Are you currently planning your marketing tactics for the year? Small businesses can use many channels to attract and connect with prospects. In 2022, you should consider trying something new like Facebook advertising. It has many benefits, but you may be hesitant if it’s unfamiliar territory. To help you feel more confident, we’ve got pointers on how to get started with Facebook ads.
Key Steps to Get Started with Facebook Ads
Before we get into the steps, here are some stats that demonstrate the value of this type of social media marketing.
- Facebook ads provide the highest ROI (return on investment) among all paid ad channels.
- 73% of U.S. users visit the site every day.
- An average Facebook user clicks on 12 ads a month.
Your audience is on Facebook, and it’s a low-cost way to target your ideal buyers. So, what are the steps to launch Facebook ads?
Define Your Target Audience
Facebook serves ads in feeds for those users that fit your targeting criteria. You can target by:
- Geography (city, state, country, etc.)
- Demographics (age, gender, education, career, etc.)
- Interests (in this section, you can choose from endless options based on what pages or groups the user likes)
- Behaviors (previous purchases and device usage)
- Connections (those people who engaged with your page in some way)
You can go very broad or narrow. The key is to be somewhere in the middle for optimum exposure. For local businesses, geo-targeting will reduce the audience. You can then add the other elements to build that profile.
Identify the Right Ad Type
Facebook offers several ad types. Depending on the content and intent, you can use ads with one image or multiple ones. The other options are video-related. On image ads, it’s important to limit the text on those. It shouldn’t cover more than 20% of the image. The crop of the image matters, too.
For video, these should be short — less than 15 seconds. People are scrolling through their feed, so you must grab their attention fast.
If you’re advertising a product, it should be the focus of an image or video. If it’s a service, imagery should illustrate this. For example, if you’re a remodeling company, before and after pictures can win you engagement.
Consider Placements
When using Facebook ads, you have options on where they will appear. It includes Facebook feeds, Instagram, and Messenger. You can specify what channels you want or select the Automatic Placements. With the latter, Facebook does the placement.
Determine Your Budget
Facebook is a very cost-effective advertising channel. However, you still need to set a spending limit based on the results you expect. That again depends on the goal of your ad, which could be to grow your community, get new email subscribers, receive leads, or drive people to purchase.
If you’re just starting, you don’t have benchmarks on your expected CTR (click-through rate) or CR (conversion rate). However, you will in time so that you can be more strategic in budgeting. On your first go, outline the amount that is comfortable. For future campaigns, use the data on CTR and CR to refine this.
Ensure Your Ads Align with the Click
If someone clicks on your ad, they are likely heading to your website. That could be a product page, landing page, or blog post. What’s critical here is that the ad and the click must align. If a user clicks on an ad about a product and ends up on your homepage, it could be confusing. They may abandon your site, which means you paid for a click that didn’t result in a conversion. Instead, you should take them to the product page that includes images, benefits, and features.
Get Started with Facebook Ads with AQ Marketing
Facebook ads can be challenging to execute and manage. But if you work with experts like us, you don’t have to do any heavy lifting. We’ll take care of the logistics, consulting with you on every step. Contact us today to learn more.
