As a user on the platform, you might have mixed feelings about Facebook ads. They’ve likely annoyed you at one point or another and have probably helped you find exactly what you’re looking for on a different occasion. From a marketing perspective, though, you may have wondered if all those ads you see in your news feed are actually effective.
And if you’re a business owner, you’d be wise in considering their potential impact. Facebook ads have the ability to work wonders and provide a significant return, so they are definitely a must-have in your marketing mix. For us at GANDT, Facebook ads have become an “always-on” channel focused on branding measures and communicating with potential customers at the right time. Of course, there are many ways to approach this powerful tool, and in order to get the kind of outcomes mentioned above—you need to do it right. Here are our top tips for Facebook ads.
Break up your campaigns into two structures; prospecting and remarketing
The most effective Facebook ad campaigns require a two-pronged approach.
Focus prospecting on conveying your selling proposition through visuals
Prospecting involves identifying all potential customers that have not yet heard about you. If possible, at GANDT we like to start by creating a LookALike Campaign based on the store’s purchase history. This allows us to reach new customers that are similar to recent buyer personas.
The visuals for this group must be focused on your brand and what you sell. Remember, these people don’t know who you are yet. So it must be obvious what your selling proposition is from your visuals. These campaigns are focused on getting traffic to the page and making sure they are interested in the content or product.
Remarketing needs to communicate your unique selling proposition quickly and with impact
Meanwhile, remarketing involves creating campaigns geared towards the group of people who have already had contact with your brand on your channels. Typically, we would set up remarketing groups for social media visits, page visits, and shopping cart abandoners. These are our go-to when starting a new account or adjusting current ones. Your visuals need to differ for these ad groups.
If you are reaching people who have just visited your page or your social channels, your ads need to focus on UPSs—what makes you different from other brands that offer similar products. However, if you address shopping cart abandoners, you need to give them a very good reason (through your visuals) why they should now decide to buy the product. An example could be highlighting your 100 day return policy, or some other unique aspect of your business model.
“Video ads routinely prove the most effective format for Facebook ads.”
Look to video for the most significant impact
As a rule of thumb, video ads routinely prove the most effective format for Facebook ads. So, if you can create well-executed 10-15 sec video ads for these ad groups, that will always be your best option. Alternatively, image carousels are the next best format to use.
How to measure the success of your Facebook ads
As a key performance indicator (KPI), you should expect your cost-per-click to be around one. If it is two, your visuals are not working, or you have the wrong target group. CPM, which stands for cost per thousand impressions, should be around five to seven. The cost-per-order (CPO) is mostly higher than what you can afford, so it is necessary to increase customer lifetime value (CLV) with customer relationship management (CRM) measures.
Other key performance indicators to keep an eye on
- When looking at your data of the last 30 days, make sure that your frequency is somewhere around four. If it’s too high, your ads might be being shown too often, an issue that can ultimately annoy your target group. On the other hand, if it’s too low, you are not getting enough screen time with the group, and you are forgotten.
- Make sure your clickthrough rate (CTR) stays above 2%.
A final word on Facebook ads
The key to ongoing success using Facebook ads is excellent visuals and making sure you always have new ones ready. Likewise, the perfect Facebook ad is clear about the action it wants the user to take. The tone of your copy should be conversational, and, ideally, there should be a creative tension between the visuals and the text.
