You've developed a hot product and the compelling creative assets to promote it. Now you turn to Facebook to tell the world. But your post only gets seen by 15 people. You put some of the campaign's advertising budget into a Facebook ad, and still, crickets. What went wrong?
The way you're using the Facebook ads feature or the way you're creating social media content — or both — could be to blame.
Using Facebook Ads More Effectively
If you comb through the advice at the Facebook Help Center, you'll discover that using the platform's ad feature isn't an automated process. Parameters for each post should be carefully considered based on the post content and intended audience.
But first, a bit of housekeeping. Was your ad actually approved and running? Facebook says ads are most commonly rejected due to images in posts containing more than 20 percent text. Also, if you have several hands involved in your social media management, the ads might be stuck in limbo. Is your ad set to "active" or did someone pause the ad?
Here are a few more questions to run past your team:
- Is the ad mistakenly set to run in the future?
- Have you depleted your Facebook ad budget and therefore put the ad on hold?
- Did you exceed your account's spending budget?
When it comes to the ad itself, Facebook has said that after a viewer sees your ad more than three times, your return on investment goes south. Swapping out an image or editing the text can both help capture new attention. After you've received 500 impressions, check your relevance score. You may need to boost your budget to reach a greater audience. Also, be mindful of your targeting. You should shoot for an audience greater than 50,000.
Creating Savvy Social Media Content
If you've finished troubleshooting the Facebook ad settings and feel the problem lies with your posts, consider these social media tactics from Icono Square and Marketing Land.
- Use SEO text. Optimized text isn't just for static pages and blog posts. Words on public business pages are indexed by search engines. Implement your best keyword strategies on Facebook.
- Check mobile responsiveness. Are there odd text breaks? Is the image missing? Edit until your post shines on both mobile and desktop.
- Use sharp images. Are your pictures blurry or boring? Amp up the eye-catching factor with intriguing, pro images. If you don't have in-house art, use royalty-free stock images. But steer clear of stock images that scream, "HEY, I'M A STOCK IMAGE!"
- Try new formats. Experiment with a slideshow ad, video ad, carousel ad, or app install ad.
- Feature real people. In the age of authenticity, content showing real people using your product drives engagement. Tell a story about a happy customer to connect with your social media audience.
- Do A/B testing. If you just can't figure out what's going on, create two or three versions. Run them all and see which one performs best. You might learn something completely unexpected.
Do you need more direction when it comes to social media strategy? Contact socialads@coxinc.com. We can evaluate your current strategy and suggest changes to boost those results.
