Changes Facebook made to its News Feed algorithm earlier this year mean social media marketers need to improve their advertising game on the platform. The same is especially true for social media teams with a small budget, who are seeing their organic reach numbers plummet.
One of the most important metrics social marketers track on Facebook is conversion rates. Typically, a conversion refers to the point at which a user converts from a browser to a buyer.
For many marketers, conversions are a top priority. A good conversion rate is one of the best measures of success and the key to a strong return on investment.
Conversions aren’t just about increasing purchases. It is also about driving actions. Perhaps the purpose of a campaign is to increase newsletter subscriptions or add items to a wishlist of shoppers. All of these actions can be considered conversion events.
Facebook ranks as the number one social media site for driving conversions, which makes creating effective Facebook ads even more important.
Follow these 11 tips to make your next Facebook campaign a success.
1. Define your conversion event
Before you try to convert someone, you should have a clear idea of what you want people to do after seeing your ad.
Conversion types supported by Facebook include: view content, add to wishlist, initiate checkout and purchase. You can also create custom conversion events if you have other goals in mind.
Don’t expect a single ad to deliver all of your conversion goals. Create individual ads for each goal, consider where those goals fit into the consumer journey, and target accordingly.
2. Keep the goal in mind
An ad is only as good as its landing page. When determining where you want the conversion to happen, make sure everything is ready to deliver on your ad’s promise.
Here are a few steps to take to prepare your landing page:
- Apply Pixel. Once you have identified the page where you want the conversion event to occur, you need to add the Facebook Pixel code to the page to track the event. For more on that, read Moyens I/O’s guide to using the Facebook Pixel.
- Aim for Continuity. If your ad promises something, make sure the landing page delivers it. You do not want a user looking for shoes to come to the pants product page. Design and language should continue here as well.
- Optimize for Apps. As more and more people are open to purchasing on mobile devices, you may want to attract people to your app. In this case, be sure to register your app and integrate it with the Facebook SDK.
3. Create eye-catching visuals
It only takes 2.6 seconds for a user’s eye to choose where to go on a web page. Using eye-catching images increases the likelihood of your ad being hovered. Most first impressions are determined by design, so treat images like a handshake.
- Do not overload images with text. As a matter of fact, Facebook recommends using text carefully in images. Instead of filling images with text, consider moving the copy to the designated text area. If you need to add text, use Facebook’s Image Text Checker to get ratings.
- Size to specification. Low resolution images reflect your brand badly. Check out Moyens I/O’s handy image size guide to make sure your assets meet the correct size specifications.
- Use GIFs or videos. Prefer to act on static images to attract users’ attention. Don’t forget to test vertical videos for mobile devices.
4. Keep the text short and sweet
Clear text is often the second element of a strong ad, but if there are too many, the user may not bother to read it.
- Be personal. Using personal pronouns like you and you suggests a relationship between the brand and the target audience. But be careful with “us”. A recent study found that “we” is used better with returning customers.
- Avoid jargon. Speak in the language of your target audience, not a technical native language that no one can understand.
- Keep it short. Too much text can be daunting, so focus on the essentials and leave the rest aside. The Hemingway app helps with this.
5. Add a direct call to action
A strong call to action is important because conversions are about motivating actions. Strong verbs like launch, explore, find, and discover are great if your conversion goal is to get users to visit a product page or learn about your company.
If your goal is to increase purchases or subscriptions, be direct with phrases like “buy now” or “sign up”.
Learn more about effective CTAs.
6. Expand your audience
When creating an ad, enable the “expanding targeting” option and Facebook will find more users similar to what you specified in the “interest targeting” section. Not only will this enable you to reach more people, it also has the potential to drive more conversions at a lower cost-per-conversion.
Note that you can also create Custom Audiences. If you have datasets, such as an email subscriber list, you can upload it to Facebook to find pre-existing customers on Facebook.
Go a step further and use your custom audiences to identify Lookalike Audiences, which are new users with profiles similar to your customer base.
7. Optimize for conversions
You’ve ticked a lot of things on your optimized conversions checklist so far, but don’t forget to literally tick the “conversions” box on Facebook. You will find this option under the “Optimizing for Delivery” section in the Budget and Calendar form.
Choosing this optimization method is optional, but several case studies have proven its effectiveness. For example, Save the Children tested both conversion-optimized ads and traffic-optimized ads to determine the most effective way to encourage donations. At the end of the trial period, the organization saw conversion-optimized ads generate four times as many donations.
8. Choose the right ad format
Depending on your campaign goals, certain Facebook ad formats may suit your needs better than others.
For example, Adidas determined that using video with Facebook’s collectible feature would be a good format to showcase many of the ZNE Road Trip Hoodie’s features. As a result, Addidas was able to reduce the cost per conversion by 43 percent.
Here are a few things to consider when choosing the right format:
- Carousel and collection ads are ideal when you have multiple products or various features to highlight.
- Facebook Offer ads allow you to post special deals or discounts that you can use as purchase incentives. If someone visits the ad, Facebook sends them notifications reminding them to use it.
- Facebook Canvas ads are best suited for high-impact images and experiences that live well in full screen.
Learn more about the different types of Facebook ads.
9. Track across multiple devices
Regardless of where you determine where your conversion event will occur, you should make sure to track clicks and conversions from mobile to desktop. Even if your campaign is designed to run on desktop only, Facebook recommends installing the Facebook Software Development Kit in your mobile app (if available). This allows Facebook to capture more audience data and expand the audience.
10. Consider link click optimization
If your ad isn’t converting enough in the first few days, Facebook may not have enough data to run your ad properly. Facebook needs around 50 conversions per ad in the first seven days to serve the ad effectively.
Check out Ads Manager to see how many conversions you’ve counted. If you find that your ad has fewer than 50 conversions, Facebook recommends optimizing for link clicks rather than conversions.
11. Turn your analytics into insights
As with any social media campaign, it’s important to carefully monitor performance analytics and adjust accordingly. What worked and what didn’t? Take notes for your next ad campaign and try to replicate your success.
Learn more about working with Facebook analytics and the top metrics social marketers should track.
Now that you know how to create a conversion-optimized Facebook ad, you’re ready to learn about other social media advertising methods. No matter what platform you’re on, the conversion principles are the same: keep the experience clear, direct, consistent and engaging.
Take your Facebook ads to the next level by enrolling in Moyens I/O’s free Social Advertising course. Learn how to keep your cost-per-click low and engagement high, plus all the basics for ad creation, bidding, purchasing, and tracking impact.
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