Most business owners have dabbled in Facebook ads, because it is so easy to get started. With a few clicks you can have a post boosted in less than a minute; but without understanding the basics of the platform it can easily be a drain for your money.
Here are the three most common mistakes businesses make when it comes to Facebook advertising.
- Wrong Advertising Objective
Aligning your advertising objectives correctly gives you the best chance for success.
What results are you trying to get from your Facebook ads? Is it leads, sales, store visits, traffic to your website, or social engagement on your post?
The Facebook algorithm is so advanced it knows which people are most likely to take certain actions on Facebook by their past behaviours.
If you want more leads, but choose the objective of your ad as social engagement, Facebook will target people who will generally like or comment on your post – not those who are likely to give you their details.
When you use the Ads Manager, Facebook gives you eleven different objectives from which to choose.
Simply boosting posts from the news feed limits your audience to those who may like or comment on your post, but not those who will take further action.
- Poor offer (or no offer)
You need to create an irresistible offer to get people to take the first step.
Try to make this a risk-free or minimal-risk entry point to your business.
Suggestions include a discount, free content, free trial, free download, free event, or free product.
Examples could be:
- Restaurants – free entrée with any main ordered
- Cafes – free cake with coffee
- Massage or beauty salon – buy three services get one free
- Accountants – free download of list of deductions that can be claimed
- Mortgage brokers – free home loan health check
- Local retail stores – special one-time discount on a popular product
- Dentists – No gap check-up and clean
- Accommodation – Pay for three nights and get a free night
- No re-targeting
Re-targeting allows Facebook to track people who have visited your website, watched a certain amount of your video, or engaged with your Facebook page recently (in the last 180 days for website views, or 365 days for video or post engagement).
This shows your Facebook ads to a smaller audience of people who have already shown an interest in your service, taking them a step closer to making a buying decision.
Targeting this smaller audience is much more cost-effective than targeting a broad audience, and produces a much better return on your investment, as this audience are generally very interested in your product or service already.
