Social media connect customers with brands in a unique way. Posts by friends and family mingle with posts by brands. Because social networks usually have detailed information about their users, advertisers can target them more specifically than in other adverting formats. Facebook still is the social network that offers the most insights on users. It also offers brands advanced advertising features in its Ads Manager.
The benefits of Facebook's Ads Manger:
- great potential reach
- very precise targeting
- suitable for various objectives
- real-time analytics
To make the best of your Facebook budget, a few things should be kept in mind when creating an ad. Before that, however, let us look at the various elements of a Facebook ad:
- text: describe the content that you advertise
- headline: the ad title (when sharing a blog post, this is usually the blog headline)
- description (when sharing a blogpost, this is usually a short teaser text)
- image: eye candy is a must
- call-to-action: what do you want users to do?
Your ad can have various kinds of content. The most popular type of ad are links, followed by video content and photo ads. Events can be promoted as well. Depending on the type of ad the above elements may vary.
When creating an ad, consider the following:
- Be concise: you have 250 characters for both headline and description. You should be able to get your point across in less than this. A successful headline usually consists of five words. The post text you use to introduce the ads should also keep things short but informative. Make people want to learn more and at the same time give them enough information to earn their trust.
- Stick out: Facebook blocked images in ads that consisted of more than 20 percent text. This has changed. However, your ad has to be legible on all display sizes. Therefore try to use an image that draws attention and does not have too many details.
- Define goals: If you are interested in increasing traffic to your site, you will opt for promoting a link post. If you are interested in engagement, video ads are the most promising options.
- Call to action: choose a call to action that activates users and fits your offer.
- A/B testing: Create two versions of your ad and keep both activated for two to three days. Facebook's analytics will tell you which version delivers the best ROI. Deactivate the other.
