How to Run a Facebook
Ad Effectively: Five Simple Steps for Success
The importance of using Facebook and other social media
outlets for business marketing is pretty universally accepted these days.
Businesses
understand that they must maintain a social media presence and add quality
content to the conversation.
However, there is another element to social media
marketing that is underutilized due, in part, to a lacking knowledge base:
Facebook ads. Yet, learning how to run a Facebook ad effectively is one of the
most powerful steps of social media marketing today and one that can be
accomplished in five easy steps.
Step 1: Goal Setting
The first and perhaps most important step in learning how to
run a Facebook ad effectively is making sure to set goals for your ad campaign
before starting.
Without a clear directive for an ad campaign, whether it is
web traffic, newsletter subscriptions, or sales, there will be no way to
monitor effectiveness.
Therefore, take time to decide what you need to
accomplish through these ads and then find ways to track this accomplishment.
Step 2:
Micro-Targeting
The beauty of Facebook as a near-universal social media
outlet is that you can reach almost anyone through their micro-targeting ad
tools.
You need to use these tools to your advantage by understanding whom you
are trying to reach in your target market and then reaching out to them.
The
good news is that information that users freely give on Facebook, such as
hobbies, favorite books and movies, and “likes,” helps amass a huge database of
information that allows for even more careful outreach to potential clients.
Step 3: Text and Image
Choice
Even though Facebook ads are relatively easy to generate,
they still need to be professional.
Take time to consider images, font types,
and the exact text that you plan to use to attract customers.
Be concise, offer
incentives for click through, and highlight that which sets you apart from
competitors running similar ads.
Step 4: Managing
Engagement
Once you launch your Facebook ad campaign, it will only be
successful if it is promoted.
Make sure that you encourage engagement with your
brand and your site/page.
This includes the aforementioned incentives for click
through as well as more traditional outreach strategies such as polls and
contests that will break through the chatter of social media and encourage
engagement.
Step 5: Keep It New
Finally, learning how to run a Facebook ad effectively is
not a one-off task. Rather, like all advertising efforts, Facebook ads need to
remain new and updated.
Constantly consider what goals you hope to achieve and
monitor your ability to do so.
If the campaign isn’t working, you need to
change strategies.
If it is working, you need to find ways to reignite interest
in those you have already reached.
Offer new incentives for additional
engagement, ask fans to “share” posts, or just switch up images and copy in
order to keep things fresh.
Properly considered, these five steps will
certainly help you run a Facebook ad effectively.
Talk soon,
David Slabon
