More than two billion people utilize Facebook’s capabilities every month — so no matter what type of audience you want to reach, you will find them through Facebook and its related platforms, including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
When used strategically, Facebook can help advertisers raise their brand awareness, attract new customers, and convert interested customers lower in the funnel.
Our Clients’ Results
At MJ2 Marketing, we help brands grow through digital and social media marketing. While our approach is typically an integrated approach of content creation, social media marketing, SEO, and email marketing, Facebook Ads plays an integral role in building brand awareness. This type of PPC advertising is even more important for our clients who are running a “butts in seats” campaign geared towards lead generation and conversion.
Here are a few samples of how Facebook ads are helping our clients generate leads, sales, and appointments in a variety of industries:
Timeless Skin Solutions – A physician-led aesthetic medicine practice with locations in Dublin and New Albany, Timeless Skin Solutions has enjoyed huge success with Facebook ads, primarily driving potential patients to Book a Consult. While the program has been going on for years, most recent statistics show that Facebook ads have generated more than 140 leads just since January 2021, at an average Cost Per Lead (CPL) around $50.
Caring Transitions – One of five franchise systems operated by Strategic Franchising, Caring Transitions has been utilizing Facebook ads since fall 2020 to help identify potential franchise owners. Again, since January 2021, the brand has secured more than 1,600 leads from Facebook ads, at average CPL of about $20.
1 Natural Way – New to utilizing Facebook advertising, 1 Natural Way provides insurance-covered breast pumps and accessories to new families. Since beginning Facebook ads in June 2021, 1 Natural has acquired more than 2,100 leads at an average CPL of just around $5.
Calypso Bead Bar – Featuring a collection of hand-made bracelets, Calypso Bead Bar utilized Facebook ads to jumpstart busy holiday shopping season in December 2020. Although the campaign was short – less than 30 days – Calypso enjoyed more than 200 sales that resulted in a 5x Return on Assets.
Best Practices
So how do you run a Facebook Ads campaign that generates the types of leads and conversions that our clients are seeing? Well, we don’t want to brag, but we are pretty good at! But in all seriousness, there are a few best practices that you will want to keep in mind if you dip your toe into PPC advertising.
Audience
Nothing else matters if your ads are not reaching the right people. Using different audience targeting allows an advertiser to create different ads for groups related to different business goals. Ultimately, Facebook allows you to speak to an existing customer differently than you would to people who have never heard of your business before.
- Core Audience – Define audiences based on their location, demographics, interests, behavior and connections. Andrew’s Pro Tip: Start broad and then narrow down as you learn more, but don’t use more than 10 different interests and demographic categories to define your audience.
- Custom Audience – Engage with people who have already shown interest in your business by targeting returning customers or people who have used your application or visited your website. Andrew’s Pro Tip: Set up a Facebook pixel on your website so you can automatically create a custom audience of people who visit your site.
- Lookalike Audience – Utilizing a source audience (i.e., your customer email list), Facebook will create a lookalike audience with common interests and traits. Andrew’s Pro Tip: If your source list isn’t buying (website visitors, page engagers, etc…), your lookalike won’t buy; only use high-quality lists or don’t go this route.
Creativity
Make it thumb-stopping! Successful digital marketing utilizes a variety of content types, including video, images, words or a combination of all, and Facebook Ads are no different. Remember, visual content is not an afterthought. Our world is a visual world and graphic design is visual communication.
Your designs speak to who you are as a brand and, let’s be honest, they should say “I’m Awesome!”. Andrew’s Pro Tip: This is why you probably shouldn’t rely on Canva. The creative for your Facebook Ads should:
- Have a strong focal point
- Include bright, contrasting colors, and bold background
- For video, include your brand (logo, color, product) in the first three seconds
- Minimize text (but some text is okay, and even recommended)
Data
It’s essential not to make assumptions about what will work and what will not in your Facebook Ads campaign. Each time you try something new, you will want to watch the data to see whether or not the changes result in improvements to the metrics and goals that matter most for that particular campaign. Andrew’s Pro Tip: Run your ads uninterrupted for five to seven days to truly gauge success and allow the platform to optimize the campaign.
Budget
The right amount of budget for Facebook Ads depends on the results you are looking for (brand awareness v. lead generation) and your total advertising budget. Regardless of your budget, the key to getting the most out of your Facebook Ads campaign is continually optimizing your campaign, by reducing the spend on underperforming ads, continually testing new ad creatives, and increasing budget on high performing ad sets.
At MJ2, we call a small monthly Facebook Ads spend “keeping the lights on” – up to $500 per month is enough for the Facebook algorithm to prioritize the company’s organic and paid posts on the platform and get your content in front of your audience. For those clients who utilize Facebook ads for lead generation, the ad spend may be as high as $10,000 per month. Andrew’s Pro Tip: Your daily budget per ad should be at least $5 to $15. Too many ads, ad sets, or even dynamic creative options all harm Facebook’s ability to optimize your campaign.
While anyone can create a Facebook Ads campaign, the fact is that they can be complicated and challenging to master. When done properly, however, they can yield significant results. Set it and forget it does not work. Rather, you must continuously monitor and adjust your campaign to realize the most conversions from it. At MJ2 Marketing, we offer a team of blended resources that create the equation for success. Contact us today to get started.