Are you using Facebook adverts?
They’re a fantastic way for
online shop owners to get their products in front of a bigger audience.
Most importantly, they get your products in front of the right audience.
For ecommerce owners, Facebook
gives you an easy way to target a very specific customer, and drive
them back to your website.
Using certain tricks and tips,
you can squeeze even more value out of them. You can get more
clicks, more targeted customers, and more sales.
1. Use A Multi-Product Carousel
Facebook now allows you to
choose a multi-product carousel advert. There are tons of reasons why this
particular advert type increases click-through-rate and
decreases your costs.
First of all, it’s intriguing
and interactive. Customers want to scroll through and see more products.
Our natural intrigue leads us to click and play with it. That draws more people
to your brand, and engages them.
Secondly, you show a group of
products that work together. Use this option to tell a story, or
explain how multiple products interact.
Thirdly, use it show a wider
range of products. Let’s say you sell snowboard equipment. Customers might
not immediately want to buy a snowboard, but you can use the carousel to show
them cheaper products like boots or wax. It gives them a much bigger reason to
click.
2. Use A Video Advert
Facebook’s algorithm
actively prioritizes video content. By using a video, your advert
is much more likely to find its way onto people’s feed. Not only that, but it’s more
engaging as a format. Statistics show that more than half of daily
Facebook users watch videos on the platform every single day.
Your customers are much more
likely to stop and watch a video, as it instantly starts playing when they
scroll over it.
You can also use it to show
your products in action. For example, Asos do this to show off their range
of clothes. If you own a fashion store, you can do a similar thing yourself.
When creating your advert, choose the video format.
(Although, judging by new
‘angry face’ emoticon, not everyone loves the new Asos range!)
3. Use Facebook ‘Offers’
Everyone loves a sale, and your
customers are much more likely to click when you offer a discount.
If you’ve got a sale on your
products, you can create an advert specifically for the sale or offer. Why not
create an introductory offer to entice people in? Look at how Macy’s offer 25%
off all products over $100.
The best thing about this
advert is that your potential customers don’t even need to leave Facebook to
redeem it. There’s less friction, and it closes the gap between a
sale. Clicking the ad gives them a unique code, that they can use on your
website. This particular method also uses ‘social proof’, by showing
others that ‘14,991’ people have already claimed it. All in all, this is a brilliant
way to entice new and existing customers to your website.
4. ‘Boost’ An Existing Popular
Post
Sometimes, we’re wary of
launching an advert, because we just never know how well it will react. Will
anyone click through? Will it be a waste of money? That’s why
boosting an existing post is a great idea. You can pick a post that has already
generated tons of shares, click-throughs, and interactions. In other words, you
know it works. Now, simply boost it to reach thousands of new people.
You can choose to promote it to
people who already like your page, or reach out to new people. (I’ll show you
some more targeting tricks further down). The beauty of a boosted post is that
you already know it produces results. Boost it, and you’re almost
guaranteed more sales and attention.
5. Stop Selling!
Not every advert needs to be
focused on sales. In fact, studies show that we tend to tune out
blatant adverts. We’re so used to seeing adverts online that we
automatically ignore them. Instead, look for other ways to obtain value from
your advert.
One option is promoting
an event. As an e commerce owner, events are a fantastic way to grow brand
awareness. Perhaps you could host a product launch event in your area. If you
own a fashion store, you could host a catwalk event, or sponsor a clothing
event. If you run a jewelry shop, you could host a workshop in your local area.
Then use a Facebook event to build awareness for it.
Look at how Jasper’s Market use
an event to show off their products. They aren’t actively selling anything, but
it all contributes to eventual sales.
6. Strengthen Your Brand
Identity Instead
This is another great way to
advertise without actually selling anything. Take North Face, for example. They
are an outdoor and adventure store. Yet, their adverts focus on strengthening
their brand identity rather than directly selling.
They understand that Facebook
adverts work best when they’re visual, inspiring, and viral in
nature. In the long-run, they will build their customer base, and strengthen
their brand loyalty with this form of advertising.
7. Create A Custom
Call-To-Action
If you ask me, this is one of
Facebook’s best new features. Rather than using the simple box format, Facebook
now let you create a personal call-to-action. It’s still hugely underused by
brands and ecommerce sellers. Yet, it will drastically increase your click-through-rate.
When setting up your advert,
head to the ‘text and links’ section. It will allow you to choose from a few
drop down options, like ‘shop now’, ‘learn more’, ‘sign up’ etc. You can
also enter your own custom call-to-action. This will actively drive your
customers to click, and boost your potential sales.
Targeting
Facebook has the unique ability
to offer niche advertising. It records the demographic and location
data of most of its users. It also collects their interests, hobbies, and jobs.
All of which are super useful for ecommerce owners. However, there are some
even more powerful ways to target your adverts. Here are a few simple ideas.
8. Target Your Website Visitors
Many shop owners instinctively
use Facebook ads to reach out to new customers. However, it’s actually much
more effective to target people who have already visited your website.
They’re already familiar with your brand. They’ve already browsed
your products. There’s already a connection there, so they’re more likely to
buy from you. You just need to remind them! Using Facebook adverts, you can
remind them about your website, and strengthen your brand identity in their
mind.
First of all, you’ll need to
use a little piece of code called a ‘Facebook pixel’. You place it on your
website, so Facebook can gather information about who visits your site. Now,
when setting up your advert, click the ‘Custom Audience’ option.
You’ll now see this option.
Now, Facebook will target users who have already been on your website. You’re
much more likely to get the click-through and sale using this technique.
9. Target Your Email
Subscribers
Again, this uses the same
method above. Only this time, your target audience is even more closely
connected to you. They’ve signed up to your email list, meaning they’re already very
interested in your products. A few careful Facebook adverts will boost your
brand awareness even further, and convince them to buy.
10. Target People In The
Process Of Buying Something
Facebook have recently launched
a new section of their targeting algorithm. It’s called ‘behaviours’, circled
below.
By heading to ‘purchasing
behaviour’ on the drop down, you can choose to target people who are in the
process of buying a particular product. Let’s say you’ve been browsing websites
looking to buy a new games console. Using cookies on your browser, Facebook
knows when you’ve been looking for a new console, so it starts serving ads to
you tailored to gaming. You’ve probably experienced this yourself.
As an e commerce seller, you
can flip the tables. Now you can target people who are in the process of buying
a console. Perfect if you sell games or accessories. You can do this for just
about anything: jewellery, fashion, sunglasses etc.
11. Target People Based On
Their Income (Or Above-Average Online Spenders)
If you stock expensive
products, your advertising is generally wasted on a broke student! Let’s say
you sell luxury bath soaps at $100 a soap bar, or premium sunglasses at $500 a
pair. You’ve clearly got a specific, high-end market in mind.
I’ve never seen a broke student drop $100 on a bar of soap, so you’re just
throwing advertising money into the air if you promote your product to this
wide audience.
By targeting people with only a
high net worth or high average income, you’re more likely to hit
your target audience.
Facebook also categorize those
who spend more than average online. Naturally, these Facebook users
are happy to get their credit cards out, and love a little online shopping!
These are the perfect users to target, especially when narrowed down with
interests and demographics.
12. Target Parents By The Age
Of Their Children (Or Target Expectant Mothers!)
This one is great for anyone
selling baby products, children’s clothes, or products for parents. But,
obviously, there’s a huge age gap for parents with children. Targeting ‘parents’
could mean those with a teenager. Pretty pointless if you sell baby
accessories. So Facebook break it down into the age of the parent’s children.
There’s also a great category
just below this for ‘expectant mothers’. This is a huge market to tap if you
sell baby clothes, and Facebook lets you promote directly to all the pregnant
mums around the world!
13. Target Someone In A
Long-Term Relationship
Couples who are half-the-world
away from each other love to send gifts. You can help them out, by targeting
them directly. Facebook uses its various analytics to identify couples that
are in long-distance relationships.
As you can see in the image,
you can also target people if they’ve got an anniversary coming up. Those
people are invariably looking for a gift in the near future. You can also target
friends of those with a new job or friends of a recently engaged couple. These
are people that are likely to be looking to buy something.
Image Optimization
Facebook prioritize images and
videos above other forms of content, so you’ve got to get them just right.
You’ve got to stop people in their tracks with an eye-catching photo. Here
are a couple of tricks that will help.
14. Use A White Background
Advertising experts have done
thousands of tests, and concluded that white backgrounds drive more
click-throughs. Why? Because, in general, it draws the eye. Web designers
regularly use white space to make the main object stand out more.
In this image, see how the
orange pops out of the screen. It’s boosted by the white screen behind it. The
customer’s eye is automatically drawn towards it, and they’re much more
likely to click on the link. Try it yourself with your own adverts.
15. Use The Rule Of Thirds
The rule of thirds is a design
principle that helps create a sense of balance in an image. Implementing this
principle is easy; divide your image into 9 equally sized boxes by drawing two
lines horizontally and two vertically. Placing the main subject of your ad in
the cross sections of the drawn lines gives a balanced feeling. Here’s an ad
that implemented this rule:
These guys get it absolutely
right here. The bright colors pop out, while there’s a sense of uniformity and balance
– all thanks to the handy dandy “rule of thirds.” Notice how intentional the
proportions of the objects are; two-third of the ad will be the shoes (primary
object) while the final one-third will be the brand (secondary object). This
provides a visual hierarchy, where you’re first drawn to their beautiful mocs,
then you’re introduced to the brand. They also give the product and the logo a
ton of breathing space, giving it a sleek and well-balanced touch. Read more
about design principles of Facebook Ads.
16. Always Put Your Product In
The Right Hand
This trick might seem strange,
but statistics show that products sell better when advertised in a person’s
right hand. Crazy! But, true. This is all based on age-old marketing knowledge.
In a shop, for example, items you buy regularly are placed on the righthand
side as you move down.
You can use this same trick
online. Our eyes are immediately drawn to the right hand. For most of us, it’s
more natural.
You can use all sorts of jedi mind-tricks when using online
marketing and advertising.
BONUS TRICK! 17. Use An Exact
Figure For Pricing
Your mind processes a simple
figure much faster than one with pennies. So, instead of promoting a pair of
sunglasses at $14.95, promote them at $15. Don’t be afraid to round up or down
in the pursuit of a better click-through rate.
—
Using these tricks, you can
drive a lot more sales in both the short term, and the long term.
As always, I’m here to answer
any questions you have about Facebook advertising or marketing in general.
Thanks for reading!
Ben Brown
Ben is a copywriter and editor from London. His work regularly
appears in The Huffington Post, and he has worked on several successful copywriting
campaigns for Sony UK. Feel free to connect with Ben via Twitter.
