8 golden rules for sure-fire success with facebook ads

8 Golden Rules for Sure-Fire Success with Facebook Ads

February 19, 2014

Arik C. HansonPrincipal, ACH Communications

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A little about me…

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Today’s agenda

• The state of social ads• Lingo overload• Types of Facebook ads• How to set up• Who’s using Facebook ads well?• Case studies• Recent Facebook changes• Questions?

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Current stateSocial ads are projected to be19.5% of total ad spend by 2017

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Current state• Average spend breakdown

57% 13% 13% 15%

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Current state

Organic Impressions 200% Increasew/ Paid Media

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Current state

Typical objectives of social media:

Branding: 45%

Direct: 16%

Both: 45%

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Facebook lingo overload!

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• Page post ad (most common): – Where it shows up: News

feed, right-hand side of page, or in search results.

– Why you use it: Spur page likes, engagement or traffic to off-domain URLs.

– Suggested metrics: likes, comments, shares, impressions, page views.

Types of Facebook ads

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• Page like ad (second most common):– Where it shows up:

Right-hand side, news feed

– Why you use it: To spur page likes

– Suggested measurement: Page likes, cost-per-click

Types of Facebook ads

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• Promoted post– Where it shows up:

News feed– Why you use it:

Promoting to existing fans and friends of fans (also cheaper than other options)

– Suggested measurement: Impressions, engagement

Types of Facebook ads

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• Sponsored stories– Where it shows up: News

feed– Why you use it: Gain new

page likes by showing friends which friends have interacted with your posts.

– Suggested measurement: new page likes, impressions

– Sunsetting in April

Types of Facebook ads

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How to set up a Facebook ad

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How to set up a Facebook ad

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How to set up a Facebook ad

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How to set up a Facebook ad

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Who’s using Facebook advertising well?

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Lesson #1: Generating leads? Keep ‘em on Facebook.

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Case study #1

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• What was our approach?– First: Build an audience on Facebook using page

like and page post ads– Drive traffic and sign-ups for HPK.org

(Primary goal)– Raise awareness among our key audiences in

Minnesota and western Wisconsin– Keep our key audiences engaged—and returning

to HPK.org for more lessons

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What worked—and what didn’t

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Using food-based posts to spur engagement, awareness, and page likes.

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Lesson #2: Repurpose images that perform well in promoted posts in page like ads.

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Targeting more narrowly routinely produced better results

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Micro-targeting Girl Scout moms—and addressing hot-button topics—yielded results.

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Lesson #3: If you know your audience, target the hell out of them.

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By the numbers– From 105 likes to 1,007 in nine months– 1,181,943 impressions driven by Facebook ads– 14,040 clicks driven by Facebook ads– Facebook drove 10 percent of all traffic to HPK.org– 1,000-plus sign-ups for HPK in 2013 (doubling our goal!)

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Case study #2

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• What was our approach?– First: Build an audience on Facebook using page

like and page post ads– Drive in-store traffic to businesses along the

Green Line.– Raise awareness for the Green Line opening

in 2014.– Promote events along the Green Line as a way to

drive interest in local businesses.

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What worked—and what didn’t

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• Constantly shifting paid media strategies• Started with page like ads—big impression

numbers (1.5 million-plus for first five months)• Migrated to page post ads to drive engagement

AND page likes• Wound down campaign focusing on mix of page

like ads (to fuel page growth) and promoted posts (to spur engagement among existing fans)

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Lesson #4: Build. Amplify. Engage.

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Page post ads focusing on unique restaurants really spurred engagement—and that pride factor.

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Lesson #5: Don’t forget, your existing fans are your BIGGEST FANS. Evoke that pride with your Facebook ads.

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Promoted posts were cost-effective amplifiers

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Page like ads did the heavy lifting

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Still don’t think Facebook ads are worth it?

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By the numbers– Grew page from 170 likes to 5,308 in 18 months– 17,723,702 impressions driven by Facebook ads.– 19,421 post likes– 1,359 post comments– Total spend: $15,944 (over two years; roughly

$600-$800 per month)

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Case study #3

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• What was our approach?– First: Build an audience on Facebook using page

like and page post ads– Drive traffic to BikeWalkMove.org—specifically to

timely blog posts– Raise awareness for biking/walking among key

audiences in Minneapolis/St. Paul– Solicit input/feedback from Facebook fans on key

topics around biking/walking

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What worked—and what didn’t

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Lesson #6: Identify your best visual assets—and plan Facebook ads around them.

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WITH Facebook ad support.

WITHOUT Facebook ad support.

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Lesson #7: Amplify engagement-focused posts to spike likes, comments and shares.

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Topic: Quicker to drive or bike in the city?

Topic: More cost-effective to drive or bike?

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Lesson #8: Do your homework. Give fans what they want.

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By the numbers– Grew page from 106 likes to 1,720 likes in 9

months– 33,960,248 impressions– 14,777 clicks– CPC: $.61– Spent: $8,983

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8 Tips:• Generating leads? Keep ‘em on Facebook• Repurpose images that perform well in promoted posts in page like ads.• If you know your audience, target the hell out of them.• Build. Amplify. Engage.• Don’t forget, your existing fans are your BIGGEST FANS. Evoke that pride.• Identify your best visual assets—and plan ads around them.• Amplify engagement-focused posts to spike likes, comments and shares.• Do your homework. Give fans what they want.

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Trends/Upcoming Changes

• Sponsored Stories sunsetting in April• “Creative” must get better• Need a stronger link from Facebook ads to

offline sales• More page post ads—fewer page like ads• New call-to-action buttons on page post ads

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Questions?

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• Subscribe: arikhanson.com• Contact: arik@arikhanson.com• Tweet: @arikhanson.com

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