With reach and engagement getting ever lower on the posts you’re crafting and posting on Facebook it’s easy to see why Facebook Ads are tempting many who’d previously dismissed spending budget on the platform.

There’s plenty on enticing invitations to spend just a little and get ever such a lot in return for those managing a Page and experimenting can be cheap – but before you put down your first few pounds to Boost a post take a moment to do some planning to get even better results.

Start with good content

Most people first experiment with Facebook Ads through Boosting a post on their Page. It might have been the ‘this post is performing 95% better than others…’ banner, or the big blue Boost button, or seeing a little bit of traction at the same time you find a little bit of budget to spare but for many the quick process of putting some money under a post is the entry level Ad.

If you’re looking for more Likes, and to improve that flailing organic reach it’s a good step – as long as the post you’re boosting is already performing well (or at least showing signs of it).

Ads aren’t a means of alchemy through which dull, badly placed Posts become high performing, high returning gold, no matter how much you spend. Rather they can be a way which good, thoughtfully placed content can reach beyond the limits of your page – and yes, Boost means just that, work harder and faster than if you don’t spend.

Knowing your audience, knowing what types of content work well, being timely – these things all still very much count when you’re thinking of spending so consider your outlay of time to create them alongside the money you’ll be putting down.

Fish in warm waters

You might be wanting to expand your reach but that doesn’t necessarily mean the best people are those who don’t know you at all. Whatever your reason for wanting to reach people with your message you’ll do better with those who are already warmed up to it.

That includes those who’ve already Liked your Page, or viewed a video you posted, and it can include those who’ve recently visited your website too. Facebook Pixel allows you to place a Cookie (make sure you’ve got an up-to-date Cookie policy reflecting your use of it though) to show Ads to those who have recently visited specific pages on your website. We’ll all have experienced this with eCommerce Ads – you’re browsing a site, leave without buying and suddenly Facebook is full of Ads for that very thing. Remarketing can be a powerful tool for service providers too, helping people through a longer consideration phase by presenting more information which helps them along toward signing up for info, getting in touch, or coming to an event.

You might also have a customer database or mailing list of some kind – and if you’re GDPR compliant with the explicit consent to share that info with Facebook for advertising purposes you can not only serve your ad to those people (even if they don’t like your Page) or ask Facebook to do the work on finding more like them. Of course, if you don’t have the right permissions then you’ll need to set up your targeting manually rather than upload info on those who’ve already engaged with your organisation in some way.

Get creative with your creative

Just like with your organic content there’s plenty of competition for people’s attention when it comes to your Ads.

Assuming you’re aiming good content at the right people, perhaps who are already aware of your or your service, then the final piece of the puzzle in getting the most bang for your buck is having creative which catches eyes and that sought after attention.

Whether it’s video or images, the key is knowing what is on your audiences mind and being able to create an add tuned in to that. It might be a question they have about the service you offer (‘is fostering right for me?’), it might be an offer they aren’t aware exists (‘free parking in our town car parks this December’), or it could be a process they don’t know time is running out on (‘make sure you’ve applied for your child’s school place by the end of the month’).

You might want them to subscribe in preparation for something (‘winter is coming – sign up for our gritting updates by email and text’), or book tickets for an event (‘get 10% off tickets for a night at our museum today’) but whatever it is you need to be able to answer the question in their mind and dissolve any objections in the moment the Ad is seen.

This means great creative which catches the eye, and ever better copy which reflects your organisational personality while compelling your audience to take action.

With tools like Canva and Kinemaster available, and a stock photo library available in Ads Manager, you can start to create the Ads which are going to get you noticed and make that budget stretch.

One final thing…

Once you’ve got an Ad running make sure you’re checking in on its performance and that you’re getting the return you’re looking for. You can benchmark against similar sectors and services but just like other channels you’ll need to decide on what a good Cost Per Engagement is for you. If your Ad leads to take up you weren’t seeing with organic posts then putting that small amount of money and time into getting it right was probably worth your while.

Need a hand?

If you need a hand with anything do get in touch. I’m happy to take a look at what you’re currently doing, help you set up something new, or come in and share some knowledge with you and your team. You can get in touch with me here and find out who else I’ve helped out recently here.

You can find the next dates for the Vital Facebook Skills workshops I run with Dan Slee here – I cover what you need to know about Facebook Ads plus we give you the low down on the algorithm, Groups, Pages, and knowing when to engage.

Original source – Sarah Lay

Comments closed