Businesses with a Facebook Business page are probably familiar with Facebook ads and “boosting” posts. These two advertising features are incredibly beneficial in creating conversions and increasing leads, but only if there is an effective strategy behind it. Otherwise, the ads are not likely to achieve the desired results.

Are you tired of wasting money on Facebook ads and boosted posts? Keep reading to learn how to increase the effectiveness of Facebook ad spend with just a few simple tips. We are going to show how to avoid random acts of marketing, how to market with intent and the ROI that a $200 Facebook advertising campaign budget can achieve.

Create Highly Targeted Ads

The messaging and content of a Facebook ad can be amazing, but if the right people aren’t seeing the ad, there isn’t much of a point in spending money on it. A large part of what makes a Facebook ad campaign successful is targeting a specific audience that is more likely to click on it and thus create conversions and leads.

One of the best things about using Facebook advertising is the ability to choose who ads reach through a variety of demographics. When creating Facebook ads, think about who the target market is and why. Facebook Insights offers a range of statistics that can help drill down to identify their target market based on who currently likes and engages with the business on Facebook. Use this information to get started and customize in a way that will provide the best reach.

A Facebook ad campaign should be created through Facebook’s Ad Manager. Businesses that have a connected Instagram account can also use Ad Manager to set up ads for Instagram there as well. When creating the ad, simply choose an objective that supports Instagram as an ad placement and continue creating the ad. Ad Manager provides ways to create the ad, make changes and see the results of both Facebook and Instagram ads.

Continuously Test Different Ads

Part of achieving success through Facebook ads is figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Ads will have different results from various target audiences, and creative often performs differently. Some is more successful than others. For instance, a home interior may perform better than a home exterior. When running Facebook ads, its beneficial to run A/B testing for a period of time to see how the ads perform. At the end of the advertising cycle, review the ads in the Facebook Ad Manager to compare their performance.

For the ads that were not as successful, consider potential improvements such as a different photo or adding a video. Maybe the text needs a refresh. Then, test again. For the ads that proved successful, continue running them to increase conversions and leads. It’s important to remember that audience ad preferences can shift overtime as new trends surface. Make sure to stay up to date with the trends, revaluate your target market and create new ads accordingly.

Boost Posts

Along with creating Facebook ads, businesses can also boost posts and ads to maximize their ad potential with very little out of pocket costs. While boosting may seem simple to do, like Facebook ads, there needs to be a strategy behind it for it to be effective. The best way to do this is to set boost objectives. Consider what the goal is for the boosted posts and then boost to support that goal.

If you are trying to gain more clients and increase profits, boost posts that will send people to a landing page promoting the product/service. Along with promotional goals, consider other goals such as brand awareness, education or entertainment. It’s always a good idea to boost the posts that are performing well (this is often called a force magnifier), so pay close attention to Facebook Insights when determining what posts to boost.

Don’t Use “Boost Post” Button

While the bright blue “Boost Post” button looks tempting and easy to use, it is not the best course of action when boosting your Facebook ads. If you use the “Boost Post” button to boost your ads, you lose the ability to accurately target and reach your goal audience. Instead of using the “Boost Post” button, use the Facebook Ad Manager to target your boosted post to the right audience and feeds.

When using the Ad Manager to boost posts, businesses can target audiences by age, location, gender, language, interest and more! The Facebook Ad Manager also allows you to perfectly tailor the boosted post to help with increasing brand awareness, post engagement, page likes and so much more. Whether you are boosting a new model home or advertising for a company event, using Ad Manager instead of the “Boost Post” button is the way to go!

Invite People to Like the Page

One commonly overlooked way to gain exposure and grow your Facebook presence is to invite individuals who interact with posts to like the page. To do this, go into page notifications to view recent posts. Select a post and click the “Like” icon to view a list of Facebook users. If someone who interacted with the post hasn’t already liked the page, click the “Invite” button to do so. If they are already liking and interacting with the posted content, they are likely to follow the page to keep up to date on the latest social updates. The best part? Inviting people to like the page doesn’t cost a thing and therefore keeps more money in the advertising budget!

Target Using Pixel

For those looking to get the most out of a social ad budget, Facebook Pixel is an absolute must. Facebook Pixel is code added to the business’ website that tracks users and collects valuable data that can help advertisers better target ads. With the information collected, Facebook ads can be optimized for value, conversions can be tracked, lookalike audiences can be created, and those who have showed interest can easily be retargeted.

Using the information, advertisers can also set up events which are simply specific actions that visitors can take on your website. Advertisers can create their own event or use the set of 17 standard events available through Facebook Pixel. These events include actions such as purchase, complete registration, add to cart, contact, schedule and more.

See It in Action

Our team at Denim Marketing has found great success in incorporating these strategies to create highly effective and affordable Facebook ad campaigns. To demonstrate just how far a $200 ad budget goes, here are two examples of individual ads we have done for our home building clients.

Donley Homes

For client Donley Homes, Ad Manager was used to create ads and Facebook Pixel to target individuals who visited the Donley website in the past 90 days, as well as create a lookalike audience that exhibited similar online behavior as those who liked the builder’s Facebook page.

To complete the advertising campaign, Donley’s prospective home buyer email lists were uploaded to Facebook and a specific ad was targeted to those individuals. This initial ad had a budget of just $20 and resulted in 777 post engagements for a $0.03 cost per result and a 25.26% engagement rate. Other notable metrics include 2,268 people reached, 614 reactions, 6 comments and 9 shares.

Sublime Homes

Facebook ad campaign success was also achieved with client Sublime Homes. When we first started our social advertising efforts with Sublime, a series of A/B ads were run to test a variety of parameters to see what would resonate most with their target audience. The ad created was a Web Clicks ad designed to drive people to the builder’s website. For this ad, we tested variations in the ad set to who and how we are targeting. We spent a total of $25 per ad for a total $50. At the end of the campaign, the ads resulted in 795 link clicks, 6,928 people reached, an 8.98% result rate and a phenomenal $0.06 cost per result!

As you can see, there’s a lot you can do with a $200 (or less) Facebook advertising budget. One of the great things about Facebook Advertising is the ability to control the budget and ad spend. Start testing things by boosting posts and then focus on a testing a few ad sets to see what performs best. Once information is collected about the target audience, use it to create lookalike audiences for future ads. Combine these strategies, along with inviting people to like the page, and you are sure to see a change in exposure, conversions and overall business.

For more information on Facebook Advertising, read Creating Effective Facebook Ads Despite Data Privacy Changes and Tips For Facebook Advertising Strategy.

At Denim Marketing, our team is experienced in crafting messages for organic social media and Facebook advertising. As a Facebook Marketing Partner, we have the tools, resources, expertise and recognition to take on any all Facebook marketing needs. Ready to get started on your Facebook advertising campaign? Visit www.denimmarketing.comand contact us today!