Facebook is a dominant force in social media advertising. Most marketers say it consistently delivers a better ROI than any other social media platform.
As a chief content curator, I’ve created many Facebook ads, and I can attest to this. The platform's sophisticated targeting options make it an incredibly effective tool for reaching my audience.
However, I‘ve personally discovered that you need an effective Facebook ad strategy to see results. So, I’ll share an overview of some of my Facebook marketing strategies to help you drive engagement and conversions, along with insights from other marketing experts.
Table of Contents
- Are Facebook ads worth pursuing in 2024?
- What to Know Before Setting Up Your Facebook Ads
- Facebook Ads Strategy Tips
Are Facebook ads worth pursuing in 2024?
When I started out with Facebook ads, it was daunting. The landscape looked like a frightening new frontier where no business had gone before. I bet you may feel the same way if you’re new to Facebook marketing. However, over 10 million businesses are actively advertising on the platform to billions of active users.
“Wait … isn't it oversaturated then? Shouldn't I look for alternatives?”
Many companies advertise on Facebook because it works. In my case, Facebook ads help me reach and inspire my target audience to take my desired action.
Now, not all 10 million advertisers succeed on the platform. I‘ve realized that many marketers don’t understand their Facebook audience or how to target them with the right Facebook ad strategies.
So, your question shouldn't be whether or not to advertise on Facebook. The question should be, “How do I advertise properly so the ROI is worth my time and money?”
What to Know Before Setting Up Your Facebook Ads
Based on my experience with Facebook advertising, I’ll cover four important things you need to know before you even create your Facebook ad account.
Understand who your customer is.
Before I run my Facebook ads, I must determine who my message is going to. This ensures it reaches the right people and increases the chances of my campaigns becoming successful.
So, what typically goes into my pre-planning process? I always start by asking myself these questions about the customer:
- Who are they?
- How much do they make?
- What does their family situation look like?
- Where do they live? (Both geographically and whether or not they rent or own).
- Where do they work?
- How do they spend their free time?
Once I understand who they are, I take it a step further and mull over how they think. What keeps them up at night? How is their emotional state? What needs are they looking to fulfill?
I also determine how they identify themselves. I’ve personally discovered that how my customers see themselves is often more important than how I see them (even if my view is more realistic). Once I’m confident I understand the people I’m targeting with my Facebook ad campaigns, I move to the next step.
Determine your average customer journey.
This step involves knowing my customers' next move. What steps do they take as they:
- Recognize they have a problem.
- Identify what that problem is.
- Discover potential solutions.
- Become aware of me as an option.
- Choose to purchase my product.
One thing I often find is that this journey may be slightly different for each customer. However, most buyers generally fall into three categories:
- Awareness Phase (top of the funnel).
- Consideration Phase (middle of the funnel).
- Decision Phase (bottom of the funnel).
Why does this matter to me as an advertiser? Because I will tweak my content, offers, vocabulary, and call to action (CTA) based on the stage my potential customer is in.
For example, let's say I want to run ads for a fitness tracker. In the awareness phase, I’ll create a short, engaging video of the everyday challenges of maintaining fitness, like busy work schedules and lack of motivation.
For the consideration phase, I can create carousel ads showcasing the tracker's features and benefits. These may include heart rate monitoring, step tracking, and sleep analysis. I can also include customer testimonials and quick illustrations of how the product integrates seamlessly into daily life.
In the decision phase, I’ll run a series of ads offering a limited-time discount on the fitness tracker and highlight the ease of purchase. I will also include a clear CTA to drive urgency and encourage immediate action.
After I nail down the customer journey, I begin segmenting my audience.
Break your audience into segments.
Grouping my customers based on where they are in the customer journey helps me target people with the right offers at the appropriate time.
Here are a few examples of my potential audience segments:
- New customers. They enter my funnel as warm leads because they're interested in my product.
- Lukewarm leads. Those who visited my website but didn’t engage. I can use retargeting ads to remind them that I have the solution to their problems.
- Engaged blog readers. Those who like my content and keep coming back for more. They’re more likely to share my posts on Facebook or make a purchase.
- Landing page visitors. They typically come to a specific landing page and are probably interested in a particular product.
- Shopping cart abandoners. They were close to buying an item, but something stopped them. So, I may need to gently push them to finish their purchase.
- Return customers. They love my brand. They’ve already purchased from me in the past and come back for more. They're brand advocates who praise and recommend my product to their friends.
Jeremy Bogdanowicz, founder and CEO of JTB Studios, segments his audience based on their interests, which he says is always effective on Facebook because “The algorithm allows Facebook users to find content according to their interests. If they like a post or page, they will see similar posts or pages on their Facebook timelines. Thus, I find people whose interests align with our brand's services. Afterward, I leave the rest to Facebook.”
I agree with Jeremy. Audience targeting based on their interests is a smart strategy. It ensures my ads reach people who are more likely to engage with my content, increasing their chances of opening the ads.
Install Meta pixel
Meta Pixel (formerly Facebook Pixel) is a piece of code you embed into your website to track visitors' actions, and it helps me in a couple of ways.
First, I can track what happens after someone clicks on my ad. This helps me measure the effectiveness of my campaigns and understand which ads drive sales, leads, or other desired actions.
Moreover, the data Meta Pixel collects allows me to optimize my ads and target audiences that are more likely to take action. For example, if I notice that a particular group of people frequently adds items to their cart but don’t complete the purchase, I can create specific ads that encourage them to finalize their transaction.
I recommend checking out Meta's step-by-step instructions to help you install Meta Pixel on your website. Meta Pixel will help you make more informed decisions and improve your ad performance.
Pro tip: Download our free Facebook Advertising Checklist. It will guide you through every step of setting up and optimizing your Facebook ads.
Facebook Ads Strategy Tips
Now that we’ve gone over the basics, I'll share some of my top tips for creating effective Facebook ad campaigns that can help you maximize your return on investment (ROI).
1. Combine Facebook ads with content marketing.
One mistake I go out of my way to avoid is targeting my warm leads with ads designed to turn them into paying customers. Since warm leads aren't ready to buy from me yet, instead of turning them off with straight sales offers, I offer them helpful content that answers their questions and solves their pain points.
Kurt Uhlir, chief marketing officer at EZ Home Search, follows the same pattern with a two-fold strategy: “First, we provide information that addresses both the emotional and logical queries pertinent to their [audience] customer journey. Secondly, we share success stories where our clients are the superheroes, not just beneficiaries, of their success.”
This approach not only positions his company as a valuable resource but also showcases the tangible impact of their solutions through relatable narratives.
Here's how I combine my Facebook ads with content marketing:
- I create content based on where my audience is in the customer journey.
- I share that content on Facebook.
- I ask my team members (and maybe a handful of friends) to like and share the post.
- I boost my Facebook posts so I can reach a wider audience.
2. Collaborate with influencers who align with your brand values.
One thing I've realized in my experience with Facebook ads is that influencers can add a layer of authenticity you can't get from traditional adverts. And with today's consumers, authenticity is everything.
However, that doesn’t mean just any influencer can have this effect on your business. I choose influencers who align with my brand values to ensure our partnership feels natural. That way, I can create a more genuine connection with my target audience.
I don’t want influencers to change or adapt their content style to fit mine. Otherwise, it may come across as inauthentic and won't encourage potential customers to trust my brand.
3. Use lead ads to build up your marketing list.
Having a huge Facebook following is awesome. However, you and I know that Meta “owns” our contacts. If they decide to change their algorithm or shut down, we'd lose access to those people.
To protect myself from such risks (if they ever happen), I've built my own marketing list. I create a lead magnet, such as a free e-book or course, and run a lead ad. This way, my followers can give me their email addresses directly on Facebook.
That said, I'm generally cautious with this approach. I never add any steps that may cause friction for users trying to access my gift. Otherwise, I may end up losing them.
Once I have their email, I add it to my marketing list and include them in my email marketing campaigns.
4. Incorporate video ads.
Videos are a powerful tool for boosting conversions and sales. Our 2024 Marketing Statistics show that 96% of people watch explainer videos to learn more about a product. Even better, 89% say these videos have convinced them to purchase.
These stats clearly prove my point.
Why not give your audience what they want? Incorporate video ads in your Facebook campaigns to boost your metrics.
5. Create Facebook and Google ads.
While many marketers see Facebook and Google as picking one or the other, I see them as platforms that can complement each other quite nicely.
As I said earlier, my strategy always depends on my campaign objectives and the audience segment I‘d like to target. So, I often choose different ad types that align with my customers’ current stage in the buyer’s journey.
For example, if I'm promoting my new fitness tracker to warm leads, Facebook ads might be the better option. I can target them with helpful content to create brand awareness, as they may not yet be ready to buy my product.
Conversely, Google ads would be more effective if I‘m marketing a new computer to a return customer. Such a person is often ready to purchase and research their options. By using the right keywords and creating targeted Google ads, I can reach them at the exact moment they’re considering buying, making it more likely they'll choose my product.
6. Use giveaways and contests.
Something I've noticed when creating my social media campaigns is that Facebook contests don’t always need to focus on sales. Instead, I offer high-value prizes to increase brand awareness, which will pay off in the long run by bringing new leads into my conversion funnel.
Kelly Sullivan, the owner of Kokomo Botanical Resort, shares the impressive results he got when he offered customers a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii for sharing a Facebook ad about their travel company.
According to Sullivan, “The contest spread like wildfire, increasing our Facebook page likes by over 50% and reducing our CPC (cost-per-click) by 40% within a month.”
Besides high-value prizes, I also find that partnering with brands that have similar audience personas to mine can be effective.
Amelia Munday, social media marketing specialist at Custom Neon, agrees and notes that “By partnering with other brands and posting in a ‘collaboration style’ post with other accounts, the giveaway is mutually beneficial to both brands because it allows you to garner exposure to each other's audience and therefore increase your following and impressions!”
Note: Before creating any contests or giveaways on Facebook, review Meta’s policies to make sure you aren’t violating any of their rules.
7. Use Facebook mobile ads.
When I think about Facebook ads, one of the first things that comes to mind is the immense potential of mobile ads. Most people on social media prefer using their smartphones to desktops.
Our statistics show that 62% of millennials and 80% of Gen Z primarily use their phones to search for what they want.
So, I always ensure my website is optimized for mobile viewing because I want to tap into this massive audience that's constantly engaged with their phones. Otherwise, I’d be sending prospects to a website that frustrates them, which is pretty much akin to flushing money down the toilet.
8. Use AI strategically to create your Facebook ads.
Our Social Media Trends report shows that 48% of social media marketers use AI tools to generate text for their copy, while another 41% use AI assistants like Microsoft Copilot to automate repetitive tasks and improve productivity.
Chris Stones, strategic and operations director at Mitchell & Stones, says AI helps him serve ads in multiple languages and gives him a more accurate translation than Google Translate.
As a content curator, AI helps me save at least three hours on every piece of ad copy I create. Personally, I use HubSpot's AI-powered content tools to:
- Turn a single blog post into multiple content formats.
- Write engaging copy for my social media posts.
- Create consistent on-brand content.
That said, AI is still far from perfect. Use it to complement your creative efforts rather than relying on it entirely.
Create Effective Facebook Ads Today
My experience creating Facebook ad strategies has taught me that nothing will work if I don’t know who my message is meant for.
I must understand what my ideal customer wants and where they are in the buying journey. This way, I can better use my Facebook ads to create brand awareness and guide shoppers toward purchasing my product.
Incorporate the strategies I’ve shared today to drive higher engagement and boost your conversion rates.
