5 working tips for effective Facebook advertising

Using Facebook advertising to improve business results has long been a sign of not being innovative in building online reputation or increasing revenue. It's a necessity, topping the list of basic practices for successful digitization of a company, product, service, brand, idea. Today, everyone is advertising on Facebook. But the fact that you're in the game too doesn't make you banal. Only your Facebook ad can be banal if it is boring, inadequate to your business goals and needs.

The slightest suspicion that you've fallen into the trap of Facebook advertising without seeing real results from it is a red flag. In all likelihood, you have an urgent need for change. Start with these 5 actionable tips for effective Facebook ads.

Relevant strategy - the scaffolding on which to build

Shooting directions is not a successful approach in Facebook advertising or in any marketing channel. If you don't have a clear tactic in place, every post, sponsored post, rant or viral copy loses its outline and potential in the vast virtual space.

Building a relevant strategy just sounds complicated. In fact, it's a plan with specific tasks whose execution will lead to achieving your business goals. Facebook strategy should be part of your overall marketing strategy. It should also be consistent with strategies on other channels (e.g., Instagram, Tik-Tok, Google Ads). But it's also directly related to your overall business goal. What you want to achieve:

• Audience to learn about your business
• Your audience to increase in numbers
• Your audience shows more activity (reading your posts, downloading your new app, buying your products)

As you can see, the audience is involved everywhere. So here it's critical to clarify: without knowing her, you can't advertise anything to her. That's why before you build the scaffolding of your Facebook ad campaign, build the image of your potential customer who will be interested in it.

The right Facebook ad format - the path to consumer attention

The choice of the form of communication with the audience through Facebook advertising is key to its final results. Keep in mind that what works for the business you learned from while running your first Facebook ads may not be applicable to your brand. It may even be the worst thing to choose for your business.

If you've managed to envision and step into your potential client's shoes, you'll find it easier to hold their attention with a specific format. It's an undeniable fact that videos are the new black according to social media trends, but... If your customers are B2B, work under pressure and in a quiet environment for maximum concentration, and even mothers with newborn children, this format will not only not attract them, but may also repel them.

Properly presented format - a guarantee for retained consumer attention

Facebook is an extremely competitive environment. In the most popular social network to date, the fight for every click and user is truly fierce. That's why no compromises are allowed. Even the slightest spelling mistake in a Facebook copy can be fatal and lead to the loss of a large number of followers.

This rule applies with equal force to the construction of the vision. The time when we could improvise with Facebook ad design is not just gone, it should be forgotten forever. That doesn't mean the vision has to be too eccentric and always aim for something over-the-top extravagant. For many businesses, simple things work with greater power. In all, a professionally crafted design for your Facebook ad is the norm that it is advisable to stick to.

Financial soundness in budgeting - a topic for reflection

It is important to work on this task from the top down. In other words, you first need to establish the total advertising budget. If you advertise on other channels that are just as important as Facebook, don't zero them out, but allocate the funds fairly. Next, set a specific budget for the entire Facebook ad campaign, and be sure to set an optimal timeframe. Only then go to the next level - weekly, monthly and budget for each advertising department.

Review the statements each month and modify the financial plan as needed. There is nothing wrong with that. However, trial-and-error is not allowed, it's mandatory on Facebook. In time, you'll also get to the point where you'll be able to implement cost-cutting tactics. For example, if you target the right audience, you'll save yourself a lot of unnecessary clicks that you have to pay for later.

Goodbye TOF, MOF, BOF structure (it doesn't work anymore)

Before you are shocked by this news, let us clarify that it does not apply to all businesses. However, in 90% of cases, the old but golden marketing funnel in building a Facebook advertising strategy is inapplicable. Even if you do use it, the effect will be minimal and it will likely cost you more money to achieve your set goals. Before we explain why the TOF, MOF, BOF formula doesn't work anymore, let's recap exactly what it used to preach.

Meaning of abbreviations

TOF, MOF, BOF are the abbreviations behind the three steps a user goes through to become your loyal customer. They can also be understood as phases of customer transformation. In each of them, you are tasked with influencing the buyer persona in a certain way to motivate them to move to the next level.

At the TOF level, your goal is to inform. The idea is for users who don't know you to learn about you. The content here is mostly educational, but it shouldn't be too schematic and boringly presented, at this point there are probably dozens of your future fledgling competitors.

At the MOF level, the real Facebook advertising begins. In this phase, you present your product or service in the most attractive way possible as a solution to a problem that users have realized they have through you.

At the BOF level, your task is to stimulate the users attracted to your page or website and convert them into your real customers. This doesn't necessarily have to happen the shortest way, i.e. by prompting your audience to actually buy. Too aggressive a sales strategy already turns the consumer off. It is enough to convince them that your brand, service or product has a direct link to their need and represents an alternative solution to their problem. Your goal is to be persuasive enough that the consumer will make a decision that corresponds with a desired action. Namely a purchase, downloading an app, subscribing to a test period of a service, a consultation, etc.

What happened to TOF in Facebook advertising?

Everything in the marketing funnel sounds logical and with the potential to produce results, right? The truth is that you can still achieve the effect of the TOF, MOF, BOF structure, but it will cost you unnecessary expenses. The reason is that the TOF stage doesn't give as good results as before. This trend has been observed for nearly 12 months in the US and more recently in Europe, including Bulgaria.

The explanation for the "collapse" in the old but golden TOF, MOF, BOF practice is another change in meta algorithms. More recently they have been improved, as a consequence of which user search is now much easier. That's why the cognitive part in the marketing funnel practically loses its meaning, and thus your resources (not only financial, but also human). Many marketing professionals argue that to date broad practice is more effective and optimal.

You don't have to apply all the tips to boost your Facebook ad results at once. It's enough to realize that you need to optimize your campaign and make an effort to implement it, including fixing specific bugs.

If you find this a laborious task for you, we at ADvantage Digital Agency are available to assist. Don't be shy to share about your problems with your Facebook advertising. We will be happy to find appropriate solutions for them.