Facebook can give you great response and profits.
It can also be a huge disappointment.
When used correctly, Facebook can be one of the most powerful ways to reach potential customers, expand your reach, and boost response and profits.
In order to maximize your efforts in Facebook, use the following 17 strategic steps I’ve developed to increase your response on Facebook. The steps are based upon over $20 million dollars of testing thousands of ads and strategies for my clients.
1. Identify your audience.
First, identify your audience. How old are they? Where do they live? What are they interested in?
In order to quickly grab the attention of prospective customers who are rapidly scrolling through their newsfeeds, your copy and graphics must be customized to your specific audience.
2. Create a custom list.
Custom lists can be created from your existing database to supercharge your response. A custom list will target a very specific audience of prospects that are the most likely to respond to your marketing.
For example, you could use a custom list to target leads who have signed up for a newsletter. Try targeting product ads to these leads for items they may already have read about, or would likely have an interest in.
3. Create a look-a-like audience.
Using your custom list, create a look-a-like audience that mimics the qualities of your most responsive customers and clients. Look-a-like audiences can dramatically expand your prospects, growing leads and new customers like never before.
Look-a-like audiences can be narrowed down to fit a specific geographical area. For example, if your ideal audience lives in Los Angeles, you can target residents of LA only with a look-a-like audience.
The look-a-like audience size can be scaled up to 10% of the total population of your geo-target, which can significantly affect scale and reach. So, be sure to test different audience percentages to determine what’s best for your campaign.
4. Retargeting is key.
Use retargeting for anyone that’s been to the landing page. Retargeting will track prospects with ads on Facebook to bring them back to your landing page.
You can refine your retargeting audience using an onsite metric like “second page viewed” or “more than 10 seconds spent on the site.”
Take a look at this retargeting ad we created for an investment newsletter client, reminding leads to “hurry” to respond to the offer.
Retargeting ads are great for boosting response.
Try a retargeting campaign to bring back prospective customers who have placed items in your shopping cart—and then abandoned it. This is a powerful way to boost response from leads who have already shown a great interest in your product or service.
5. Create separate ad accounts for different campaign categories.
For example, organize ads for sales of a specific product under their own campaign. The Facebook pixel uses data from previous campaigns to optimize future performance.
To make sure the data gathered from Facebook’s pixels best match your offer and creative, set up ad accounts for your different verticals. Then, organize ads for specific products under their own campaign.
When you create separate ad accounts, you can be more strategic in the objective you choose for your ads…and get a much higher response.
6. Headline has to target your audience.
70% of your success or failure depends on your headline. Longer headlines get more of a response than shorter headlines.
An effective headline will show the benefits of a product or service. If you have statistics, include them in the headline. Headlines should catch the attention of a reader and pull them into taking action.
Check out the detail-specific headline we created for this investment client (written below the image):
Headlines should target your specific audience.
7. Use a powerful call-to-action.
Your Facebook ad or post must include a powerful CTA, telling your prospect to take action. Use power words like “take,” “capture,” or “try” and make it clear what you want your prospect to do.
8. Seven lines of sizzling teaser copy.
Facebook limits the amount of copy that will be immediately visible to a viewer. That means you have five-seven lines to draw in the prospect and persuade them to follow your call-to-action.
9. Create shareable content.
One of the most powerful ways to expand your reach and boost response is to create content that users share on their own Facebook pages.
Shareable content creates interest and provokes curiosity. For example, use a headline that inspires awe in the user. Or, create content that is useful..for example, “10 Steps to a Healthy Morning Routine.”
10. Testing will improve your response rate.
Try testing different headlines, teaser copy and images to improve your results.
Take a look at the test we ran with different ad copy we ran for a client who sells a weight loss supplement:
Ad 1
Ad 2
Which ad do you think performed better?
Ad 1 outperformed Ad 2 by 38%…so we ran Ad 1 with a larger budget to get a greater response.
11. Engagement is key.
When Facebook users comment on your posts or ads, engage with them! Respond to their questions and private messages, and “like” their comments. You should have a policy for how to deal with negative comments and reviews too.
One of the most powerful aspects of Facebook is that it allows you to create relationship with your customer and prospect base…one of the keys to effective marketing.
12. Use a powerful visual.
If your Facebook advertisement or post doesn’t have a powerful, eye-catching visual, you will quickly lose the attention of your prospect. Use a relevant image that evokes an emotional response.
Take a look at this ad we ran for an investment newsletter client:
Powerful visuals get a higher response.
Also, keep in mind that if you create a graphic, it can only include 30% text—or Facebook won’t run it.
13. Use videos where you can.
Videos can bring your product or service to life, boosting your response and creating high engagement.
The first few seconds of your video are key. That’s your opportunity to capture the attention of your prospective client.
Facebook ads with video should allow you to choose a custom “thumbnail image” for the still image before the video plays. Be sure to leverage Facebook’s ability to caption videos too. This will make sure your videos more accessible to people browsing with the volume muted. Videos with Facebook subtitles get a 12% higher response.
14. Go Live.
Facebook Live is a powerful platform for sharing content with your users in real-time.
Facebook Live video shouldn’t feel too formal or planned. Consider going Live at events you may be hosting or participating in, or use Facebook Live “selfie” style, and film your brand’s spokesperson speaking about exciting new products or services.
15. Ask for follows and likes.
Publish posts that ask for likes and follows to increase your prospect base.
We recently sent out an email campaign asking our subscribers to “like” us on Facebook—and got 675 click-throughs, significantly increasing our page’s number of “likes.”
Your number of fans/likes is also a powerful credibility booster. If people who visit your page know that others love and appreciate you, they are more likely to do the same.
16. Drive users to a specific landing page.
Create a specific landing page for your offer, that matches the headlines and graphics of your Facebook ad or post.
Your landing page should have no navigation distractions, a strong, benefit-oriented headline, and a call-to-action in the upper righthand corner for desktop, and centered for mobile. To watch a video on how to create a winning landing page, click here.
17. Optimize for mobile.
Your Facebook ads and posts should be mobile-optimized for ads and landing pages. 64% of your prospects are viewing your ads on their mobile devices. Viewers can typically view less text on mobile, so make sure your copy is powerful, especially at the beginning.
If you would like to discuss your Facebook strategy and grow new leads and increase response like never before, give me a call at (310) 212-5727. Or email Caleb at [email protected].
Here are the rest of this week’s articles:
