Facebook Conversion into automated chat

Hi, @tiggertime!

In order to let your contacts download something, you have to send them to an external page.

But, before that, you can get the contacts email, phone number and other info with the Data Collection block.

All that can be send to google sheets and used to create custom publics in your Ad Manager.

Thanks for that. The issue I have is with Messenger leads tracking. I’m in Europe, and recently they have changed privacy policy laws, which means they won’t show any lead data/conversions in Ads Manager, so you’re effectilvey spending blind

The alternative is you create a conversion, and feed that back to FB. This they will allow (I know go figure?!). So I’m trying to create a ‘conversion’ of a download that I can feed into my flow and feedback to o[ptimise my ads.

Any thoughts?

The most robust and flexible way to achieve your goal - optimizing towards an in-chat action like a download without an external landing page - is to combine the ManyChat API with the Facebook Conversions API (CAPI), and then use a server-side Tag Management system like Google Tag Manager (GTM) Server Container, optionally hosted on a European cloud platform like Google Cloud Platform or a specialized service like Stape.

Here's how that ecosystem works to solve your problem:

ManyChat gives you granular control over your chat flows, allowing you to define the exact moment the conversion occurs - in your case, when the user clicks the 'download' button for the ebook.

At that point in the flow, you would use ManyChat's built-in Action block to make an external request or fire an event via its API.

This ManyChat API call is essentially telling your server-side setup, "Hey, a conversion just happened, specifically a Lead or CompleteRegistration event, and here's all the customer data I've collected, like their email, phone number, and the unique Facebook Click ID (if available)."

This event data is then sent to your Google Tag Manager (GTM) Server Container.

The GTM server container acts as an intermediary, receiving the raw data from ManyChat.

Inside the server container, you would have a tag configured for the Facebook Conversions API.

This is where the magic happens: the GTM server environment is not subject to the same browser and client-side privacy restrictions (like ad blockers or ITP) that limit the traditional Facebook Pixel.

When the GTM server-side CAPI tag receives the event (e.g., your custom EbookDownload event, which is mapped to a Standard Event like 'Lead'), it securely forwards it directly to Facebook's servers.

Because this is a server-to-server connection via the Conversions API, it's a more reliable and privacy-friendly way to send conversion data, which is precisely what Facebook and the European regulators permit you to do when done correctly and with consent.

For hosting the GTM server container, a service like Stape is helpful because it offers a user-friendly way to set up the server-side infrastructure, often with a focus on European-based hosting for additional compliance and speed.

Regardless of the host, the Conversions API allows you to send richer Customer Information Parameters (like a hashed email or phone number) along with your event.

This data is critical because it significantly increases Facebook's ability to match the conversion event back to the specific user who saw your ad, leading to better optimization and accurate reporting in your Ads Manager.

By using ManyChat API to trigger the event, you keep the entire conversion experience within the chat, satisfying your initial goal, while the backend architecture ensures reliable, compliant, and well-optimized conversion reporting back to Facebook for events like Lead , ViewContent or Purchase, allowing you to stop spending blind.