"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated"

This Mark Twain quote could be applied to Facebook.  If we take into account the whirlwind of negative news related to Facebook in recent years, it would be fair to wonder if that social network is still relevant.

Despite everything, advertising on Facebook is still part of the Social Media strategy of many companies. It still has a dominant position in the portuguese market, second only in younger generations, more inclined towards Instagram and TikTok.

Due to to drastic organic posts reach (not paid), advertising became a more realistic approach to get the word out to potential clients. Have you ever considered taking the plunge into Facebook advertising? Join us for the ride, we have a few tips that can help.

First of all, ads can be found in the feed. highlighted with the wording "Patrocinado”/”Sponsored"shown among posts unpaid.

For example:

Now, how can you make your ad more effective?

1) Freshen up your own Page

Think of your Page as your business card. When your upcoming client goes for a sneak peek, what will he/she find? As the saying goes, we don´t get a second chance for a good first impression. Hence, review the "About" section, aswell photos, videos and any other content viewable by the visitor. So you got their attention, well done! Still, do take into account that your reputation is already at stake from that very moment, and nobody buys where one don´t trust, even more in online stores.

2) Create a sense of urgency

Surely you´ve stumbled upon offers "Only up to this friday!" or "as stocks last". In fact, both scarcity and urgency are crucial levers of pressure to make the potential client make up his/her mind and "convert", as result to acall to action”.

Call to Action is inviting our target audience to do something. For instance a Sign Up for a Premium Spotify package:

Conversion is the action that we wish for the target audience to undertake after viewing and/or interacting with an ad.

3) Get to know your Target Audience

Naturally, if we´re oblivious of who our audience may be, our advertising efforts may turn into suboptimal results. One of the great selling points of Facebook is the granularity of options and settings available to define the target audience. That allows reaching very specific niches, considering different income, demographic, location and a plethora of other criteria. This is a powerful tool available to your advertising needs.

4) Focus in the title/main idea

A lot of people don't get to look at the rest of your ad, so you have to hold the user's attention for a few seconds, starting with the headline and/or featured message.

5) Tell a story

Storytelling it is increasingly a favored tool when building a relationship with the future customer. Campaigns that tell the story of a brand before prompting a purchase are more likely to succeed. Particularly in a social network, there is both the opportunity and the challenge of creating close relationships with the “Fans” of a brand. Arouse emotions, people buy based on emotion.

6) Place questions

Address the user directly, carrying out surveys, or questioning their opinion or preference about a particular offer or event. On a social network, people like to make themselves heard.

7) Build a community

If you manage to build a community around your brand, not only do you have better chances of achieving loyalty and involvement, but you may also count on that community as the first line of defense in case an attack on your brand.

8) Social proof

More and more people consume based on third-party testimonials, for example, where to go for dinner this weekend. If restaurant “X” or “Y” has good reviews, it is an essential criterion for potential customers, regardless of any advertising campaign they develop. Therefore, invite your “Fans”/users/customers to give their testimony/criticism of your products or services, they will be another important business card.

9) Be consistent in design

It must show uniformity, a common trait in the design of both the Page and the ads, always with high quality content. Whether text, image or video, pay attention to detail. Believe that the user will. If possible, avoid stockphotos, which will appear in several other sites and look sometimes very artificial.

10) Give something

As a rule of thumb, people like free stuff :) Whether a product giveaway a service, a free trial of some sort, an e-book. The important thing is it may be the starting block of a future relationship with the client.

11) Test, test, test

Facebook has tools that enable testing what works best for a certain group of users, for example, “A/B tests”. Experiment with different variations of images, texts, videos, etc. This information will be invaluable to understand what works best with your target audience, channeling your budget towards the winner content.

12) Keep a close eye in new features

This is a very dynamic platform, and regularly introduces new technical features to manage your campaigns. Stay tuned, your effort will pay off! An excellent source of information (Blueprint) is available for free, provided by Facebook itself!

Are you in need of a compass to fare this ocean of information? :)

Count on us: https://www.iflexi.pt/socialize/