If you’re thinking about running paid ads as part of your marketing mix, you need to prioritize Facebook ads. Facebook has a userbase unlike any other – with over 2.25 billion monthly active users, your target demographic is guaranteed to be on there.
Of course, you don’t want to advertise to 2.25 billion people, so there is one thing that is crucial to your success: targeting.
Fortunately, Facebook Ads Manager has become a powerful tool that makes targeting relatively easy. Not only can you narrow down your audience, but it now even makes suggestions for what it believes will be best. However, if you’ve never successfully targeted an audience on Facebook, you’ll need a little more guidance than that.
So, what do you need to consider for successful target advertising on Facebook?
Get Your Demographics Right (and Don’t Be Greedy)
It all starts with demographics. Facebook ads can be very specific about location, age and gender, as well as specific information such as education, income, life events, and more. You need to think about who you want to target with this ad specifically.
For the best success, you need to target a single customer base with each ad. For example, if you sell a phone holder for a bicycle, you may want to target someone who competes and those who use their bike simply for getting around in the city. An ad that features a guy in lycra will attract the competitive cyclist, but not the person who simply wants to get across town. Conversely, an ad that features a guy in his jeans riding across the city won’t attract the competitive cyclist.
Remember this and narrow your audience. An ad with a targeted audience will get far better results than one that’s showing up on everyone’s feed.
Target Their Interests
This is where you can really narrow your audience to those who might respond to your ads. What you want is that sweet spot between the blanket approach and the 50 people micro-audience. Choosing which interests they share is a great way to do this. We’re not just talking hobbies here but industries, types of entertainment, sort of family and relationships, fitness and sports, nutrition and whether they are into technology or not.
The closer you can get to your ideal potential customer, the better your results are likely to be.
Target Their Purchasing Behavior
Facebook Ads Manager has a section called “Behaviors,” which is an immensely powerful tool for advertisers. Within the many options is one called “Purchase Behavior” that allows you to target people that buy products like the ones you are selling.
You don’t need to get caught up here for your first ads, but it’s certainly worth considering depending on what you’re selling or promoting. For many, targeting certain behaviors will help you increase your conversions significantly.
Consider Targeting Life Events
Often purchasing is linked to specific events in people’s lives, and the more important the event, the more likely they are to buy. For example, a florist may appeal to people with an upcoming anniversary. As with many things, getting people to buy a product is all about timing. Promoting your product not only to the right people but at the right time is the best way to get a conversion.
Use Your Lists!
Facebook Ads Manager’s Custom Audiences allows you to upload your list of customers or subscribers as a CSV or TXT file, providing an easy way to build or continue a relationship with existing clients. There is also the chance to exclude this group from an ad or campaign, useful if you have a special offer for new customers only (which is a great way to avoid irritating customers that are already on board).
Retargeting
Have you used retargeting ads yet? If not, they’re an amazing tool to ensure you don’t lose lost leads. Essentially, they follow a user after they leave your site so you can advertise them asking them to finish checkout, promote a special deal, and other reasons to come back and finish their purchase. You can significantly increase your sales when you use retargeting.
Individuals, such as Riley Hillin, have managed to use targeted advertising through Facebook and Social Media to reach the most optimal customers for some of the most products, for both personal and professional brands.
If you don’t feel you are confident enough to make the best use of the intricacies of advertising on Facebook or simply don’t have the necessary time, we are happy to help. We will develop an advertising and marketing strategy that is perfect for you and your product that will make the most of the possibilities Facebook offers. You can reach us here or follow us on Instagram @rileyh or @rl.
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