Recently our very own Sonja Ceri secured herself a seat on the editorial team of Business First Magazine – yes, that’s the mag you read when flying with Virgin!
You can find the full article here.
One of the main reasons to include Facebook ads in your marketing is to obtain conversions, with your goal being to increase your email list or sell a specific product/offer. However Facebook advertising does not always give instant results like marketers may expect. Benefits are not necessarily immediate, and there could be many factors leading to this lack of conversions.
It is all about split-testing and tweaking the campaign until you have the right combo of product, offer, copy, imagery, targeting, audiences, optimisation, landing page and call–to–action. There are no set rules but test test test – until you get results! In this case, when we refer to “results” we are talking about Cost Per Conversion. There are 9 major areas that can affect it:
1. Product
Start with a decent, appealing product. Do your research. Don’t overlook this. It may sound simple but if you don’t have that, you’re never going to get results even with all other factors correct.
2. Audience
Then you need to target your product to the different types of buyers in the correct way:
Buyers who have previously purchased your product: Great! They already know you/your product, which is the biggest hurdle. If they had a good experience, this familiarity will be your advantage.
- Heard of your product but haven’t yet purchased: This group may need a little more time and convincing. Maybe lure them into your ad with a benefit e.g. helpful tips in the form of a video, eBook, an offer they can’t refuse.
- Don’t know you from a bar of soap: Avoid the hard sell! However you have similar interests so if you send the right message, you may entice them to find out more.
3. Copy
Long copy vs. short copy, capitals vs. lower case, professional style vs. more casual? There are no rules but certain variations will affect your results. Text is a good one to split test. Always include a call-to-action. Check grammar and spelling!
4. Imagery
Bright colours vs. soft colours, exciting in-your-face content vs. a relaxed image, professional shot vs. stock image. Is it eye-catching? Another good one to split-test. Check quality and image size.
5. Post Type
Predominantly we want to choose “Clicks to Website” when trying to convert buyers. This sends them straight to your landing page. Or if your business is more visual orientated, you could test out a photo or video boost.
6. Landing Page
You could have the best product and ad – but if you fail on the landing page – your conversions will fail. Some points to check:
- Provides what the ad offers?
- Text reads well? Too long or short?
- Obvious call-to-action?
- Optimized for mobiles?
- Asks for too much info?
- Too many steps?
- Appealing page design?
7. Social Proof
If someone else is doing it, it must be good! Social proof is powerful for conversions. Keep an eye on the ad comments. Answer all, whether positive or negative.
What do we offer?
8. Optimisation
Again, no set rule… and you can split-test this, but when your campaign goal is to achieve conversions, you should generally optimise for conversions. It’s the most beneficial as Facebook displays your ad to the most relevant users and over time finds more people like the ones who have converted.
9. Placement
Placement results depend on many things, but predominantly competition. Cost per click goes up or down depending on the amount of competition, and other industry factors like mobile users vs. laptop users.
Don’t presume anything. Don’t be afraid. Keep tweaking until you get the magic combination. Test your heart out!
