Facebook is arguably the largest social media platform around.
Millions of businesses are leveraging Facebook advertising to reach new audiences. However, Facebook advertising is more than creating an ad and hoping for the best.
You need the right strategy—one that works for your business and audience.
Here, we explore top strategies to help you achieve long-term success on the big Meta.
Using Facebook Ads Manager: Pros and cons
Facebook Ads Manager is a powerful tool for reaching a broad and diverse audience. Below, we explore some key advantages and potential drawbacks of using it for your advertising needs.
Pro: Targeted reach
Facebook Ads Manager excels at helping businesses precisely target their audience. It offers options to filter by demographics, interests, and behaviors, allowing businesses to tailor their ads to reach the most relevant and engaged users.
These people are most likely to interact with your brand and, hopefully, purchase from you. This can lead to higher conversion rates and ROI.
Con: Only reach Facebook users
One limitation of Facebook Ads Manager is that it only reaches users who are active on Facebook. So, this can be a significant drawback if your business’s target audience isn’t heavily present on the platform.
While Facebook has a vast user base, it’s more beneficial to use channels where your ideal audience spends the most time.
Pro: High user engagement
Facebook Ads benefit from the platform’s high user engagement. As of Q4 2023, Facebook boasted 3.065 billion monthly active users.
And users spend an average of 33 minutes per day on the app. That’s more than any other social media platform.
Over half an hour on Facebook is enough time for users to see and interact with your ad. This means increased brand awareness, more clicks, and higher conversion rates.
Plus, the average click-through rate for Facebook Ads across all industries is 1.51%. That’s a lot higher than many other online advertising platforms.
Con: Complicated ad management
Facebook Ads Manager offers a wide range of features. Because of this, its interface can be complex and challenging to navigate, especially if you’re new to digital advertising.
This means you’ll need a deep understanding of the various capabilities, such as audience segmentation, bidding strategies, and performance analytics, which can be overwhelming.
But if you don’t take the time to understand these features before you get started, you likely won’t get the most out of your Facebook Ads campaigns.
Pro: Cost-effective
Facebook Ads are often more cost-effective than Google Ads. The average cost-per-click (CPC) on Facebook is typically around $0.97. On the other hand, the average CPC in Google Ads across all industries is around $2.69 for Search.
That’s a pretty sizable difference, which means you’re likely to reach a larger audience or generate more clicks for less money if you choose Facebook for advertising.
For example, let’s say you spend $100 on Facebook Ads and get over 100 clicks. Spending the same amount of money on Google Ads might only result in about 37 clicks.
Con: Competitive
Facebook Ads can be highly competitive, especially in popular industries where lots of businesses are vying for the same audience’s attention.
This intense competition can drive up costs, especially for placing ads in desirable locations, such as users’ news feeds.
This competition can be challenging if you’re a small or niche business with a limited budget. You might struggle to outbid larger companies with more resources. So, you could find yourself having a hard time gaining the visibility you need to stand out.
Read More: How To Create A Monthly Facebook Analytics Report + Free Template
7 Advanced tips for managing Facebook ads
Like with any other marketing strategy, Facebook Ads isn’t perfect. But it’s possible to maximize its potential and results. Below, we explore how to leverage Facebook Ads to increase your chances of success.
1. Use Facebook’s dynamic features
Facebook offers features that allow advertisers to create highly personalized and targeted ad experiences.
Dynamic Ads, for example, automatically show users the most relevant products based on their previous interactions with your website or app.
Users are more likely to respond to ads that resonate with their needs and preferences.
This Dynamic Ad by Children’s Place likely appears on a user’s feed after they visit the Children’s Place website or make a purchase.
2. Do split testing
A/B testing allows you to create two or more versions of an ad, each with a slight variation. This might include different headlines, images, or calls to action (CTAs). Then, you run those ads at the same time to see which performs better.
Testing these variations can help you identify which elements resonate most with your audience. This will allow you to create more effective ads and refine your campaigns.
Follow these steps to set up A/B testing in Facebook Ads Manager:
- Go to Ads Manager. You’ll see all your available ad campaigns once you’re on your Ads Manager page.
- You can use an existing campaign, ad set, or ad as a template for your test.
- Click on A/B Test in the Ads Manager toolbar.
Make a Copy of This Ad
- Choose whether to duplicate the selected ad or ad set. Change the variable you want to test in the new version (e.g., ad copy, image)
- Select the Ad Set to copy.
- Name your A/B test and decide how you want to determine the winner (e.g., based on conversions or click-through rate). You can also add additional metrics.
- Set the start and end dates for your test. Make sure it covers the duration of your ad campaigns for reliable results.
- Click Duplicate Ad Set, create a name for your new Ad Set, and follow the on-screen instructions to finalize.
Pick Another Existing Ad
- Choose if you want to compare campaigns or ad sets and follow the instructions.
- Enter the name for your A/B test and decide on the criteria for determining the winner. Add any additional metrics as needed.
- Set the start and end dates for the test.
- Review and adjust options, then select Publish Test to start the test.
3. Set up automated rules
Facebook’s automated rules allow you to manage your ad campaigns more efficiently by automating routine tasks and controlling costs.
You set specific conditions under which Facebook will take action automatically. This includes adjusting budgets or pausing underperforming ads.
To set up automated alerts:
- Log in to Meta Ads Manager, where you can manage your campaigns, ad sets, or ads.
- Check the box next to the campaign, ad set, or ad you want to apply a rule to.
- Click on the Rules dropdown menu and select Create a new rule.
- In the new window, select the type of rule you want.
- Custom Rule: Build a rule by defining specific conditions and actions.
- Reduce Auction Overlap: Automatically prevent ad sets from competing against each other.
- Reduce Audience Fragmentation: Help ad sets use their budgets more effectively by combining audiences.
- Click Next and, if using a Custom Rule, name your rule and select the campaigns or ad sets it will apply to.
- Choose the action you want to rule to take when conditions are met.
- Choose the type of notification you want to receive, such as Meta notifications or email alerts.
- Click Create to activate your role.
4. Select audiences to “exclude”
Excluding specific audiences in Facebook Ads Manager can help you narrow your target audience and optimize your ad spend.
When you exclude groups that are less relevant to your campaign goals, you can focus your budget on leads who are more likely to engage with your ads and convert.
5. Utilize lookalikes
With lookalike audiences in Facebook Ads Manager, you can expand your reach by targeting new users who share similar characteristics with your existing customers. Facebook analyzes the traits and behaviors of your current audience and identifies new potential customers who resemble them.
According to research, 1-2% lookalike audiences drive the best cost-per-acquisition (CPA) performance. Anything higher than that could lead you to target audiences that are too different from your current ideal audience.
6. Create a Facebook Ads sales funnel
A Facebook Ads sales funnel guides potential customers through their journey from first learning about your brand to making a purchase and beyond.
So, set up targeted ad campaigns tailored to each stage of the funnel to nurture leads and drive conversions.
Here’s a breakdown of how to create a Facebook Ads sales funnel:
1. Map out the funnel stages
- Awareness: Introduce potential customers to your brand.
- Consideration: Provide more information and engage users who are interested.
- Conversion: Encourage users to make a purchase.
- Retention: Keep existing customers engaged and encourage repeat purchases.
2. Create ad campaigns for each stage.
- Awareness: The goal is to increase brand visibility and attract new prospects. Use video ads, image ads, or carousel ads to showcase your brand’s unique value and introduce your products or services. Use broad targeting to reach new audiences. Use demographics, interests, and geographic targeting to find potential customers who may not yet be familiar with your brand.
- Consideration: Engage users who have shown initial interest and provide them with more information. Use lead generation ads, carousel ads, or engagement ads that offer detailed insights, customer testimonials, or product comparisons. Refine targeting to include users who have engaged with your awareness ads or visited your website. Use custom audiences and retargeting to reach these users.
- Conversion: Convert interested prospects into customers. Use dynamic ads, retargeting ads, or offer ads that encourage immediate action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service. Include strong CTAs and any relevant promotions or discounts. Focus on users who have interacted with your previous ads or visited your product pages. Use custom and lookalike audiences to target users with high purchase intent. To ensure accurate measurement of your ads’ effectiveness, set up Facebook Ads conversion tracking. This allows you to track key actions like purchases, sign-ups, or downloads, providing valuable insights into the performance of your funnel.
- Retention: Maintain customer engagement and promote repeat purchases. Use remarketing ads, loyalty program promotions, or upsell ads to keep customers engaged and incentivize repeat business. Target existing customers or those who have recently made a purchase. Use custom audiences to reach users who have previously interacted with your brand.
7. Find your best bidding strategy
The right bidding strategy allows you to achieve your specific campaign goals—whether that’s driving conversions, increasing brand awareness, or maximizing engagement—without overspending.
The biggest benefits of an effective bidding strategy are optimized ad performance, increased ROI, cost control, better audience targeting, and scalability.
Build on your Facebook Ads best practices
In this article, we talked about the essential strategies for optimizing your Facebook Ads campaigns.
Understanding how to manage your ads ensures you reach the right audience, maximize engagement, and control costs.
With these tips under your belt, you can enhance your ad performance and ROI.
Not sure where to start? Book your demo of Keyhole today and gain deeper insights, better analytics, and powerful tools to elevate your social media strategy.
Author bio
Guillaume is a digital marketer focused on handling the outreach strategy at uSERP and content management at Wordable. Outside of work, he enjoys his expat life in sunny Mexico, reading books, wandering around, and catching the latest shows on TV.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the 3 main parts of the Facebook Ads Manager?
The three main parts of Facebook Ads Manager are:
-Campaigns
-Ad Sets
-Ads
2. What are the 4 main Facebook Ad formats?
The four main Facebook Ad formats are:
-Collection
-Carousel
-Image
-Video
3. What are the 6 elements of a typical Facebook ad?
The six elements of a Facebook Ad are:
-Description
-Headline
-Caption
-Image
-CTA
-Text
