Jimdo participates in the Facebook developer program. This has provided us with the following valuable insights into the Facebook Ads tool that we’d like to share with you.
Here at Jimdo, we know that when you start off as a small business you need every tool at your disposal to push it out there. As Jimdo’s Online Marketing Manager, it’s my job to make sure we reach as many people as possible on our social media channels and let them know about our (awesome) product. I want to share the tips that helped us along the way to make the most out of tools like Facebook Ads!
Just twenty years ago, advertising was expensive and limited to big businesses with a substantial budget that would go out to a broad audience. My position didn’t even exist (which I guess would’ve made explaining my job at family gatherings easier!).
Fast forward to today with social media channels such as Facebook, and anyone with a website can choose their target group and promote their business or blog. Small businesses can promote products or services from as little as $2 and reach thousands of potential customers in their target market straight from their website. So what’s the most effective way to tap into the potential of Facebook’s two billion daily active users?
Why do I need Facebook ads?
With organic (free) posts getting less coverage in users News Feeds it’s important to consider allocating a small budget to really push your content out there. Facebook promoted posts is an affordable way to reach and gain new fans in your target audience. You can set your budget from as low as $2 for a day and then just use our tips below to choose which posts to promote.
If that’s not incentive enough, consider that Facebook’s monthly active users make up 68% of adults who use the internet! This offers businesses an incredible worldwide reach. Users don’t visit to sign up for a service or buy a product so the intent to purchase isn’t as high. But with the billions of active users, you can almost certainly find a target or niche market. This large and diverse user base offers an amazing shot at being successful in your business goals.
Facebook’s users check community happenings on their Newsfeed multiple times a day which means you can reach out to your preferred audience as many times as you want with your ads.
How do I start?
If you’re promoting your content for the first time, you may find the Facebook Ads Manager interface overwhelming with so many advertising options to choose from. We’ve made this easier with the Jimdo Promote button—a streamlined ad creation flow with step-by-step guidance to help you quickly and easily build a Facebook campaign. Jimdo Promote integrates directly with Facebook Ads so you don’t have to worry about technical stuff like where to place your pixel—just concentrate on the goals you want to accomplish and who you want to reach.
What do I want to achieve?
Preparation is key. Write down clear goals and make them measurable so you can set KPIs that you can later analyze to see how you can improve for next time. Think about what you want to achieve with the post: Are you interested in brand awareness for your business? Do you want to attract new visitors? Are you targeting your page fans to send them to your website? Or are you just interested in sales?
It may help to look at what other competitors in your niche are doing and how they’re doing it. Then write down notes about your audience and the message you want to send.
Who should my target audience be?
With so many active users on Facebook, it’s important to target the right people for your product or content. You can show your product or service ads to a defined audience through a wide variety of targeting options that can be customized for your business needs. Targeting options go from demographics and location targeting to interests and behavior which are based on other ads a user has clicked or pages liked.
- Age-based targeting: If you know the average age of your customer you can set parameters to narrow down your audience e.g. If your blog is about One Direction you can probably safely add the age parameter to a maximum of 40 years old.
- Location: If you have a shop in Arizona you may want to experiment with targeting locals in your area so they’re more likely to stop by in person.
- Gender: In certain cases, it may make sense to narrow your target group by gender. If your shop sells women’s clothing, for example, limiting your parameters will help you save money by narrowly targeting your audience.
How much budget do I need?
This depends on the size of the audience you’re trying to target and how many other advertisers are running their ads for exactly the same audience. Start with a small budget that will give you enough reach within your target audience. If the results look promising you can then scale your campaign and increase your budget accordingly.
What type of ad works best?
This will differ depending on your aim and the target audience for your industry. A good indication is to look at what post has worked well organically for you in the past. Here are some suggestions:
- Best performing organic posts. Take a look at your posts on social media with the most likes, shares, and comments. Do they all have something in common? Were there any comments underneath that could give you an indication of what fans liked or didn’t like about that post? If a post like this has done well in the past, chances it will perform well if you promote it as an ad.
- Do you have a sale, discount or special offer going on? Let your fans and customers know. According to Sprout’s Social Index report, 46% of users are swayed to purchase by promotions.
- Do you have an event coming up or webinar? This is a great way to get people to sign-up to your emails and create value for them as a customer.
- Video content with the potential to go viral. Videos are a popular way to promote your brand or product. The numbers back up that produced videos also perform better in terms of reach and engagement than links or images.
What format should I use?
Facebook offers you a chance for creative freedom with a variety of ad types you can choose. You can run video ads, link ads, a combination of both showing your products in a video and with images or push content articles. The right format depends on your campaign objective and goal. Do you want people to get to know your brand? You could try using an inspiring video ad. Or do you want people to take action, buy your product or use your service? Maybe a slideshow format would work better to highlight your products.
You can explore several format options:
- Link posts: This post directs users to your landing page. Especially useful for bloggers and to promote your services.
- Video posts: These can be used for commercials about your product, testimonials by customers or how-to’s. If you’re a blogger, it’s also a nice way to introduce yourself to your audience and ask them to check out your blog.
- Image posts: Do you have a sale going on or a happy customer to help promote your brand? An image post could be the right format. You can always include a link the caption!
How can I create the perfect ad?
It’s good to keep in mind that people aren’t on Facebook to shop; so your ads need to be thumb stopping and hook them straight away! The visual for your ad should do all the heavy lifting to convince users since the message in the text and headline won’t be as prominent.
Try to limit the text in your image. Too much text can result in a penalty in cost and ad delivery by Facebook. As Facebook wants to keep the News Feed enjoyable with a focus on the community, it has strict rules when it comes to the quality of ads. Try testing different creative formats, images, and call to actions to figure out the right way of presenting your products or service to your audience.
Always be sure to:
- Add an eye-catching CTA with short and catchy text.
- Choose your colors wisely, so there’s a clear contrast between the text and background.
- Use beautiful high-quality photos to promote your product in the best possible light.
- Write clever and snappy text.
- Check your ad on the mobile and desktop screen so it looks perfect on all devices.
The way we advertise is changing every day but there’s no doubt Facebook ads has become an important part of any marketing strategy. Not only is the reach staggering—how many friends do you know who aren’t on Facebook? But with everyone from your local bar or supermarket, to employees of the biggest B2B or B2C tech companies using it, the diversity is unparalleled.
So try out different formats for your ad, experiment with CTA’s and tap into the potential for your business!
Mareike Sankt Johannis
Mareike is Jimdo’s very own Online Marketing Manager and has previously worked for several digital start-ups. In her free time, you can find her doing Yoga, having long brunches or traveling.