The latest statistics indicate that almost a billion people log in to Facebook every day. From CEOs to college students, I’d actually bet a pretty penny that your grandma just started sharing cat videos on her timeline; point being, everyone is on Facebook.
As a marketer, you know it is a huge community and worth tapping into. However, if you are just starting out, getting people to notice your page and your brand on the social media platform can be tough. That’s where Facebook advertising can be helpful.
If you create optimized Facebook ads, you can get a healthy return on your media spend, that is if you know what you are doing, understand who you are targeting and follow some of the following best practices to optimize your Facebook Ads.
Keep Your Headlines Short and Sweet
Studies have shown that Facebook ads that receive the most clicks have concise headlines that clearly define the value proposition. In fact, studies indicate that successful headlines are only about 5 words long. For instance, if you are promoting a website that offers courses on music production, a possible headline could be ‘Learn to Make Music Now’.
Words that you use in your headlines are equally important. For instance, the word ‘free’ in your headline is likely to boost your CTR . Dan Ariely, professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, ran an experiment to prove our affinity for free. In the experiment, he asked volunteers to choose between two chocolate brands- Hershey Kiss for 1 cent, and Lindt Truffle for 15 cents. Lindt Truffle was priced at half its actual value. As expected, 73% people chose Lindt in this instance.
However, with a second group of volunteers, the price of both chocolates was reduced by 1 cent, effectively making Hershey free. The results were immediately reversed. In the second instance, 69% chose Hershey over Lindt, even though Lindt was the better brand at half the price.
Words that promise instant gratification such as ‘now’ or ‘today’ also work well. Numerous MRI studies have shown that when we see ourselves being instantly rewarded for taking an action, our mid-brain fires up, which is responsible for impulsive decisions. Notice the use of the word ‘now’ in our example headline above.
Perform A/B Testing
There are four key elements of a Facebook ad- headline, body copy, image, and call to action (CTA). Everything needs to come together to drive better CTRs. However, the only surefire way of knowing what works and what does not, is to split-test your Facebook ads. Create as many ads as possible by tweaking the elements mentioned above. For example, you could create 3-4 slightly different headlines for the same body copy, image, and CTA. Track the performance of each ad to see which version gets the best response, and create building blocks and benchmarks for future campaigns, remember- repetition is the father of learning.
Pay Attention to your Frequency
Frequency metric for Facebook ads tells you how many times the same person has seen your ad. Thus, a frequency of five indicates that a person has seen your ad five times. A high frequency and low or declining CTR indicates that people are seeing your ad frequently but choosing not to take action. That means it is time to re-evaluate your campaign structure, touch up your ad copy and demographic targeting and serve your audience a new ad. Ideally, you want to see a frequency should between 2 and 3, with a steady CTR.
These are just a few of the best practices from both a qualitative and quantitative approach to Facebook Advertising. Having said that, Facebook Advertising is a constantly evolving machine- so it is essential to perform due diligence, follow thought leaders for insight, and continue improving upon your advertising strategy.
For more of our insights on Facebook Ads for business, here are a few other posts that may help you hit the ground running.