5 tips for effective facebook ads

Facebook Ads are a cost-effective way of driving customers to your website, however, if you are just starting out with Facebook Ads, it can all seem a bit overwhelming and a little terrifying as you realise this is real money you are investing in your Ads performance.

Here is the good news. Facebook Ads can be extremely effective.

Remember Billboards? They could be a great investment for the right brand but all the brand could ever hope to achieve with a Billboard was reach. There was no call to action, no way to speak to them directly, and if you billboard was on the side of the highway, you had less then 1s to pass on your message, business name or website. What do you think their conversion rate was? Very. Very. Low.

Now, think about the last time you engaged with a Facebook Ad. If the Ad managed to capture your attention it was because of one of these 5.

Targeting

Facebook Ads can be very targetted and because of this clever little thing called 'Facebook Pixel', Facebook can make sure that your Ad reaches the right people at the right time.

So how does the Pixel work? The Facebook Pixel is a tracking code that can be installed on any website. Once installed, each time a customer views a website, Facebook is storing that information and building up a profile of the consumer's interests and behaviour. Facebook Ads are then able to leverage this information to maximise your conversions by serving up the Ad to those who fit your target profile.

When you set up your Facebook targetting make sure this reflects your target market as accurately as possible. Include demographic information, interests, or explore look-a-like audiences if you have an existing database and want to locate more customers that are similar to your existing database.

The RIGHT image

The golden question - what is the 'right' image for your Facebook Ad?

Well, there is no right and wrong. What we have is the opportunity to test, monitor and refine based on how your Ad performs, therefore, demonstrating what your customers are relating to the most... however, here are some tried and true tips to get you started.

• Don't use an image that contains too much text
• Facebook scans all Ad images and will flag any that it feels has more than 20% text in the image - and this includes type based logos. Now this does not mean you can't have text over an image in your Ad if that is what works for your audience, but when you are first getting started, less is more.
• High Contrast images
• Overall, high contrast images work better on Facebook. The reason being, they are more eye-catching when someone is scrolling through the news feed. Below are a few examples:

The RIGHT Copy

Your customer is looking to connect with your brand on a personal level. They want to feel like they belong to a community or something bigger then themselves, which is why telling a great story in your Facebook Ad is integral!

So how do you incorporate storytelling in your Facebook Ad? Try Add Sequencing.

Ad #1 could be brand awareness.
Ad #2 could be product information.
Ad #3 could be your primary call to action campaign.

Overall, storytelling Ad campaigns have a higher conversion rate as they build a relationship with the customer. If your Ads have not been performing well, I'd highly recommend giving this a try.

Monitor Performance

Facebook Ads are NOT a set and forget approach to marketing. Quite the opposite.

There are so many variables that can impact your Ads performance, that unless you are prepared to flush money down the drain, you need to monitor your Ads performance and adjust accordingly.

For those just starting out, please know that Facebook Ads will ALWAYS perform better in their first 24 hrs. If you notice a decline in your Ads after the first day, that is normal - don't panic! However, if after two or three days your Ad is not yielding results - results being clicks/reach/likes, whatever the objective you set up is - then either kill the Ad Campaign or dive in and modify the Ad. Modifying the Ad can include updating the copy, image or modifying your targeting.

I also recommend tracking your Ads for future reference so that you can rerun high performing Ads again in the future relatively easily. Facebook stores all past campaign history but creating a snapshot view in a spreadsheet can be a big time saver.

Think long-term

With any marketing campaign, and especially with Facebook Ads, it's important to think about the long-term strategy behind running a paid campaign.

There is no benefit to your business if you are driving traffic to your website but you don't yet have the mechanisms in place to capture those leads and maximise the change of conversion.

Make sure you have easy to find opt-in boxes in place (newsletter subscription, or freebie).

Make sure that the content you are promoting in the Facebook Ad is actually the page they land on when they click the link.

And lastly, THE MOST IMPORTANT element to have in place before you run your first paid campaign is the Facebook Pixel. Facebook's Pixel will allow you to utilise any web traffic for future campaigns and create look-a-like audiences for even strong Ad targeting.

Facebook Advertising is a relatively low-cost advertising platform that can generate incredibly valuable results for businesses. Take your time with it. Learn and keep trying. Like all things on social media, consistency is key so keep trying and keep monitoring and eventually, you will find trends emerging for what your target market is reacting too and then you keep doing that.

Need help with mastering your Facebook Ads?

The next round of my Online Course is opening which includes an entire module on Facebook & Instagram Ads.