After managing many Facebook ad campaigns, I wanted to share 5 recommendations to be aware of when executing your campaign.
When it comes to optimizing your Facebook ad campaigns it is not enough to set the campaign and just let it run. It is incredibly important to maximize your spend, test multiple options and continually optimize your campaign.
Facebook’s ad platform is one that is fairly easy to use and the potential reach is one of the biggest draws for brands to engage. Initially, plans were all about driving Likes and ad units pointing internally to brand pages facilitated that need. Now with the platform focusing even more on engagement, having the ability to drive engagement on a post level becomes even more important and having a strategy that maps to both acquisition & engagement are key.
If you plan on managing your own campaigns here are a few tips to further maximize your ad spend.
1). Align ad unit type with Campaign Objectives & Budget – When you elect to run a self service Facebook campaign you will notice multiple options and ad types. And as I mentioned above, the units should be an extension of your strategy. You can select from Sponsored Stories and Facebook ad examples which I have referenced previously.
Sponsored Stories
Page Like Stories are good to capitalize on Social Reach
Facebook Ads for Pages
Fb Page Post Example (Great for driving engagement on a post level to maximize Edge Rank)
Fb external units are good to drive clicks off of Facebook, but Call to Action needs to be relevant & compelling.
If you have a smaller budget and your goal is awareness you may consider a CPM or Pay for Impressions campaign. If you are driving acquisition around a specific event or contest, ensure that you are fully optimizing your targets and go with a CPC or Pay for Clicks campaign but I would recommend the precise targeting option.
Also note from a daily spend perspective if you are just starting to run a campaign for the first time there are daily caps set on your account. Over time Facebook will review and potentially increase your daily spend amount.
Example message from Facebook
2). Captivating Creative is Key – Ensure that the creative of the campaign is compelling and be sure to test multiple options. Strong creative can be a difference maker in driving engagement with your ad unit.
3). Clear Call to Action – Driving Likes and social connections directly from the ad unit are key. Take an opportunity to drive a Like directly from the unit by simply adding text that asks the user to Like Us & Learn more.
Depending on the end destination, it is important to not only have your media driving awareness, but to also ensure that when the user lands on your selected destination there is a clear call to action for the next steps. Whether that is driving a Page level Like, a landing page for a contest, or an application, it is important to ensure continuity throughout.
4). Target, Target, Target – It is not enough to sit back and depend on the Broad Category Targeting, especially if you are executing a CPC centric campaign. Make use of the Precise Interests option and pay attention to how adding additional interests directly impacts the potential reach of the campaign.
Example of Precise Targeting
Targeting tied to Reach
5) Monitor & Optimize – As your campaign gets underway ensure to set specific checkpoints to review campaign performance, test units by both Impressions & Clicks to see what drives the ideal results. And continually monitor not only the performance of the units but also the impact of the campaign on other factors such as delta of Likes from the onset of the campaign to post level engagement. I highly recommend supporting most Facebook acquisition strategies with a Facebook media buy in order to fully take advantage of the platform.
Also, you cannot have the Paid, Owned & Earned benefits without the Paid element.
Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360