10 Tips To Get The Most Out Of Your Facebook Advertising Campaign

Facebook ads are becoming increasingly popular, nibbling away at Google’s AdWords that accounts for 90% of Google’s revenue. Oh, don’t worry about Google. It’s doing just fine.
And you’ll do just fine when spending marketing dollars on Facebook ads if you follow some basic tips. Facebook ads are targeted, they’re available on a CPC basis, you can add images and track performance using FB metrics.
Here’s how to get more faces looking at your ads on Facebook.

1. Use a CPM approach to keyword bids.

Think big, as in cost per thousand (CPM) clicks.
Like AdWords, you’ll pay per click – PPC. The more enticing the ad or message the higher the click-thru rate (CTR). So don’t plan a Facebook campaign on a simple cost per click (CPC). Think big, be compelling and your CPC drops as your CTR increases. Don’t take the narrow CPC view. Chances are, if your FB ad grabs attention you’ll get a few thousand hits – so budget for per thousand viewers, not a single viewer to lower your cost per click.

2. Change ads – a lot!

Once viewers have seen it they aren’t going to want to see it again. Web users have very short attention spans so change your ads frequently.
Front load your ad production and costs so you have three or four Facebook ads to put into rotation in the first week of your campaign.

3. Create several target demographics.

If you sell nutritional supplements you can target a variety of prospective market segments: seniors, pregnant women, parents, athletes, health care providers and so on.
Develop a variety of ads that target highly specific (granular) demographics. Carefully track which demo delivers the best results. Then, target that market segment with more aggressive messaging based on the best CTRs.

4. Test. Test. Test.

Facebook advertising provides valuable metrics to determine what works and what doesn’t.
Conduct simple A/B tests. Change the header or the image but keep everything else the same. Monitor each version’s CTR and adjust accordingly.
Keep your tests simple, single-variant A/B tests. Unless you’re a marketing genius, multi-variant testing can easily lead to invalid conclusions and, ultimately, cost you more to market on FB.

5. Create a strong call to action.

“Order NOW!” “Call TODAY!” A strong call to action compels readers to “ACT NOW” but we’ve also all become a little tired of (and deaf to) the numerous calls to action we encounter every day.
A good call to action not only urges the reader or listener to perform the most desired action (MDA), it also tells the reader HOW to perform the MDA. “Call 800-555-1234 to start saving today” is a better call to action than “Order today.”

6. Add images to your FB ads.

If you sell products use quality product shots in your ads and, again, swap out pictures regularly and track results. A picture is worth a thousand words – especially when it’s a picture of your specialty birthday cakes. Yummy encourages the performance of the MDA – place an order.

7. Your copy needs some grabbers.

There’s an old saying in marketing: The headline is half the job. Create headlines that capture the attention or imagination of readers.
Testimonials also work so snag some from satisfied buyers. Answer questions, provide helpful information and establish your authority and build trust simultaneously in a Facebook ad.

8. Drop underperforming ads.

When an ad is pulling 50% less than when you first posted it on Facebook, pull it out of your rotation but don’t toss it. Re-purpose and reuse your Facebook ads. Just run them next year sometime when you’ll discover a whole new group of FB posters interested in your goods or services.

9. Check what’s hot and what’s not.

Use resources like Twitter trending and Digg to see what people are talking about that day. Update your ads to sync up with hot topics. If ATT comes in last in 10 service categories and you sell Verizon plans, you’d want to work in ATT’s survey results ASAP and with Facebook, you can do it simply.
Stay current and you’ll see more faces per dollar on Facebook.

10. Use Facebook lingo to establish Facebook credibility.

Pokes, likes, FB, groups, fan pages, wall posts – this is the jargon of Facebook and posters know what these terms mean.
So, use the language of FB in your ads. Jargon creates the impression that “you’re one of us” and that builds trust and a stronger brand within the expanding connectivity of Facebook.
Facebook is proving to be an interesting (and profitable) alternative to Google’s AdWords. FB ads are targeted, contextual and more attractive than Google’s blue cube skyscrapers.
One final note: Facebook regularly offers free trials for newcomer advertisers so keep your eyes peeled for FB coupons and do a test run at no cost.
You’ve got nothing to lose and a lot of faces to attract. Give Facebook advertising a shot. Millions of small and large companies are turning to this social media site to pull in prospects and profits.
Time to get your game face on – on Facebook.