How to keep your Ads Compelling on Facebook
If you’ve been on Facebook in the past year, you’ve undoubtedly seen the Facebook Ads that line the right side of the pages. Sometimes these ads are for large corporations like AT &T while other times these ads are for services in your general area (a local nursery, for instance). The content of these ads truly run the gamut, but they are all on your page because information you have provided is deemed potentially compatible with an particular advertisers product.
In short, Facebook advertising looks at your demographic data and synchs it to ads that may interest you in the hopes of increasing sales. It’s a brilliant concept because NOWHERE ELSE on the ENTIRE internet do people willingly and unabashedly share so much information about themselves…and you can use this to your advantage by advertising on Facebook. Cost-per-click rates are still VERY low, especially considering the enormous Facebook base. It may be a good fit for your business.
Once you decide who you want to market to, your budget, and other particulars, there are a couple things to remember. First and foremost, no one goes on Facebook to primarily search for products. No, people go on Facebook to spy on their frenemies and chat with their friends. Therefore, you need to have an eye-catching ad. It’s been recommended to use pictures and color, and I heartily agree – the most effective ads are those that tear the eye away from the News Feed. To be extra eye catching, consider using colors that are NOT blue. Blue is the predominant color on Facebook, so if you want to stand out from the rest of the page, pick any other color! You can test this over the course of your advertising, but I think the results may surprise you – sometimes it’s not the best looking ads that get the most clickthroughs, but rather the ads that jump out of the page the most!
In addition to colors, use catchy slogans and interesting titles. I know that sounds like a given, but many people fail to do this. You want your ad to stand out, and remember, you are competing with other ads AND that users news feed! Even pictures should be attention-grabbing and relevant. Ideally, you would use picture or logos you designed yourself (or had someone design for you) – if you use royalty-free pictures, you run the risk of using an image that’s oversaturated. If you go the royalty-free route, look for pictures that aren’t on the “most downloaded” list!
I can’t stress this next bit of advice enough, but if you are going to advertise via Facebook, change your ads often! Facebook Ads are not “set and forget” types. If you want your ads to be compelling, you need to change them often so that they are dynamic and “fresh” to Facebook users. If you never change your ads, and a user sees your ads over and over again, they will become blind to it. Your ads will have zero effect on them. However, if you change your ads often, the user is more likely to notice your ads and act upon them.
You don’t want your ad to be so uninspired or monotonous that people mentally block them…get creative! Be interesting! Repeatedly test your ads to figure out which attention-getting strategies work best for you, and keep the ads compelling by constantly tweaking them!
