8 ways to get the most out of paid Facebook Ads

by Startacus Admin

Last month our friend Sophie Turton, digital and content marketing specialist at creative digital agency Bozboz shared her handy guide 11 handy content marketing tips for businesses on a shoestring with Startacus. This month she returns with another rather fab post on getting the most out of Paid Facebook Adverts. Over to Sophie to explain all...

“Facebook is one of the most powerful marketing tools businesses have at their disposal.

What started as a fun and frivolous way for college kids to rate each other’s sexual appeal is now a highly intuitive prospecting tool, a way to tap into wider markets, to analyse behaviours and target groups based on age, location and interests. 

Facebook isn’t just about getting your message out there; it’s also a way to understand your market better, to make your messaging stronger and more powerful. Here’s how: 

1. Optimise images

Facebook users share 2,460,000 pieces of content per minute - don’t get lost in all that noise. Posts that include images on Facebook get 104% more comments, 84% better click through rate and 54% more likes - it’s a no brainer.

If you’re posting a blog, Facebook will pull through the image automatically. If this doesn’t happen, put the URL through Facebook’s debugging tool and try again. You may also decide to use a different image, or want to add an image to an update (always advisable). Be sure to get the dimensions right - 1200x630 is ideal if you’re uploading an image to a link preview and if you’re adding an image to a post, it’s 1200x900.

2.            Make the most of Facebook’s analytics tool 

Using the insights tab on Facebook, you can analyse posts by reach, engagement and click through rate, as well as cost per click. This helps you learn which posts perform best, which will lay the way for future social strategies. 

3.            Budget carefully 

The cost of your advertising depends on the size of your audience and budget. You can set your daily budget, which will affect your potential reach, and how long the ad will run for. Facebook will then show your content to your target audience a certain amount each day.

You can determine which area of engagement to focus on and where to place your budget. This includes click through rate, post engagement and reach.  

4.            Be aware of the 20% rule

Facebook recently introduced a 20% rule - images that have more than 20% text on them will be penalised and your paid campaign will be shut down. If you’re unsure, put your image through this nifty Facebook grid tool.

5.            Focus on call to actions 

Your call to action (CTA) is vital. You can choose whether you want to use one of the Facebook CTAs such as book now, learn more, sign up. Or you can create your own within the post. This is a fun opportunity to have a play around. Using the analytics tool, you can effectively measure which CTAs work best for your audience.  

You can also edit the text in the link preview so your creative call to action can come from within the preview, adding another layer to your post.

6.            Target effectively 

Facebook allows you to be very specific with targeting. Thorough market research will help you understand the age, location and interests of your target audience and Facebook’s targeting tool means your ad will only be shown to these demographics. This is vital - ensuring your ad is only shown to high value prospects will give you a far better return on investment.

7.            Suss out the competition

What is your competition doing? Have a snoop, see what works for them and do it better yourself. There are over 35 million Brits on Facebook, and over 1.3 billion active monthly users globally. You need to make sure your Facebook strategy is on point, or risk significantly falling behind your competitors.

  8.  Use Google Analytics 

Facebook analytics can only tell you so much. Using Google Analytics, you can track Facebook users to understand where they land on your site, as well as how long they stay on each article and whether they explore further. Reviewing this data will help you understand what sort of content is most effective when driving Facebook users to your site and what they’re most interested in.

Search in Google Analytics for Facebook to find all referrals, as they come in under different forms of the word. Here you will see the number of sessions that have come through Facebook and can drill down to specific links which have performed best. You can also analyse how many conversions come through Facebook to be able to put a monetary value on your campaign. 

Ultimately, Facebook paid ads are a great opportunity to have a play. If you manage your budgets effectively, you can experiment with very little risk - just be sure to analyse your results and act accordingly.”

Talking Facebook - why not check out and like the Startacus Facebook page. (subtle plug done!)

Like this post? You might also like to read another of Sophie’s previous posts on how to turn your customers into brand ambassadors or our own previous article Lost Facebook Page Likes? This might be why

• #facebook
• #advertising
• #content marketing
• #marketing
• #social media

Published on: 3rd August 2015