Direct response marketers meet your new best friend: the Facebook page post ad. Page post ads are able to fulfill a variety of advertising objectives, from boosting engagement and awareness to driving Web traffic and mobile app installs.
As advertisers around the world prepare their marketing initiatives for 2014, here are three tips to help you create Facebook page post ads that engage your audience and deliver the best possible ROI.
1. Images matter more than ever. With Facebook’s recent ad redesign, images matter more than ever. This goes for both your organic and paid News Feed posts. Use eye-catching, high-resolution images that entice your audience to click. Another pro tip: Now that Facebook link post ads include large images, they’re generally a better choice for direct response marketers than photo post ads.
Link post ads now look a lot like photo post ads in the News Feed, but here’s an important difference—with link post ads, the entire post is clickable, a key advantage for direct response. And of course, make sure to include a compelling call to action in addition to your image.
2. Go mobile or go home. Facebook continues to invest in mobile, creating all kinds of new opportunities for advertisers. New ad specs allow for larger images, which leads to better engagement. Video ads on the News Feed have become a reality as well. In addition to the mobile app install ads released last year, Facebook has created a new mobile ad unit designed to drive app engagement and conversion after a user has downloaded the app. This means retailers can use Facebook not only to promote their shopping apps, but also to promote deals, discounts, and loyalty offers to users who have already downloaded them.
3. Integrate Facebook with the outside world. Facebook activity doesn’t happen in a vacuum, although sometimes it may feel that way. Signals and indicators from the outside world can have a profound effect on consumer behavior inside of Facebook. For example, a majority of U.S. television viewers now regularly use social media on a tablet or mobile phone while watching TV. If you aren’t designing Facebook campaigns with that second screen in mind, you should be.
This kind of real-time data is a gold mind for advertisers who know how to use it. With the use of technology platforms, advertisers can now synchronize their Facebook ads with outside data feeds, such as offline revenue, inventory levels, store traffic, TV commercials, coupon redemptions—and even the weather outside.
Facebook page post ads represent a real sweet spot for direct response marketers, especially when combined with relevant, real-time data from other sources. With consistently high engagement rates, new mobile opportunities, and all of Facebook’s rich audience targeting, they’re a natural choice for data-driven advertisers who need to maximize their ROI.
Robin Cangie is the senior marketing manager at Brand Networks.
