At the time of this writing, I just got off a call with a new client on our marketing side. Specifically, this person was unsure how Facebook ads would really be a long term solution to plug in (or even replace) her current marketing spend.
What has happened is that this business owner has ran Facebook ads on her own with dismal results. She is not alone from my experience. People on Facebook are not there to buy your stuff. You are not going to convince them to buy it with a picture of your store and a line about, “Come see us today for your Widget needs”.
Even if for some reason they do click on an ads like that, they are punished by Facebook with higher costs for a click. It may not sound fair, but it is not an equal playing field.
I am going to give you 5 ways to repair or replace a bad Facebook ad immediately. That way you will get more clicks at a better costs that can lead to more conversions.
But first I need to clarify why so many businesses can’t make Facebook marketing work.
MYTH
This may sound strange coming from a person who does Facebook ad consulting, but there is some belief that Facebook is a great place to advertise. It is NOT, if you do not understand the purpose of how Facebook sees your role.
TRUTH
Let me break down the basic understanding you must have with Facebook mobile marketing. With all the hype out there, I am surprised that this information is not more widely known. Perhaps, it is because social media managers do not know themselves or they want to keep everyone in the dark, so they look like wizards. Since I do not care about being a wizard, let me show you how the magic really works.
Welcome To The Dawn of The New Television Era
If you are as old me, you may remember a time before cable television. You had the choice of the big three networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS, to choose from. Possibly PBS as a fourth choice, but that was more for kids day programming. How much did it cost us to watch any of those shows on the networks?
Nothing, nada, zilch. It was all free to watch our favorite shows.
So how did the networks make money? Advertisers paid to have commercials in between scenes of the latest episodes of Leave It To Beaver, Bonanza, Happy Days, or Saturday Night Live. This is the same model for Facebook. They provide their platform free to millions of users and Facebook makes money from the advertisers on their site.
Just like the big networks back in the day, Facebook needs as many eyeballs on their platform in order to generate advertising income. However, Facebook needs GREAT advertising that keeps users spending time on its site.
That is why your goal is to get as much interaction, Facebook calls that engagement, on all posts and ads you submit. The better engagement, the more people stay on Facebook. If you run an ad that does not get people to spend more time on Facebook, you are not adding value to them.
THE RIGHT APPROACH
If your ad is not getting any engagement, you need to overhaul it right away to get the engagement up. Here are 5 quick fixes that work virtually every time.
A nice large image with less than 20% text is what Facebook wants
Facebook used to not run ads containing over 20% text, but now less reach and more costs. Now you may have more than that on an ad image. However, Facebook will charge more per click and the ad is not shown as often. There is a tool to make sure your ads are under the 20% benchmark.
Use www.facebook.com/ads/tools/text_overlay
A real person in the image, not stock photo
People do not engage with products as much as with people. The whole point of Facebook is personal connections. Thus the name FACEbook. Stock photos are too easily spotted and dismissed. It doesn’t matter if you are not a model, people are there to connect with real people.
High quality
There is no need to be professional quality, but Instagram has forever changed how pictures are judged now. Restaurants are even redesigning just so their patrons can post better Instagram photos.
Headed with an incredible offer OR a question
Two things that demand attention are a great deal and a question.
A question works, because people love giving their opinion online. It is important to feel significant. By asking a question you give a person a chance to feel their opinion matters.
A great deal works, because people don’t want to miss out (see 3 Second Client System report). No one wants to miss out on a great deal. We are all conditioned to stop for that.
Blatantly tell them to like, tag/share
Unless directed, it is unlikely people will share or like your ads and posts. Always end with that call to action. It will get more engagement as a reflex.
Those are going to get your ad more engagement, more exposure, and ultimately more results!
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