The Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook Advertising

Facebook advertising is a powerful marketing tool that all businesses should consider using and adapting to their marketing strategy. However, it’s a tool that many businesses and marketers are still getting used to, meaning that mistakes are often made and money is wasted down to a lack of knowledge in how to utilise Facebook advertising effectively. To help you manage your advertising spend and make sure you see a return on investment, we’ve put together a brief guide on the things you should and shouldn’t be doing.

DO

Use the Facebook Pixel to Create Retargeted Ads

Perhaps one of the greatest features of Facebook advertising is the retargeting aspect. Installing the Facebook Pixel on your site will provide you with one of the best analytics tools out there when it comes tracking the movement of visitors to your site. By targeting those who have already shown an interest, you have the perfect audience to advertise to as they will be more willing to follow through with that purchase or query, therefore increasing your conversion rate. You can then also use this information to create custom audiences based on shared behaviours between visitors.

DON’T

Set Up One Ad and Leave It Running

You need to make sure you are using the Facebook Ads Manager to track your ads and see how well they are doing. Keep an eye on on your click-through rates, reach and impressions, amongst others, so that you can see what it working and what isn’t. Use A/B testing by creating variations of your advert so you can find the one that works best. Switch up your adverts over time to keep things fresh. You should always be aiming for better results, which means being alert and making use of the tools and information given to you.

DO

Invest In Your Photography/Video

There’s no doubt about the fact that visuals are key to attracting social media users. From memes to GIFs to short animations, our timelines are full of imagery. In order to get your message across through Facebook advertising, you need to make sure you invest in your media production, creating the right sort of visual content that will capture your target audience’s attention. Facebook ‘punish’ ads that use over 20% text as part of their advert, meaning even their rulebook favours the visual. Make sure they’re also the correct dimensions as per the Facebook guidelines as there’s nothing worse than a blurred, cropped image.

DON’T

Forget About Your Key Demographics

One of the powerful tools Facebook provides you with when setting up your adverts is the ability to target key demographics, including location, gender, age and even interests and behaviours. This tool is vital for making sure you target the right individuals who would be interested in your business. Sure, creating a great ad is key, but if you’re showing it to the wrong people, you won’t get any results. For example, if you’re a wedding venue looking to attract engaged couples, there is no point targeting those who list their marital status as already married.

DO

Have A Clear Call-To-Action

It shouldn’t be a difficult process for the user seeing your ad to understand your key message and where you want to take them. A clear and concise call-to-action makes users much more likely to follow through as they want to know what they will get from clicking your ad. Discount codes and online sales work really well in this instance as the user knows straight away that by clicking your ad, they will receive a saving on whatever purchase they might make.

DON’T

Dismiss Facebook Advertising As Part of Your Marketing Strategy

This may seem obvious given the above, and despite the increase in usage, many businesses are still falling short when it comes to maximising their audience outreach with Facebook advertising. It should be an integral part of your marketing strategy given its potential, user numbers and various tools to create a wide range of advertisements. Implementing Facebook advertising into your marketing will see a huge ROI if done correctly.

If you require more information on Facebook advertising, retargeted ads and developing a marketing strategy, our marketing experts are willing to help. Contact us here for more.