With around 2.41 billion monthly active users, it is likely that your prospects are somewhere out there on Facebook. It is thus no wonder that many businesses use Facebook for marketing so that they can reach out to a greater audience. However, since there are many brands that are vying for attention, the average organic reach for a Facebook page has come down. But there are ways to improve your outreach and maximize engagement, and the answer lies in corect Facebook advertising.
Statistics show that 93% of marketers depend on Facebook for their advertising campaigns. To get a high ROI from your advertising campaign on this platform, however, there are some best practices that you must follow for maximum impact. It is not rocket science, and with some strategic tweaks from time to time, you can get your ads to perform well.
Here are six best practices to follow to create high performance Facebook ads.
1. Leverage Video Content
When it comes to video content, Facebook is the next big name after YouTube, and the time is fast approaching when it might even dethrone the latter for certain types of ads. Facebook keeps adding new ways that ads can be added to content and two such ways are:
- Stories Ads – One of the latest content types rolled out by Facebook is Stories Ads where users can post temporary clips and images which can be viewed from any form factor – smartphone, tab or a computer.
- Messenger Ad – Messenger ads appear within a user’s list of messages
- Reach Ad – If you are hosting an event or running a new offer, Facebook offers a Reach ads that appear only to those users who are close to your store that is running the offer/event.
- Retargeting Ad – A retargeted ad is visible to only those who you select by uploading a list of email addresses.
Hence, while you are creating your Facebook ad campaign, if you do not add video content to it, then you might not be leveraging theos social media platform to its fullest potential. Facebook gives the option to use six types of video ads.
- Short Videos and GIFs
- Vertical Videos
- Instagram Stories
- Video Carousels
- Video Collections
- In-stream Videos
Here are some of the best practices to keep in mind while designing video based ads for Facebook.
- It is possible that the message that you are trying to give through the video will not be understood by all. Hence, it is good to use an explanatory copy along with your video together with a strong headline so that it grabs the attention of the prospects.
- The first 10 seconds of your video is what is vital because your audience will leave if the ad doesn’t interest them by then. Hence, use imagery that is strong and persuasive at the start.
- You must see to it that the acting in your video content is natural and real so that it looks authentic.
- Many users view Facebook on their phones. Hence, while designing videos, you must use videos with a vertical or a square aspect ratio as this will help you to cover a greater portion of the phone screens. You should also use bright visuals that look good on the small screen and not make videos that are longer than 15 seconds as this is the span of time when leads are most attentive.
2. Use Images That Best Articulate Your Message
Facebook ads with images need to be planned carefully so as to generate the maximum views and reactions from the prospective customers. Images need to be bright, convey the product offering clearly, and be easy to recognize.
The images should also pay attention to:
- A study found that 85% of consumers based their purchase decision based on the colors that they saw on the ads. Different colours bring out different emotions. Hence, the right hues need to be chosen so as to express the right emotion
- If your ad has multiple images then you should use the carousel format as this allows leads to quickly scroll through them
- Even if you are using just images and no video, using movement in such ads makes them stand out in the News Feed. There are many free apps that you can try so as to animate your advertisement. For instance, timelapse videos can be created using Hyperlapse, legend helps to animate your text, and photo edits of different kinds can be done by using Adobe Photoshop Express
- B2B marketers often make the mistake of using an image just for the heck of it and don’t give much thought to it. This adds confusion in the prospects’ minds and, hence, leads to a poor response rate. So, once your copy is ready, you must spend some time to match the image with the copy
3. Use Simple and Concise Ad Copy
Facebook ads are known for their visuals. However, that does not mean that the text being used is any less important as relevant and powerful copy will help you get more clicks. For this the text needs to excite, entertain, and persuade the prospects.
- Use text on the headline or in the link description boxes rather than on the images itself. If you must use it on the image, use less words and a small font so that the focus on the image remains.
- A study conducted by the Mobile Marketing Association found that people spend not more than a few seconds on ads. Hence, the text that you use in your ads need to be very crisp,concise, and short so that it can be read through quickly.
- It should have an enticing and yet a believable value proposition.
- Prospects will engage with your Facebook ads by using various call-to-action (CTA) buttons. You might need to experiment a bit to see which buttons work the best for your ad and thereafter stuck to a single and clear CTA button that is in sync with the goal that you are trying to achieve with your ad.
- Use simple language and remove all forms of verbosity from your ads. After all you are trying to convert leads and not trying to impress people with your language skills! Simplicity will help people to understand what you are trying to say and thus help the ads to perform better.
4. Build Your Ads To Match Your Target Audience
Not everyone will be equally receptive to your ad, want to know about your product offering, or be curious of what you sell. Hence, while designing your Facebook ad, you need to be clear on who you are targeting and design your campaign based on this. A clearly defined audience is what will give you better ROI.
While creating a new audience you can use characteristics that are customizable. For instance you can choose the location, age, languages spoken, and others. You can also create a Lookalike Audience wherein you can create a group that resembles a specific source.
Do some research to know if your target audience is using Facebook or not, what languages they use, and what is the type of content that they engage best with. You can use Facebook’s Audience Insights to know more about your target audience.
- Without a proper audience you will have too wide a net of individuals who would be tough to work with and convert. By knowing who you want to target, you will be able to get better conversions.
- Facebook ads cost money. Hence, if you want returns on this money spent, you need to target the right people. This said, you should not get too specific as then the Facebook Ad system will give you only a small number of people who are probably also being targeted by other brands. Hence, if you keep your audience spectrum a little broader, you will be able to reach more people and achieve your desired objective.
5. Monitor the Performance of the Ads
When you advertise on social media, not only can you monitor the performance of the ads but you can also adjust them so that they do better. One of the best practices to follow while advertising on Facebook is thus to monitor how your ads are faring by using the Facebook Ads Manager: For instance you might have to make changes in the visuals and/or the text if you find that the ads:
- Are not getting enough clicks or the CTA is not working well enough
- Are not generating enough audience engagement
- Are reaching only a small audience
If you find that the performance needs to be enhanced then you can try to:
- Alter your target audience
- Change your budget based on the responses that your ad is generating
- Change the placement and the schedule of the ads
- Try out with a brand new creative
Performance of an ad also depends on where it is placed. Hence, you should also choose where your ad will be. Usually marketers tend to put it up in the News Feed as it leads to higher engagement. However, there can be ads in the right column as well. These work well if they have a good visual, a relevant value proposition, and a crisp CTA. Experts recommend that you should not start comparing the performance of the various ads till at least 2,000 people have viewed it.
6. Set the Correct Budget and Monitor your CPA
The way performance evaluation is important, so is budgeting. You can either set a daily budget or a lifetime budget which is a flat fee.
- What you set as your budget depends on your strategy and the amount of money you are willing to spend depending on your goals (conversions, page reach, page views, actions on page such as clicks and so on).
- If you are just starting out with Facebook advertising, it is best to keep the budgets low and monitor your CPA (cost per acquisition) and gradually increase your spend.
- It is best to A/B test your ad before you invest more money into a campaign. This can be done by using the platform’s split testing feature.
- If you choose Facebook’s Campaign Budget Optimization then Facebook will continuously keep trying to find the best ad sets that will get you the maximum benefits and prioritize budgets to these. While you will be in lesser control, you will find that your finances are getting spent more efficiently.
Summing Up
Even the most experienced ad specialist might not get the first ad right at the very first instance. To make your Facebook ad a high-performing one, some experimentation will always be needed. But with sufficient data based on a mix of tactics, will you be able to find the combinations that will maximize your ROI. Hence, it is best if you create a number of ad sets from before you launch your campaign. Facebook advertising might not give you instant returns, but with these best practices, they will surely give you benefits in the long run.
