When Facebook raised the cost of running ads, many people found it time to bail and try out different advertising platforms. We agree that the cost per ads has significantly increased, and we agree that a lot of people stopped making profits as a result, but now is not time to bail – it’s time to get smarter and better with your Facebook advertising! That’s why we are here to help you with our Top Facebook Ad Hacks in 2019.
Regardless of ad pricing, Facebook is still one of the best advertising platforms for reaching a cold audience and turning them into a warm audience. Facebook advertising is also the top platform for split testing! Think of it as your personal marketing focus group where you can quickly learn what copy, visuals, and promos work, and which types of audiences will best respond to your offers.
So now that you know that you should use Facebook ads in 2019, below are some of our top marketer top-secret Facebook ad hacks to help you get results!
Facebook Ad Hack #1: Use split testing
This by far is one of our favorite reasons to run Facebook ads and once you try it, you’ll be hooked too! Although not a new concept for 2019, we knew that this hack had to be repeated as many people are still not taking the time to do proper split testing. All great marketing is based on the premise that data should always dictate your results. Although it’s wise to use your gut instinct in life, spending money on ads based on hunches is not something we recommend. Let data tell you how to improve your ads, what to promote and who to promote it to. The next step is to take your winning ads, and then let Facebook do it’s magic with them, for at least a week – so hands-off while your ads optimize. Let the experiments begin!
Source: Facebook
Facebook Ad Hack #2: Use long-form copy
Yes, it may seem counterintuitive to use the long-form copy in a world with short attention spans, but trust us, long copy works. First, it allows you to better explain how your offer will specifically help the reader. Second, it allows you to build out a story around the offer – one that will engage the reader. The story you choose can be your story or the story of a client or customer, but the most important element is to choose a story the reader will be able to relate to, a character people will cheer for, and a story that shows how using the product or service resulted in a positive transformation ie. “Sue used this strategy and went from selling nothing to selling 100 products every day, which allowed her to move her and her 3 small kids from a one-bedroom to a 3 bedroom home within a month.” Also, long-form copy means the reader needs to click the “read more” button – yippee! – you just obtained a click, which counts towards your ad engagement.
Read our Top Copywriting tips to attract more users.
Facebook Ad Hack #3: Build your authority
Authority will help people trust that you are the one in your industry who can best serve and help them. You can build authority by what you say, through displaying testimonials or reviews, or using visuals that capture authority, for instance, by using power poses, placing people in front of influential or impressive backgrounds, or even use visuals that at a glance, demonstrate what you can do, such as bar graphs and arrows.
Speakers or coaches: use images of you on stage (one of the most authoritative places to be is on stage!)
Dentists, chiropractors and other service providers: try a video with your credentials displayed in the background
Retailers, restaurants and other storefronts: use images of your businesses surrounded by lots of people
Also try this: Think about who you trust in your industry and take cues from the visuals they choose to use in their ads or public posts.
Facebook Ad Hack #4: Ensure your offers are clear
We’ve found that the clearer you are when delivering your offer, the better the response rate. So instead of using a vague headline, try out a precise one such as “get 50% off your Disney poolside room” vs. “enjoy a family vacation at an amazing price!”
Facebook Ad Hack #5: Maximize each ad for long-term results:
At this point, you’ve likely heard of a funnel. The principle of a funnel is to guide a prospect through a customer journey where you are guiding them on what to buy – not in a used car person type of way, but as a committed and dedicated customer-focused friend, truly concerned that the prospect is receiving as much value as possible. Facebook ads still work best if you can provide a free offer to hook them in, But here comes the ad hack: while they are checking out your landing page, what is another low priced product or service you can add on that is a no brainer for them to say yes to? And what product or service might pair up perfectly with that? Ideally, you want to create so much value and make your offer so good, that most people will want to say yes, and you’ve effectively covered the cost of acquiring the customer (which pretty much means you are advertising for free or actually profiting from your ad spend!).
Facebook Ad Hack #6: Email Marketing:
It’s surprising how many people neglect to plan out an effective email marketing campaign before they turn their ads on. The two go hand in hand and this hack is almost guaranteed to up your conversion rates. Considering that only a tiny percentage of people will actually make a purchase, email marketing provides the ideal way to keep in touch with the prospects that did not purchase and eventually turn them into buying customers.
Facebook Ad Hack #7: Choose the right type of ad:
Facebook offers quite a few options when it comes to advertising. Here are a few tips:
If you are new to advertising and want to build up at least a few pages likes (to help your page look full and hopefully build some engagement before you run your other ads) then Engagement Ads for page likes is what you want to consider.
If, on the other hand, you have an active Facebook page and are looking to get only the most serious and qualified people of your target audience to respond, then only run conversion ads.
Of course, after starting your conversion ads, you will absolutely want to run Retargeting Ads. It just makes sense to go after people who have expressed some interest but decided not to yet take action. This is the top hack because it gets amazing results! You will want to retarget those who interacted with your ad but did not click to take you up on your offer. Also, retarget people who landed on your landing page, but did not purchase (ie did not take you up on your first upsell or final offer).
PRO TIP: You can also use retargeting before you run your ads, such as by simply putting up helpful educational based videos (related to your product or service) and then running ads only to people who watched a certain percentage of that video.
For those who have a lot of contacts on messenger, try out Messager Ads! Facebook Messenger Ad open rates are higher than in almost all other ad channels (over 80% in many cases!). Messenger ads allow you to have conversations with prospects. Think about what they most need to know, and provide it to them in a fun and interactive way through messenger ads. It is definitely worth testing out in 2019.
Facebook Messager Ads(right)
In 2019, Facebook ads should certainly be an integral part of your online marketing campaigns. Ideally you should add in other types of ads as well, such as YouTube ads or even LinkedIn advertising, but to begin with, Facebook ads are a must and with the hacks above, can provide you with ongoing leads and profits for your business.
If you have any questions or interested in Facebook Ads, get in touch with us to learn more.
