Tips To Avoid Failing With Facebook Ads
The power of social media has given your small business an opportunity to compete online. One of the more powerful tools at your disposal is Facebook and, more specifically, Facebook video ads.
Armed with incredibly powerful targeting tools, Facebook video ads are a great way for any business to get their message out there. In fact, social media advertising is one of the few ways that a small business can compete with larger competitors. Your ad budget may not be the same, but you can still reach your target audience and spread your message.
By using professional, high-quality videos in your ads, your small business can set itself apart from the pack and make great strides towards achieving your marketing goals.
Of course, Facebook video ads cost money to run. The good news is that you are able to set a manageable budget for your campaign to help control costs. The bad news? There’s no assurances your ads will yield the desired results.
Being successful with Facebook advertising can often be a series of trials and tribulations as you try to determine what approach works best for you. However, if you are looking for a way to get started, consider these tips on how to avoid failing with Facebook ads.
Remember To A/B Test
A/B testing (also called “split testing”) is a method by which you run two separate versions of your ad with slight variations and test the difference. For Facebook video ads this could mean running two ads with the same video but different ad copy or a different call-to-action.
It is important to A/B test because rarely, if ever, will you run a single ad and see it explode in popularity. What’s more, if you’re only running one ad you have nothing to compare its performance against.
When you A/B test, take note of how both versions of your ad are performing. If one is clearly performing better, cancel the other one. Then, test the better performing ad against ANOTHER variation. Success is achieved from a consistent desire to improve on the best result. So keep testing!
Make A Good First Impression
You only have a few seconds to make an impression on your audience, so your Facebook video ads need to bring the “wow” early. Entice your audience with a funny, interesting, or compelling video that starts off strong.
Audiences typically only hang around for the first few seconds of a video ad once it pops up in their newsfeed. Make them not WANT to scroll away and keep their focus on the video.
Don’t Get Too Long-winded
You’re allowed to run up to 240 seconds on your Facebook video ads but the truth is they should probably be much shorter. Here’s the truth: most people aren’t going to watch that long. Even some of the most successful marketing videos out there don’t go for four minutes.
Studies have shown that the shorter your video is, the more people are likely to watch the whole thing. This makes sense, doesn’t it? You’re scrolling through cat photos and all of a sudden get struck with an ad. If it piques your interest you might glance down at the timer and see how long the video is.
The shorter the video, the more likely you are to watch until the end. From a business perspective, this is a great thing to keep in mind because the end of the video is typically where your call to action will be along with your company information, logo, web address, etc.
Approach your Facebook video ads like a professional art thief. Get in, get out, do it quickly. Leave a calling card.
Provide Value
In case you didn’t get the memo, online marketing in today’s world is all about providing value. Your Facebook video ads should be no different. Convey the value your product is extending to the customer. Make it clear and do it quickly. What pain points are you addressing, what problems are you solving?
Customers are more likely to continue watching and respond to your CTA if they see the value in doing so.
Be Flexible With Targeting
If you’re not seeing traction from your ads, be patient. It can take time to develop. However, there is such a thing as a poorly performing ad. Hey, it happens. Don’t get discouraged, get creative. Play with your targeting options. Is your focus area too narrow? Expand it. Are you focusing on too tight an age range? Try something new. You may surprise yourself by discovering a range of customers you never thought were yours!
This can also extend to your budget. It’s true that the higher your budget, the greater the reach your videos will have. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to blow up the bank to be successful. Far from it.
Rather, experiment with slightly higher budgets, or increase your daily budget while decreasing the overall length of the campaign. Thankfully, creating high-quality video ads doesn’t have to be expensive anymore, so a good portion of your budget can go to the actual advertising campaign.
Be Proactive
In the old days, advertising with video typically meant running a television commercial. In that case, you filmed the commercial, paid the television studio to air it, then sat back and waited for it to work.
This is not the case in the modern era. Video marketing with Facebook video ads is a proactive endeavor. From creating videos to analyzing performance to tweaking certain aspects for maximum results.
Facebook video ads is not a “set it and forget it” marketing tool. It is a powerful method of reaching across the internet and putting yourself in front of the audience you wish to connect with.
Be creative with your ads and be proactive with your campaigns. Not every campaign will be a roaring success. However, if you are consistently looking to improve your strategy, you’ll be in a better position to be successful. Use the tools Facebook provided like Facebook Ad Library to conduct preliminary research to find out what’s been working and not working in your industry.
