Social media is an easy way to interact with your audience and to grow your following but sometimes it can seem like a tedious process. If you want to take control and try to speed up the rate at which you obtain leads or make sales, try using Facebook Ads to increase your reach.
Facebook Ads are created in the Ad Manager and you’ll need to know the demographics of your target market as well as how much you want to spend and how long you want the ad to run. But first, Facebook wants you to identify your ad objective and you have about 12 options to choose from.
Next is setting up the ad. Choose the Facebook Page you want to promote and then choose the demographics. If you look at the gauge in the right margin, you’ll see a Potential Reach number that probably is in the millions. Who wouldn’t want millions of new leads, right? Don’t be fooled. Of those millions of names, how many would actually be QUALIFIED leads? Do you think you’ll make many sales from a million names if they can’t afford your products? Knowing your target market demographics will whittle down the potential numbers but they will more accurately match your market’s qualifying traits.
How to Target Fans of OTHER Facebook Pages
Yes, this is really a thing! And no, you’re not stealing audience members from other brands; you’re merely introducing yourself to those followers in hopes of winning them over to your brand.
After you enter your own demographic information, click on the Interests field and start to enter the name of the Facebook Page you want to target. If the page has enough fans, it will likely show up in the dropdown box as a match. If a match doesn’t come up as you type in a page name, it’s not available to be targeted.
When it comes to setting a budget, you can start as low as $1 per day but as with anything, you get what you pay for. Smaller budgets will reach fewer people; running an ad for fewer days will also reach fewer people. So determine how much you can realistically afford on this campaign then decide how many days the ad should run.
Tips to Designing an Effective Facebook Ad
We all know that Facebook has many, many rules about everything on their platform and how to design an ad is no exception. Your ad should have a pleasing photograph but you are limited to how much text you have as an overlay. Their magic number is less than 20% text on your actual graphic because they say these ads perform better. This 20% rule does NOT include the body text of your ad (which appears above your graphic). Exceptions to the 20% rule are book covers, album covers, etc. which already have text printed on them.
Always be sure you have the rights to use the photo! Your best bet is to use your own photo or a stock image that you have purchased. Grabbing images from Google Images is not proper and very well could be a copyright infringement.
If you’re looking to collect new leads or sell your newest product, running a Facebook Ad campaign can be a worthwhile investment. Be clear on who your market is and simply follow the steps as Facebook has laid them out. Once your ad is running, log in to your Ad Manager to analyze the performance results.
Jeannine Grich, CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan check out her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: https://accbizsvc.com/, or contact her at [email protected]
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