As a marketer, you know by now that most of your potential customers are more than likely a part of Facebook's ever-growing community. There are close to 900 million people logging on to Facebook each day! Whether your target audiences are college students or CEOs, they're almost guaranteed to be using Facebook -- and some of them are using it daily. The problem is, posting on Facebook alone isn't enough anymore for brands, especially for those just starting out in the social realm. Facebook's algorithm changes constantly, more often than not resulting in less organic reach for a brand's posts. It's easy to offset this issue by throwing money at Facebook to drive users to your page and send them to your website, but it only works if you're smart about it. One way to effectively leverage the platform is to create optimized Facebook ads targeted at the right audience. Optimized ads can help you spend your marketing budget wisely, and will likely lead to a positive ROI for your brand. What does optimized Facebook advertising look like? If you're new to the platform, be sure to check out our post on which method is right for you. Once you've chosen the type of results you want to see, it's time to start crafting an effective advertisement. Facebook throws brand managers an extra curveball in the creation of ads compared to its social counterparts - the platform only allows 20% copy to be shown on creative. So how do we create an effective ad when creative is limited? It starts with paying attention to these five components:
Eye-Catching
This should come as no surprise. Visual content is treated more favorably in the Facebook algorithm, but we have to keep in mind the 20% Rule. What's more, visual content is more engaging for the user in the ever-changing News Feed, and therefore is more likely to catch the eye of your potential customer. 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual (#science), so no matter what type of ad you make, your image needs to literally speak for itself. Ipsy, a monthly subscription to personalized beauty products, is a great example of a Facebook ad that is not only vibrant and stands out, but also one that truly tells all the details you need to know about the brand in a clear and concise manner:
Relevancy
Relevance is critical for success when using Facebook advertising. It's important to remember that you are spending money whether someone views or clicks on your ad, depending on the settings chosen. Since we're limited to the amount of information we can write in the ad, success is partly measured by the targeting methods we choose in the process.
Facebook recently launched a relevance score feature, similar to Ad Rank in Google AdWords. The more relevant your ad image, copy, and destination page is to your audience, the higher your score is - and the more favorably Facebook will treat your ads.
Value Proposition
A value proposition tells the reader why they should click on your ad to learn more about your product. How is your product or service different from any other? Why should the viewer click on your ad to see your website?
Your value proposition must be believable. Saying you have the greatest waffles in the world will not make people come to your business' page, but maybe offering 10% off will. Adding social proof and statistics will also help your score; something along the lines of, "Waffles loved by over 2 million people every year, come savor yours today! Click here to get 10% off your next order." Consider Forbes' advertisement above as another example of value proposition. The advertisement offers readers an enticing preview of what users can expect to learn if they click the ad and visit their website.
Clear Call-To-Action
A beautiful and relevant ad is great, but without a CTA, your viewer might not know what to do next. Adding a CTA like "Buy now and save X%," or "Offer ends soon" will create a sense of urgency for your viewer.
Much like an original visual, creating an original and refreshing CTA will increase the likelihood that your ad will receive clicks from your target demographic. "Click Here" or "Read More" have honestly been played out. Taking the extra time to craft a fresh CTA will encourage people to click on your ad now!
Build Upon Success
After creating ads for years for all sorts of clients, products, and platforms, I've personally found that the most effective way to host a campaign that hits its goals is to build on what you've already created. A visually-stimulating advertisement, with a clear CTA, relevant audience targeting, and value for the user is great, but as marketers we have to keep in mind that this is not a one-time transaction. The nature of the platform is social and ongoing, and a successful advertising campaign should recognize that the ad serves as a building block in a brand's relationship with a user. Consistently nurture your rapport with your customers, and I guarantee you'll see results. By utilizing best practices when you're creating advertisements on Facebook, you can foster the highest ROI for your brand. Effective Facebook ads are going to be preferred by users, based on how they are presented and placed, and will likely produce positive results and contribute to the overall growth of your business.
