In my previous posts, I’ve discussed the general sense of disappointment and helplessness surrounding the marketing world after such a catastrophic year.
It’s understandable – but it doesn’t have to break us.
Although I’m not one for the ‘new year, new me’ slogan, we have embarked for a new experience in 2021 and this first quarter has plenty of lessons to teach. One of them, for example, is our ability to reinvent ourselves in a completely different world – one with more stress, but one that needs more hope.
In our previous post, we’ve discovered four of the most significant ways you can thrive in 2021, including improved email design and integrating webinars to the strategy of your company (check it out right here).
Today, we’re going to dive deeper into Facebook Ads and how we can upgrade our campaigns to increase the ROI with minimal effort. From sales to offers, experts will help us expand our mental boundaries towards creativity and success.
#1: It all comes down to the offer
Gary Halbert, one of the most successful advertisers of the last century, once said:
‘Strong copy will not overcome a weak offer, but in many cases, a strong offer will succeed in spite of weak copy written by marketing morons.’
We can apply the same philosophy to today’s Facebook Ads campaigns. In simple terms, developing a good offer can help you stand out more than your competition even though they may have better design or better copy.
Now there are two ways of creating a great offer:
- Offering discounts so big they just can’t be ignored (although you may end up losing more than you’ll earn)
Example: members can get a 60% discount on their first purchase! - Creating an emotional impact that inspires the customer
Example: 30% of each sale goes into feeding shelter animals
Most often, coming up with an offer that triggers a positive emotional impact can impress your audience while increasing their loyalty. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should turn your business into a charity one – it just means that small acts of kindness can go a long way.
#2: Optimize everything
And by ‘everything’ I mean every single visual detail that you could possibly optimize about your ad.
One of the biggest mistakes advertisers make (especially beginners!) is to invest all their time and effort into a flawless Facebook ad creative that only works well on a single device. Indeed, it’s crucial that your ad looks great on smartphones since that’s the main device everybody’s using, but it’s equally important to offer the same impact on desktops or tablets.
With Facebook, there are three main areas where your ad might be displayed:
- Desktop news feed. Statistically, this is the best place to increase your conversion rate; here, your ad appears just like other news feed posts, along with a button that sends users to your landing page;
- Desktop right column. This spot works best for remarketing to those who are already familiar with your brand;
- Mobile news feed. Much like the desktop news feed, this is one of your best shots at making a first impression and attracting new clients.
#3: Focus (more) on long-term planning
It’s very easy to get lost in developing short-term strategies when it comes to ads since most of them are focused on limited offers or newly launched products and services. This type of mindset has a direct impact on the income you allocate for each Facebook ad campaign – which may not be a lot in this case.
But you might be wrong.
For example, let’s say the product you’re advertising sells for $35. Would you invest $60 into ads to get a new customer? Many marketers would immediately say ‘no,’ but it really depends on your Customer Lifetime Value; this refers to the average revenue a customer might generate for you during their lifetime.
In short, you can calculate the LTV by figuring out the average expenditure of your customers per visit along with the number of weekly visits you get. This data, along with previous data regarding the impact of your former Facebook ad campaigns, can give you a clearer view on how much you should invest right now for a better tomorrow – and that’s essentially how long-term planning works.
