Facebook advertising can be a little daunting. When merchants first broach the idea of creating a Facebook advertising campaign they fear the unknown, thinking that any misstep or unfamiliar move is going to leave them with a worthless campaign and potentially squander their budget.

However, there is no need to be so trepidatious about Facebook advertising, all that is needed is a bit of know how. In this post we are going to discuss what merchants should know before making their first Facebook ads. 

Figure out your audience 

Facebook advertising is all about finding the right audience and tailoring your advertisement to them.  From demographics to interests to behaviours, it’s can be a confusing to decide who you want to target your ads towards and whether the audience you choose is actually going to work for you.

As a merchant you probably already have an idea in your head about who your target customer is so start with this when building a Facebook ad campaign. Think of the age, location, gender, education and any other defining factors that you believe your audience is. By doing this you will see an audience starting to be carved out.

Your target audience can then be further narrowed down by defining interests and behaviours. Considering what your potential fans would like is a great way of reaching the perfect audience. Think about brands, events, hobbies, etc. that they would be fans of and use these as keywords that will lead you to your audience.

A smaller audience isn't a bad thing

We get that you want your store to reach as many people as possible so that you gain maximum exposure for your eCommerce store. However on Facebook this isn't always the best way to go. In fact a smaller is usually better. To reach millions on Facebook can be time consuming and take a colossal amount of money that most merchants simply can’t afford so we recommend think smaller.

Instead of targeting millions when creating lead generation ads, an audience of between 50,000 and 200,000 is generally a perfect size enabling you to reach everyone, gauge if your ad is working and have a realistic budget.

Nothing beats a great picture 

Images are perhaps the most essential aspect of an ad when it comes to grabbing customer’s attention on Facebook. An attractive, well thought out and appropriate image can help levitate your ads from mediocre to a roaring success.  However, there is some things that should be known before choosing your image.

There are a number of different images that you should consider using. Choosing clear images sized at 600x315 pixels that are a realistic yet eye-catching representations of your products will grab customer’s attention. Also choosing images that are simple, white backgrounds or images in use can attract customers but merchants should test these to see what their audience reacts to more.

Think about your Call to Action

Call to Actions are often under considered. Merchants throw up any old line with no thought about whether it would entice customers to click on the ad. However, call to actions on Facebook are a great way for you to get customers enthused and wanting to click your ads.

Call to actions such as “Buy It Now”, “Get It Today!” and “Limited Availability” all impact the amount your customers click through and using a great call to action will give your customers the push to click your ads and hopefully make a purchase. 

Don’t ignore mobile

Many eCommerce merchants still believe mobile is not something they should be bothering with. This is a dated viewpoint as ignoring mobile is living in the eCommerce past. Mobile has exploded recently with shopping on mobile devices increasing by over 60% since 2012 (Hubspot).  Facebook too, has seen its fair share in mobile growth as it now has over 1 billion active monthly mobile users (Tech Crunch).

With this substantial growth, merchants shouldn't ignore Facebook advertising on mobile. As sales on mobile are rising, it is an effective way to reach your customers. In addition a high number of audience like to browse on mobile and buy on desktop, therefore combining a campaign that targets customers on both devices could significantly increase the number of customers clicking on your ads.   

Don’t rely purely on retargeting

Retargeting is a powerful way to get customers to your store and gain sales. Merchants find that this is a great way to grow their store however, retargeting should not be the only type of advertising that you use on Facebook.

Retargeting works by showing ads to people who have previously visited your store. It is a valuable strategy to get customers to buy who have contemplated buying from you already. To retarget effectively though, an audience has to be built up and lead generation is the way to do this. By pairing lead generation with retargeting, merchants can get new audiences seeing their ads and clicking through and then you hit them with retargeting, getting them back to actually close the sale. It’s an effective strategy that is proven to increase sales and grow eCommerce stores.

Monitor & Experiment Don’t leave your ads unaltered and unattended for a long period of time. This is a large problem that so many merchants suffer from. They set an ad and expect it to be successful and run for many months. This isn't the way to build a successful ad.

By not altering your ads, customers will have ad fatigue and begin to ignore your ads as there will be nothing new and fresh about them to draw their attention. This will inevitably lead to your ads becoming stagnant and delivering no growth for your eCommerce store. Mixing up your ads is the only way to get your audience to stay interested. 

In addition, not monitoring your ads can lead to you wasting money on ads that aren’t getting clicks. From images to audiences, supervise your ads so you know what is working and what isn’t.

Facebook advertising can be a great marketing asset for eCommerce, both large and small and if you remember these helpful hints then your ads will inevitably have  success. Do you have any helpful tips for Facebook advertising? Please let us know in the comments below.