If you’ve been in the digital marketing game long enough, then you probably already know about Facebook ads.
They involve boosting your product or service on the Facebook platform to reach more people based on their interests, demographic, languages, and more.
Running Facebook ads has proven to be an effective marketing strategy for many business owners.
It’s quite direct, allowing several businesses to create ads for their product or service.
However, even though anyone can run Facebook ads, not everyone gets the kind of results they want.
If you've had that kind of experience, you're in the right place.
In this guide, we'll talk about different practices that can help in creating Facebook ads that convert.
We will also look into:
- Marketing funnels
- Types of ads you can use on Facebook
With that said, let’s get started!
[fs-toc-omit]Table of Contents
Marketing Funnels 101
4 Best Types of Ads on Facebook
1. Define your target audience
2. Create user-generated content (UGC)
3. Experiment with different types of content
4. Work with creators and influencers in your niche
5. Use clear CTAs (calls-to-action)
6. Write engaging ad copy
Marketing Funnels 101
Before we jump into the nitty-gritty of how to run Facebook ads that convert, let's quickly talk about the marketing funnel.
A marketing funnel describes the kind of journey you want your customers to have when they visit your page.
It shows the initial stages of business — when customers learn about your product or service — and then leads them to the purchasing stage.
Why do you need to learn about marketing funnels?
To begin with, it helps you identify what must be done to influence customers’ decisions at different stages.
It lets you think about specific steps you want them to take.
Here is an example of what your marketing funnel may look like:
Let’s talk about its three stages in detail.
Awareness
At the very top of your marketing funnel is awareness, the stage where customers become aware of the problems they have and the solutions your brand can provide.
For this to be successful, you need to be able to grab your customers’ attention and get them to trust you.
To do this, you need to focus on partnering with influencers who are relevant to your target audience.
For example, if you’re a beauty brand, work with beauty influencers who are in the same demographic as your target audience. This will help you reach a wider audience and start creating trust.
If you can, use video content at each step of your marketing funnel.
This marketing strategy has been proven to be highly effective.
In fact, video content on social media generates 1,200% more shares than both text and imagery combined.
Engagement
The engagement level of your marketing funnel is the best time to contemplate product seeding and brand ambassadorship.
If a consumer sees that their favorite influencer regularly mentions a product or brand over a long period, consumer trust begins to develop.
A great example of this is Gymshark. This fitness brand boasts ambassadors from around the world, utilizing social media to promote their products:
Purchase
At the bottom of your marketing funnel is one of the most important stages — product purchase.
Here, you want to focus on targeting or retargeting.
You can use different types of user-generated content and promote it via paid ads, either using targeted ads or influencer whitelisting.
Remember to add a call to action to get them to take the kind of actions you want.
Both imagery and video content work well at this stage.
84% of consumers say they’ve been convinced to purchase a product after watching a brand’s video.
Additionally, 8 out of 10 marketers feel that video content has a direct impact on sales. Whichever method you use, just be sure to consider the tips we’ve provided in this helpful guide.
Next, let’s look at some of the best Facebook ads you can create for your product or service.
4 Best Types of Ads on Facebook
If you’re going to create ads that convert, you need to be familiar with the types of ads you can create on Facebook.
Even though you have several options to choose from, it might be challenging to know which one to start with.
Plus, Facebook’s algorithm optimizes ad campaigns regularly.
That’s why in this section, we’ll only talk about the best types of Facebook ads to use.
Are you ready?
Let’s go!
Type #1: Video ads
Video advertising is a marketing strategy that involves creating informative videos to promote a brand, product, or service.
You can use motion pictures and interesting storylines to market your products or services.
Video ads can come in different forms; how-to guides, product descriptions, testimonials, informational, live events, and more.
Now, for a social media platform like Facebook that allows different media types, using video ads will allow you to stand out from the competition.
Just like the one in this screenshot:
It’s much easier for customers to remember the content of a video than other media forms.
Plus, videos are great for creating engagement if they are relatable, interesting, and address the customer’s needs.
According to Statista, there are over 2.9 billion active users on Facebook.
Of that figure, reports have shown that over 1.2 billion watch videos on the platform every month.
Facebook video ads are pretty much the same as image ads (more on those shortly) when it comes to setting them up; the only difference is the content format.
But for your video ads to be effective, they need to meet Facebook’s requirements for video size, length, and aspect ratio.
Type #2: Image ads
They are also referred to as photo ads and feature single images or high-quality visuals that describe your product.
You can boost normal posts from your Facebook page or create ads from Facebook Ads Manager specifically.
Image ads are applicable at different stages of your marketing funnel and that includes brand awareness, delivering specific messages, or promoting sales.
Facebook lets you add text to an image ad so it can attract people and get them to take action.
However, it’s good practice to limit the text to just 125 characters as recommended by Facebook.
You want the audience’s focus to be on the ad at all times and not just on the text.
Here’s an example of what an image ad looks like:
Image ads can appear in multiple placements (news feed, stories, and more) and support different aspect ratios.
What’s more, with the asset-customization feature in Facebook Ads Manager, you can use the same image across multiple placements and ratios.
Type #3: Carousel or slideshow ads
Carousel ads are in between image and video ads, what’s different is that they allow you to add multiple images or videos to a single post.
Each of them has its description, headline, links, and call to action.
Just like slideshows, you can scroll through a carousel by swiping on the screen on your mobile device or clicking arrows if you’re using a personal computer.
The good thing about using slideshow ads is that they use five times less data than video ads.
It’s a great option for small businesses whose audiences are located in areas with limited internet connection.
Here are good examples of when to use carousel ads:
- Tell your brand’s story: You can use images, videos, or both to create an appealing illustration.
- Feature various products with links to multiple landing pages: You can increase your clickthrough rate by adding links to different pages.
- Showcase different features of your product: Carousels help you highlight features of your product better instead of writing them all on a single image. You can also use them to sell the benefits of your product or services to new customers.
- Explain a process: Wanna explain how your services work in a step-by-step manner? You can use carousels.
- Design a large canvas: You can create an immersive ad experience for your audience by designing a single long image that you want to showcase.
Type #4: Collection ads
This type of Facebook ad is great for eCommerce brands who have multiple products they want to showcase.
It includes an instant experience that allows potential customers to view, browse, and make purchases from their mobile devices.
The collection ad is an improved version of the carousel with a cover image, video, and multiple products underneath the ad.
When anyone taps on it, a full-screen experience opens up for them to browse through your product collection.
You can see an example of collection ads in the screenshot below:
Essentially, collection ads are great for businesses that want to:
- Ensure full product discovery
- Give their customers a great browsing experience
- Increase Facebook ads’ conversion rate
Now, let’s get down to the real business.
1. Define your target audience
You’ve probably read or heard this countless times but defining your target audience is essential if you want your Facebook ads to convert.
Who is this target audience?
A target audience refers to a specific category of customers you’re trying to reach who face challenges that your product or service can solve.
It is this set of people you want to show your ads to.
Why?
Because they are interested in and/or looking for your type of business.
Simply put, there’s a desire and you will be leveraging that to get tangible results.
Another important question to ask is why defining your target audience is important.
Generally speaking, reaching or trying to sell to everyone is impossible.
Having a custom audience helps you focus on people who will be more responsive to your business.
Does that mean you will be missing out on bigger opportunities?
Well, no.
What happens is that you can now focus on creating an effective marketing strategy optimized for the right audience who will most likely purchase from you.
To find your target market, here are some things to keep in mind:
- Understand who your current buyers are: What's their age group, location, gender, income, education, occupation, ethnicity, and more?
- Perform psychographic profiling: Try and figure out why they're buying your products. What's their personality like? How about values, interests, lifestyle, or behavior?
- Create a persona: Using the tips above, build a persona that best describes people who will likely buy from you.
What's more, Facebook allows you to target your ideal customers when creating ads on the Ads Manager.
That's another reason why you should have your target market sorted out before running different ads.
2. Create user-generated content (UGC)
Authenticity is another thing you need to consider when making content for your audience.
Now that you've identified who they are, the next step is to ensure that they realize you're targeting them.
How do you do that?
By creating content that they can relate to.
In other words, creating user-generated content — content made by regular people who've used your product or service and are sharing their thoughts with others.
This kind of content does a good job of capturing people's attention because it's authentic and relatable.
Two parties stand to gain a lot when user-generated content is used to run ads: your brand and your customers.
Your brand because you will be able to connect with your audience organically while showcasing your product or service.
Your loyal customers because they get noticed, featured, and grow their follower base.
A great win-win situation for everyone.
Why should I use UGC for my ad campaign?
To begin with, it’s compelling social proof.
Also, 88% of consumers state that authenticity is a major factor when choosing which brands to support.
You can think of it as a revised version of word-of-mouth marketing.
Consumers naturally expect a brand to be honest, so by using transparent messaging and consistency in your content, you can start to build a relationship with your audience.
Over 50% of Gen Zs make their decisions to buy a product based on recommendations from friends and family.
That’s where user-generated content can be used effectively considering it’s more like a recommendation from fans who’ve used your product or service.
Also, according to a Facebook report, user-generated content that featured a brand garnered 6.9 times more engagement than content generated by the brands themselves.
So, how do you get or create authentic content that’s going to build a deeper connection?
You can request content being created by your audience and get their permission to share it.
Another option is to collaborate with creators who have used or are willing to use your product to create UGC for you.
You can see them on social networks which is Facebook in this case. However, finding someone who will be right for you can also prove to be a herculean task.
But that’s where using a platform such as Insense comes in.
We have a community of experienced creators you can work with to create UGC ads at scale for your campaigns.
For a social media platform like Facebook, authentic, substantial, and compelling content is a great way to boost engagement and maybe even go viral.
You see why creating user-generated content can help your ads convert?
3. Experiment with different types of content
Our next tip is a great idea if you want to run ads regularly and want more engagement from your audience.
So, what does experimenting with different types of content mean? Is it a science project of some sort?
It means trying out different content types to see which one is perfect for your business because only a handful of them will be suitable for your audience or address their pain point.
How do you determine which type of content is suitable for your customers?
That's where experimenting or creative testing comes in.
It takes the guesswork away from the entire process and helps you make decisions backed up by data.
You can test images, videos, carousels, UGC, or copy.
Two popular ways to test your content types are A/B testing and split testing.
A/B testing involves trying out different single variables in an ad from an original version.
In other words, you have an original ad (controlled version) and then change different variables (ad creatives such as images, videos, or copy) using the controlled version as a benchmark to see which variation is suitable for your audience.
Split testing, on the other hand, allows you to have a controlled version and a variation.
The variation can be different from the controlled version but have the same conversion goal.
So, a different layout, lookalike audience, creatives, but the same goal.
Why is testing even important?
Well, testing helps you:
- Come up with better-engaging ads for your marketing campaign
- Gather customer insight into what you’ll do next
- Use your ad budget more efficiently
Let’s move on!
4. Work with creators and influencers in your niche
Influencers are social media users who can convince people who follow them or are in their niche to make a purchasing decision.
They have a large social media following compared to an average Facebook user and are considered experts in their industry.
How about creators?
They are also professionals on social media who are skilled in creating digital content for different platforms.
Influencers can create content and creators can also influence their audience, but they are different in terms of their intention.
Working with both or either of them can produce tangible results in your campaign.
We’re not just saying that.
Reports show that 75% of marketers say they want to increase their influencer-marketing ad spend.
There’s only one reason they would want to do that: they’re getting tangible results from influencers.
Working with creators and influencers in your niche gives your business a wider reach as your product will be shown to people outside of your current follower base.
What’s more, considering it will be shown by influencers, there’s a high chance that people will purchase your product.
So, where can you find creators or influencers?
While you can always reach out to them directly on Facebook, manually outreaching content creators can be very time-consuming.
A better alternative is to go through a creator marketplace such as Insense where you can find professional or influencers that have been pre-approved.
Plus, you can search for creators based on your preferred location, gender, follower count, and other metrics.
5. Use clear CTAs
A call to action (CTA) is very important when it comes to advertising your brand.
It’s what makes your ads convert and gets people buying your product, downloading it, or signing up.
A good description is how some people get super close with someone they like and want to be with, but for some reason can’t ask them out.
They tell them how beautiful, handsome, or special they are but never pop the question.
But then, someone else comes along, asks them out on a date, and they say yes.
It’s just a made-up scenario, but the point is someone used a clear call to action and the other didn’t.
Only one person got the result they wanted.
Why?
They were direct and upfront about what they wanted.
In the same vein, you can create ads that are authentic and engaging yet have few to no conversions because you left out a CTA button.
Simply put, if you want your FB ads to generate leads or convert, remember to include a clear CTA.
6. Write engaging ad copy
Aside from ad targeting, tracking conversions with pixels, using engaging visuals, and the right placement, another part of your Facebook advertising campaign that can increase the chances of your ad converting is the copy.
Writing engaging ad copy is what’s popularly known as copywriting.
It’s the text that accompanies your ad and encourages people to take action.
Ad copy appeals to people’s emotions, addresses what problems they have, and presents the value your product has to offer.
In other words, it helps you increase your conversion rate.
For an effective Facebook ad campaign, there’s no leaving this out.
Why?
Good Facebook ad copy can help:
- Persuade your audience to visit your page or landing page
- Show people what steps they need to take next
- Keep your audience interested in the ad
- Boost lead generation
Engaging ad copy acts as a guide that directs your audience where to go.
Here’s an example of great copy:
If you want to write good copy for your Facebook ad campaign, here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Keep your audience in mind when writing
- Be brief and captivating
- Create copy for different audiences
It's time, let's tie this up!
Now Over to You
If you're reading this, it means you took your time to go through this guide and that's just amazing.
We hope you had as great a time reading this as we did writing it.
It's ok if you feel all of this information is overwhelming.
We’ll let you in on some private information: creating UGC is a good place to begin.
So if you wanna get started, feel free to book a demo with Insense.
We will guide you every step of the way.
Thanks for reading and see you soon!
