Ads on Facebook

So you’ve heard about how posting ads on Facebook drive more revenue for your business, but you’re not sure how.

Every business, big or small, has goals that it wants to achieve while building a strong community around its products and services. And if you look around, there are many effective methods to achieve this. However, due to  the ever-growing competition on the web it is important to use the right tools to reach out to your target audience in order to grow your business, and ultimately reach your objectives.

Social media is a proven digital advertising tool for any business that wants to get better return on investment. And with Facebook Ads being the poster boy for result oriented social media advertising, we can confidently say that paid social media ads are here to stay.

Facebook advertising is an efficient way to not only get more sales, but to also build strong brand awareness by leveraging the social aspect of website. The best part is you can do this without sacrificing your relationship building activity with your prospects slash customers. Which in turn makes your brand look more human and approachable. No wonder 93% of social media advertisers use Facebook ads.

Knowing that most of the Internet (if not all) is present on Facebook, there are high chances that your target customer is currently using the social platform on a regular basis. Which means that if you use Facebook ads with enough preparation and equip yourself with the right kind of knowledge, you will get results. Yes, you will be able generate quality leads, get more sales and build a deeper trust with your audience.

Why Posting Ads on Facebook Makes Real Business Sense

There is no doubt about the fact that Facebook is the biggest social network out there. Many marketers and businesses prefer to use it to promote their products and services because it helps them grow. It helps them start small and get a better return on their investment without burning a hole in their wallet. And if you’re not an expert at Facebook advertising, you can use a Facebook advertising service to develop and manage your ad campaign.

If you are a business that wants to build brand awareness and at the same time get more consistent sales then it makes complete sense to leverage posting ads on Facebook. 

Let us look into a few reasons as to why posting ads on Facebook is the right move for your business, or any business that wants to stay ahead of the competition.

Reason #1: You Can Tap Into A Super-Active User base
Regardless of the size of your business, you cannot and should not ignore the power of posting ads on Facebook. Because if you take a calculated approach, Facebook ads can definitely drive more business your way. 

Keep in mind that your customers and prospects are using Facebook on a regular basis for various reasons. So it only makes sense to reach out to them on a platform that they are comfortable on.

Studies show that an average American spend about 40 minutes browsing Facebook, interacting with friends and sharing/liking content. There are millions of posts and comments that are posted on Facebook every single minute. So why let go of the opportunity?

The biggest motivating factor for any business should be the fact that Facebook has an extremely large user base that is not only engaged but is also ready to interact with brands like yours.

In spite of the growth Facebook is experiencing right now as a social network, it has a limited but growing pool of advertisers. Which clearly means, at least as of now, you have less competition to face, and possibly higher returns to make.

Reason #2: You Can Connect to Your Audience Via Mobile

With 2.07 billion people logging into Facebook every month, and 1.15 billion mobile daily active users, there is little doubt about how much posting ads on Facebook can help your business reach the next level.

Being a business, you need to understand the kind of reach you can have when you have access to so many people and can reach out to them via mobile.

It doesn’t matter what kind of marketing goals you have, with such a huge pool of prospective customers to target on their mobile devices, you are bound to see results from your advertising efforts. This is why mobile ads account for 98% of Facebook’s revenue growth.

Most of these people who are logging into Facebook every day are spending considerable time on it. Which is why you can easily connect with them by posting ads on Facebook. 

The Facebook advertising program is an advanced method to reach out to the right segment of your audience. And impress them with relevant content so that they take action on your website.

Remember, Facebook advertising is only growing with time. And as more and more advertisers start using it, it will become more advanced and robust. So, what are you waiting for?

Reason #3: You Cannot Depend on Facebook’s Organic Reach Anymore

A great deal of small and medium sized businesses do not realise that the content that they post on their Facebook business page, reaches to less than 0.5% of their fans. This means, as a Facebook page owner, the majority of your fans are not going to see your updates – even if you post to your page multiple times a day.

Facebook in the beginning obviously did not restrict organic reach in any way. But as the user base grew, and as a higher number of people launched their own pages, the social networking behemoth started to reduce the visibility of a page’s content in the newsfeed. 

Now, this might seem a little frustrating to business owners because they are unable to reach their legitimate fans even with the best of their efforts. However, looking at it from Facebook’s point of view, it is only logical for the company to take this step. It not only encourages healthy competition, but also ensures everybody gets a piece of the pie.

The truth about Facebook today is that if you want to connect to your target audience and build a relationship with them using your page, you have to depend on Facebook advertising. In other words, you will have to pay advertising money to Facebook in order to become visible to both, your fans and non-fans.

Reason #4: You Can Leverage Some of the Most Sophisticated Targeting Options

The most exciting part about posting ads on Facebook is, you’re allowed to target your ads to people who are actually interested in your content and the type of products/services you’re selling. These people are not just anyone, but super-targeted users who are also potential buyers.

Any business using Facebook ads has a wide range of targeting options to consider. You can choose to target your ad by demographics such as location, gender, age, behavior, interest, etc. Each targeting option helps you get closer to finding the right prospect and converting them.

So whether you choose to opt for paying per click or per impression, given that your ad is relevant to the audience you are targeting, you will see interested people visiting your website and a percentage of them taking action.

5 Things to Keep In Mind When Posting Ads on Facebook

Every successful Facebook advertiser knows the importance of a good ad creative. Because if your ad manages to catch the attention of your prospective customer, you will not only experience a higher click-through rate but also pay less for the results your ad generates.

Here are four things to keep in mind in order to get higher returns with your Facebook ad campaign:

1. Use relevant, high quality images: When people see your ad in their news feed, you want them to be intrigued by it. You want them to pay attention to the message of the ad, which should in turn connect to the image you use. So make sure it is relevant and at the same time uses the right combination of colors to stand out in the news feed.
   
2. Change your creative: When posting ads on Facebook, you cannot continue to use the same creative over a long period of time. This is especially important when you are targeting the same audience again and again. If you don’t change your creative at the right time, the ad’s engagement rate may come down.
3. Use less text in the image: Facebook has a strict rule which says that you cannot use text in an image that goes beyond the 20% of its area. Keeping this in mind, try and minimise the usage of text in your image so that your ads get approved.
   
4. Write a catchy headline: While using a great image is important to attract more eyeballs to your ad, it’s not enough. You have to use a compelling headline to get people to read your ad. This does not have to be complicated. Keep the headline simple and straightforward While describing your product.
   
5. Keep the Copy Short and Simple: People on Facebook have a short attention span. Which means your ad copy should be short and to the point. Keep the headline between 20 to 25 characters and for body don’t go beyond 90 characters. Practice brevity when writing your ad copy and you will get much better results.

As you gain more experience with posting ads on Facebook, you will find that applying the above basic tips becomes second nature.

3 Facebook Ad Mistakes that Will Hurt Your Sales

Every experienced online entrepreneur and marketer is familiar with Facebook’s advertising program knows how it can fetch them better conversions. However, when you are a small business owner or are a beginning entrepreneur, you may not have all the knowledge and tools to see positive results right away. This can lead to mistakes that can prove to be costly and messy. 

So when you are just starting out with posting ads on Facebook, it is to it is good to have a fair idea of how you can avoid common mistakes that can affect your campaign and sales.  

Even if you are an experienced Facebook advertiser who has made significant sales with Facebook, it is not uncommon to find yourself making the following mistakes when using Facebook ads.

Mistake #1: Skipping the Audience Research Part

In order to find success with social advertising, it is important to design an ad that performs better and makes your campaign profitable. 

However, what is even more important than that is the type of audience you are targeting. It’s a proven fact that even a mediocre ad will perform better than the high quality one if the audience is right.

So before you go out there and start posting ads on Facebook, it is important to do your homework in terms of finding the right users to target with your ads.

Facebook has an extremely large user base containing a diverse set of audience. This is both good and bad. Let me explain…

It’s good because finding a paying customer is easier with a well-crafted and executed ad campaign. 

It’s bad because you can make the mistake of choosing an audience that may seem like the perfect fit for your product or service, but in reality these people may not at all be interested in hearing from your brand.

Initially you may have to test a few audiences to see what is working for you before you go out there and test your ad copy and other specific elements. This may seem like a time-consuming step but it is something that is necessary for a successful paid ad campaign.

Alternatively, try to make some educated guesses about your ideal customer by looking into:

• Pages that they may “like” on Facebook.
• Keywords that they may using to search on Google.
• Twitter accounts that they are likely to follow on Twitter.
• Blogs that they mostly read and comment on.
• Competing products that they are already buying.
  

For more ideas, try using Facebook’s Audience Insights tool depending on what you already feel could be a relevant interest area.

Mistake #2: Going After a Very Broad Audience

Even experienced marketers admit that online paid advertising is a different animal altogether. Regardless of the type of Facebook ad you are using, a common mistake that you can make is choosing to go after an audience that is a little too broad. Meaning, your targeting is not as targeted as it should be.

The reason why some advertisers make this common mistake is because they think that everybody, with even the least interest, is a potential customer. But, if you are targeting everyone then in reality you are targeting noone. People may show interest in what you are promoting and the kind of products you sell. However, remember that not everybody is going to pay you.

When you are posting ads on Facebook, you are not doing it for free. You are investing your marketing dollars to reach people who will actually be interested in doing business with you. 

If you keep investing your advertising money in the wrong direction, you will keep losing it without seeing any considerable results. So it only makes sense to target an audience that is both narrow and at the same time big enough to go after.

If you think your audience is too big, you can always work on it. Facebook has targeting options that will help you narrow down your audience to a great extent. For example, you can narrow it by based on one or more interests.

While there are many moving elements to Facebook ads, everything starts with the people who you are targeting. If you get this one part right, the other parts get a lot more easier. Facebook advertising can work for any business, if and only if it knows what it is doing.

Mistake #3: Changing or Pausing Your Ad Campaign Too Soon

When it comes to paid advertising, patience is a virtue. Facebook advertisers just starting out may feel compelled to make changes to their ad campaign if they don’t see fast results. However, doing this too soon can prove to be a big mistake because it can affect the overall results that you can get from your ad campaign.

You have to understand how paid advertising works before you invest any money into it. When you start running a campaign, it may take some time for you to see any returns or even break even. So in the beginning, if you feel like you are losing money and should fix things, it is better to stay stable and be a little patient before trying to optimise your ad.

Initially, the aim of your Facebook ad campaign is not to become profitable. The idea is to gain better insights and gather as much constructive data as possible. This will help you fine tune your campaign and achieve even better results in the future.

Knowing how much  ad money you are spending to get each customer is important for you to plan your Facebook advertising. Which is why it is a good thumbs rule is to not pause or change your ad until you have at least reach thousand people. 

Once you have enough data on hand and know how the ad is performing, you will be in a better position to tweak your ads. 

So even if it requires you to go beyond your set budget, do it in the initial phase, because testing and finding a profitable campaign will almost always take some time and money. See this as a positive investment rather than loss of money or time.

Your aim as a Facebook advertiser is to build your sales over time, not immediately. Be in the game for the long haul rather than hurrying and spoiling your chances of success.

5 Advanced Tips to Boost Your Sales with Facebook Ads

Facebook ads can positively help you get more business, given that you are using them effectively.

Using these powerful social ads you can drive targeted traffic to your product or service page and convert the visitors into loyal customers who give you repeat business.

However, selling with Facebook ads can sometimes prove to be difficult, especially when you are starting out.

On the surface, posting ads on Facebook look simple but there is more to them. Creating a random ad with a random image or video and hoping to attract customers with your ad won’t work. 

If you want to generate actual sales with Facebook ads then you will have to take some real concrete steps to ensure that your efforts are directed in the right direction.

Here’s how posting ads on Facebook helps you can help you increase your sales.

#1: Leverage Video Ads

Facebook video advertisements are proving to be great for businesses who are looking for a better return on their investment. The reason why video based Facebook ads give favorable results is because they are three times more engaging than other type of content. Even Facebook prefers to give them a higher priority in the news feed.

Attracting prospective customers with video is a lot easier than a regular ad. Not just that, video ads are also great for showcasing how your product/service works and how it can be of benefit.

However, many businesses, especially the ones new to social advertising, still do not realise the power of video ads. Which means you can take advantage of these ads before your competitors catch up.

Remember, when it comes to video ads, it is not just about publishing more ads. It is more about creating better, higher quality video advertisements that are relevant to your target audience. That’s the only way you can make your ads effective and a worthwhile investment.

Here are a few tips to help you create video ads that help you get more sales.

• You have a short window (2-3 seconds) to win the attention of your target users in their news read. Which is why your video ad should immediately engage anyone watching it. So without wasting any time, get to the point in the video and put across your message in the simplest manner.
• In order to get people to click on your call to action, you have to have a highly compelling offer that is interesting to your prospective customer. Be extremely clear and tell them what they would be getting upon taking the desired action.
• Videos give you an opportunity to connect to your audience on a personal level. So use to them to show who you are and what you stand for. And when recording the video, try to be excited about the topic you are talking about. Let your viewers know that you are genuinely interested in connecting with them. It will make a world of a difference to the number of people who respond to your ad.
• Add an engaging and informative description along with the video. This text would support the video’s content and add value to the overall post.
• Regardless of the type of video you use, try to provide as much value as possible. If you are explaining or teaching something in the video, go deeper into the topic. And if you are giving a demo, make it detailed.

Video ads are the future of Facebook and they will continue to grow, and help business grow. The point is, will you be taking advantage of video ads before they get highly competitive?

#2: Use Multi-Product Ads

Facebook multi product carousel ads can help businesses of all sizes to promote their products and services in a unique manner. 

The beauty of these ads is you can showcase a number of products in one single ad. This allows you to give numerous options to your prospective customers, which increases the chances of making sales. 

Customers these days have become very choosy. By giving them a distinct choice, they will be in a better position to make a buying decision. Facebook multi product ads can help bring down your advertising expenses and generate more profitable clicks on your ad.

Due to the interactive nature of the multi-product ads, customers find them interesting plus intriguing. And since your prospective customers want to invest in the right product, they will be happy to go through multiple ads to find one.

Besides that, these ads automatically stand out from other regular ads. Which draws people’s attention towards them and increases your ad’s engagement rate. It’s a win-win situation.

Regardless of the size of your business, you can use the multi product ads to showcase different product in the same range. Or you may want to show different packages of your service, aimed towards a varied group of customers. 

For example, let’s say that you are selling a product that has different versions, such as a watch, a cell phone or a software tool. Your prospects can go through each version of the product and see if the price, design and functionality is suitable for them. If you use your creativity with these ads, sky’s the limit.

With any Facebook ad campaign, your return on investment is impacted by how you start and continue running the campaign.

#3: Share Your Brand Story

Facebook is a social media platform. So it is only natural (and best) for brands be social on it. Your brand is no different, which is why you should try to connect with your Facebook audience like any other user – socially.

The most important thing that you need to keep in mind when you are social advertising is the social aspect of it and how you can make the best of it.

1. Know their Mindset: Understand the fact that people on Facebook are more inclined towards connecting with others on a social level, including brands. They are not there to shop for products. Meaning, they are not actively looking for products to buy. Which is why you need to keep their mindset in the forefront when creating and executing ads.
2. Show You’re Human: When your business shares its values and creates a more human connection with your prospects, you will find your ads giving better returns. By sharing your brand story and by helping people understand what you stand for, it gets easier to sell your products and services. 
   
   You might be thinking that not directly selling will affect your business negatively because your objective is to get more sales. However, this strategy of sharing your brand story will actually helps you create and nurture a relationship with your prospects. And when your prospects see your human side, and understand that you actually care about them, they will be in a better position to buy from you. This indirectly increases your sales.
3. Convey Your Brand Message: Instead of going out there and doing some hard core selling, try to create ads that clearly convey your brand message. Communicate what your brand is about and how it has unique values. This will not only help you increase your conversion rate but will also give you a better understanding of how your prospects connect with your brand, and at what level.

When using Facebook ads, your focus needs to be on what makes your brand stand out from the rest. What makes it different and why should people consider buying from you, even though your competitors sell similar products or services. 

Your aim is to build strong relationships with the help of Facebook ads so that your sales continue to grow without affecting your brand image. Remember, connecting with your social audience it’s all about being truly social instead of being just another virtual salesman.

#4: Target Existing Website Visitors

Posting ads on Facebook is a great way to find new customers for your business from their huge user database. However, you can increase the chances of converting more of Facebook users into customers by targeting your existing website visitors. 

The reason why this targeting strategy works in your favour is because people who have already visited your website already  know your brand. They are familiar with the type of products and services you sell. You have an existing connection with them that you can tap into to convince them to do business with you.

Posting ads on Facebook is a great way to reconnect with your website visitors and remind them about the products that they have already browsed on your website. Even if they are not in the position to buy from you right away, they may choose to join your email list instead. Which means you can sell to them via email.

Targeting your website visitors great way to not only boost your sales numbers but also strengthen your brand identity in their eyes.

So how do you go about doing using this targeting option? 

It’s fairly simple. Facebook provides you with a small piece of code known as the Facebook pixel, which you need to place on your website. This pixel helps the social network keep a track of people who have been visiting your website over a period of time, who can be targeted in the future.

Once set up, Facebook can easily help you target all those users in its database that have already visited your website. Which can lead to more clicks to your ad and a higher conversion rate.

#5: Target Existing Email Subscribers

If you have an email list then it would make sense to use Facebook ads to target your existing subscribers, rather than going for a cold audience. This is similar to targeting website visitors. The only difference is your target audience in this case already has a relationship with you, which is a huge plus point. 

While it is true that you can directly email them about your products from time to time, posting ads on Facebook give you a direct approach to them without hitting the inbox. The people on your email list have consciously chosen to subscribe to your list. Which means they trust you and are more closely connected to your brand. Also, they are more likely to buy from you because they have shown interest in the type of products or services you sell. In short they are the most relevant audience that you can target.

B posting ads on Facebook, you will be able to further your relationship with your existing email subscribers. Using them, you will be able to increase your brand awareness and connect/sell to your subscribers at a more comfortable level.

Conclusion

Posting ads on Facebook can do wonders for your business, if and only and if you take a calculated approach. Instead of rushing, take the slow and steady route when running these ads so that you’re able to repeat your successful campaigns. Your aim is to get more sales on a consistent basis – and not become a one-hit wonder. If you need helping developing and implementing your Facebook advertising campaign, contact our social media marketing agency today.