With over 1 billion active Facebook users a month, advertising on the platform isn’t something you’d like to pass on. Your potential customers are among this billion, patiently waiting for something click-worthy to cross their feed.
If you’d like to get better return on ad spend (who doesn’t?), you first need to know what works to create ads people won’t miss. And that’s hard work, considering a lot of folks consider ads obnoxious and invasive.
But not yours. All you need are a few strategies up your sleeve, and you’ll be creating ads that will have people clicking without feeling guilty.
Here’s what 2021 expects from your next Facebook ad campaigns.
Make Friends With A/B Testing
Yes, it’d be great to launch a flawless campaign in one try and call it successful. Well, true marketers know it doesn’t work that way.
Testing your ads is the only way to know for certain whether a campaign is great, or if it could do better. At the end of the day, all we know is that we know nothing.
When evaluating the success of a campaign, it pays to test the following elements:
- Copy length – Testing different copy lengths is also a way of testing your audience’s attention span. Not seeing results? Try varying the length of your copy and track the results. Note that some audiences are willing to read more than others, so don’t discard longer copy here.
- Language – Is your messaging resonating with your audience? If you’re not seeing return, you may not be targeting the right audience with your copy’s tone. You need to speak their language in order to connect with them. Before you test different messages, be sure to know your audience’s pain points and desires, and market to them.
- Visuals – Maybe, the written content is just fine. Sometimes, it’s the visuals that need work.Try and test different images and colors to go with the written content and, if you’re using video, try new filming techniques in every other ad. See how your audience responds.
Remember: Casual Language is (Much) Better Than Formal Copy
Yes, even if you’re advertising those tricky technical B2B products.
The secret is to mimic your audience’s chatting style. While a sassy girl in her 20s will have a casual chatting style, so will a male entrepreneur in his 30s.
That’s why it’s so important for you to truly know your audience and match the way they talk.
You have to meet prospects where they’re at, and that means avoiding overly-technical stuffed language and jargon most of the time. Unless, of course, your prospect is already knowledgeable in your field. Think about it: not everyone knows what CRM or omnichannel means, or why they need it in the first place.
Keep the formality to business meetings. Ads should be straightforward and easy to grasp, especially in Facebook’s cluttered interface with relatively bad new user experience.
Accept That Video Marketing is Taking Over – and Use It!
Video marketing will be enjoying a considerable spike this year, making up around 82 percent of all consumer internet traffic by 2022. That’s around the corner.
For Facebook ads, invest in short (20 to 30 second) videos. They don’t need to be Hollywood-level productions – in fact, getting personal is a strategy that will set you up for clicks.
As an example, you’ve probably seen a lot of ads where people appear casually filming a selfie video while announcing their product. If you’ve seen it over and over, it works.
Sure, if you can spend a little more on quality and production, go for it. But if your budget is on the shorter side, a great offer and an engaging video filmed with your phone will do the job.
And If You’re Using Static Images, Make Them Enticing
Some images work better for Facebook ads than others. For instance, did you know that several high-converting ads featured smiling women, pets, or babies?
You should definitely test the above. But of course, they shouldn’t be your only choices. Here are other ways you can make your ad images stand out:
- Eye-catching colors – They don’t necessarily need to be garish or mixed up, but they do need to stand out. When creating designs, make sure you leverage vivid tones that are true to your branding.
- Power words – Free. Win. Sale. Exclusive. Such words draw attention, especially when well-placed. Use them where applicable.
- Unusual, quirky photos – Can you pair your offer with unusual, funny, weird imagery that will, 10 out of 10 times, make people look at it (while still offering value)? Not everyone can pull this one off, but you should give it a try nonetheless.
Golden Tip: “Camouflage” Your Ads
What usually happens when people see an ad? They scroll past.
But not if the ad looks just like a regular post, amirite?
You’ve scrolled through enough Facebook posts in your life. You know what they look like. Now, it’s time to make your ads look more and more like them. When people realize it, they’ll be halfway through the ad. If they’re well-targeted, they might as well click a button.
The Takeaway
If you’re still wondering if Facebook advertising is still worth it in 2021, this is your heaven-sent confirmation.
By using a casual tone, powerful visuals, and making your ads blend naturally into users’ feeds, you’ll see a boost in conversions. Here’s to an extra source of income.
Have you tried any of the trends above? Which ones have worked best so far? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.