In the last edition of “Prospect Genius Reviews…,” we covered the fundamental differences between the two types of Facebook ads and explained briefly how they operate. As the follow-up to that piece, this post will review best practices for small businesses that want to leverage Facebook ads for lead generation.
Creating Your Ad
We’ll begin by explaining the basic process for creating Facebook ads.
First, you must have a Facebook page for your business. You’ll have to access your ad management tools through this Facebook page, so make sure you use the same log-in info for both. Then, you’ll have to decide what the messaging of your ads is going to be. When drafting your ads, make sure you include all of the following elements:
- An eye-catching image
- An offer (i.e. a reason for users to click)
- A solution (i.e. how your product or service solves a perceived problem)
- Contact info (i.e. how they can get in touch with you should they want to pursue further action)
- Call to action (i.e. an invitation to contact you, print out a coupon, join your mailing list, etc.)
- Additional, relevant details
Test out several different variations of your ad by posting them to your Facebook page. Use different combinations of images, language, and other content, and keep track of which elements perform the best (i.e. get stronger responses). The winning combination will become your paid Facebook ad.
As you go through the steps to create your physical ad (detailed here on SocialMediaExaminer.com), remember that news feed ads are better suited for lead generation than side bar ads. News feed ads, when targeted at the right audience and containing enough attention-grabbing content, can lead Facebook users to click over to your website and learn more about your business.
For your reference, Hubspot posted 10 Examples of Facebook Ads That Actually Work (And Why). Their guide gives you ads from large corporations like Bing and Clairol that you can emulate when creating ads for your own business. Note that the author emphasizes ad relevance and “disruption factor,” in addition to the elements highlighted above.
Targeting the Right Audience
We’ve covered how to create the content of your ad, but once that’s done, you’ll need to select your target audience. That’s where things can get a little more complicated. Do some research about your business’s clientele in order to decide which Facebook users are most likely to be interested in your product or service.
First, you’ll need to decide on the basic demographics that you want to target. These include location, age, and gender.
Next, think about the array of interests and behaviors that your ideal customers will have. What kinds of Facebook Pages and apps might they use? Are they using mobile devices to connect with Facebook? What are their purchasing behaviors as consumers? You can select as many options as you like when using the ad management tool (including Facebook’s partner categories, which provide data sourced from retail transactions and loyalty cards).
Finally, you will also want to determine the social reach of your ads. Do you want everyone who meets your criteria to see them? Do you want to limit it to only fans of your Page or friends of fans? This will help you control the level of engagement that your ads see.
Overall, Prospect Genius reviews Facebook ads favorably. They’re fairly affordable, and they can be effective when creative content and precise targeting are incorporated. Any business owner could benefit from properly designed Facebook ads, as social media impact becomes an increasingly important metric in Google’s search algorithms.
Next time, “Prospect Genius Reviews…” will cover Ripoff Report, a website that hosts a forum for consumer complaints.