There's no doubting that Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with friends -- but are you using it successfully to expand your own business?
Chances are, you've tried, but it turns out that the labyrinthine back-office and myriad of choices have likely flummoxed you. You're not alone: Facebook's constant algorithm changing often hurts people just like you.
It used to be simple.
You grew your fans through good fashioned, honest hard work. You got your likes with blood, sweat and tears. You did this so fans could look at your real business. But for what? Just 16 percent of your fans would see any content you posted anyway.
What a waste of time? Then it got worse... and fell to 3 percent!
Why even bother? Clearly, while there's some benefit to having a good page, it's not going to drive the business through that you really want.
What can? Facebook ads!
Facebook ads allow you to laser-target your potential leads down to their favorite flavor of ice-cream.
Now, I know it's unlikely that you're selling ice cream, but consider for a moment just how you could target the ideal demographic for your product -- without wasting money in a scatter-gun fashion on people who wouldn't even look twice at it.
Time for a Plan!
Below you'll find a few things that you can start doing right now!
Use an Attention-Grabbing Image That Jumps Out
Facebook these days is full of images; both in other people's ads and on the status feed itself.
A dull and uninspiring image is an absolute no-no -- what's needed is clear, vibrant, bright and strong colors that jump out with smiling, expressive faces.
I don't look at boring ads -- and I bet you don't, either!
Once you have your image, add some text -- but no more than 20 percent of the image size else you'll fall foul of Facebook's guidelines. The point of the image is to draw reader's eyes in. If you find it attractive, so will your leads.
Use Words That Demand Attention and Grab Interest
With an image that has already drawn your potential lead to your advert, it's time to capture them with great copy. One surefire way to do this is to ask a question or make a strong affirmation.
It's this question that gets them thinking about your value preposition -- and wrap up with a powerful call to action.
The quality of the copy is most important here since you have a limited amount of space to say what you need to: focus on the benefits that readers of your Facebook ad will get if they follow through with your call to action.
One of the best tips I ever got was to pretend I was talking to a friend -- a friendly, casual tone works really well with Facebook Ads and fits in with the whole social media vibe of Facebook, too.
Reach Your Ideal Market with Laser-Sighted Targeting
You know your ideal client inside out at this point; their interests, location, job titles, life passions and most importantly, what their burning desires are.
Your copy should reach out to them and pull that desire out into the open with a promise of fulfillment.
Thanks to Facebook's ad targeting, you'll be able to customize exactly who sees your advert, from their age group, sex, location and all manner of other very specific criteria.
If you have multiple targets, be sure to create different ad sets based on these different demographics to maximize your reach.
Make the Most of Facebook's Tracking Pixel Software to Maximize Gains
Setting up Facebook's Tracking Pixel is something you'll want to add to your dashboard, allowing you to track conversions and measure your return on investment and tweak your ad campaign to be even more effective -- you'll be able to see what people do after they click on your advert!
Simply go to Adverts Manager > Adverts Create Tool > Conversion Tracking and click on the green Create Pixel button, name your pixel then copy the code displayed and then add it to your thank you page header code. If all this sounds too complicated, this program might be perfect for you!
If you're not using this, you're missing out on valuable information that you can use to improve your ad!
Facebook is a powerful advertising tool that I've been able to use with great success -- and so can you.
Once you have your plan ready, it's time to:
Get Familiar With oCPM
What is oCPM? It's "optimized cost per conversion", a bidding market in which you tell Facebook what your goals for the campaign are -- along with its constraints (for example, budget). Facebook will automatically bid a rate for you and search out users of Facebook who match the profile of your goals.
That's to say that Facebook's algorithms will work in your favor seeking out the leads that you're working so hard for, finding high-quality traffic and driving it right where you want it.
Get Mobile
Mobile devices are on the rise -- and over 60 percent of social media sharing takes place from cell phones and tablet devices. With the acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook is positioning itself as a mobile leader.
For you, this means that your ads should be targeted to look good and flow well on a mobile device. The payoff is that your sleek ad can be accessed from virtually anywhere -- boosting your conversions!
Call To Action Buttons
You already know how important a good call to action is -- and now Facebook lets you use different buttons, including Shop Now, Learn More, and Download among others.
This is a fabulous feature that allows you to make it crystal clear to your targeted ad what they can expect when clicking on your button. They know what to expect -- and they want it!
Upload Existing Customers And Retarget
You've spent a lot of time building up your list, but are you using it on Facebook? Facebook has a spectacular feature, called Custom Audience Targeting, which allows you to target people you already know. Bingo! All you need to do is upload details such as emails and/or phone numbers.
The beauty of this? Your ads are directed at pre-existing customers who already know you and your business -- and are more likely to engage! Once you have all this ready, double check everything and get ready to start your campaign.
Facebook ads are just about one of the most advanced ways to market your business on the internet right now. With its powerful tools and ability to start a campaign from just $5 and creating a campaign that targets the right people to funnel them direct to your page has never been easier.