6 steps to effective Facebook advertising

Is Facebook advertising still a thing? Are paid ads among the world’s best-known social media platforms still worth doing – especially for small business owners in Australia?

Of course, the answer to that question is: it depends.

• It depends on whether your customers and prospective customers are on Facebook.

• It depends on your commitment to showing up consistently on the platform.

• And finally, it depends on whether your product or service is suitable for the platform – will spending money on an ad give you a decent return based on the value of a sale? (For example, if your product is, let’s say, worth $500 and the cost of your campaign is $100, and you make even one sale, you might consider it worth it.)

Facebook was launched in February 2004 (a lifetime ago for some!). Since those early days, the cost of Facebook advertising has continued to climb.

Still, 2.989 billion people are active on the platform, so including Facebook as part of your marketing mix is still compelling. It’s also one of the most accessible platforms to get an advertising campaign up and running.

Facebook advertising tips for beginners

1. Be clear on the key objective of your campaign

Are you seeking sales and content awareness, or are you seeking leads - people who click through to your website and then enquire? How many enquiries do you need to reach your sales target? (Based on your estimated return on investment)

2. Run a few adverts simultaneously

Testing is necessary – but lots of people don’t do it. They put all their eggs into one basket and hope for the best. Testing your offer, content, imagery, and targeting are essential to effective Facebook advertising.

3. Target behaviour as well as customer demographics

While it’s good to know that Facebook is generally viewed by people aged 30-35, you must drill down on who they are. What are their pain points and their problems? How do they behave?  What are their interests? Make sure you’re clear on this before starting your campaign.

4. Keep it simple

Your ad will ' write itself ' if you’re clear about your audience and the appeal that will most likely attract their attention. (Well, almost!) But remember that you’ll need to keep updating your ad to avoid ad fatigue.  

5. Call to Action (CTA)

Always give your audience clear direction about what you need them to do – how they can respond. A clear CTA will drive traffic to your FB page or website. Facebook offers a range of ready-to-go CTA buttons: Call now, Contact us, Send an email, Send a message, Book now, Watch a video, Sign up, Shop now, and See offers.

6. Monitor and reassess your Facebook ad campaign

Once your advert is live, you must keep monitoring its performance. Tracking your investment cost is a no-brainer; otherwise, you’re just burning your hard-earned cash! Facebook Ads Manager allows you to monitor and create a campaign report.  You can check the number of impressions, clicks, and actions taken on your ad campaign page from your dashboard.

3 key Facebook campaign metrics to think about

1.    What’s a reasonable return on investment? If you’re starting, you might want to see that you’re at least getting $1 back for every dollar you spend. Of course, the tricky part is measuring what it costs you to get those clicks.

2.    Measuring your Cost of Customer Acquisition is essential in determining whether your Facebook advertising investment is worth it. Once you can measure this cost, compare it to your other advertising tools (like Google, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.).

3. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the other key metric. So even if you don’t get a sale immediately (or make a low-value sale), your investment has been worth it if that customer stays with you and continues to buy.

Remember, even when you have an effective Facebook ad, you still need to think about all the other pieces of the marketing funnel puzzle.

Before you press go on your Facebook ad, consider…

• What happens to your prospects when they click through your landing page, email sequence, or webinar?

• Is your offer compelling? Are your messages enough to nurture and convert them into lifetime customers?

Putting ALL your efforts into your Facebook ad campaign without considering what happens after they click can lead to a wasted effort – and wasted cash!

Check out Meta’s helpful hints on Facebook advertising here. Contact us if you’d like to discuss how we can help you with your online marketing campaigns.

Call Katarina on 0415 128 804.