| Read time 13 min read

Do Facebook Ads Really Work? Yes, and Here’s How!

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Do Facebook Ads Really Work? Yes, and Here’s How!

Read time 13 min read
Do Facebook Ads Really Work

Test your website’s SEO and social media score in 60 seconds! Diib is one of the best SEO and social media monitoring tools in the world. Diib syncs to Facebook and Google Analytics and uses the power of big data to help you quickly and easily increase your social media traffic and SEO rankings.

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Automated ideas to improve Social Media traffic + sales

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Keyword and backlink monitoring + ideas

A strong social media presence is very crucial in any business that aspires to grow. Any company that isn’t active on social media platforms, especially Facebook, could be missing out a lot. But, most business owners keep asking if Facebook ads work. Well, in a short, straightforward answer, Facebook advertising works incredibly well when executed in the right way.

The platform has continued to dominate the global social network. It’s highly acceptable by a vast range of demographics in the consumer market, which gives businesses a chance to convert their followers into customers.

For those who have used Facebook before, you have probably seen an advertisement that you feel is directly meant for you. If you follow sports, shopping, or music pages, you will undoubtedly come across ads from businesses in that specific sector. When users join Facebook, create an account and profile, the platform can gather useful data for marketers to help them make targeted campaigns.

There is too much that you can do with your business on Facebook. The guide below provides all the necessary information to answer your question of Fb ads work. Keep reading to learn more on how to run a successful campaign on Facebook.

How Do Facebook Ads Work?

Now that I have answered your question, do Facebook ads work? Let’s dive in deeper to understand the process involved. Essentially, your business pays to find prospective customers. Based on the user’s activities off and on Facebook, the platform will help you segment the best audience, who are more likely to find your products or services useful. Hence, your ads appear only to a specific segment of individuals who have depicted behavioral interest in your business.

Facebook uses an auction system to determine what ads display to a specific group of users. The choice depends on your maximum bid and how much you are willing to pay when users take the desired actions. It’s also determined by the level of engagement the ads bring and the user experience. The volume of clicks, feedback on an ad, the rate of shares and likes are other determinants.

Since not all marketers have the same objective, Facebook calculates the bid based on estimated cost per thousand impressions or the effective cost per mile. Hence all advertisers can compete on an equal level irrespective of their ad format or campaign goals. To gain a better understanding of Facebook advertising and how it works, let’s look at the main components of the ad campaign.

  • Creative: includes your ads visuals like images or videos.
  • Bid: the highest amount of money you can set aside to pay for clicks, purchases, or views.
  • Targeting: the exact people who will see your ad.
  • Placement: where the ad will appear.
  • Schedule: when and how long your ad runs.
  • Budget: your maximum spend in a particular period.

Types Of Facebook Ads

If you are still asking, how do Facebook ads work? Pay attention to the different ads available to understand better. It’s worth noting that each type serves different goals, and you need to pick one that matches your campaign’s needs.

The Photo Ad

It’s a common Facebook ad type that looks more like a regular post with an image and status. The image should clearly show your offering. It should be impressive and must have a call to action.

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Video Ads

They are a bit large and offer more engagement compared to the photo ads. Based on video marketing statistics, 84% of consumers find videos more convincing especially when they are looking for products or services. Further, most people spend an average of 16 hours weekly watching online videos. Hence, it’s a potentially profitable ad type that marketers can consider. However, you need to keep the video as short and relevant as possible.

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

Link Click Ad

The primary function of marketing campaigns is to drive traffic to your business website. For startups, link click ads will help bring potential customers to your product page or blogs. Thus more people will discover your business offering and can push them into converting. Include a call to action, alluring images, and compelling offers on the ad, and you can achieve a higher click-through rate with lower PPC compared to other ads. For instance:

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

(Image Credit: Solomo Media)

Carousel Ads

If you deal with multiple products or services, carousel ads will help you send traffic to different pages. You can put together up to ten images or videos in a single ad with links on each image. Customers can then click on the images that interest them more. For example:

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

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Slideshow Ads

This ad type gives you a convenient way to create a collection of videos or images into a clip. It has an eye-catching motion and less bandwidth, so even those with a low internet connection can still access them. The image below shows the creation of a slideshow ad:

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

(Image Credit: AdvertiseMint)

Localized Ads

Localized ads are the best option for businesses with a specific target region or those aiming to attract traffic to a physical location. You can set a campaign based on your customers’ exact geographical location and even narrow it down to miles. Your ads will thus appear to people within a specific distance from your store and is a great way to boost conversions. You can even insert a link to help them get directions, for example:

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

(Image Credit: Closer’s Cafe)

Offer Ads

Often, most businesses run promo and discount offers to attract potential customers. The offer ads give you a chance to directly interact with your customers by availing redeemable discounts on Facebook. Use the targeting options available to ensure that your promotions get to the right audience. Remember to include the period in which your offer is viable, its exact amount, and the number of people that can claim it. This information will help you eliminate unnecessary clicks. For example:

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

(Image Credit: Instapage)

Event Ads

Facebook allows you to invite your page fans to participate in business-related events. You direct your users to the ticket purchase site through the call to action. It will help you attract the right attendees to your events, increasing the chances of conversions. Include the dates, exact price, and time of the event in your ad. For instance:

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

(Image Credit: WordStream)

How To Advertise On Facebook

Since we have thoroughly covered facebook advertising and how it works, the best way to move past the question, do Fb ads work is to give it a try. You can follow instructions on the platform to create a campaign. Further, I have outlined a detailed guide covering the Facebook advertising process in detail and some advanced strategies to get you started.

Set Up Facebook Ads Manager Account

If you already have a business Facebook account, proceed to the Facebook ads manager tool. Verify your details on the ‘account set up’ page, select a payment method then save the changes. You can now begin creating ads through the Facebook ads manager. To kick-off, proceed to the campaign tab and tap the ‘create’ button at the top left part of the performance dashboard.

Choose Your Campaign Objective 

Facebook allows you to choose from a list of campaign goals one that matches your business objectives. Before getting started, the Ad manager will prompt you to choose from the 11 options available.

Your choice will help Facebook determine your bidding options and the most appropriate formats for your ads. Pick an objective that perfectly matches your desired campaign outcomes. For instance, if your main aim is to drive traffic to your product page, you should select website traffic. Facebook will then display the best ad options that will help you achieve this goal. Here is how the platform aligns the objectives with your business goals.

  • Reach: they expose your ads to the largest possible number of people.
  • Brand awareness: Introduce your business to the audience.
  • Product catalog sales: Link the advertisement to your business catalog to showcase your products to a group of individuals who are most likely to purchase.
  • Lead generation: They help drive new clients to your sales funnel.
  • Traffic: Drive a substantial number of people to your blog, sales, or webpages.
  • Conversions: They get your audience to react to your ad through subscribing to your pages or buying.
  • Store traffic: Deliver customers to your physical store.
  • Messages: Get your target audience to reach out to your business through Facebook Messenger
  • Engagement: Delivers your ad to a wide range of audiences to increase your business engagement levels through likes, event attendance, or offer claims.
  • App installs: convince more individuals to install your application.
  • Video views: Make a vast audience watch your video content.

Give Your Campaign A Name

Once you have selected a clear objective, you now need to name your campaign. This step is essential if you plan to run multiple campaigns since it helps you organize your ads better. It will also help you analyze your results quickly. You can include the name of the website, location audience, or the creative type in your campaign name. It’s also vital that you include the date range your campaign will run. You can set up an A/B test to determine the best performing ad component and delivery optimization strategy. Here is an example of an A/B test:

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

Choose The Right Target Audience

Next, determine who your target audience is, those that should receive your ad message. If you are a new marketer trying to figure out, do paid Facebook ads work? You might have to try out various targeting options before knowing the right audience.

After naming your campaign, scroll down to choose the Facebook page you want to promote. Scroll further, and you will find an option to build your custom target group. You can choose this from the group of individuals who have previously shown interest in your business based on your website traffic on or off Facebook. While selecting your target audience, Facebook will show you an estimate of daily reach and indicate whether your audience is too small or broad to help create the right audience for your campaign.

Whether you need a broad or limited audience depends on your objectives. For instance, if your campaign goal is brand awareness, you need to focus on a general audience. However, if your objective is to generate traffic, concentrate on a specific group of individuals who have a direct interest in your offerings.

Facebook allows in-built targeting options like location, age, gender, interests, behaviors, connections, languages, relationships, and education level, among others. Note that effective targeting will help you maximize your returns. You can use either of the two ways to define your target group clearly. The detailed targeting enables you to select a specific audience and rule out others based on their demographics, interests, or behavioral patterns. For instance, if you deal with yoga, you can include those interested in meditation and yoga and eliminate those who only need hot yoga.

On the other hand, connections lets you target your ad to a specific group of people who have had a connection with your business and still leave out others. For instance, if you want to attract a new client base, you can exclude those who have already liked your page.

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Set Your Ad Placement 

Progress down further to select the exact places where you wish your ads to display. If you are a newbie in Facebook placements, it would be wise to consider automatic placement. Your ad content will then appear in places where they are likely to derive the best results across Facebook, Instagram, and messenger.

Facebook placements are feeds, instant articles, stories, market place, in-stream videos, or right column. On Instagram, your ad can either appear on the feeds or stories. Placements in the audience network are in-stream videos, rewarded videos or native, banner, and interstitial. In messenger, ads either appear in sponsored messages or inbox. For instance:

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

(Image Credit: Social Media Examiner)

Once you gain more experience, edit your placement and optimize them for better results. You can choose a specific location based on the device type, be it desktop, mobile gadgets, or both. You can also target the ads for specific operating systems like Android, feature phones, iOS, or all options.

It’s worth noting that your placement significantly affects the cost per results. Hence use the split test to determine where your target customers are so that you can place your ads there. Your objective again affects the placement of your ad. If your main aim is brand awareness or engagement, concentrate on Facebook and Instagram.

Video views and app installation works well on Instagram, Facebook, and the Audience network. On the other hand, for traffic, conversions, and product catalog sales, use Facebook and the audience network.

Come Up With A Budget And Schedule

It’s also vital to determine how much you are able and willing to layout for your campaign. You can do this using either the daily or lifetime budget. Your ads will run throughout the day for the daily budget, and Facebook paces the spending per day. On the other hand, a lifetime budget suits you best if you plan to run your ads for a specific period, and Facebook determines the spending based on the time you set.

Proceed to the advanced settings to make further specifications. You can decide whether you want to run the ad continuously or if you would wish to adjust the start and end dates later on the schedule part. You can even set the ads to run during specific hours of the day. It will help you serve your ads when most of your target customers are active on Facebook.

Further, determine whether you want to bid for clicks, impressions, or objectives on the optimization and pricing section. For delivery, you can either set the standard option where your ads appear throughout the day or the accelerated delivery to reach out to your prospects if you have a time-sensitive ad. The latter requires manual bid pricing.

Create The Ad

It’s now time to create the ad that you want your followers to see on Facebook. Choose your preferred file format, depending on your campaign goal, then enter the text or image content. Ensure that the images adhere to the design recommendations. Review your ad and if it meets all your requirements, click ‘confirm’ to send in your order. Next, please wait for a confirmatory mail from Facebook informing you that they have approved your advertisement.

Monitor The Ad’s Performance

Evaluate the ad’s performance to get the best answer to your question, do paid Facebook ads work. Look out for the impressions, reach, clicks, and engagement levels from the Facebook Ads Manager dashboard. It will help you determine what best works for you so you can focus more resources on these. For example:

Do Facebook Ads Really Work

(Image Credit: WordStream)

Diib®: Metrics that Show Your Facebook Ad Success!

Facebook is an innovative platform that can help generate traffic and convertible leads from many potential customers. Partnering with Diib Digital will give you the confidence, and metrics, necessary to make strategic business decisions based on analytics. Here are a few of the features of our User Dashboard you’re sure to appreciate:

  • Social media integration and performance
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FAQ’s

Facebook ads are often a much more profitable way to market your business than other advertising channels. The leads from these ads are more valuable and likely to convert.

Facebook advertising costs, on average, $0.97 per click and $7.19 per 1000 impressions.

There are so many ways to advertise on Facebook for free. Here are a few:

  • Create a personal business presence using a fan page.
  • Maintain a robust brand presence.
  • Join Facebook groups.
  • Create your own group.
  • List your events.
  • Syndicate your blog.
  • Ask your network to share blog posts.
  • Reach out.

A typical budget for Facebook business ads is between 5%-!2% of your revenue. Those on the higher end are usually looking to grow their business quickly.

This is a cap amount you set over the lifetime of an ad set. The Facebook system will automatically try and evenly spread out the amount over your pre-selected period of time.

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Daniel Urmann

Author Bio:

Daniel Urmann is the co-founder of Diib.com. Over the past 17 years Daniel has helped thousands of business grow online through SEO, social media, and paid advertising. Today, Diib helps over 150,000 business globally grow online with their SaaS offerings. Daniel’s interest include SMB analytics, big data, predictive analytics, enterprise and SMB search engine optimization (SEO), CRO optimization, social media advertising, A/B testing, programatic and geo-targeting, PPC, and e-commerce. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) focused in Finance and E-commerce from Cornell University – S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management.

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