It’s proven that customers you are connected with on Facebook spend 2 times more with your business than those that are not connected with you. From a Florida advertising agency like us to a mama baking cookies and cakes out of her home, every business can benefit from a little Facebook advertising. Here are a few things to help guide you in your advertising endeavors. Practice makes perfect as they always say. Even with a list of best practices and sample copy, it may take a few tries to get your ads targeted just right for your audience and most appeal. Here are a few tips to get you on the right track:

Images

The image size is small (110 pixels wide by 80 pixels tall) and not the best quality so make the most of your image by choosing something with bold/bright colors, that clearly represent your product or promotional content. -Try a couple different images to gauge audience response and hone your imagery skills.

Copy

1) Make your 135 characters count! 2) Make your call to action clear in the body of the ad or in the title. The audience wants to know what will happen when they click on the link. Use key action words that push an audience to action and explain a bit about where this link will take them. For instance:

1. “See more fashion DIY tips”

2. “Order online”

3. “Enter the cooking contest”

3) Include key information in the title of the ad like your business name, location, or business focus to help make your intent clear and represent yourself better 4) What is your goal with this ad, what do you want to promote? Website, blog post, event, contest, drive customer engagement – make sure that you keep your goals in mind when creating your ad

Audience

Who to reach out to? Choosing the relevant audience Choose the basic demographics like age, gender, country, interests, and connection to help steer your ads to the right audience. Considering your connections is one of the main ways to increase your click-through rate. It is proven that ads that target existing fans have 7X higher click through rate plus a higher conversion rate than those that simple promote to potential followers or fans [quote] You are exactly the type of audience we’re looking for. Follow us on Facebook for informative posts that will surely enhance your life. [/quote]

Ad Set-Up

1) Choose between and Ad or Sponsored Story.

1. Ads – paid advertising to be delivered to specific audience

2. Sponsored Stories – helps promote a connection story within a news feed to increase its chances of being read. For example if Susie likes a link or status update on your fan page, a story is created. These stories can be promoted within Susie’s profile page and could bring her friends attention to your business or fan page – Good for business pages that have at least 100 likes

Monitor Results

Monitor your ad results. See what works and what doesn’t. This information can help you tailor ads to be more effective in the long run. Check out your ad reach here: http://www.facebook.com/ads/manage/ See how well your page outreach is doing here: https://www.facebook.com/insights/

Helpful Tips

1) Change up your ads every couple of days to keep things fresh and eye catching – Make an easy image change or switch out a key word 2) Make sure your landing page is easy to navigate and is a direct link to what is reference in the ad – your audience will remember this in the future and could dictate if they re-visit your site again. Also be sure to have a current Facebook page for people to feel like your human and fresh in the moment. After all, it’s all about engagement and making connections with your audience. 3) Like Facebook’s “Facebook Marketing” Page to receive updates on how other businesses are using Facebook to their benefit 4) Need some more direction regarding imagery and content? Check out Wildfire, a great resource for all things Facebook.

Resources:

https://www.facebook.com/business/adshttp://www.facebook.com/help/337584869654348/https://www.facebook.com/business/influencehttp://www.shopify.com/blog/6295399-facebook-advertising-for-ecommercehttp://www.jonloomer.com/2012/07/31/facebook-page-post-ads-best-practices-guide/