Facebook is a highly-acclaimed social networking platform and is undoubtedly one of the biggest social media and website giants.
In fact, Facebook is the world’s third-most visited website, with Google and YouTube ranking first and second, respectively.
Facebook was launched in 2004, while Facebook Ads was established in 2007.
With businesses continuing to invest their money in Facebook advertising, the competition to make your ads stand out has never been fiercer.
Even the top web design companies in New York emphasized that although Facebook is the go-to advertising platform for marketers, that doesn’t mean everyone who runs an ad campaign will be successful.
But fret not, we did all the research needed and even reached out to experts from a New York web design company to understand what it takes to generate leads and conversions and stand from the rest of the competition in the world of Facebook advertising.
Here, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Facebook Ads, including the 12 most common Facebook ad mistakes.
What are Facebook Ads?
Facebook Ads are ads that are exclusive to Facebook’s advertising platform.
Not only can they appear on Facebook, but they can also pop up on websites and apps outside of the platform.
They are meticulously targeted to specific audiences and can be presented in various formats.
Why Choose Facebook for Your Ads?
Facebook is extremely popular and has the capability to reach your desired target audience.
You can display your ads to a host of people and segment them by interests, location, behavior and age.
Other reasons why you should consider Facebook Ads include:
- 2.79 billion people around the world use Facebook
- 36% of Americans rely on Facebook for news updates
- 73% of Americans log in to their Facebook accounts daily
All these numbers suggest that Facebook Ads mean business.
12 Common Facebook Ad Mistakes
While Facebook Ads can help bring awareness and new customers to your brand, there are certain mistakes to be aware of to ensure your ad campaign is a success.
#1: Not having clear objectives
What is the main goal behind your campaign?
Do you want to bring more traffic to your website, get people to sign up for your newsletter, or purchase products from a new line?
Your main campaign objective is the first question Facebook asks you when you begin a new ad campaign.
Establishing your goals before running your campaign is important so that you’ll know which direction you’d like to take.
Doing this will also steer you away from wasting money and efforts in the long run.
#2: Not targeting strategically
Facebook reports an advertising audience of 2.14 billion.
That’s a significant amount of people, which means that you’ll have to research and strategically target your audience to make sure your ads reach them, so they don’t get lost in the crowd.
We also recommend selecting specific audiences through Facebook’s built-in targeting features, which include the following:
- Location
- Demographics
- Behavior
- Existing Contacts
- A Lookalike Audience, etc.
Keep in mind that only amateur marketers target a broad audience. The more specific you are in your targeting efforts, the more valuable leads you will attract.
Choose your audience based on your needs to increase your chances of engagement, reach and conversions.
#3: Clicking the “Boost Post” button
A boosted Facebook post is a paid post.
Its main objective is for people to come across your post without actually seeing it organically.
And with Facebook prioritizing posts from the user’s immediate connections, let’s say family and friends, its organic reach dropped to 52% in 2016.
So why not boost your post considering this drop?
Here are three reasons to consider on why not to boost your ad:
- Limited options with audience targeting – this risks your ad reaching the wrong people
- You can’t split test your campaign – putting up only one ad means that you wouldn’t find out which parts worked and which didn’t
Although boosted posts can be done in a few clicks and will surely get your page comments, likes, and shares – it’s better to consider if the above reasons are worth the shot of a boosted post.
#4: Not implementing the Facebook Pixel
Facebook Pixel is a tool used to analyze and track the behavior and activities of your site visitors.
It can be used to:
- Create custom audiences
- Track conversions
- Optimize conversion campaigns, etc.
Using this can help you gather valuable pieces of data about your target audience.
#5: Neglecting optimization for different devices
January 2021 statistics say that 98% of active user accounts worldwide are accessed Facebook via mobile devices.
Imagine how much engagement is lost with that hefty percentage if your ads aren’t optimized for mobile.
Yikes!
Avoid the fear of missing out and always consider all kinds of devices, especially to keep your mobile-savvy audience updated with your ads.
#6: Going to extremes with your audience size
It is essential to know the size of your target audience for you to allocate your budget and efforts wisely.
A compact target audience means that your ad might show up too often, which will leave your audience annoyed and exhausted, while a huge-scale audience might cause you to spend a lot of money on an ad that might not even be reaching the right set of people.
Find the proper balance in your target audience size, and not only will it be cost-efficient, but you will get to see better results as well.
#7: Not incorporating videos into your ads
Human beings are visual creatures.
And what can be more visual and engaging than a video?
To better support this, 64% of consumers purchase a product or service after watching branded social videos.
Not only will it stimulate your user’s attention, but it will also give you a better opportunity as a business to communicate your message without boring them.
#8: Not using the 20% text rule
Facebook’s guidelines emphasize that the copy on ad images shouldn’t be bulky, meaning that 20% of the image is the text’s limit.
Failure to do this means that Facebook will not decline your ad but will instead decrease its reach.
Remember, the less copy, the better.
#9: Creating more ads rather than optimizing the well-performing ones
Maybe you’re excited to create more ads.
But before whipping out Photoshop and allowing your creative juices to flow, save yourself some time by optimizing your existing and successful ads instead.
These ads are already getting high engagements and conversions.
Focusing on them will not only save you time but money as well.
#10: Not putting enough effort in headlines
A study by Yahoo! found that readers tend to start looking at the upper-left corner first, which is one area that gets most of their attention.
This is where compelling headlines take the stage.
A headline is one way to catch your audience’s attention and it can be the breaking point of your audience’s engagement if it’s not compelling.
Prioritize creating a captivating headline to increase your chances of getting more traffic to your ads.
#11: Not monitoring your ad’s performance
Simply launching an ad is far from enough.
Monitoring your ads daily will give you a better grasp of which parts of your ad are excelling and failing.
Knowing your ad’s pain points also helps so that you will know which parts to adjust.
#12: Not focusing on your audience
People have been in the advertising game for so long that they have been accustomed to false promises.
A survey revealed that only 39% of customers believe that tech companies put their customers first instead of their self-gain.
So, your business is offering a great product or service. But how can your audience be sure that your brand will live up to their expectations?
It is important to note that ads shouldn’t just be about the product or brand — ads should also be about your customers.
Relate with your target audience and put their struggles first before profit. Not only will this boost sales, but it will also help gain customer trust.
Wrapping Up On Facebook Ads
By avoiding these common Facebook ad mistakes, you will see improved results, higher engagement and more conversions for your business in no time.
Did we miss anything? Let us know!
Author bio:
Tomas is a digital marketing specialist and a freelance blogger. His work is focusing on new web tech trends and digital voice distribution across different channels.
