Whether you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur or have been running an agency for quite some time now, entering the Facebook advertising sphere can always be a little tricky. You want the best results, for as little budget as possible. Set yourself up for success and keep these five tips in mind when running your next FB ad:
Video is still hot
Video has always been – and still is – an important tool for Facebook marketing in general. Facebook Ads are no exception. Facebook uses a video-first approach on its platform, which means that Facebook prefers videos over images and text. It gives videos preferential treatment by boosting them in the feed. We like to underline the importance of storytelling since people are hardwired to remember things more when they are told in a story format. Video is a great and effective gateway to storytelling and can really spice up your campaign. Oh, one extra tip: use captions in your video. Facebook video ads start playing immediately when a user scrolls past them, but they’re muted, which means you won’t be able to use sound to grab someone’s attention.
Go high quality or go home
You need to use high-quality images. Period. We might be stating the obvious, but we mean really, really good images and not just your average family holiday pic (although yours are probably great, we know). And yes, written content is still very important as well, but your visuals are what will grab the viewer’s attention at first glance. We recommend creating your own images, in order to be as original as possible. However, if you aren’t the greatest photographer, there are also several good stock photo websites available to you, such as Unsplash and Pexels.
Create multiple sets of copy
There’s always some amount of noodles that have to be thrown at the wall before one of them sticks, especially the first time you run split tests on your copy. Try creating different sets of copy, written in different languages, styles, lengths, and highlighting different features. Test which one of the variables works best and work your way towards the best possible advert for your target audience. Sounds tricky? No worries, Facebook makes A/B testing incredibly simple and will guide even a novice through the process without a hitch.
Focus on mobile
Here’s the thing: content that is originally created for non-mobile devices won’t always work well on mobile, whilst content created for mobile devices typically does work well on desktop screens. This means that it’s important to always create mobile-first content to connect with your audience in the best way possible. Making use of vertical videos is a good example of this since this means that users won’t have to turn their phone to view it. It might seem a bit frivolous but trust us: these are the things that can make a difference.
Test, test and test again
Some things will work extremely well for your Facebook ads and some things simply won’t. This is where testing comes into the picture. Every time you change an element in your ad, it is recommended to test it against your previous Facebook ad so you can see whether you’re making improvements to the metrics that matter most to you. If you are just starting with Facebook Advertising, it might be a wise decision to run several ads with small audiences and budgets. This way, you can determine which campaign is worth investing in, which will eventually become your primary campaign.
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