How effective are Facebook ads?

Facebook is the social media platform known for being easy to use, simple and well-connected.

It’s no wonder it had 1,562 million individual daily users in 2019, according to Statista.

Digital marketers return to this platform time and time again, despite the constant updates and changes Facebook puts in place.

In a world where there are so many social media options and endless ways to market your brand, you must ask, how effective are Facebook ads?

This involves publicly running ads on the social media platform and often includes images and a call-to-action link to the brand’s website or Facebook business page.

A call to action is usually something like ‘sign up’, ‘shop now’ and ‘learn more’.

Facebook ads are compatible with all devices and often appear in multiple different places, often in the news feed or on the right-hand side of the homepage.

76% of users look for interesting content on Facebook and content consumption on Facebook has increased 57% since 2014

Facebook gathers voluntary information from its users, like name, age, location, and interests.

This information is used to target specific ads to certain audiences, including products they’d like to buy, events in their area, and apps they might download.

Genius, right?

All without Facebook having to lift a finger.

Often, we hear claims that Facebook is outdated, unused and that there are better platforms out there.

Yes, you may see your mum posting pictures of flowers and family holidays; it is true, Facebook is one of the oldest social media platforms.

We say, ignore the haters!

Facebook remains the most profitable platform to date, generating a revenue of $86 billion according to SearchEngineJournal, 2021.

So, they must be doing something right, right?

The social media giant continuously provides updates whilst keeping the roots of its platform the same.

Facebook knows that user experience is the most important thing, and its platform reflects that.

Don’t get us wrong, Facebook has its flaws, but they still manage to remain the top dog.

For Facebook advertising to be effective you need to know how to use it.

Make it work for you!

You need to create an ad that resonates with your desired target audience.

First, consider the focus.

The Facebook Ads Manager will ask you to choose an objective for your ad campaign, which tends to fall into three categories: raising awareness or interest, drawing consumer attention to your product/service, and conversions.

Facebook will ask you to create your audience so the algorithm can target your ad to specific individuals rather than the masses.

Decide on your budget and away you go!

Yes!

Well, they can be if they disrupt the user experience.

YouTube ads are hated by everyone and for good reason.

YouTube ads tend to interrupt the flow of the user experience.

It stops the user from being in control and creates an interrupted stop-start experience for the user.

So annoying, right?

There is an exception.

Facebook ads work smarter and harder than other social media ad platforms.

Facebook and Instagram weave ads into the flow of the user’s feed, creating a natural, controlled experience for the user.

The user can choose to look at it or scroll past it.

Similarly, TikTok ads are trend-focused and in-feed ads.

This tactic works because often the user does not know they are watching an ad until the call to action appears. By then they have watched most of the ad and can still choose to scroll past it. This keeps the user in control.

This creates a better user experience and means the user will be more likely to click on the call to action.

Clever, huh?

When creating an ad campaign, consider the objective.

What do you go on Facebook for?

To shop? No.

To listen to music. No way!

To catch up with friends and family? YES.

Cold advertising won’t work.

Putting up an ad and expecting instant results is the main reason most Facebook advertising campaigns fail.

It’s random to expect ‘cold’ people to purchase a product.

Think about it. If you are looking at your friend’s holiday pics, why would you click on a product ad?

It feels out of place.

So, what do I do?

You build a campaign with different objectives that create awareness, nurturing, and conversion.

Sound tricky? Here’s some help:

Creating an engaging ad is crucial.

It’s all about user interaction.

Make an ad that is a puzzle or that makes them laugh.

This will give the audience a purpose in your ad, piques their interest, and then leads them to your website.

This creates what is known as a custom audience.

Ever feel like ads follow you around?

A custom audience is created when ads are retargeted.

Retargeting ads are when a user has been on a particular website and leaves the website, ads for what they were looking at pop up.

For example, if you were on our website looking at our Email Marketing services, then left the website, ads for those services will appear on other platforms.

This will help you define your demographic audience based on their interests.

Once you have gained the attention of your audience, you can begin to turn them into leads.

Sending your custom audience-specific ads for them, based on what they previously have been browsing on your website.

You can create ads that are specifically targeted to the audience to make them more likely to buy your product.

This is typically a giveaway, discount code, checklist, or eBook.

After the nurturing stage is complete, you need to sell, sell, sell.

Sending your new leads offers or simplified versions of your product.

Make them an offer they can’t refuse!

The goal is to get them to purchase your product or service.

Once they see your great offers, they will be more likely to regain interest!

It is not simply enough to have a target audience and objectives.

You have to get creative with your ads!

With the rise of TikTok and Instagram reels, content has become faster and more accessible.

These days, ads must be dynamic, engaging, exciting, and under 15 seconds.

Consumers now absorb information at a faster rate than ever before, so your ad must reflect this.

Trying to come up with an ad idea that has all these features isn’t easy, but this is how many advertising strategies fail.

Remember, your target audience should be at the forefront of your mind.

You have to know your target audience to have successful Facebook advertising.

Many ads fail and people blame the social media platform.

However, it is not always down to the platform.

Your ad content has to come from you; Facebook is just the vehicle to get your ad there.

There are different types of Facebook ads, and you should consider which one is the best for your brand.

Single image ads are really good if you are starting and want to keep things simple.

Often, one clear image stands out more than a lot of images and is less confusing for the user.

Remember! Always make sure to use your images.

Facebook gives you the option to browse stock images but using your looks more professional.

If you want to use multiple images, this will create a carousel.

A carousel allows you to scroll through multiple images.

This is particularly effective with e-commerce and is often used to showcase products. It also gives you more space for advertising and allows you to include videos.

Even though this may look swish, the carousel ads are better for more established companies; when starting, it’s better to keep it simple!

Other things to consider are emotion.

What do you want your audience to understand or gain from your ad?

And…what type of impression do you want to give?

Think about these questions when making your ad to tap into your audience’s mindset.

This is a great way to ensure your Facebook ads will be more effective.

Tracking the progress of your ads is important.

Why?

It can provide you with a lot of useful information which can be used to adjust the current ads and create better ads in the future.

You will be able to see what your audience likes about your ad and how they respond to it based on a few different factors.

There are several steps to measuring how successful your Facebook ads have been.

Firstly, Conversion rate ranking measures how your expected conversion rate compares to other Facebook ads targeting the same audience with similar objectives.

This helps you identify how likely a user will follow through with a call-to-action, like purchasing your business.

Cost per click (CPC) measures how much on average a click from Facebook to your website will cost.

If your cost per click rate is high but your click-through rates are low, this means that users are clicking on the ad’s call to action, but they are not completing a purchase.

This may mean your ad does not appeal to the advertised audience enough to make them want to buy, meaning you may have to re-think your ad strategy or target a slightly different audience.

Click-through rates (CTR) as previously mentioned, are the percentage of users that click on your website after seeing your ad. The higher this percentage, the more effective your ad is.

The cost per action shows how well your ad is generating actions and how much it costs you.

This feature is very useful to Facebook users as they can control how much they pay for a certain action. For example, the average amount you would pay for link clicks compared to impressions.

Facebook advertising is not a ‘set and forgets’ platform.

You need to be responsible for your ad; it is vital that you constantly monitor and review the progress of your ad over time.

Why?

It is unlikely that your ad will get instant results as it requires self-optimisation which will save you money long-term but may cost more at the beginning.

This way you can adjust the ad depending on how well it performs to your target audience.

Knowing how your ad performs to your audience is a great way to understand their wants and needs.

Monitoring your Facebook ads can also help you narrow down your target audience.

Facebook advertising is a highly powerful tool that has proved to be extremely effective when used correctly and will increase your ROI.

Listen up!

Combining email marketing with a social media advertising strategy is a clever way to gain more traffic to your website.

Showcasing ad content on marketing emails and newsletters is an effective way to increase your click-through rates.

It’s a game-changer. Seriously.

This will also help find your target audience and consumer base as well as create brand awareness.

Often, email marketing and social media marketing are compared to each other but combining the two has proved to be highly effective.

Why not give it a go?

This proves that Facebook advertising seems to be a good investment.

Social media is the most popular form of communication now and communicating your brand or business to consumers is one of the best ways to gain a valuable return on investment.

Different social media platforms may work better for different businesses and brands; however, Facebook advertising has proved to be the most powerful so far.

It is important to do what makes sense for your brand.

Facebook advertising can be highly effective if you do it right.

With the highest number of users and profits, it is unbeatable.

The key is knowing your audience better than Facebook does, having creative ad content, and monitoring your ad progress.

These are the best ways for Facebook advertising to be effective to you.