Facebook Ads, How they Work and How to use them?

Are Facebook Ads Effective?

When most people think of social media, they think of the ways they use it in their personal lives. While social media plays a significant role in the personal lives of millions of people, it also has a significant presence in the world of business.

Modern companies look to social media for opportunities to reach and connect with consumers. With more than 2 billionmonthly active users, Facebook has a reach that far exceeds the competition. It’s for this reason that it plays a central role in most social media advertising strategies.

Even with its massive reach, there are still some businesses that wonder whether Facebook ads are effective. Marketers know that by working with a Facebook marketing agency they can reach a wider audience than they could through other channels, but the question of whether that reach will translate to sales remains.

For businesses that are still wondering whether Facebook ads are effective, the short answer is yes. Research has shown that Facebook does increase purchasing intent among consumers, and it can achieve many of the same goals as traditional advertising at a fraction of the cost.

For a company that is looking to grow their brand and sell products, asking whether Facebook ads are effective is the wrong question. Their benefit has already been demonstrated through research, and countless case studies are available online. Instead of asking whether it works, brands should be thinking about what goes into creating an effective Facebook advertising campaign.

Running an Effective Campaign

A successful Facebook ad campaign is going to look different for every business. Each brand has its own unique goals and markets to different audiences. Most will need to do a little experimentation if they want to get optimal results from Facebook advertising. Nonetheless, there are some best practices that can help any business start their campaign on the right foot.

Set Goals

The first step is to identify the goals of the ad campaign. The more specific goals are, the more well planned a campaign will be. Common Facebook advertising goals include increasing sales, raising brand awareness, lead generation, and driving traffic to the company’s website.

Target Your Audience

Facebook’s wide reach is impressive, but the most successful ad campaigns narrow their audience down to the people most likely to act on the ad. Brands have to know their customers and target them with ads that are relevant to their experience and needs.

Create Custom Audiences

The targeting options can be a great way to define an audience that is more likely to act on an ad, but custom audiences can be good for reaching a very specific group. With custom audiences, companies can send ads to people who have visited or taken specific actions on their website before. Another option is to use use something like a list of email addresses or phone numbers for targeting.

Optimize Your Images

Images can be important for getting the attention of Facebook users. Firms wanting to increase their chances of success should look to optimize graphics to give the maximum effect.

The first rule is t to use an image that is relevant to the ad. Beyond that, avoid images that are too cluttered. A person should be able to look at the image and understand the point right away.

Use Social Proof

Social proof can be a powerful tool for steering consumers in the right direction. When users see that others have benefited from a company’s products or that other consumers have signed up for a service, it’s an indication that they should do the same. Finding ways to include social proof in an ad can provide a boost to  results.

Test Your Campaigns

No marketer is going to get the best results possible from their first campaign. While results may be good, there is always room for improvement. To find what works best, it’s helpful to do some A/B testing.

Along with testing different versions of the same ad, also test different audiences. By studying both, marketers can find the ads that have the greatest impact, as well as identifying the audience that is most receptive to different types of ads.

Try and apply these tactics and analyze your campaign's performance. Let us know in the comments how these tactics work for you or do you have any other tactic that can work?