply driving traffic.