For most Facebook users, Facebook ads are just those annoying things you ignore on the right side of the page. After all, when your ex-boyfriend is suddenly in a relationship with your best friend and your little brother just uploaded his 21st birthday photos, Facebook ads lose importance. Although you may never find that your ad more interesting than some of the gossip that occurs on the social networking site, it is still important to do your best to really create an ad that pops. According to Infographic Labs, there are 845 million active users, so these ads will help you get great visibility.
The trick is not only to make sure your ads stand out, but make sure that people actually click on the ads and convert into a sale. Now that Facebook has a new timeline layout, the game has changed, and some say this had made it more difficult to be successful. Nonetheless, there are things you can do to make sure you have the edge.
How to Make Sure Your Facebook Ad Stands Out
Making sure that something stands out is not always about flashy images and huge font. You have to really think about where you are advertising and what types of ads will stand out in relation to that page. A Facebook page has a very distinct layout full of lots of different elements, so it's important to take that into consideration. Below are a few ways you can help your Facebook ads stand out:
- Go for the off-the-wall images.
People are usually on Facebook to be entertained. They aren't necessarily in a business setting or have professionalism on the brain, so it's completely appropriate to get a little bit crazy with your ads. Use funny pictures that make people think and use colors that will stand out against the blue and white tones of Facebook. Noran El-Shinawy agrees that creative images are becoming necessary for a Facebook ad and offered the following example on Search Engine Watch:
If those eyes and that multi-colored face wouldn't get your attention on Facebook, the surrounding red lines are sure to do the trick.
- Write a headline the way you would write a headline for a blog post.
Writing headlines for Facebook should have the same pop as if you were writing a blog post. You don't want to make them sound like a sales pitch, but rather something that seems simple. Bring in a current news event, start with a "top 5 ways" or a "how to," or ask a question.
Because Facebook ads are so small, you really only have these two things to work with. The actual content on the ad is only a sentence or two long, so make sure you have a call to action and can sum up what you offer in the small space.
How to Help Your Facebook Ad Convert
Once you have a great ad, it's time to figure out if it's actually working. In many cases, a bunch of clicks doesn't actually give you the highest conversion rate. There are a few different things you should do to help make sure your ads are successful:
- Testing - You will want to have several different ads and then decide which ads have the highest conversion rate; not necessarily highest click through rate. Make sure you calculate how much you spend on the ad and then how much money you make. You can learn more about how to get these results here.
- Max Bid - Facebook and advertisers agree that choosing the max bid when advertising is best. This is said to be best because ads with high bids are shown to an audience that spends a long time on Facebook per session as opposed to bouncing on and off real quick each day. Even though these ads are shown to people less often, the conversion rate is often highest.
- Timing - Facebook allows you to decide what time you want your ads to run. Think about not only when your target audience is using Facebook, but when that audience will be more likely to buy your product. For example, if you're an Italian restaurant, don't advertise in the morning.
Once testing occurs you will have a better idea about what works and what does not. These suggestions are general enough that they should, for the most part, work for any company looking to create a successful Facebook ad, but all companies are different. As long as you get a solid foundation in place time will tell how you can make your specific Facebook ads successful-you just have to pay attention.
Has your company ever created a Facebook ad? What helped your ad become successful? Any particular struggles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Amanda DiSilvestro is a graduate of Illinois State University. Although she graduated with an English Education degree, she found herself working as a full-time blogger at HigherVisibility.com, a leading SEO Company. Connect with HigherVisibility on Google+ and Twitter to learn more!