Advertising on social media is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and sadly a lot of brands and start-ups get it wrong and end up without seeing return on their investment.

Whether you’re a CEO or a student, it’s likely that you’re on Facebook which means you’ve definitely been exposed to Facebook Ad campaigns at one point or another. However, whether or not you’ve been sold something via Facebook, or you are selling something on Facebook comes down to a few simple strategies to help optimise your Ads, taking them from ‘just another ad’ to a conversion thanks to these 8 tips and tricks to make your Facebook Ads profitable.

1. Understand what your objective is

It sounds painfully simple and straightforward, but so many Facebook Ad campaigns fail because the very first step was not properly defined. Really brainstorm and work out the fundamentals of your campaign. Are you selling? Generating leads? Garnering website traffic or social media followers? You’ll need to establish what your reasoning is before just launching into a campaign.

2. Know your audience

Knowing your audience will go a long way to a successful and profitable Facebook campaign. In fact, it pays to dial in your audience rather than cast a wide net and hope for the best. By defining your audience, you can go from generic demographics to “women aged between 21 – 35” who are really into active lifestyles and clean eating.

If you’re offering up a product to a specific market, then it pays to know your market and push it to them exclusively. You’re wasting time, money and you’ll also be muddying up your data by casting a wide net if you don’t dial in your audience.

3. Where is the ad going?

Placement is everything. Is it appearing in somebody’s feed, or will it appear on the right hand side of a desktop version? Defining your placement will ensure you campaign performs the way you want it to and it’ll make for easy viewing no matter where it appears on Facebook.

4. A/B test to figure out what’s working

Often pushing out multiple versions of your Facebook Ads will be able to give you what’s called A/B testing. That is, two different versions of the same campaign to help you better understand what version of the advertisement is resonating with your audience.

When designing your ads, mockup at least two different versions, publish both, and monitor. If one is outperforming the other, then cancel the other one and put your focus into the campaign that is netting ROI.

5. Let’s get visual

Advertisements need to be visual, so grab your audience’s attention with a great design that’ll capture them hook, line and sinker. Make it specific and don’t make it generic. If you’re selling products, then ensure you have relevant imagery. Steer clear of generic, stock-images if you can afford to do so.

Facebook Stories Ads

It’s still in its infancy to a degree, but since Facebook allowed for stories to be integrated to their user experience, advertising is now a viable option in this space too. Remember that these types of ads must be constructed in a size that is aimed purely at mobile device users so you’ll need to take that into consideration if you’re jumping into that space.

If you’re taking this medium for a ride, then the candid and entertaining look and feel that people see from their friends must be implemented in the same fashion from your ad.

Consider alternative media

Using Gifs, Memes and short videos are all alternatives to the standard static image advertisement. Of course, this comes down to knowing your audience and knowing your brand’s tone of voice and how that resonates with the audience.

A homewares store is probably not going to use Memes, whereas a Takeout Burger store might. Alternative media helps build connection with your audience but don’t alienate them either with content that won’t resonate.

6. Nail your call to action

You can have all of the above sorted, but if your Call To Action (CTA) isn’t on point, then the whole ad will collapse. Your CTA should offer urgency, actionable words that tap into the user’s urgency. “Buy today, save X” or “Offer for 24 hours only” are better than “Read More” or “Buy Now” strategies.

Blend your copy

There’s a bit of an art form to this but keep your copy short and the message clear. Facebook will keep you abreast of how much copy you’re allowed, but in this scenario, less is more – let the advertisement do the talking for you.

7. Retargeting

You’ve probably seen this before. Have you ever seen ads follow you across the internet after visiting a certain website? Then you’ve seen a retargeting ad. Its purpose is to retarget users who have previously identified your company and hit them with another advertisement to keep your present in their minds. It’s highly effective and aids in conversion.

8. Know your value

When you’re putting your business or product out onto Facebook, make sure you’re not only providing value but the messaging is plain to understand. What can you do differently that your competitors aren’t? Engage your audience in this and push it across.

Thanks for reading!

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