With so many users on Facebook these days, using Facebook Ads may seem like the perfect marketing solution for a business eager to increase their customer base. There can be many advantages to this approach, but more often than not businesses end up using Facebook Ads improperly and not getting the results they hoped for.
Here are the top 5 ways that businesses have been wasting money on Facebook Ads in 2021.
1. Using Automatic Placements
Facebook has a variety of platforms where ads can be placed including newsfeeds, right column, Messenger, Instagram and Audience Network. While it may seem obvious that getting your ad in as many places as possible will increase potential sales, that’s not necessarily true. In fact, what may be most effective for one business may not work for another, so using the “one size fits all” option of automatic placement may not be the best idea for you. Since Facebook charges by the impression, each time an ad is viewed, rather than by the click, this broad exposure works for their bottom line, but it won’t necessarily help to improve yours. Not every view leads to a click or, ultimately, a sale. You’re much better off using manual placements and choosing the platforms that will provide the most conversions for your business.
2. Running ads all the time
If you don’t schedule your ads, they can run on Facebook at all times. Again, this may seem like an advantage but that’s not necessarily the case. Will it really benefit your business to have ads running at 3 or 4 a.m. when there are likely to be fewer users online? Even if people are seeing your ad at that time, are they likely to take action or even remember that they saw it? So as you can see, it may be more cost effective to run on a schedule and ensure that your ads are getting prime air time, being seen by your target audience when they are most likely to follow through and visit your site.
3. Boosting posts
Boosting posts seems like an easy way to increase your post engagement and hopefully go viral organically. We have observed results from hundreds of boosted posts, compared to ads and very rarely have we seen a business be able to track their ROI from the money they have spent on boosted posts. Here are the top 3 reasons to not use boosted posts:
- They don’t target your business goals. Boosting posts let’s you optimize posts to get more followers and likes, not sales. While increasing followers may be a business goal, organic engagement on facebook is at an all time low.
- Tracking is limited. It will be very hard to tell how many people have called your business or filled out a contact form from boosted posts.
- Split testing is not an option. A single headline change, ad copy variation or post image or video can change your results dramatically and you won’t be able to compare how an audience reacts to 1 post vs. another slightly different post.
In contrast, Facebook ads manager lets you set much more specific parameters so you can be sure you’re reaching your target audience and not just making a pest of yourself on everyone’s news feed. So if you really want to help drive up sales and save yourself money, please do yourself a favor and STOP boosting posts!
4. Not engaging with comments on their ads
Since this is social media, people love to comment and that includes commenting on ads. Responding to those comments can be a vital part of ensuring conversions as everyone relates to good customer service. More comments on your ads also leads to a higher ad engagement score and ultimately a cheaper cost for your ads.
Negative comments can also hurt your customer’s perception of your brand, you can respond to negative comments carefully, or you can even simply delete negative comments from your ads. Stay on top of any messages, filter out negative comments and make sure that your ad viewers are having the best possible experience and you will see that reflected in your sales total.
5. Not optimizing for conversions
Ultimately, any digital ad campaign is all about converting views and clicks into material sales. In order to get the most out of your advertising, including Facebook ads, you have to make sure that you are optimizing for conversions. Everything from the look of the ad to placements and making sure that clicks lead to the proper destination can have an effect on conversions. Just a few things you can do are:
- Set up conversion tracking using your facebook pixel. Make sure you know which ads are leading to leads and sales.
- Utilize the “conversions” type campaign. Conversions campaigns target the most engaged users of the platform and will result in higher real world conversions vs using traffic or reach optimized campaigns.
- Have a clear call to action in your ads. Don’t just list off product benefits and leave readers with no action to take such as “click the learn more button” or “sign up for our free training”.
Facebook ads can be an effective marketing tool, but only if you approach it carefully and make sure that it is benefitting your business. Getting the most out of your marketing budget is important and that’s precisely what Brandlift Digital Marketing can do for you.
We’re digital marketing experts with years of experience running Facebook and Instagram ads, so we know exactly how to help your ads reach the optimum target audience. You can’t afford to be wasting money, so make the smart choice and let the team at Brandlift Digital Marketing handle all of your advertising needs.
