According to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, “the Facebook community is now officially 2 billion people!”. Regardless of whatever way you want to look at those numbers what this does mean is that when it comes to advertising, there is no company in the world with more information about its users than Facebook. It remains the number-one social media site in the world for sharing photo’s, whilst also offering the option to upload video, blog posts as well as links to other content.
So, are you using it to advertise your product or service? If the answer is ‘no’ then you really need to reconsider its potential for you and if the answer is ‘yes’ then you need to be asking yourself are you getting the maximum benefit out of it.
Here are some tips for how to get the most out of a Facebook Ad Campaign:
- Tap into ‘Audience Insights’: Audience Insights lets you learn about specific audiences before staring any campaign and risking your budget or targeting them. It does this by delving into available Facebook data to show you exactly who your target market is, based on people who already like your page. Alternatively, you can use an email list as a custom audience and target specific ads just to them. You can use the information to see exactly which users are likely to respond to your ad’s call-to-action.
- Create unique ads for each audience: One of the greatest features of Facebook’s advertising platform is that you can create separate ads for separate and unique audiences. What this means for example is that you could create two different ads and deliver them to two completely unique audiences or you can create a single ad and target and send it to two different audiences. You can also go as broad or narrow as you like in terms of who you target. If you want to target women in a 15-mile radius for your clothing store or want to target young sales professionals aged 30-35 for your product or service then Facebook can help you do that.
- Accompany your ad with a landing page: A landing page sets up a clear ‘call to action’ for users and makes it as easy as possible for them to take that action. Landing pages can help accommodate a specific action and in turn generate leads for your business by encouraging people to take actions such as sign up for your mailing list, provide contact information, subscribe to a newsletter, make a purchase, or request a consultation. They also allow you to maximize your Facebook advertising efforts by educating users before asking them to buy. They are great for creating information, data and insights which allow you to measure success.
- Make sure to attach a ‘Facebook Pixel’ to your website: A ‘Facebook Pixel’ is a piece of code that you get from Facebook and place on your website (or landing page) which allows you to track conversions and monitor how your target audience have interacted with your Facebook Ad. It can be used to retarget (following people who have visited your site), see which type of device your target audience are answering your ‘call to arms’ on and also help to create a lookalike audience of similar people who have similar interests, likes and demographics of those already engaging with your website.
- Use high quality and striking imagery: There is enough evidence to point to the fact that visual content is far more influential than textual content and Facebook is no different. To maximise this ensure that you use high quality and visually striking images which the user can engage with the minute they see it. Also, Facebook offer a ‘Carousel Ad‘ feature which allows you to share as many as five images in a sliding format in a single ad. This allows you to paint a story or explain a complex offering or highlight different uses or benefits for your product or service in a single advert and with up to five opportunities in one ad to convert clients, your cost per conversion, or click, will be less!!!
- Invest some time and a little capital in video content: You can now use GIFs in Facebook ads and with video being the fastest growing content medium on social media up to 87% of online marketers are now using video content. Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users. It offers a great way to engage more with your audience and get your message across quickly. You can use anything from professional video to a homemade video on your phone. The best videos usually display some form of humour, some inspiration whilst still having a strong message which is delivered concisely.
- Have clear objectives for your ads, clear KPIs and a desired cost-per-conversion: By identifying these metrics, it allows you to set up proper tracking mechanisms. Being able to keep a pulse on your performance is key to determining the return on investment (ROI) from all advertising including social media and Facebook ads. Facebook can actually help you by allowing you to use what’s known as ‘Optimized CPM’ (Cost per 1,000 Impressions). With this bid type, you essentially give Facebook permission to bid for ad space based on the parameters and goals you provide. This generally allows you to maximize your budget and avoid overspending meaning your bid will automatically adjust to help your ads reach the people you want it to reach.
- Use analytics to measure the relative success of your campaign: Having done all the hard work in targeting, budgeting, designing and launching your ad, it is important to see how did it have the desired effect. To do this look at the number of impressions, clicks and conversion rates vis a vis the level of investment you have put in. This will give you a clear view on your ROI which you can use as a barometer of success for future campaigns.
If you use all of these tips in the planning and execution of your Facebook Ad campaign you are more likely to be successful in reaching the audience you want to reach in the fastest, most direct, cost efficient and targeted manner possible.
If you would like to learn more ‘Aspire Digital’ will be running practical workshops throughout November showing you how to get the maximum out of Facebook Advertising. For more information and to register click here.