Since the birth of the World Wide Web, online advertising has tremendously evolved to fit the most current internet trends, and the latest of these trends (and has been for a while now) is social media. Because social media is now the number one reason why people access the internet, companies have turned their attention to social media marketing so that consumers are exposed to their brands on a daily basis. For several years, Facebook has been the top social networking site. Recent statistics from eBizMBA.com indicate that this social media outlet is estimated to have 900 million unique monthly visitors, encouraging more entrepreneurs to enter the advertising realm known as Facebook marketing.
It’s kind of like this on Facebook!
Advertising on Facebook is not as simple or straightforward as one might think. Much like the internet itself, Facebook undergoes several updates a year. These constant revisions include interface improvement and new features to fit the interests and browsing patterns of internet users today. Because patterns have a tendency to change, advertisers simply cannot make a Facebook post, be done with it and hope it will lure in traffic towards their web portals. Their strategies need to correspond with the existing trends, and if at all possible, predict future trends so they can be prepared to make the necessary adjustments when the current one dies down. Facebook is always under development, thus Facebook marketing strategies should be too.
There are a number of forums and blogs that inform readers on how to create viral and engaging Facebook ads, but the issue with some of these blog posts is that they might not be relevant to the structure of the social networking site as of this moment, making their suggestions obsolete. Readers and aspiring Facebook advertisers also risk taking advice from people who are not experienced in the field and who merely make observations on the subject. These suggestions need to come from industry experts and social media gurus so that readers will know that the information being shared is legitimate.
Listen to the Gurus!
Before learning how to create viral and engaging Facebook ads, there are basics that every advertiser should check off on the list. First and foremost, you need to establish what your goal for posting on Facebook is. Are you looking for more community engagement, website visits or simply just Facebook likes? Fortunately, Facebook does have recommended ad formats for each objective, and so online business owners just need to sort their goals out. First-time ad posters on the platform should initially stick with generating likes before taking on any other challenging goals, to give their business a chance to build a fan base. From there, brand promoters can start to get a bit fancy.
Other than making those posts that offer product deals exclusively to Facebook users, one way to truly capture their attention is through mobile apps. This is the digital age, and majority of internet surfing is happening on the mobile. Based on research conducted by eMarketer, the total number of smartphone users is expected to grow to 1.75 billion by the end of this year. Instead of merely promoting tangible products from your business, advertise your mobile app. It creates convenience for the smartphone user, allowing them to have easier access to your products or services without having to visit a third party link. If you currently do not have a mobile app for your company, or if it’s still in the works, you will have to settle with Facebook offers, and once the app is up and running, you can drive downloads for it.
Are you mobile?
There are a number of options for you with Facebook advertisements, but adopting all these varying types of ad campaigns don’t amount to anything if you don’t know how to make those advertisements unique and engaging. It isn’t enough to just have the offers and exclusive deals. A plethora of companies post their ad campaigns on Facebook, so ad placement is not so much the issue, but rather the two other components of the advert: the image and the language. As visual creatures, humans are drawn to images over the actual content of an advertisement, so no matter how amazing and price-slashing an offer is, less people are likely to take interest in a post that talks about a deal instead of showing the deal.
For example, travel websites that are promoting summer getaways might post a breathtaking picture of a tropical beach along with the airline ticket discounts. Try not to use the same image twice for the image campaigns as the key is variety. You can also use multiple images to accompany the text in the advertisement, but remember to make observations to see which pictures people respond more positively to. That will strategically help you in choosing pictures for your next post.
Breathtaking enough for you?
Image advertisements are also eye catching and appealing. Something to keep in mind when it comes to this sort of advertisement is the percentage of space that text takes up on the image. According to Facebook advertising guidelines, the text should take up a maximum of 20% of the image space. Since image campaigns have a limit on text, only put words that are crucial for the ad. The text is there to serve as the support for the message conveyed by the image itself.
Creating the proper written content, regardless if it is a text heavy post or if it is simply an image campaign, is crucial in Facebook marketing. The amount of ad space on Facebook that is made available to businesses is extraordinary, and because so many companies are out to promote their brands, it appears as though consumers are reading the same campaigns over and over again. You don’t want to fall into the category of advertisements that just get skimmed through without a message or style of language that speaks out to the consumer, which unfortunately many businesses have become a victim of.
Be unique, create your own content!
For the image advertisements, use an appropriate and catchy phrase or tagline that will distinctly make your products a cut above the rest. Also include a relevant display URL so that when the image is clicked on, it will take the consumers to your designated page. The mechanics of text-heavy posts, on the other hand, require a little more creativity as well as language development.
The written content of a Facebook post is extremely important. Images only work as the initial attention grabber; however, what sustains the interest of the Facebook user is the accompanying text. In addition to the relevant display URL, your post is going to need an intriguing headline, pertinent keywords, as well as a call to action. Of course, these components are nothing new in the context of forming an ad campaign. However, it’s vital to note that even if Facebook is a platform that can easily increase traffic to outbound links, no shortcuts can be taken; always work from the basics.
If there was one requirement that is considerably more difficult to achieve in a Facebook post, it is the call to action (CTA). As it has been brought up before, capturing the attention of Facebook users is difficult when almost every other post on their newsfeed is an advert. People are often under the impression that their CTAs have to be a push for sales, such as “Buy now!” The problem with that is it’s too demanding and at the same time, not convincing whatsoever. There are a variety of approaches that one can take without sounding like a generic infomercial.
It has become way overused, be more creative !
One of the most reliable methods in advertising is appealing to the consumer’s concern for economic solutions, no matter what the target market is. A CTA that appeals to that influences buying patterns and generates a larger customer base. Whether you specify the amount they save or the bonus offer that’s available to them if they make an immediate purchase, anything that cuts down costs is worth it to every consumer. Customer testimonials work well as CTAs since consumers like to know if products are worth the purchase.
Providing instant gratification, such as receiving results of a consultation within the hour or receiving a shipment within the next business day, is another approach that people respond well to. Emotional appeal is a softer approach in comparison to the sales pitch but has more sway, as it establishes a connection between the product or service and the buyer. There are more ways of producing persuasive CTAs, though the ones discussed here tend to strike more curiosity and generate more pay per click.
Instant gratification works!
Although the tips here seem rather basic, knowing how to create viral and engaging Facebook ads is a systematic procedure. Once you have mastered all the basic Facebook marketing tricks, you can attempt campaigns that are riskier and out of the box. You learn how to walk before you run, so remember not to go to crazy with your promotional strategies and never skip out on the fundamentals.
