Facebook Ads: Why, How, Best Practices, And a Bonus Pro Tip!

Facebook has pervaded our lives. Every generation across the world is glued to their screens and Facebook is to blame!

At last count, Facebook had a whopping 2.07 billion monthly active users. Even more interesting is the fact that everyday, more than 800 million people like something on Facebook. What more, the content posted on Facebook is highly successful in engaging users.

Of course, such astounding figures will make anyone get on the Facebook Ads wagon. But, the whooping audience count will not really be good for your advertisements. At the end of the day, all you want is to reach your target audience, who will be interested in doing business with you.

Thankfully, Facebook provides several layers of targeting in ads based on factors like demographic info, age, gender, interests, behavior, off-Facebook activity, etc. This will help you to focus your ads on the right segment of audience, who are most likely to buy your products or services and maximize ROI.

The Grade A thing about Facebook Ads is that they work well for B2C, B2B and forex trading companies. A large number of companies have an exceptional Social Media expert or a Forex digital strategy experts taking care of their advertising & marketing requirements. Additionally, there are plentiful success stories showcasing more than 5 x increases in ROI and marketing results after they chose to advertise on Facebook.

Also Read: Facebook Instant Articles: What Marketers Need To Know

The vast global audience combined with targeted ads makes Facebook advertising an ideal tool for businesses across the globe to hit the nail on its head!

For those who are still not convinced, consider this-

As per a survey conducted by Social Fresh (in collaboration with Firebrand Group and Simply Measured in April, 2016) 95.8 percent of social media marketers worldwide said Facebook provides the best ROI of all social platforms.

The survey results conducted by Click Intelligence in Feb 2017 states that two-thirds of advertisers worldwide plan to increase their Facebook advertising spend in 2017 and that should not come across as a big surprise for you.

With your counterparts deriving results from Facebook ads, it is high time you develop an innovative Facebook advertising strategy. If you are unsure about to get started, getting in touch with a Social Media Management Company can solve your problem in no time. As they are equipped to convert Facebook ads into revenue for your business.

Facebook Ads to drive Traffic to Your Website

The highly versatile Facebook advertising offers 10 campaign objectives based on what is the end goal of your ad. Of all the objectives, the most common one is to drive traffic to a website. This ad objective swings both ways, as it increases the website reach and at the same takes users to a devoted landing page. Thereafter, the user may potentially buy a product, participate in some other lead generation activities or sign up for the newsletter.

Also Read: Facebook’s Optimized “Like” Button: More Refined Responses For Your Business Posts

Types of Facebook Ads

Let’s take a look at the various types of Facebook ads designed to drive more traffic to your website:

Link Click Ads

Placements Supported:

• Right Column
• Desktop Newsfeed
• Mobile Newsfeed
• Audience Network
• Instagram

When you think about Facebook ads, most likely you are thinking about Link Click Ads.

The ad type is used to promote external websites and send users to a desired landing page. Owing to the numerous placement options, the same ad can be delivered across multiple platforms and in turn help you reach a large audience.

Along with generating likes and share for your page, these ads perform well.

PS. For an engagement boost do not forget to regularly check the comments on your ads and reply to the same.

Specifications:

• Link Description: 30 characters
• Ad copy script: 90 characters
• Headline: 25 characters
• Recommended image size: 1,200 x 628 pixels

Page Boost Ads

Placements Supported:

• Desktop Newsfeed
• Mobile Newsfeed
• Audience Network
• Instagram

With “Boost Post” option, Facebook offers you a chance to increase the reach of your post, every time you post something on your Facebook page. The Boosted Page Post looks exactly like any other ordinary Facebook post; it just comes with a “Sponsored” note on top of the ad.

By clicking on the “Boost Post,” you can outline the bidding methods and target audience in order to promote the post on your page and help it reach to more number of people across the Facebook landscape.

Specifications:

• Link Description: 30 characters
• Ad copy text: unlimited
• Headline: 25 characters
• Recommended image size: 1,200 x 628 pixels

Video Ads

Placements Supported:

• Desktop Newsfeed
• Mobile Newsfeed
• Audience Network
• Instagram

Facebook Video Ads are similar to Link Ads with the only difference that instead of still images, the ad features a video.

Specifications:

• Maximum limit of the Video size is 120 minutes but the best performing ads have duration of 15-30 seconds.
• Ad copy text: 90 characters
• Aspect ratios supported: 16:9 to 9:16
• File size: up to 4 GB max
• Continuous looping available

The best practices -Facebook ads

Below are some important strategies that can help you to make the most of your Facebook Ads:

Keep rotatingyour ads regularly

Do not wish to become a victim of “Ad fatigue “or reduced engagement” that occurs when users repeatedly see your ads time and again? Rotate your ads regularly. It is not a good idea to flood your audience with same ad over and over. Let them see diverse aspects of your brand with different ads.

PS. As per Facebook, one should switch the ads once every one to two weeks.

Try new styles

Keep learning, keep growing resonates with Facebook ads as they offer the perfect destination to learn what reverberates thebest with your audience. From hashtags to text format, to length of the copy to image style, test everything is the success mantra, when it comes to Facebook advertising.

Try experimenting with audience targeting

Audience targeting is a versatile tool offered by Facebook Ads and you should make the most of it. Kickstart your ad campaign with a narrow audience group and then broaden it slowly. Add one interest category at a time.

In case you are running a local business, postal or zip code can help you easily target your audience.

PS. Experimenting with your audience targeting helps you find the best audience for your products/services.

Make use of Facebook Pixel

Facebook pixel is actually a small piece of code that you can place in your website. It is a wonderful tool that allows you to track conversions and remarket to people, who have visited your website earlier and viewed a product/service.

Using superior photos and videos can do wonders

Words are important when it comes to advertisements, but ads with pixelated photos and low quality videos are a big NO. Visuals grab the attention of the user first and as we know first impression is the best impression.

Thus, make sure that you do not compromise with the quality of images/videos used in your ads. For the best results, you should comply with the Facebook recommendations with regard to the image size, format, resolution, etc.

PS. Going by Facebook’s recommendation, if you are selling a product then try using images wherein people are using and benefitting from your product/service rather than just putting up a lonely image of the product.

Bonus Pro Tip:

Remarketing is an excellent tool to serve Facebook Ads to users who have previously visited your website. These ads may include reminders to users to complete their purchase, attractive offers, product recommendations, etc.