Optimize Your Facebook Ads

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Contents:

Garbage in. Garbage out

Tip 1. Engaging Image / Eye-catching Ad Design

Tip 2. Clear and Short Copy

Tip 3. Your Website Landing Pages

Tip 4. A Tracking link

Lots of views. Few clicks.

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Garbage in. Garbage out.

Nowadays, Facebook offers multiple ways to engage with your target. Not only that, Facebook personalizes every ad for every customer, automatically.

It will deliver a customized image and text to each person depending on their individual likes/ behaviors. (Provided multiple image types and texts have been included as part of the ad creatives).

How does this work? Facebook will show the type of image to each person depending on their personal likes and behaviors. For example, if Vincent typically is more responsive to video ads, the Facebook algorithm will show him the video version of your ad. Likewise for Sally- she will see the single image version because that’s what she engages with most.

In a similar fashion, Facebook will show different text (both primary and headline) to each person depending on what is known about their likes, behaviors, etc.

NOTE: Your findcourses team will do its best to offer multiple copy solutions without prompting or additional information required from you.

The goal of an ad is to attract a specific group of people and get them to click it. The visuals make the ad appealing, and the copy convinces them this is the product or solution they need right now.

The key to optimizing your ads is to create appealing visuals and words that speak to your target audience. We’ve gone into detail below about what you can do to help your ads be the best they can be.

TIP #1 Engaging Image / Eye-catching Ad Design

The image is the very first thing someone sees when scrolling in their social media feed. This is your first (and maybe only) chance to immediately capture the attention of your audience.

For example, Facebook ads with contrasting color combinations often have a higher CTR (click-through-rate). Ads high in contrast stand out in a crowded feed (i.e. green background with RED text)

Media (Image) Types:

Single-Image
Video
Carousel

Single Image Best Practices

Avoid putting too much text on the image (aim for no more than 20%)
Use color (and filters) to grab attention
Use high-resolution images
Include your logo to promote your brand
Show people using your product or service
Simple, effective, and streamlined Messaging- FOCUS your message
Highlight social proof like testimonials

Examples:

Video Best Practices

Stick to vertical or square video

Keep your videos short: 15 seconds or less

Get clear about your goals- don’t try to include everything
Design for sound off
Capture attention quickly: make the first 3 seconds the most compelling
Feature your product/ brand message/logo within the first 5 seconds.
Accompany with compelling copy (and a beautiful thumbnail)
Make it a pleasure to watch

Carousel Best Practices

Typically best to use for more information about 1 topic/ course
**Card order does not matter.** FB algorithm personalizes to each person showing the most appropriate card first and also optimizes to show the best performing card first.
If order of the cards is important to keep as is, then you must be clear about that. We will turn off the optimization in that case.
Try to have a theme where possible. Makes your messaging easier to understand
Follow Single Image best practices

Example:

TIP #2 Clear and Short Copy

Since the majority of your audience are engaging with social media on mobile devices, it’s vital to keep your ad body text short, appealing, and to the point.

Do you know that mobile accounted for 79% of social media site visits in the U.S. in 2019? (It is no doubt higher by now). That figure rises when it comes to the U.K. where 98% of social media users access via mobile devices. If you want to engage these people, keep it short!

Facebook’s own research finds that brief posts see higher engagement and CTRs. Engagement increases as posts get shorter. There is no limit on post length, but posts with 120-139 characters were 13.3% more engaging than posts with 140-159 characters.

Shorter ad copy makes it easier and faster for a person to make the decision to click on your ad.

To Keep it Short, Keep in Mind:

Who is your audience?
How do they describe their issues?
Why should they want to buy your product/service?

What is the benefit to them?
Why does your product/service matter to them?
Will your product/service exceed their expectations?

Then, talk to them (not “at” them) and talk like them to make your ad relatable and convincing.

Primary Body Text

The primary body text only needs to be a teaser that makes readers want to click to learn more. Give your body copy a single goal, and stick to it. Focus on the value you’re offering.

Tips:

👉Target the benefit or pain point and ask a question

👉 Include the specific dates or location

The overall campaign goal is to create interest without including all of the details. If a reader needs to wade through a lot of text to reach the call-to-action button, they’re less likely to click on it.

That bears repeating— the more text they have to read, they are LESS LIKELY to click.

Make the most out of your ad copy…write for your customer! Deliver only the most important information and leave the rest of the story to be told on your landing pages. Shorter ad copy means there's less information for a reader to process.

Less is more!

Headline Text

The headline text can work together with the image as something that will make the audience want to Stop Scrolling. People are most likely to act on your ad's headline even before they read the rest of the ad copy.

👉Keep headlines short- between 25-40 characters

👉The 3 C's to writing effective, short Facebook ad headlines:

✎Make it CUSTOMIZED

Good headline text should be linked to the audience to make it personal
Highlight a specific benefit
Address a pain point
Course name can be used here but ask yourself if it’s as compelling as highlighting a benefit from the course, for example

✎Make it CLEAR

Narrow your message- focus on one idea
Make it easy to understand
Know your audience
Use easy words

✎Make it CONCISE

Keep between 25-40 characters

👉Headline ideas to try (with examples):

Ask a question (they receive 150% more clicks than statement headlines— 175% if you include the word “you”)

“Do you want to be promoted?”
“Looking for an internship?”

Use action words

“Try a course with no obligation“
“Get the career of your dreams”
“Find your ideal communications course”
“Book your leadership course”
“Talk to a career counselor”
“Get certified”

List a benefit/ Be specific about what they will get

“Learn to Code”
“Get your 14-day free trial”
“Test free for 30 days”
“Save $200 now”
“Save $200 - limited time offer”

Inspire curiosity

“Everything you need to know about X”

Use a number

The 3 Leadership Courses you Need today”)

NOTE: Your findcourses team will do its best to to offer multiple copy solutions without prompting or additional information required from you.

TIP #3 Your Website Landing Pages

For optimal conversion, the landing page where the ad is directed should reinforce the message in the ad. Your landing page should be high-quality and offer value to your audience to help them make the decision to convert.

👉Some actions to consider:

Does your ad message about 1 particular course but the link takes the user to a page list of courses?
Does your ad promote a specific course but the link takes the user to your homepage?

When choosing a click-through URL, ask yourself: What is the main goal of your ad campaign? If it’s to generate overall interest or promote registrations, be sure to include an option for people to leave their email address so you can contact them with more information.

TIP #4 Tracking Links

In order to effectively measure the results of your campaign, it is crucial to use a tracking link.

This will allow you to see exactly how many visitors reach your landing page or register for an event through a specific ad retargeting campaign. You can easily create a custom tracking link through Campaign URL Builder.

A custom URL enables you to measure campaigns in Google Analytics or other web analytics services. If you need help getting Google Analytics set up for your site, please reach out to our Customer Success team.

In general, tracking links are a quick and simple way of monitoring webpage traffic and the success of different campaigns.

Lots of views. Few clicks.

Many elements can affect conversion—industry, campaign optimization, timing, creative quality, etc.

If you find a lot of people are viewing your ads but few are clicking on them, then there may be issues with:

creating the right message at the wrong time.

e.g., trying to sell to (or expecting a sale from) top-of-the-funnel audiences. This is the awareness/interest stage instead of consideration.

making a bad offer

e.g., maybe your audience is more interested in bundles than straight discounts— or vice versa

targeting the wrong audience
using lackluster ad creatives

e.g., unappealing images

Remember, Social Media Ad Retargeting provides additional points of contact with your brand/service. When people ***know you better*, their likelihood of converting increases**.

Optimize Your Facebook Ads

Garbage in. Garbage out.