Most businesses I work with have run Facebook ads in the past with varying degrees of success. The usual case is that a lot of money is spent with disappointing results.
Social media is like any form of marketing, you want a return on the money you have spent. From my experience, there are a number of things you can do to greatly increase the chances of your ads meeting your expectations.
So before you run a Facebook ad campaign, use the tips I have outlined below to get a better return on your time and money.
First think about why people use Facebook
One thing to remember is people don’t get on Facebook with their credit card in one hand (such as they do on eBay). People use social media networks for the social aspect. So my first tip, try not to make your ad look like an ad. Make it look more like a social share instead and not like you are trying to sell them something.
Your Facebook ads should take the person to the next step which is to get them to click on your ad. The click should take them to your landing page (or lead form) and it is here where you capture their details.
So when putting you ad together, the first thing you need to do is grab their ATTENTION!
Think of the newsfeed as a forest, the last thing you want is to make your ad look like another tree so it just blends in with all the others.
People look at their newsfeed at lightening speed, so the challenge is capturing the reader’s attention. So how do we do this?
It really comes down to the image you use – people will always look at the picture first so your image has to stand out and really POP!
There are two ways you can do this:
Increase the contrast of your image
Just by increasing the contrast of the colours or maybe using a black and white or a grayscale image, your ads will right away stand out from the others. Think about using a photo editor to increase the contrast (just don’t go crazy with colours or borders – that just screams you are a cheap marketer)!
Provoke emotions
The other thing you can do for your image is to provoke emotion through story telling. People often don’t base their decision on logic but emotion, especially when it comes to purchasing something related to fitness. They want to join gym not because of what it looks like but because they want to feel better about themselves, create less stress, to build some definition, to make themselves look more attractive and so forth.
Remember a picture is worth a thousand words so imagine you can’t use any words to tell the story – what is the message you want your image to portray? What emotions do you want to provoke through your pictures?
Oh and a final point on this, make sure it is relevant – don’t use a head turning image if it doesn’t relate to your business. It will just frustrate people when they click on the image expecting one thing and then getting something completely different.
When it comes to the question of putting copy on the image, I would suggest split testing to see what image works best. And always use the highest quality image as possible.
If you are looking for images, Facebook does provide free images you can use, or use an image library such as Shutterstock, Adobe Spark, Canva or even Google Images (just make sure they are free for commercial use so you don’t get fined by the legal owner of the image).
The next step is finding a CONNECTION with your prospect
Once you have their attention now your goal is to create a connection.
Again Facebook is a social platform so this is important – don’t come across as a marketer trying to sell stuff, you will be shut down. One of basic humans needs is to feel connected with other people so this is a very powerful emotion to use.
So what are some ways you can connect with people?
Start with a question
First start your ad with a question where the answer will be YES
- Do you want to feel better?
- Do you want to look better?
- Do you want to save money?
- Do you want to train with the best?
- Are you looking to change gyms?
- Are you looking to make a change for the better in your life?
Who wouldn’t answer YES right away!
When you get a yes, right away the person’s mood elevates. Also they will see you in a more positive light as they feel you are talking about something they like and you understand the position they are in.
So start your ad with a question that has an implied yes to it to release some happy hormones! It sets the tone for the ad, positions you as having authority as you are asking the question. Also you are getting the prospect to say a small yes which may lead to a bigger YES later on.
Use the four emotions
Now that you have a yes, you can use four principles to further build rapport with your reader. So try to incorporate some or all of the following principles into your Facebook ads:
1. Frustrations – moving away from – an immediate action
2. Fear – moving away from – maybe down the track
3. Wants – immediate things people want right now
4. Aspirations – a few years away but something they want to achieve
Be clear on understanding all these forces and see if you bring these into your ads
Feel, Felt and Found
When you are constructing the copy of your ad, follow this formula:
- I know how you feel…
- I felt the same way…
- Until I found this!
I wanted to get fitter, I have tried so diets without any success, until I joined this gym.
I wanted to build strength, I found nothing worked until I used a personal trainer.
This is a great way to build rapport with your prospect and deepen the connection so they take the next step which is…
Time to get your lead to take immediate ACTION
You have built some rapport, they are more motivated, so now is the time you want them to take some form of action.
Some tips in getting some action, make your offer time sensitive – today, this week, in the next few days and so forth. This implies scarcity so you need to act now before it is too late.
Have a great offer – give something away FREE. People love getting something for nothing. This is a great way to increase the value and decrease the risks of your offer.
Think about using an appealing or sexy name for your magnet with a benefit statement – “download your free five best sexy booty exercises to give more lift for your butt.” Much more appealing than “top 5 leg and glute exercises.”
Make sure you are specific as to exactly what you want people to do – click here to download a copy, register for an event, click here to access your free day pass.
To make it easier, I always use the Facebook lead form which is already populated with the person’s name and email address. This increases the chances of the person submitting their details to you as most of their information is already filled in and they just need to click a button.
Some other things to consider…
With your headline, make it clear what you are offering (such as a free eBook or white paper) and state the benefits they receive once they use it to reduce the risk of submitting their details.
Maybe reiterate the benefits with a cliff hanger sentence – “This is the best class to really supercharge your fitness…” this will encourage the person to click through which tells them more of the story.
How much text to use in an ad? Well there is no ideal amount – maybe a bit on the longer side so it doesn’t look like an ad but more of a social share. With Power Editor there is no limit but try to avoid going to the next page option if possible.
Should you use a Facebook call to action? Maybe not so it doesn’t appear as an ad but try split testing it to see if it makes a difference to your results.
So what shouldn’t you write? Well calling anyone out for something specific, never make people feel people ashamed about themselves or bad about their situation such as pain, body image etc – this is almost a guaranteed way for your ad not to be approved by Facebook (though does make it a little tough when you are running a fitness business as losing weight is one of the most common reasons people sign up to a gym or use a personal trainer).
If your ad doesn’t get approved, you do have the option of appealing the decision and if you explain the reasons, often they will approve it the second time around.
So if there is one thing to take away, make your Facebook ad not look like an ad but like a social share. Get their attention through a great image, then connect through the “feel, felt and found” angles and then get the reader to take immediate action. If you follow this formula, I can almost guarantee a greater return on all your Facebook ads.
