Synthesia, the AI-powered video platform behind lifelike avatars and seamless video translation, was growing fast—and so was its need for smarter ad strategies.
Lewis Treleaven, the company's first performance marketing manager, had been tasked with driving results across all paid media. As Synthesia scaled, his focus zeroed in on Meta ads—ads on Facebook and Instagram—where he spent 80 percent of his day fine-tuning campaigns.
But to truly optimize ad spend and prove ROI, Lewis needed better conversion-driven insights. He quickly realized he couldn't do that with his current tech stack. He needed a solution that would help expand the capabilities of the tools he already had…which is where Zapier came in clutch.
Synthesia's results, by the numbers:
Four times faster testing and optimization: Before Zapier, evaluating test results took a full month. Now, with automation in place, Synthesia iterates on campaigns weekly—a 75% reduction in testing time.
43 automated actions: With 43 Zaps running for Meta ads, Synthesia ensures that every key funnel event is instantly communicated to Meta, improving ad performance and tracking accuracy.
Eight to 10 hours saved weekly: Zapier's integration eliminates the need for manual data aggregation, saving Lewis up to 10 hours per week by automatically surfacing lower-funnel events directly inside Meta ads.
Challenge: A lack of critical data for optimization
Synthesia's primary lead magnet is a free AI video creation tool. It's an enticing offer that generates significant traffic. But most of the leads they were getting were unqualified—users were just testing out the tool, not engaging with the platform as potential paying customers.
"We were running Facebook ads and getting tons of form fills," Lewis explains. "But we had no way of knowing which leads actually converted into paying customers within the platform itself." Without insight into post-lead activity in the platform, Synthesia couldn't optimize ad targeting effectively.
Solution: Connecting CRM data with Facebook Conversions
Synthesia needed a seamless way to inform Facebook about leads progressing through their sales funnel—from demo requests to paid accounts. That's where Zapier's Facebook Conversions integration came in.
"We set up a whole system in Zapier to send key CRM events to Facebook," Lewis says. "Now, instead of optimizing for form fills, we can tell Facebook to prioritize leads that schedule demos or become paying customers."
Here's how their Zap works:
Trigger: A lead enters Synthesia's CRM after filling out a form.
Data processing: Relevant lead data (like demo completions or purchases) gets pulled throughout the sales funnel.
Event update: This information gets sent to the Facebook Conversions API, ensuring the platform learns which leads turn into customers.
Ad optimization: Facebook then optimizes its ad delivery on these lower-funnel audiences, improving targeting and budget allocation.
About Synthesia:
Company size: ~500 employees
Industry: Software development
Location: London, England
Impact: Smarter ad spend, faster decision-making
Even though Synthesia had always tracked leads in its CRM, it lacked real-time visibility into which ads were driving revenue in the Facebook Ads platform itself. By bridging this gap with Zapier, the company scored several key benefits:
More informed ad spend decisions: Instead of relying on form fills, Synthesia can now measure the effectiveness of ads based on actual lower-funnel conversions.
Faster testing cycles: "We operate on a weekly testing cycle," Lewis says. "Without this data, we'd have to run tests for a month just to see results."
Improved budget justification: "When I ask for more budget, I can show exactly which campaigns generate revenue, making the case much stronger."
Lewis set up the entire Zapier workflow himself—without technical support. "I'm not a developer, but Zapier made it easy. I didn't have to wait months for engineering resources," he explains.
For performance marketers looking to get started, Lewis offers a simple tip: "Write down what data you wish you had inside Facebook ads that you have in your other systems. Then, figure out how to send it using Zapier."
