Facebook is like that bar all of your friends frequent on Friday
nights. You don’t really like the place: It’s noisy, random people
strike up conversations, drinks are too expensive, and mundane activity
seems to always become a photo opp. It’s hard not to leave the bar
without feeling a general sense of dissatisfaction, but you keep
returning because it’s where all your friends are hanging out.
This is a common feeling found among both users and advertisers
alike. Many users dislike a variety of features, privacy settings,
frequent user interface updates, and, of course, the mother of all
profile changes: timeline. As of late, the general consensus among
advertisers is an overall grumbling discontent. Premium ads are too costly, marketplace ads aren’t effective enough, and no one really understands the point of sponsored stories.
Advertisers are sitting there like zoo animals, frustrated that they
can’t reach what they really want — the food on the other side of the
cage. That food is, of course, Facebook’s massive gold mine of user
information. Nope, gotta keep your grubby paws away from that for now.
Although conversions and lead-generation opportunities are definitely
possible, Facebook advertising is best used in brand-awareness
campaigns. Think about it: When users see ads on their Facebook
accounts, they aren’t necessarily at the point of purchase, but they are
still easily influenced by and willing to interact with brands.
Just a couple weeks ago, Facebook agreed that clicks don’t matter.
Let’s get real: Whether you like it or not, as an advertiser, you
will continue to spend money on Facebook ads, because that’s where all
of the eyeballs spend their days. My advice is to quit expending energy
ranting on the Internet, and educate yourself on the platform’s options.
If you are one of the frustrated masses not seeing desired results from
your Facebook spend, then maybe you need a new strategy. Make lemonade
out of your dead-end lemon ads by considering focusing more of your
Facebook spend on ads that engage and interact with users, instead of
instant conversions like your Google counterpart campaigns.
So stop angry blogging, regroup, and follow these seven tangible ways
to get the most out of your time on the Facebook ad bandwagon.
Understand Your Own End Game
What exactly do you want from your Facebook ads? Are you looking for
conversions, lead generation, brand awareness, or even building a
platform for all of your brand minions to sing your praises? Throwing
ads up on the sidebar and seeing if they stick isn’t going to work here.
Social media has only recently become a respected and serious form of advertising,
which means that the trails are still a little rocky. You might need to
blaze them for yourself with concrete goals and key performance
indicators for both the long and short term.
Develop ROI Goals
Decide how your success will be measured. Is it click-through rate, impressions, number of likes, conversions, sales, or lead-generation information? Set realistic return-on-investment
goals that work in tandem with all of your other objectives. Keep in
mind that ROI doesn’t necessarily translate into dollar signs right
away. Brand-awareness tactics, such as impressions and likes, may not
yield revenue right away, but they should considered an investment in
the influence of future customers and brand champions.
Recognize Your Ad Options
Facebook actually offers about six major variations on ads; you have options. They are broken out like this:
PREMIUM PRODUCTS
Placement: homepage (right side), news feed
- Premium ads and sponsored stories from page posts
- Text: drive engagement
- Video: launch a product, drive awareness, drive video consumption
- Photo: launch a product, drive engagement
- Page post (question): drive engagement
- Page Post (link): drive offsite, drive sales
- Page Post (events): drive to an event
- Premium sponsored stories (voice of friend)
- Premium ads
MARKETPLACE PRODUCTS
- Marketplace ads and sponsored stories from page posts
- Marketplace sponsored stories (voice of friend)
- Marketplace ads
The premium ad, sponsored stories from page posts, has been broken
out in detail to illustrate the specificity and most effective
functionality of each ad type. Educate yourself on all of the ad types
and their best-case uses. This will help create a campaign that targets
the right people in the right places, at the right time.
Settle The Debate On CPC Vs. CPM
Choosing cost per thousand impressions (CPM) can be a great form of
brand awareness, because if you show something to someone enough, they
just might click through eventually. But just know that you run through
1,000 impressions faster than a box of Thin Mints because there are so
many people online at any given time. Cost per click is generally
thought to be a more cost-effective way to allocate your ad spend.
Either way, it comes back to your overall goals.
Test Multiple Versions Of Creative
Don’t get frustrated when an ad doesn’t perform the way you want.
Just like your Google campaigns, Facebook ads need creative testing to
find out what works with your audience. The nice thing about Facebook is
your options. If text ads just aren’t doing the trick, try a photo,
video, or sponsored stories.
Be More Strategic With Landing Page Choices
You’ve done enough creative testing, played with your ad types, and
finally inspired a potential customer to click on an ad. That’s only
half the battle. Where you take your customer could either make or break
the deal. The best place for your ad’s landing page is on your brand’s
Facebook page, or a product, contest, or other interactive application
relating to the ad. If you are really looking to drive conversions, take
users to a specific point in the path of purchase on your brand’s
website. Keep in mind that you can create an app on your Facebook page
that has the ability to capture user information with a lead generation
form, while keeping them on your brand’s Facebook page.
Take Advantage Of Targeting Alternatives
One of the coolest things about Facebook advertising, and a huge
reason why malcontent marketers are still there, is the very specific
targeting options offered. Take advantage of this! Gender, marital
status, age range, and geo-targeting are all available for your ads. If
you are questioning whether or not geo-targeting is right for your
brand, consider whether your product is national or local. National
brands do better without any geographic filters, and local brands and
companies would definitely benefit from a little extra work put into
creating geographic targeting.
So even though there might be several bars on the block, you’re
probably still going to stick it out at your friends’ favorite dive.
Just because you are stuck there, doesn’t mean it has to be a bad
experience. The same goes for Facebook advertising. Move away from
counting clicks by changing your goals and strategy to see success.
I’m
sure that this has happened to you before. Someone you have ties to,
whether it’s a co-worker, your boss, or even worse, a parent, has
finally discovered social networking and wants to be your newest
Facebook friend.
