Have you ever created a Facebook campaign that failed completely?
What I mean is that the goal you had with the campaign was far from achieved. You may not have acquired the number of new customers you had hoped for, the cost-per-click cost was too high or there was hardly any traffic to the site. Many people run one or two Facebook campaigns and then draw the conclusion that Facebook marketing doesn’t work, but based on the incredible marketing statistics and results Facebook has been able to show for, almost always, a bad-performing Facebook campaign has most often to do with a campaign that wasn’t run properly. Remember that Facebook is a tool and a tool is only effective and helpful if you know how to use it properly.
So, therefore, in this article, we’ll share some of the best strategies to significantly improve your results on Facebook.
1: Focus on conversions
I often hear many advertisers complaining that their cost-per-click (CPC) is too high or they’re not getting enough impressions. This does not matter as long as you reach the ultimate goal, which is conversions and leads at a good price (ROI) So focus instead on cost per conversion and focus less on impressions and other vanity metrics. By conversion, I mean, for example. a purchase in the webshop, an app installation or an email signup. This depends on what type of conversion your goal with the campaign is.
2: Do not sell to “cold” leads
Even though many people believe so, people on Facebook are not primarily focused on shopping. In other words, they don’t go on to Facebook because they plan on going shopping. They go on because they want to interact with their friends and see what people are up to. They want to see what’s happening in their acquaintance circle and get interesting content (articles, pictures and videos). This is why, before you can sell to them, you need to warm them up first and make them go from cold leads to relevant prospects.
To warm them up, you simply need to promote interesting content to them. In other words, begin by serving them things that they’ll get value from.
Visitors will become acquainted with your brand and products/services by giving away any value before requesting a payment.
But equally important is that you also put retargeting cookies on anyone who visits your site where you deliver your content.
Then, you can remarket your offer to those who are now familiar with your brand and are ”warmer”, compared to someone who has never heard of you before, because these will be more likely to convert.
The content you promote can range from interesting blog posts, checklists, e-books, or other free-trial tools that at the same time explain a little about your brand and the benefits of using your products and services.
In other words, get a first, initial contact with an offer that has a high perceived value and does not require the visitor to pick up their credit card.
3: Use Lookalike Audiences
This feature has been around for a while now, meaning you can upload your own customers, leads, etc. to Facebook. Then Facebook can match their demographics, interests, etc. to find other people on Facebook with a similar profile who are similar to the people who have already proven to convert and become customers. Retargeting thus finds people with similar characteristics who are more likely to convert.
Remember, Facebook is smarter than we are. Even though we think we know exactly what our target audience is (gender, age, etc.), Facebook’s data and the algorithm will base its ads on facts. It’s quite rare that your own campaigns based on demographics and interests get better results than the lookalike target audience Facebook generates for you. Not to mention if it’s about campaigns you want to scale and create in bigger volumes.
Create a lookalike audience based on your conversion pixel. Lookalike audiences are great, but those that are based on conversion pixels almost always wins in performance. This is because Facebook identifies which ones are the best converting to your site and most likely to convert, and then go out and look for the people who are most similar to this group.
(Tip: It’s not just counting on the conversions coming through the Facebook ad but also those coming from your other traffic channels, as most people are currently logged in to Facebook).
4: Dare to trust Facebook
What I mean by this is that Facebook wants you to be as happy as possible as an advertiser and to continue. They have proven this to marketers many times. The better results Facebook ads can provide to marketers, the more marketers will spend, and this is Facebook’s goal, too. This is why Facebook and you have the same agenda. To generate the best results possible with your ads.
So, therefore, rely on their optimized bidding options called Optimized CPM along with major lookalike audiences (over 100,000 people) when you optimize conversions.
That means that we actually leave quite a bit in the hands of Facebook, which can be perceived as a bit scary for many. But as long as you get as many conversions at a price per conversion as you’re happy with, this is a very good option for most advertisers. If not, you can take things into your own hands and optimize to generate better results.
5: Use ads in the right-hand column
Many advertisers do not think these work or users do not care about the ads in the right-hand column. But I can tell you that, especially when you focus on cost per conversion, not CTR or CPC, they work tremendously well.
Obviously, the results will vary depending on the market and offer you are using. But I strongly suggest you try ads in the right column and keep track of the cost per conversion. Based on this, you can draw your conclusions. This format is also very suitable for smaller audiences and for your Retargeting ads.
6: Replace your ads
Unlike Google Adwords, your ads on Facebook can be used quite quickly. How fast depends on your budget and the size of the audience but generally, your ad will usually be used within 30 days. This means that your CTR is getting worse and the cost-per-click and conversion increases.
How do you know when it’s time to change or rotate your ad?
Keep track of the following:
- Frequency (how many times the audience has seen the ad on average)
- Relevance Results (I usually change ad if it’s below 5-6)
- Negative Feedback (Check the report if it’s high, change if that is the case)
- Negative Comments (Keep track of your comments and reply quickly or change ad if there are many “trolls” on the thread)
7: Divide ad formats into separate Ad sets (ad groups)
Create a unique Ad set for each:
- Ad in the newsfeed on computers
- Ad in the newsfeed on mobile devices
- Ad in the right column
With that layout, you can control the budget for the different formats so you can adjust the budget for which format works best.
Then, you can create more custom ads for the mobile and right-hand column so that images are better and texts are not cut off (as often happens when using the same but reduced image and text for all sizes).
So start now using these strategies in your Facebook Advertising, and I promise you will improve your performance significantly, and ultimately drive more sales.
