With more than 1.4 million people using Facebook and 900 million visiting every day, your business has many opportunities to connect with potential prospects. To make this connection easier and to attract people that will most likely care about your company, Facebook has built a tool to help you create the right type of advertising.
Facebook ads are a powerful and unique way to appear on the timelines of the right people for your business. To help get the best possible response from the audience, Facebook allows marketers to effectively target a specific audience based on their location, demographics, interests and what they buy. Facebook then allows you to create the ad, choose the best pictures and later receive reports on how your ad is performing.
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To choose the best type of ad for your business, you must base your decision on what you want people to do once they see your ads. This is called your advertising objective. Your ads can be created to get people to like your Facebook page, encourage people to visit your website, install your new app, etc.
Though choosing the right objective for your business may seem difficult, we have broken down the different formats your business can use.
If your objective is to attract more people to your website or increase website conversions:
This is one of the most common ways to use Facebook advertising for your business. To attract more people to your website, you can create link ads. Link ads can drive traffic to your homepage or a dedicated landing page which can encourage people to buy your product, sign up for a newsletter or essentially any other le
ad generation tactic.
Link ads can come in the form of a domain ad which is a basic ad that will be displayed on the right column of Facebook or the ad can simply be a page post link which features a large image to catch the viewer’s attention and is easily clickable.
Link ads can have compelling call-to-action buttons to help your audience clearly understand what you’d like them to do such as Shop Now, Learn More, Sign Up, Book Now or Download. The photo, text box and call-to-action button will all link to your website.
If your objective is to increase page likes or page post engagement:
If your specific goal is to increase the number of page likes and/or increase the reach of the content you post, Facebook allows you to create ads which will do just that. This is a great type of ad to utilize because if someone likes your Page, your posts can appear in their Newsfeed which will increase brand awareness and allow them to share your content with their friends and family.
The go-to ad for increasing Page Likes is simply an ad with a captivating image and a call-to-action that automatically lets people Like the page. By promoting your Page, you can get Page likes and then connect with more of the people who matter to your business.
To engage your page fans, the Facebook ad platform allows your to display an image or video that your business wants people to discuss. By choosing the right image or video along with a text description of the post, potential prospects can Like the content and comment their opinions.
If your objective is to have people install or engage with your app:
Instead of simply driving people to your website or your Facebook page, you can direct people your app. For this specific purpose, Facebook allows your company to create an ad to promote either
your mobile app or desktop app.
Your ad for a mobile desktop can be displayed on the mobile Newsfeed and allow users to click the Install call-to-action button and be immediately directed to the App Store. This delivers a great conversion rate and allows people to download your app on any mobile device or tablet.
A desktop mobile app can also be promoted through Facebook. One thing to keep in mind is your app’s rating since that score will be displayed on your ad. Thus, this type of advertising is recommended if you have an impressive rating or else your ad will lose its effectiveness.
If your objective is to promote special offers or events:
To get more people to claim offers in your s
tores or receive more responses for a Facebook invite, Facebook ads can ease the process. To attract people to your discounts or other deals, use the Facebook ad to state exactly what the person can claim. Once the viewer clicks on the ad’s call-to-action, the person should be able to redeem their offer and receive some sort of confirmation from you. This can be done through an email which can contain more details and the terms of use.
You can also use your Facebook ads to boost the reach of your event. This is a great time to really target specific people by narrowing down through their geographic location. A simple call-to-action can let viewers learn more about the event and select whether or not they are interested.
If your objective is to increase your brand awareness through product or service promotion:
If you are an ecommerce store or brand, Facebook allows you to showcase your products or services in multiple ways. Facebook creates an interactive user experience that allows people to view pictures of your product or service and easily click to learn more about each one.
One way to do this is by creating a multi-product carousel. This is very useful to promote multiple products and offers to see what attracts the audience the most. This single ad can promote different products or services, eac
h having its own picture, link and title. Similar to the carousel, Facebook canvas ads allow you to swipe through images in various directions and zoom in or out of a product all while being full screen on a mobile device.
Another helpful tool is the Facebook dynamic product ad which targets users based on past actions on your website or app. This is basically a product catalogue and concentrates on products or services that may appeal to people who already know of your company.
Conclusion
Since ads look different depending on the results you want, you need to take the time to figure out your advertising objectives. Your business goals will guide you to choosing the best type of ad format for you. Your company can even test a few formats to see which one will perform better for your type of business. The various tests will let you see a clear picture of which ad formats drive the best results. Facebook ads has great potential to be an effective component of any inbound marketing strategy.
