Here’s an interesting fact for you: 90% of online marketers use Facebook and 68% of them have no idea how to be effective with it. That’s a large chunk of the marketers taking wild stabs in the dark, hoping to god that they’re doing the right thing. If you’re here you’re part of that 68%, right? Don’t worry, that’s about to change. In this article you’re going to learn 8 simple ways to become part of the 22% who know what they’re doing.
Are Facebook Ads Right For You?
A lot of marketers are ready to write off Facebook Ads and that’s a shame because they’re a great way to reach new customers. Here’s something a lot of marketers overlook:
You must be in a position to make a return on your investment
You shouldn’t just use Facebook Ads to generate traffic to a site that’s not going to make you money. You might think that’s a little obvious but it’s surprising how many people do it. Then they wont use Facebook Ads again because they’re $300 down and don’t have a cent to show for it. If you’re not at the point where you have a product or mailing list that you can promote, then you shouldn’t use Ads. If you are in a position where you can get a solid ROI, then they’re an amazing way to advertise yourself.
#1: Know The Difference Between Boosting And Promoting
Facebook has reduced its organic reach. Which means that getting your content or site in front of lots of people is hard. And it’s going to need to come from your back pocket.
There are two ways you can get eyes on your content:
- Boosting your post
- Promoting your post
And while that may sound like semantics, it’s not. The results of each can be the difference between driving new sales and throwing your cash in the trash.
Boosting A Post
Boosting is the simplest method. All you have to do is click the little button in the corner of your update, right here:
This gives you the option to boost that particular post to:
- People who either already like your page
- Are friends of people who like your page
- People you choose through targeting.
Always choose the targeted option because it’ll lend itself to much higher conversions in the long run. If you target your audience correctly you can put yourself in front of the people who actually care.
Promoting A Post
Promoting a post is a little more complex, but gets you more bang for your buck. Especially if you want to reach brand new people with it too. Head over to the Ads Manager Page you can begin to create a laser targeted promotion.
You can choose specific locations, languages, genders, ages – you name it.
You’re also given the choice over the end results you want as well. Whether you want to run a ‘Like’ campaign, or build a PPC campaign back to your site.
#2: Use Other Peoples Users
This is a super simple method. As a marketer you should know who all your competitors in your niche are. Those people who are competing for the exact same space as you. The beauty of Facebook Ads is that you can use those competitors to give you a nice little piggyback to success. You know, in the same way America did with Russia in the Space Race back in the 50’s and 60’s. When you’re choosing who to target, name drop four or five of your competitors as ‘interests’.
For example, an Internet Marketing site could choose Moz’s audience:
Now you know who you’re sharing with at least has some interest in your niche. And is more likely to engage with you or your content.
#3: Choose Your Colors Wisely
Color in advertising is important. Color in online advertising is even more important. This comes down to how you want people to feel about your brand too. After all, your brand is your sales pitch.
Don’t believe me? Take a look at this chart:
When it comes to your own colors, it’s important to know how you want people to feel about you. And the colors above are a great starting point. You can also boost the chance of your ad getting shared with color too. Research suggests red, pink or purple highlights will get you more shares than any other color.
#4: Create A Lead Magnet For All Your Content
Getting people on to your mailing list is a smart decision with Facebook Ads. It’s one the best ways to receive a return on investment from your budget too. A nice cheat-code way to do this is to create a lead magnet for every piece of content you create. Or, at least the evergreen content.
If you’re not familiar with a lead magnet:
It’s a piece of valuable content someone can download for free, in exchange for an email address.
Try creating a:
- Cheat sheet
- Summary
- Checklist
- PDF eBook
- Quick audio recording
That goes along with each piece of content. Like Jeff Goins has done here:
#5: Create A Custom Audience
Custom Audiences are powerful, because Facebook’s targeting is so specific. If you wanted to you could target your ad to one specific person, in one place, at a particular time.
These audiences let you to connect with people who have already bought into your brand based on the criteria you find important.
In the same way that you’d segment your mailing list into:
- Paid users
- Free users
- Newsletter-only subscribers
- Louis CK Fans
You can do exactly the same with your Facebook users. You can sort them into high paying customers, low activity users, top sharers and so on. Why would you want to do that? Simple.
People can check their Facebook up to 15 times a day. That’s a lot. If you have a specific product or offer, you can target who sees it. For example, you could offer a 30% discount code to only your top spenders.
#6: Promote Trustworthy Content About You
Here’s the thing:
People buy from people that they trust.
Whether they’re paying with cash, an email address or time doesn’t matter. If they don’t trust you, they wont spend with you. It’s that simple. So every now and again it pays to promote content from a trustworthy source that adds to your brand image.
Think about where someone has:
- Mentioned you in a blog post
- Tweeted about you
- Written you an awesome review
- Shared a story about you
Then use it as the basis of a small boosted (or promoted) post. This shouldn’t ever become the basis of your marketing campaign but, it should play a part. The more trust you build, the more money you make.
#7: Use Video If You Can
This year Facebook made the switch to having a huge focus on video content. Head to your news feed and see for yourself. I can almost guarantee one of the first three posts you see will be a video of some sort. Which is great news for you if you have a decent camera or a creative budget because people are getting used to seeing video on Facebook everyday so you need to take advantage of it. LUSH Cosmetics have used this for great impact recently. They show videos of everything from people using their products, to how those products are made:
Not only does that build a better brand identity, it also makes your ads more engaging. Even if they don’t click through to your site, they won’t be forgetting you any time soon.
#8: Write Better Copy
A lot of people just stick, “Hey, check this out!” on their ads and leave it at that because, they have no idea what else to write.
Like this (spot the grammar error):
After all, you’re not a copywriter, are you? If you’re the entire marketing department this is something you need to learn. In a Facebook news feed filled with updates about lunches and babies you need to write copy that stands out.
Here’s a few tips to help improve your copy:
- Benefits: Focus on the benefits of your product or article, not features. Think, “How does this solve their problem?”
- Use power words: Short, sharp, one-syllable words like, “Fast cash now.”
- Create calls to action: “Read it now!”, “Get help here!”, “Free book inside!” all create urgency and increase click rates. Play around with your own ideas, too.
If you haven’t tested Facebook ads I highly recommend doing so in the near future. With enough time, energy and budget, anyone can become profitable promoting their brand, product or service.
