With over 16 million Facebook users in Australia alone there is no doubt that your business could benefit by advertising on the platform. I have seen many businesses cash in on Facebook marketing, and just as many, if not more… get it wrong.
I have been advertising my business on Facebook for the past 8 years, and whilst it has led to millions of dollars in sales, it wasn’t a walk in the park.
There are 2 types of Marketing Campaigns:
- Solution Marketing
Your prospect has a problem, and they’re looking for a solution. They have already decided to buy, they’re now deciding who to buy from.
They take time to sit down and think about who to search for to help them by using tools such as directories and search engines to find a solution. All you need to do is make sure you show up when your prospect is looking for you… simple.
An example of this is Google AdWords or SEO.
- Interruption Marketing
Your prospect is enjoying their day and entertaining themselves by listening to the radio, watching TV and YouTube videos and using social media platforms such as Facebook. They may or may not yet have the problem you can solve. They’re not looking for a solution. To get their attention you’ll need to interrupt their entertainment.
Advertising on Facebook is Interruption Marketing. People are not typically on social media looking for a solution. Your offer will have to stop them in their tracks and be compelling enough to pull them away from the entertainment they came for.
Here’s 9 ways to make sure your Facebook ad campaigns aren’t a dud:
- Install your Facebook Pixel
Facebook give you a small snippet of code called a Pixel. This needs to be installed on your website to track visitors and allows you to target your website visitors with ads on Facebook. Even if you have no intention of starting a Facebook campaign just yet, you should install the pixel to enable Facebook to start collecting data. This will make it simple to create effective re-marketing campaigns when you’re ready.
- Set clear goals
Hitting the ‘boost post’ button or launching a campaign without having a clear goal is a sure-fire way to failure.
You need to be clear on your objective. You may be happy just adding people to your database, or you may want to create sales appointments. The clearer you are with your goal the easier it will be to create your campaigns.
- Make it Valuable
To interrupt people in the Facebook feed, you’ll need to make sure whatever you offer is valuable. Value can be delivered in many ways, it could be something that is entertaining and that grabs their attention, or a ‘no brainer’ offer that will get your prospect handing over their details.
- Use Facebook LeadAds
Traditionally, you would advertise a link to a landing page that was built specifically to convert visitors into leads. Facebook LeadAds are an easy way to get prospects details without them having to leave the Facebook platform. You won’t need a landing page, therefore it’s super simple to get this campaign up and running.
When setting up your campaign choose ‘Lead Generation’ from the objectives and create a Lead Form. Your prospect will not have to leave Facebook to opt in for your offer. I have found this to be an extremely effective way to generate leads. You’ll need to make sure you have a great offer and expect to pay somewhere from about $5.00 per lead using this strategy.
- Try different Images
Whilst the copy you write is important, your first job is to grab the attention of someone surfing through their Facebook feed. I have found that changing the image in an ad can reduce your acquisition cost by 50% or more.
Even if you have a winning ad, it pays to continually split test new images to see if you can beat your winner.
- Humanize it (follow up)
The best results I have seen includes a human touch. You will get more opt ins if you don’t ask for a phone number, however, my tests have indicated to me that your sales acquisition cost will be lower by asking for a phone number and incorporating a phone follow up.
- Split test
Facebook gives you the option to advertise in many ways. You can use video, lead ads, images, carousels etc. You can write a little, or a lot. You can target specific devices, genders, interest groups and regions to name a few.
It’s important that you try different strategies and split test your results. As an example, I have found it extremely effective to run different ads for men and women.
Look at your ad analytics and this should help guide you with new things to try.
- Create a custom audience
One of the most powerful tools Facebook gives you is the ability to create a custom audience. For example, you can upload a database of customers or prospects and specifically target them, Facebook will even help you create a ‘lookalike’ audience so you quickly build a target audience that are likely to be interested in your offers.
- Track Sales not likes and other silly metrics
Okay, they’re not all silly but it’s easy to get caught up in tracking cost per click, page likes and other numbers that don’t really put dollars in your bank. You need to keep your end goal in mind and your Facebook campaigns should ultimately end up in more sales for your business.
