How do you reach consumers in an ever-competitive marketplace? Use Facebook Ads — the social media giant’s advertising platform that lets you target worldwide users based on profile, location, and demographic information. Facebook says small businesses can reach 2.14 billion people with its ads — that’s over one-third of the world’s population. So it’s a big deal, and something you want to incorporate into your digital marketing strategy.
While Facebook isn’t rocket science, many small business owners stumble when creating campaigns. Don’t make the same mistakes. Here are some common Facebook Ads blunders to avoid.
1. Not Putting a CTA in Your Ads
So you’ve created the perfect ad on Facebook that tells the world all about your incredible product — what it does, how it works, and why people should buy it. But do users know where they can get it? Small business owners often forget to include a call to action (CTA) in their ads. There’s no phone number. Or email address. Or URL. That means users see their marketing message but can’t take any action. So businesses lose out on cold, hard sales.
Research shows there’s a psychology behind CTAs that encourages people to act. Use the right words in your CTA — “buy now,” “download here,” “click for your free trial,” etc. — and you can boost conversions significantly.
2. Not Tracking Ads
If you don’t track Facebook ads, you’ll never know what elements of your campaign work. Facebook Ads Manager provides real-time insights into your ad campaigns like:
- Click-through rates
- Engagement
- Views
- Theoretical reach
- Impressions
For even deeper insights about campaign performance, work with a digital marketing agency. (More on that later.)
3. Targeting a Broad Demographic
Facebook has a broad audience, so you’ll need to segment ad campaigns and target the right demographic. Instead of reaching everyone at once, concentrate on one or two segments and expand from there. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to do target custom audiences via the Facebook Ad Manager. Head to the Audiences section, click Create Audience, and select Custom Audience. Here, target customers based on factors like:
- Location
- Interest
- Age
4. Focusing Your Efforts on Facebook
While Facebook has enormous reach, it’s still a tiny slice of the digital marketing pie. Complement your Facebook Ads campaigns with search engine optimization (SEO), paid-for Google ads, and other social marketing methods. This omnichannel approach could prove lucrative and generate more traffic to your online store.
5. Not Working with a Digital Marketing Agency
Creating CTAs, tracking ads, targeting different demographics, and marketing across platforms is a time-consuming process for small business owners. Imagine if someone did all the hard work for you and generated explosive business growth on Facebook and elsewhere.
A digital marketing agency like Sprout drives your Facebook ad and social media campaigns by:
- Creating PPC ads in the Facebook Ads Manager.
- Designing click-worthy standard, photo, or carousel ads.
- Tracking the success of your ad campaigns across Facebook and the web.
- Incorporating Facebook Ads with other digital marketing solutions like SEO, email marketing, and website design and development.
Final Word
With more than 2.85 billion users worldwide, Facebook is one of the most lucrative ways to increase brand awareness, advertise products, and reach consumers — as long as you don’t make the mistakes listed above. Work with a digital marketing agency like Sprout to create more effective Facebook Ads campaigns that grow your enterprise.
