Without a doubt, Facebook ads can get your business the exposure it needs.
According to Facebook, they have an advertising audience of 2.14 Billion. You can imagine how your business is missing out when not advertising on Facebook.
With Facebook ads, you can target based on gender, country, purchase behavior, interest, or even devices.
Moreover, Facebook has ads in the following formats:
- Video ads
- Poll ads
- Carousel ads
- Slideshow ads
- Lead ads
- Messenger ads
- Stories ads
- Instant experience ads
As you can see, Facebook can help your business reach your target audience fast and easily.
However, many businesses see little or no returns at all when it comes to advertising on Facebook. Why is that, you may ask?
Mistakes to Avoid with Facebook Ads
- Poor audience targeting
- Lack of objectives
- Wrong ad placement
Poor Audience Targeting
Facebook has millions of users posting and commenting every day. Remember, there are more than 200+ Million other businesses that are trying to reach their target audience.
Facebook allows you to target according to the following criteria:
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Location: You can target users based on their country, state, zip code, city, etc. Make sure you target the right one for your business. If you are a local store, make sure you target people around your area.
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Demographics: This option allows you to target based on gender, age, marital status, income levels, etc.
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Interest: What does your audience love? If you sell gym equipment, you will probably target people interested in weight lifting or working out.
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Behaviors: Using Facebook pixels, you can target people who have interacted with your business before. For example, you can target people who visited your store and made a purchase.
It is better to target a small group of people compared to millions who will not convert. Not only will this help you find success with your ads, but your spending will remain low.
Lack of Objectives
Before starting your campaigns, you need to set objectives of what you want to achieve. Knowing your goals will allow you to measure your results.
Facebook offers you the following goals for your campaign:
- Brand awareness: According to Facebook, the brand awareness objective is for advertisers who want to show ads to people who are more likely to recall them. Use this objective if you want your brand in front of many eyeballs.
- Engagement: The engagement objective allows you to reach people who will engage with your page or profile. You can use it to increase page likes or engagement on your posts like shares, comments, and likes.
- Web traffic: If you have a website, you can use the web traffic objective to drive traffic to your website. Facebook will show your ads to people who will likely visit your website.
- Conversions: This objective helps you target people who are more likely to take action like your landing page views, phone calls, messenger, or app. For example, if you have an online store, this objective will help you encourage potential customers to make purchases on your website.
- Lead generation: This type of ad allows you to collect information from people who have clicked your ad. This information can be phone numbers, emails, zip codes, etc. You can later use this information for retargeting or other marketing purposes.
As you can see, the right objective is crucial for your business. Let's say you have a bakery store and want to start a campaign. You will not pick brand awareness if your main objective is to generate sales.
Wrong Ad Placement
Choosing the wrong ad type or placement can affect your Facebook ads.
Currently, Facebook has the following placements:
- Facebook newsfeed: Users see your ads when they access Facebook from their computer or mobile phone.
- Instagram feed: Users will see your ad when they access Instagram from the app.
- Facebook marketplace: Your ads will appear on the marketplace home page.
- Facebook video feeds: Your videos will appear on videos on Facebook Watch.
- Facebook right column: Your ads appear in the right column on Facebook.
- Instagram shop: Your ads appear in people's Instagram Shop tab Messenger inbox: Your ads will appear in the messenger section.
Avoid using automatic placements. Your ad might show up in places that will only drain your budget but get you no returns.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Facebook ads can help you have a high return on investment when approached the right way. On the other hand, you will end up spending thousands of dollars with no returns.
Before starting advertising on Facebook, make sure you have a defined audience and a clear set of objectives.