As Facebook has grown to permeate people’s everyday lives, advertisers have clambered to get in front of these users with memorable and effective Facebook advertising campaigns.

Most advertisers are still getting a feel for what works and what ultimately fails for them in Facebook with no clear formula as to how to grab the attention of their audience.

Essentially the mantra for advertising on Facebook is “Test, Test, Test.”

Well, no longer must you go blindly into this world of Facebook Advertising. Below, you will find 3 tips to help you be more successful in your social media marketing efforts.

1. Targeting: Segment Your Audience

One reason why advertisers love (or want to love) Facebook is that it is a treasure trove of user (read “consumer”) data.

The different ways to target Facebook users is immense and ranges from basic demo/geo (Males, Age 18+ living in Chicago) down to niche interests (“Travel Channel,” “underwater basket weaving”).

The key is to leverage this data by defining and then segmenting your target audience into groups. Segment your audience into performance levels that include a combination of: Gender, Age, Education, Likes & Interests, and Location. This will allow you to see which audience is responding the most to your Facebook advertising, and adjust your spend based on how each segment performs.

A recent targeting option added to the interface allows advertisers to target “Connections on Facebook.” If you are directing your ads to your Facebook fan page you are able to target Fans, Friends of Fans, and non-Fans. This targeting is helpful based on what your marketing is trying to achieve. Perhaps you are seeking new sign-ups or leads so you would want to segment your audience around people not already connected to your brand, non-Fans or Friends of Fans. Or you might be organizing an event in which you would want to target both Fans and Friends of Fans.

2. Images are Key: A/B Test Your Creative

Images are the key driver for Click Thru Rates.

The goal here is to stand out to the Facebook user, whose attention is most likely being pulled in many different directions, with a relevant image that will relate to the landing page. Please note the emphasis on relevant image. Especially for Direct Response campaigns, you do not want to use stand-out/zany/shocking images that have no relation to your product. An image of a scary zombie face will compel users to click, but if it has nothing to do with Life Insurance they probably won’t convert and all you will be seeing are high CPLs and low-quality leads.

Split test different images to see what performs best for your product. Test logos and animated images. Draw attention to ads with contrasting colors or test outlining the image in red.

Facebook Ads are often successful when the ad image looks like it could be a part of the Facebook network. Ad units like this are more compelling to users who are already looking at Facebook photos of friends and acquaintances. Facebook network-type images seem to work best for marketing dating or other socially oriented sites.

Finally, link the images to your audience segment in order to increase relevance. For example, if you are targeting athletes then use images of athletes or people being physically active.

3. Combat Ad Blindness: Refresh Creative

The average Facebook user spends almost 2 hours a week on Facebook, with many users spending 8+ hours/week on the site. The combination of this great amount of time spent on Facebook and a finely targeted audience results in Ad Blindness rather quickly in comparison with other Display advertising efforts.

Combat Ad Blindness by keeping your creative fresh. How often you refresh depends on audience size and performance. One way to gauge a campaign’s creative life cycle is to monitor peak click thru rates and then develop a refresh cycle to match.

Another best practice commonly employed is to rotate creative based on 3 impressions per Facebook user. For example, if the estimated reach of your target audience is 1,000 people then you should refresh your creative after 3,000 impressions served.

What e-storm thinks

Most marketers have not yet found the silver bullet for Facebook Advertising, and the emphasis lies on testing. There are a multitude of things to test. Start initially with your audience and your ad images, refreshing creative as often as needed, and you will be off to a good start to a successful Facebook advertising campaign.

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