How Do Facebook Ads Work?
Advertising on Facebook is one of the most efficient ways to connect with your target audience on the world’s largest social media platform. By creating Facebook ads, you directly get your message across to the right people — people who are most likely interested in your products or services.
Facebook has a powerful influence in helping consumers decide what to buy. One survey says consumers are actually 52% more likely to buy from a brand they follow on Facebook over other social media platforms. In addition, 67% of consumers have made a purchase after seeing an advertisement on social media.
If you want to convert your Facebook friends into customers, you should definitely consider investing in Facebook ads.
How do Facebook ads work?
Facebook ads now exist in several different forms. There are images, videos, carousels (multiple media), instant experiences (fullscreen ads on mobile devices), and collections. You can use these ads to promote your page, your post, and your website.
Facebook ads are highly intuitive because they reach a targeted audience based on their profile information, demographics, and location. This makes advertising on Facebook a great opportunity to drive engagement, raise brand awareness, and increase sales.
How to create a Facebook ad?
Before you follow this step-by-step guide on how to create a Facebook ad, make sure you have an existing Facebook business page. If you do not have one, learn how to set one up now. A business page allows you to access Facebook Ads Manager, which is the platform to initiate your Facebook ad campaigns.
Step 1: Select your objective.
Sign in to Facebook Ads Manager, select the “Campaigns” tab, and then click “Create” to create a new Facebook ad campaign.
There are up to 11 different marketing objectives to pick based on what you wish your ad will achieve. Here’s how each ad objective can align with your business goals:
Brand awareness: Introduce your brand to a new audience.
Reach: Expose your ad to as many people in your audience as possible.
Traffic: Drive traffic to a specific web page, app, or Facebook Messenger conversation.
Engagement: Reach a wide audience to increase the number of post engagements or page follows, increase attendance at your event, or encourage people to claim a special offer.
App installs: Get people to install your app.
Video views: Get more people to watch your videos.
Lead generation: Get new prospects into your sales funnel.
Messages: Encourage people to contact your business using Facebook Messenger.
Conversions: Get people to take a specific action on your website (like subscribe to your list or buy your product), with your app, or in Facebook Messenger.
Catalogue sales: Connect your Facebook ads to your product catalogue to show people ads for the products they are most likely to want to buy.
Store traffic: Drive nearby customers to your physical store location.
Once you’ve selected an objective for your current ad. Click “Continue.”
Step 2: Name your campaign.
Next, give your Facebook ad campaign a unique name and choose which page to promote. You will also have to declare whether your ad fits into any special categories like credit or politics.
If you want to set up A/B testings, click “Get Started” in the A/B Test section. You can select various versions to run against this ad after it’s published.
Scroll down a little further to your next important decision.
Step 3: Set your budget and schedule.
Now, you need to decide how much money you want to spend on your Facebook ad campaign. It will be helpful to turn on budget optimization if you’re publishing multiple ad sets.
You have a choice between a daily or lifetime budget. If you opted for a lifetime budget for your ad, you get to schedule your ads. Schedule the start and end dates to initiate your ad in the near future. If not, you can choose to publish it live immediately.
When scheduling your ads, keep in mind to run your Facebook ads at a time when your target audience is most likely to be active on Facebook. Just like how there is the best time to post on LinkedIn and Instagram, it’s essential to find your best time to post on Facebook.
Step 4: Define your target audience.
This step is extremely crucial as it informs Facebook who your ads are meant to reach. Remember: Effective targeting is key to maximizing ROI.
Begin by choosing your target location, age, gender, and language. You can set the location as specific as possible, such as including or excluding cities over a certain radius.
While you make your choices, keep an eye on the audience size indicator on the right of the screen. This metric gives you an idea of your potential ad reach.
You’ll also see an estimated number of Page likes. These estimates will be more accurate if you have run campaigns in the past as Facebook will have more data to analyze closely. It’s important to note that these figures are simply estimates; they are not guaranteed results.
You can further specify your audience under detailed targeting. There are two options in this section:
Detailed Targeting: This option allows you to precisely include or exclude people based on demographics, interests, and behaviours. You can get super detailed here. For instance, you could choose to target users interested in running and swimming but exclude people interested in cycling.
Connections: You can include or exclude people who are associated with your Facebook Page. For example, if you want to reach a new audience, you would select “Exclude people who like your Page.” On the other hand, if you want to promote a sale or new product to your loyal customers, select “People who like your Page.” This helps you ad reach people who already know your brand. You can also choose to target friends of people who have previously interacted with your brand.
Step 5: Select your Facebook ad placements.
Next, you need to choose where your audience will see your ads.
The simplest choice is to select Automatic Placements and let Facebook do the work for you. When you choose this option, Facebook will automatically place your ads across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Audience Network where it deems fit to achieve the best results.
However, if you do want to be more selective of your ads, you can always control the placement of your Facebook ads. Your options include the following:
Device type: Mobile, desktop, or both.
Platform: Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network and/or Messenger
Placements: Feeds, Stories, in-stream (for videos), search, messages, in-article, and apps and sites (external to Facebook).
Specific mobile devices and operating systems: iOS, Android, feature phones (non-smartphones that can still access the internet) or all devices.
Step 6: Specify brand safety and cost controls.
Under the Brand Safety section, you get to specify any types of content that would be inappropriate to appear alongside your ad. This is especially useful in avoiding sensitive content or competitors stealing your limelight. For instance, you can add specific blocklists which exclude certain websites, videos, and publishers.
Then, you can tailor your ad bidding strategy and bidding type and add an optional bid control. These configurations allow you to match your budget strategy with your campaign goals. Otherwise, you can simply rely on the default options.
Once you’re satisfied with all your settings, take a final check at the potential reach and conversion estimates. If you’re happy with what you see, click “Next.”
Step 7. Publish your ad.
Confirm your ad format. Note that ad formats vary depending on the campaign objective you selected back at the beginning of this process.
Then, key in your caption and upload any media for the ad. This is the part where you get to let your creativity flow. For example, if you’re working with still images, you can click “Turn into Video” to create a short animated video instead. Or, click “Create Slideshow” to design a Slideshow ad using the built-in Video Creation Kit. It will be great to take advantage of these tools as videos are proven to be the best type of content that consumers enjoy seeing on social media.
Use the preview function on the right side of your screen to ensure your ad looks amazing in all potential placements. Finally, click the green “Publish” button to launch your ad.
Last but not least
After you’ve launched your Facebook ads, it is essential to keep track of your ad’s performance. The best way to analyze them is through Facebook Ads Manager. This platform provides you with the nitty-gritty details that you need to track trends and identify room for improvement. For example, the demographic of your audience, the number of impressions, interactions, and much more.
By closely reviewing your ads, you will learn to create an even more comprehensive digital marketing plan in the future.
FAQ
How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook?
You’ll only be charged when a Facebook ad earns an impression, click, or purchase. How much you get charged depends on the budget and bid you’ve set before launching the Facebook ad. The Cost-Per-Click (CPC) is relatively cost-efficient. However, if you’re not sure what budget to set, we recommend you calculate your Return On Investment (ROI) beforehand.
How do I track website traffic from my Facebook ad?
Tracking the website traffic from your Facebook ads is useful in determining the performance of your ads. You can track your site traffic with Facebook Pixel. This pixel is a code specifically assigned to your website which allows you to track your site traffic.
All you have to do is install the pixel on your site. Make sure to run a test to confirm if your pixel is running accurately after setting it up.
Are Facebook Ads better than Google Ads?
While both are paid online ads, there are some differences between Facebook Ads and Google Ads. Particularly in the way they target people.
Google targets based on what people are typing in the search bar. For example, when someone searches “where to buy computers,” your ad will show up on their search page. With Google ads, you can reach consumers at the point of their immediate need for your products or services. In other words, your ads are targeted at users who are already in buying mode.
On the other hand, Facebook targets based on demographics and interests that users set in their profile. As such, Facebook ads are targeted at users who have an ongoing interest in computers.
Would you like us to help you create Facebook Ads?
Click here to schedule your free 20-minute consultation.