Nowadays, almost everyone is already on Facebook. As a business owner, that means you have access to an incredible number of potential customers if you know how to use Facebook advertising correctly. Launching your first Facebook ad can be daunting, but it is really not that hard if you only study how to use it properly. In this article, we will tackle a bit about Facebook as an advertising platform, a few tips to get you on your way to making your first ad, as well as three tools that can help you with creating eye-catching ads for Facebook.
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Facebook as an Advertising Platform
As the biggest social media platform, it is not a question that Facebook is one of the ideal channels to begin your advertising journey. Facebook offers one of the best targeting and key performance indicators (KPIs) measurement systems out there as a digital platform. It beats traditional media by a mile in terms of tracking results, returns on investment (ROI), and feedback. Having 2.9 Billion active monthly users, you can practically sell to almost any market that allows Facebook in their countries list of approved websites.
That being said, it isn’t advisable to just jump in and advertise to anyone and everyone. Like any advertising platform, you only use these to reach your target customers. Digital advertising channels and graphic maker tools are abundant, but the laws of marketing remain the same.
What is a Facebook Sponsored Post
In layman’s terms, it’s an ad that you publish on your Facebook business page. You may boost your organic Facebook post for business to make it more visible and appeal to new and larger audiences. If there is a link and conversions, your article will be seen by more people, resulting in increased brand recognition and user interaction.
One common error first-time advertisers make on Facebook is not knowing the difference between boosting and making an ad. A boosted post is simply a post on your page that you’ve paid to have more visibility, and it doesn’t show up in the News Feeds of people who don’t like your page, and it doesn’t include any targeting options. On the other hand, with your ad, you can target specific demographics and interests, making them much more likely to be seen by people who may be interested in what you’re selling.
Smart Tips Before You Launch Your First Facebook Sponsored Post
- Be clear with your objective.
Facebook has many choices for campaign objectives that can make or break a campaign.
It allows you to choose from the following objectives: brand awareness, reach, traffic (to your website or app), engagement (i.e., likes and shares), app installs, video views, lead generation, and conversions.
Knowing your objective will determine how much it will cost you per action. For instance, if getting people to visit your site is the aim of this campaign, then a traffic goal makes more sense because Facebook charges for each click made on an ad heading to a website. If clicks aren’t important in this situation and you just simply want to gain people’s awareness of your brand, then selecting reach would be ideal since Facebook then optimizes towards impressions rather than clicks when they run these campaigns.
- Know your target audience
Facebook allows you to target your ad based on gender, age, interests, and certain online behaviors. However, it is possible to get more specific with your targeting using the “Advanced Connection” feature. It allows you to reach people who share similar interests and likes as those who already liked your page. If someone has liked a certain product or service that’s similar to yours, for example, this could mean they are interested in what you sell, too. That way, advertisers can reach potential customers who have expressed an interest in their products before even launching their first Facebook ad campaign.
- Know where your target audience is located
Another way to target your Facebook ad is by using location-based/geography targeting, which allows advertisers to show their ad in certain cities or countries around the world. It is great for businesses with a global customer base or those looking to expand their reach into new markets.
- Know where to be the most disruptive for your ad placement
Facebook allows you to place your ad in different locations depending on what you’re trying to achieve. For example, if you want your brand awareness to increase, you can choose the “Top Stories” placement to show your ad as a sponsored post in people’s newsfeeds. If you’re looking for website clicks or conversions, though, the “Right Column” placement might be a better option as this puts your ad on the right side of people’s screens. Work your way through different placements to see what works best for your business. Other types of ad placement include the following: Mobile News Feed, Desktop News Feed, Instagram, Audience Network (Facebook’s program that lets you place ads on other websites).
- Know your working campaign budget
Facebook Ads also offer different budget options, so you can choose how much money you want to spend on each ad. You can choose from the following budget setups:
- A daily budget set up – You specify the amount of money per day, and Facebook will distribute it evenly over 24 hours.
- Lifetime budget setup – allows you to set a total campaign budget instead of a daily one. This option is great for advertisers running campaigns with shorter time frames (like an event) but wants more control over how much they spend on ads each day because there’s no “daily cap” under this type of setup.
- Test, Test, and Test Different Ad Formats
Should you use video? Or should you use a static image? A GIF? Or a blog post? The answer is all of the above or maybe one of the above. One game-changing aspect of digital ads is the ability to create and test multiple options simultaneously, knowing which of your ads are performing well or resonating with the audience, and knowing which ads you need to stop immediately.
Now that you know how to target and set up your working budget, the next thing you need to learn is how you can maximize your content type?
Recommendations from Facebook on making your ads more engaging
- Keep videos to 1:1 ratio or square format
Videos with a square aspect ratio outperform landscape videos in terms of completion rates. Square formats tend to fill more of the mobile screen and are more engaging for people on the go, making them an ideal design for Facebook video ads.
- Don’t put too much text on images.
Even when there is no limit to how much or how few words you can place on images, Facebook shared that they found images with less than 20% text on images generally perform better.
- Add motion to your ads.
Ads with movement are more likely to be noticed on Facebook. You can use free templates to create an ad that moves automatically. You can also change the colors, pictures, and fonts if needed. Moving posts tend to catch attention compared to static images. So go ahead try the hyper-lapse or boomerang effects to make your ad stand out.
You can use graphic interchange format (GIFs/JIF) when appropriate. It is a bitmap graphic file that was developed in 1987 by CompuServe. It’s essentially like having video without any sound or motion, but with enough movement where people can see what’s happening in scenes while scrolling through their feed quickly. They don’t have time to lose interest before getting hooked again because it’s short, usually between two to three seconds long.
- Keep your headlines short.
The ever-scrolling population has made it even more challenging to catch users’ attention. According to the Mobile Marketing Association, you have only about 2-3 seconds to make a pitch of what it is you’d like for them to do when they see your ad. Having too many things to process or read ultimately becomes a turn-off for a user to click through an ad. So keep it simple. Simple is the secret but keyword.
- Utilize the Carousell ads
Carousell ads are advantageous for businesses with multiple brands that need to be advertised. You can display more product lines at the same advertising cost versus one big creative. You can also use Carousell ads for retargeting website visitors and Facebook users who have interacted with your brand on Carousell.
- Include a Call-To-Action (CTA)
It is best if you include a CTA in your Facebook ads. It will tell people exactly what you want them to do once they click on your ad, whether it’s visiting your website, buying a product, or signing up for a newsletter. Having a clear and concise CTA will help increase people’s chances of taking action after seeing your ad.
3 Graphic Maker Tools
Making eye-catchy effective ads isn’t as hard as it seems. Gone are the days we would rely only on photoshop and the skills of an adept user. There are tons of Software-as-aService (SaaS) out there that have made it easier for anyone. You only need the resourcefulness, eagerness to learn, and budget to invest in creating mind-blowing, attention-grabbing, and even sales converting Facebook ads.
- Pixelixe
An online graphic maker that helps make graphics for your Facebook ad campaigns. The tool has unique templates, a drag-and-drop feature, and Facebook Ad templates so you can easily create a graphic that will be optimized and ready to go live on the platform.
Pixelixe also provides several graphic options such as social media templates, brochure designs, flyers design, and more. Pixelixe offers a free trial plan for up to 50 documents. After that, monthly plans start at $9, going up as high as 249 dollars for enterprise solutions.
- Canva
This user-friendly graphic design tool lets you easily create professional designs for your business. Canva is a graphic maker that creates simple designs for everyone with pre-made templates and easy drag-and-drop tools.
It is also great if you already have existing video assets that aren’t square or vertical yet still want to leverage their power as part of your Facebook ad campaign strategy. The built-in video tools allow you to resize your content to fit perfectly into what’s needed specifically for your Facebook posts.
Like Pixelixe, Canva offers free templates and tools that you can use to create your Facebook ad graphics. You can also purchase premium tools and features if needed.
Canva’s FREE plan is already super powerful, especially if you are only after basic social media templates. The Pro and Enterprise plans unlock a world of stock photos, design templates, and brand kits that make it easier for businesses to control their design needs in terms of branding consistency. The Pro Plan starts at $12.99 per month, while the Enterprise Plan begins at $30.
- Befunky
It is a comprehensive, all-in-one online creative platform that provides everything you need to edit photos, design graphics, and easily assemble photo collages.
Befunky has a wide range of graphic templates and tools, including their photo editor feature, where you can touch up your images before using them in your Facebook ad campaigns.
Befunky also has an advanced graphic maker system called Collage Maker, which lets users combine several photos into one graphic.
It is best for those who want to showcase multiple products or services simultaneously while still ensuring they’re aesthetically pleasing to the eye and not overwhelming overall. Basic functions are available through a free plan, while premium services begin at $9.99 a month.
Takeaway
Your graphic design is a massive part of your Facebook ad campaign’s success. It will draw people in and make them want to click on it.
A well-thought-out graphic created using a proper graphic maker with the right message resonates better with its audience. It ultimately leads to more inquiries or sales you’re looking for while keeping within budget as well. These are highly dependent on a well-thought marketing plan with clear objectives for the brand to achieve.
Author’s Bio:
Shelly Solis is a digital marketer for different SaaS companies. She is the CEO and co-founder of SaaSLauchr.com, a SaaS marketing agency providing expert SEO, content marketing, and guest posting services.