Is Facebook still relevant? Should you spend your precious marketing budget on Facebook when interest in platforms like Instagram and TikTok is soaring?! The short answer is YES! Facebook is still the third most-visited website in the world, second only to Google and YouTube, making it one of the most powerful tools for businesses to reach their target audiences. Even the trendy millennials can’t pry themselves away from old reliable. Though many of us spend more time on other platforms, we still find ourselves doing daily check-ins on the OG of social; Facebook ( we can’t bring ourselves to call it “Meta” yet).
What about Facebook Advertisements?
So we are agreed, as a business, you should still have a Facebook page for interested consumers, clients, or fans to find you, follow you and keep up with your company! If you need some tips on getting started, we got you! But what about putting your money into Facebook? Should you sanction a portion of your marketing budget to creating, managing, and running curated ads on Facebook? Again, we have got to say, YEP!
Think of your marketing goals like someone looking to woo a new boo; you gotta put yourself out there! Your Facebook page is like your home; if you want to invite new people to come to Netflix and chill with you, you need to meet new people. The best way to meet new and interesting people, go to a party, networking event, or even your local bar and start talking!
Now that you want to run some Facebook ads to jumpstart your social media game into high gear and attract potential matches for your business, let’s look at how to do that.
Think about your KPIs; it’s essential to gauge success based on relevance to your SMART marketing goals.
Utilize SMART Marketing Goals
Specific:
Set a clear goal with Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). For example, let’s say you own a restaurant and want as many people as possible to see your menu. In this example, the goal of this ad would be “clicks” because you would design an ad that encourages people to click on it, taking them to the menu on your website.
Measurable:
Without measuring your campaign’s results, you would not be able to gauge success. For the restaurant example above, you will be looking to count the number of clicks during your ad's run.
Attainable:
An important thing to remember is to set goals that you can realistically obtain. For the restaurant example above, the ultimate goal is for people to see the menu and order from your business, right? Before running your ad, look at your Google Analytics account to gauge your current number of clicks. If you are averaging 250 clicks per month, a realistic goal may be to add 20% more clicks per month with the help of Facebook ads.
Relevant:
Think about your KPIs; it’s essential to gauge success based on relevance to your SMART marketing goals. For your restaurant, a relevant KPI would be the number of clicks. Something that is not relevant to your goals would be new Facebook likes. Clicks directly lead to your SMART final benchmark of increasing the number of web visitors.
Time-Based:
Your objectives should have a timeline. If you do not include a general timeline of your goals and just say, “we are looking to grow web visitors by 20%,” that doesn’t help you monitor your ad success. You could grow web visitors by 20%, but if it takes five years and not one quarter, that doesn’t feel helpful to a growing business after all.
We live in a fast-paced, easily-distracted, and instant-gratifcation-seeking world, ain’t no body got time for long-form advertisement! Facebook recommends only 125 characters or less for the primary text and 40 characters or less for the headline.
Create GOOD Facebook Ads
Always keep in mind your SMART Objectives.
This is important in order to choose the ad's content and the call to action. The “Call to Action” or CTA should reflect what you ask from the user, want clicks? Then maybe a “Learn More” button on your ad. Interested in direct bookings? Then the “Book Now” button may be for you.
Keep your Facebook Ad Copy Short, Sweet, and to the Point!
We live in a fast-paced, easily-distracted, and instant-gratifcation-seeking world, ain’t no body got time for long-form advertisement! Facebook recommends only 125 characters or less for the primary text and 40 characters or less for the headline.
Your Landing Page MATTERS:
Another place to remember your SMART goals, what do you ultimately want from the user? Is it to purchase something? Then when they click on your Ad, they should be taken directly to the page that allows them to do so. They will likely lose interest if they are taken to the company’s “FAQS” page when they were primed for an “add to cart” impulse buy.
Define your Brand Voice:
Once you understand and have mastered the first three tips, start thinking about your company’s brand voice. Even with only 125 characters, your ad's content and copy should reflect your business's style, vibe, and personality. Ultimately social media should be used to cultivate loyalty for your brand and sales, and you can’t do that if you don’t showcase who you are!
Keep your Ad relevant to your target audience:
Who is your target audience? What do they like? What will make them stop the endless scrolling and pay attention to you? Quippy copy? A fantastic logo? There is a lot to consider, but if we could give you one piece of advice, VIDEOS. Video content out preforms still images time and time again. With the rise of video content, TikToks, Stories, Shorts, and Reels, the evidence is overwhelming that social media users gravitate towards short-form video content.
We hope that this article helped answer any lingering questions you may have regarding Facebook ad relevancy and best practices. As always, the Betsy Bash team is here to help in any way we can! Please feel free to reach out to us on our social media pages or through the website!