Running a Successful Facebook Ads Campaign

Running a Successful Facebook Ads Campaign

We couldn’t tell you how many times we have heard businesses say that Facebook Ads just don’t work for them or that they tried and did not see any results. We couldn’t disagree more. The main reason why Facebook Ads may not yield a return on investment is because advertisers don’t fully understand who they are targeting and the full range of options that Facebook Ads has available to them. We recently conducted a free webinar on this topic to help businesses to better understand how Facebook Ads should be used to help them reach their business objectives.

This article summarises the key tips and advice we provided on this webinar.

“Always think mobile! Over 80% of people will see your posts and ads on smart phones”

Why Advertise on Facebook?

The best Facebook Ads and for that matter posts should keep people informed about what is happening in their business such as sales, events, promotions or information about products and services. We always recommend for businesses to show their personality on Facebook and to use the right tone for their brand consistently. Businesses sometimes forget that Facebook is a social media platform and therefore it is important to show the social side to their business. Don’t be afraid to share some pictures of happy staff members or some of your corporate social responsibility efforts. The biggest benefit for your business to advertise on Facebook is to reach a larger targeted audience beyond people who have liked or engaged with your Facebook page.

Our main goal when advertising on Facebook for our clients is to reach target personas who may become customers or to retain existing customers. Facebook Ads are a fantastic way of bringing potential clients along their buyer’s journey. The best thing about Facebook Ads is that you can spend as little or as much as you like depending on your budget. If ads are not performing well, they can easily be discontinued or adjusted whenever the advertiser sees fit.

Creating Facebook Ads

When creating a Facebook Ad it is essential to understand the specific objective of the ad. Are you looking to drive more traffic to your website or do you want to increase brand awareness? Facebook offers tailored advertising options depending on your objective for the ad. It is also important to take your time when choosing an audience for your Facebook Ad. Facebook allows advertisers to target people based on demographics, behaviours and interests. Advertisers can use the free Facebook pixel to advertise to people that have previously been to their website. You can also create a lookalike audience based on website visitors or Facebook fans.

This very useful feature targets people with similar characteristics to your target audience and works great when you want to reach a particular persona. We always recommend to save and clearly name an audience once created so it can be easily used again in future. Remember that all Facebook Ads go through a review process for analysis to see if ads pass the Facebook Ad policy. Ads with images or video thumbnails that have more than 20% text will fail this review and will not run on Facebook.

“The Facebook pixel will allow you to advertise to people that have previously visited your website”

Key Elements of a Facebook Ad

When creating Facebook Ads you can use images and videos or a combination of both
Always try to use attention grabbing images and videos that stand out from competitors
The text on the ad should complement that accompanying image or video
The call to action button at the bottom of the ad should entice the audience to click or tap

“Images and video thumbnails that have more than 20% text will be not pass the Facebook review process”

Based on our many years of experience working with clients on their social media strategies,
here are some tips that we find deliver the best returns.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different ad variations with both images and videos. This will help you to learn about what best resonates with your audience
Get creative with Facebook tools by using multiple images and videos in slideshows or for carousel ads etc.
Use little of no text in images or video thumbnails. Ad images with less than 10% text perform better
Take advantage of the high quality stock images that Facebook offers for free when creating ads if you don’t have enough images in your library
Facebook offers a resource called Mobile Studio which allows users to turn photos into videos and remix existing videos
Always and always think MOBILE FIRST as people will most likely see your Facebook Ads on their smart phone
Create different ads for different people and tailor your message to different consumer personas by creating separate ads for each persona
Write the text for your Facebook Ads like you are talking directly to your target persona
Keep it short! Decide on the one thing you want people to know and just say that

Choose images and videos that engage people quickly and don’t take long to consume
Stick to one call to action on Facebook Ads such as carousel ads whereby you either use “Shop Now” or “Learn More”
Mention price when appropriate as price listings tend to motivate people to buy
Include a time frame if possible such as “Sale Ends Friday” as this adds a sense of urgency and is more likely to persuade your audience to take action
Use high resolution images as blurry images will cause your audience to have a poor experience with your ad and could harm your brand
Keep videos short and ideally less than 15 seconds to maximise the amount of people that watch until the end
Put the most compelling part of your video at the very beginning to grab interest. We recommend within the first 3 seconds
Design your video for sound off as people may choose to watch your videos in public. Use text, graphics and captions whenever possible

“Always test Facebook Ads and pause to adjust when necessary”

Conclusion

Following the tips and advice shared on this article should make a big difference with your Facebook Ad endeavours for your business. Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing and try to be different. Testing and adjusting is the name of the game so let your imagination go when it comes to your ads. You never know what might work!

Give us a call or drop us an email if you would like to learn more about Facebook Ads or if you need any help with your next Facebook Ad campaign.

Contact Jonathan