How to Boost the Performance of Your Facebook Ads

If you are like most online businesses, a good percentage of your traffic most probably comes from Facebook.

Facebook has billions of users, so it is no surprise that this social platform is the perfect place to direct traffic to your blog, landing page, e-commerce store or website.

Facebook Ads have been around for sometime, but in recent years their popularity has increased immensely. In fact, Facebook Ads is quickly becoming one of the top ways to market and promote your products and services.

Statistics published by “Business 2 Community” even found that Facebook ads account for 9 percent of digital ad spending and around 18 percent of the global mobile digital ad spending.

The 18 percent of global ad spending on mobile devices is definitely worth paying attention to, and comes at no surprise seeing that an estimated 1.19 billion people use Facebook on their mobile devices every single month.

While platforms like Google Adwords still hold the market share, Facebook Ads are on the rise and the results can be worth every dollar and every cent.

The reason for this is not just because of Facebook’s amazing popularity, but also because of the way users interact with the site.

The average Facebook user checks their account multiple times per day, and various sources claim that the average Facebook user spends anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes on the social platform every single day.

With your audience potentially viewing Facebook for up to 40 minutes per day, that gives you huge leverage and a huge advantage in getting your brand out there.

Because users are so engaged when they are scrolling through Facebook, they are also more likely to pay attention to the products and services you are offering, and are more likely to be open to clicking through to learning more.

When it comes to running an ad on Facebook, there are many strategies that you can follow. Some ads can be run to generate more page likes and shares, but most of your ads are going to be run to help generate clicks.

In this article, we are going to share with you some proven ways to boost your Facebook ad performance so you can maximise your click through rates.

When you have higher click through rates, Facebook also gives priority to your page and your posts, which in turn helps to boost your reach and overall impressions.

If you are looking for ways to get more clicks to your Facebook Ads, here are some fail-proof techniques that you simply have to try:

Boosting your CTR on Facebook Ads

Step 1: Start with Your Demographic

We said it before and we will say it again, Facebook has over 1 BILLION active monthly users. The reach on Facebook is through the roof, so there is no excuse for not being able to find your ideal demographic.

Because of the extensive reach of Facebook, it is also extremely important to know who your audience is and who you are marketing to.

Without an accurate input of your demographic, your Facebook ads are not going to perform as well as you would like them to.

It is worth mentioning here however, that you can make your Facebook Ads as broad as you would like them to be.

This may be a good strategy to employ if you are looking to experiment with your ideal audience and perhaps reach a different demographic.

To put it into perspective, here is how broad your Facebook Ads audience can be-

Age range can be as wide as 13 to 65
You can select over 200 likes and interest
You can select a maximum of 250 cities and 25 countries
You can select a maximum of 50 languages
You can select over 200 different University majors and 200 different Universities

As you can see, there is a huge variety in who you can choose to target on Facebook, which is why it is important to get clear about your motives and strategies before running any kind of ad.

We recommend narrowing down your audience on Facebook as much as possible. This is going to help you attract more engaged and interested customers to your website.

Remember, the more engagement your ad gets, the more likely Facebook is to show it to audience members, so gaining engagement should be your first priority when starting out with their ad platform.

To select your demographic, go into Facebook’s ad platform and set your ideal location, age range and gender. Then you can get more specific by inputting any interest/hobbies, connections and creating certain criteria.

You an also exclude people from looking at your ads as well, which will help you to create a very specific audience.

When you have a specific audience, you can tailor your ad to suit their exact needs, which will also help to improve your overall click through rates.

Step 2: Choose Your Image Wisely

Your image is one of the most important features of your Facebook Ad. Your image needs to grab your audience’s attention and stand out from the crowd.

Take a moment to scroll through your own Facebook feed, what do you notice about the images? Which ones stand out to you? Which ones blend away into the crowd?

Having an image that stands out is going to help you increase your click through and engagement rates, but choosing the perfect picture can be tricky to do.

There is so much competition on Facebook and you ad image has to really resonate and speak to your audience in order to make waves.

Here are a few factors to keep in mind when choosing the perfect image-

Contrast: having a contrasting image with bold colours has been shown to work best because it helps your image to stand out. Aim to have a light background with a brighter image in the foreground.
Use Smiling People: in a series of Facebook Ads, it was found that images of smiling people tended to generate more clicks than images without people and images of people in general. It is believed the reason for this is because it helps to evoke a sense of trust.
Avoid Cheesy Stock Photos: unless you have a specific reason for using a cheesy stock image, we definitely advise against it. This will make your ad come across as amateur, unprofessional and definitely not engaging.

Whatever image you end up choosing, the quality is also extremely important. Don’t be tempted to upload a low resolution or pixelated image. Take the time to really ensure your image is of high quality.

While Facebook will let you use images with text, we do not advise this. The reason being is that Facebook is very strict about images with text and often does not give them preference. Images with text typically get a much smaller reach than images without, so avoid it if possible.

Step 3: Create the Perfect Post Headline

You are probably already aware as to how important your post headline is when it comes to running a Facebook Ad.

Along with your image, your headline is what is going to help your ad stand out from all the other noise.

To put in perspective just how important your headline is, research has found that 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy but only 2 out of 10 will click on to read the rest.

There are really no rules when it comes to creating the perfect headline. But you of course, need to pay attention to your brand’s specific needs and who you are hoping to attract.

Here are a few things, to keep in mind when crafting a headline-

Keep it short: research has found that headlines less than 80 characters in length receive 66 percent higher engagement. Headlines between 1-40 characters typically perform the best.
Keep it specific: make your headline focused on what you are offering, whether it is a free trial, valuable information and so on.
Experiment with emoticons: to stand out from the crowd, experiment with including emoticons in your headline- does this help to improve click through rates?

Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to crafting headlines is to keep it personal. Facebook is a place where people come to connect with their friends and family and socialise. We will talk more about ways to do this in Step 5.

Step 4: Write Amazing Ad Copy

Writing amazing ad copy is not exclusive to Facebook, however there are some key things to keep in mind.

Firstly, we recommend keeping everything bold, short and sweet, particularly when it comes to Facebook. Don’t waste your time writing paragraphs of ad copy as they are likely to not get read.

It is also worthwhile remembering that majority of Facebook users are accessing the platform through their mobile device. Therefore, make it as easy as possible for people to understand what you are selling or offering.

In order to help you craft the perfect ad copy for Facebook that will boost your click through rates, here are some suggestions/templates that you can experiment with.

Want (Blank)? Check out (Blank)- this formula is a great way to instantly address the needs and pain points of your customers and then offer a solution in a very clear and simple way. Here is an example in action- “Want more sales? Check out our eCommerce Marketing Guide”
Learn How to (Blank)- This is an extremely popular Facebook ad headline because it works. By offering your audience something and promising that they are going to learn something, you are more likely to receive clicks. Here is an example- “Learn how to generate 1 Million likes on your Facebook Posts”
Think (Blank) is too hard/difficult/time consuming? Well now you can!: this is a great phrase to use as it immediately evokes interest and curiosity. This is a great phrase to use if you are offering a solution to a problem that typically may take a lot of time and effort. Here is an example from Walmart’s Facebook page which was accompanied by an image of a growing herbs-“Grow your own salsa? Oh, yes you can!”
Need to (solve a problem)? Here is an easy way to do it: This is similar to the example above but it instantly addresses a problem and then provides an easy solution. The retail brand Target, used this example on their Facebook page, here is what they wrote- “Trying to find your patio personality? Perfect. We’ve got just the thing”.

Of course the type of copy that you end up choosing has to coincide with what you are offering. The last thing you want to do is make a promise and then not follow through on what you are offering.

There are so many “click bait” ads on Facebook, and while this can improve your click through rate, it is definitely not going to help your conversion rate. Over time, your audience is also going to grow frustrated with your brand and lose interest altogether.

When it comes to writing the perfect ad copy for Facebook, we can’t stress enough how simple is better. Just keep your message clear and to the point, but also casual.

Step 5: Personalise things

As we mentioned earlier, Facebook is a social platform which means that your ads also have to carry this same tone.

People come to Facebook to relax, catch up with friends and see what is trending. By keeping you ad in line with this can go a long way to helping you improve your click through rates.

One strategy that has worked considerably well for many types of businesses on Facebook, is offering your own personal opinion. This clever trick can help to crank up click through rates and help your audience to become more engaged with your brand.

Getting personal with your readers and offering your opinion is not about getting into a debate with your readers, instead it is about inspiring conversation.

For example, when sharing a list post you may let them know which item is your favourite, or you may ask a question or ask them to share a personal story.

By engaging in this type of conversation, it helps to attract more attention which in turn, can help improve the chances of your audience following through with a click.

During our tests, adding a personal notes to ad copy on Facebook helped to boost click through rates by up to 8 percent. This is a fairly significant difference and can make a huge impact on your traffic, leads and sales.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can make your Facebook Ads more personal-

Add “I” statements
Offer your thoughts and feelings about something- but keep it short and sweet eg. “I love what King Kong has to say about marketing!”
Share insights about the information you are sharing– “I couldn’t believe that this is all it takes to double my sales!” or “Number 2 is my favourite!”
Ask questions to help inspire conversation- “I loved the movie, what did you think?” or “I think this is unfair! What are your thoughts?”

Experiment with getting personal and see if it helps to boost the performance of your Facebook Ads.

Step 6: Your Call to Action

Facebook has a feature that allows you to add a call to action (CTA) button directly on your ad.

We highly recommend you use this feature as it has been shown to boost the performance of ads. However, like with anything, this is something that you will need to test for your own brand as well.

There are many different call to action’s that you can use such as –

Shop Now
Book Now
Download
Learn More
Sign Up

Facebook does not let you write your own, instead you need to select from their list of pre-approved options.

Again, this is definitely something worth experimenting with, especially if the call to actions match up perfectly with what you are offering.

Step 7: Use Social Proof

If you really want to elevate your Facebook Ads to the next level, experiment with using social proof.

Studies have found that using social proof can help to boost ad performance big time, so it is definitely worth giving it a shot.

Here is an example from a brand called AdEspresso. They ran a Facebook advertising campaign that read:

“With 17,348 downloads in 2 months, this is the only guide you will need to read in 2016 to grow your business generating cheap, highly qualified leads with Facebook Ads. Don’t miss out. Download this 100 percent free ebook now!”

As you can see from the copy above, AdEspresso is clearly pointing out how many downloads their ebook has received.

The impressive number helps to gain attention and helps people to want to get in on the action and download it too. After all, 17,000 odd people can’t be wrong.

This form of social proof helped AdEspresso’s click through rates to soar and helped to push their ebook to even more subscribers.

Finding a way to add data to your Facebook Ad copy can go a long way and can help you to drastically boost the performance of your ads.

Step 8: Time your Posts Just Right

The time that you choose to post things on Facebook definitely matters.

The optimal time to post on Facebook is believed to be between 9am and 7pm on weekdays. This is a fairly large window, so you may have to experiment with these times to see if there is one that works best for your audience.

You may even find that weekends and off-peak times work better for your brand, as there is less competition or your audience may be more active at that time of day.

One of the best ways to choose the perfect time is to think about your audience and their lifestyle.

Is it better that you post during the lunch hour when your audience are more likely to be using the platform? Or should you wait till after 8pm?

Your audience is really going to give you the best indication on when you should be posting your content.

Here are some other statistics to keep in mind when it comes to the optimal time to post on Facebook-

Posting at 1pm yielded the highest number of shares
Posting at 3pm yielded the highest number of clicks

Depending on your strategy, you could also use those times as starting point to when to schedule your campaign.

Step 9: A/B Testing

Like with any good advertising strategy, the most important thing to do is split test.

A/B testing allows you to get your Facebook ads just right and allows you valuable insight into how your audience’s mind works.

Even if your ads are performing well on Facebook, there is no harm in split testing to see if you can improve your results and boost your performance.

When it comes to split testing on Facebook, here is what we recommend to test and trial-

Experiment with using different images
Experiment with header variations
Experiment with ad copy variations- see if you can add personalisation, social proof etc and compare which one performs best
Experiment with using different call to actions

Split testing is always recommended in order to get the best performance out of your ads. Consider running each ad for at least a week independently, or run them together to see which performs best.

Conclusion

Facebook Ads are here to stay and are quickly becoming one of the most effective ways to market products and services.

In order to boost the performance of your ads on Facebook, here are some of the main points to consider –

Define your audience- the more specific the better
Use bold and bright images
Create meaningful headlines that focus on what you are offering
Be specific when it comes to writing your ad copy
Consider making your ad copy personalised
Add social proof for maximum effects
Use Facebook’s call to action buttons
Time your posts in accordance to when your audience is most active
Split test your ads for best performance

So, try these techniques and see if they help you to boost your Facebook ad performance in just a few short days.