Facebook has turned into an extension of our lives. It’s the place where people connect with their friends, family and coworkers. Users share their likes, interests and thoughts. People don’t necessarily come to Facebook to buy products. However, they may connect with brands that either relate to their interests or products they like. I talked about this more in a separate post but in 2011, Facebook reached $4.27 billion in advertising revenue. This reinforces the fact that Facebook Ads are working because people are clicking on the ads. In order to get users interested in your brand, you have to engage with them first – show them you care, provide them with value and prove that you’re not just about the money. Build the relationship with them first. The following steps will help you create a successful Facebook Ad campaign:
Determine Your Goals
Before you even get started, you need to determine what you want to get out of the Facebook ad campaign. Are you looking to:
- Increase sales or traffic to your website?
- Increase awareness of your brand to your target audience?
- Increase your page “likes”?
- Grow your email list?
Being able to answer these questions will help your Facebook ad campaign succeed.
Design The Ad
In order to get started, visit the Facebook Advertising Page and click on “Create an Ad.” The image below lays out the different parts to a Facebook Ad:
Your ad will be made up of an ad title, body text and image. You will also need to specify a destination URL that you want people to visit when they click on the ad. Note: When the destination URL leads users to a Page, Event or Application, then the ad title will be the name of the Page, Event or Application.
The body text of the ad should offer value to the customer/fan and have a clear call to action. Offer them something in return for the “Like” – a whitepaper or a discount code.
Choose Your Target Audience
There are many targeting opportunities when using Facebook Ads. Here are 
some options:
- Location
- Demographics
- Likes & Interests
- Education & Work
The example on the right illustrates good targeting for an ad unit. The Pizza business is looking to target a certain age group, by location and education. A successful Facebook ad unit takes all of these factors into consideration.
Control the Costs
When controlling the costs of your campaign, there are three factors to consider:
- What is the maximum you want to spend?
- How long do you want to ads to run?
- What is your overall budget for this campaign?
Once you have these three questions answered, then set your CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per thousand impressions) for the campaign.
It’s important to note that when you’re bidding for the ad, you’re actually bidding against other advertisers. Facebook will always display the ads of those who bid the highest. A tip would be to hit the max of the suggested bid or higher, if you can.
Once you’ve submitted the ad, Facebook will send an email when it’s approved.
Monitor Performance
The final part of your Facebook ad campaign is monitoring.
During the campaign, review metrics such as: social influence, total clicks, impressions and average CPC to determine if the campaign has been successful. Remember, you can always change a Facebook Ad once it’s live to improve the performance. It’s about testing and learning!
These are a few tips on how to run a successful Facebook ad campaign. if you have others, please do share below!
Facebook is a the best way for sharing content, photographs with your friends, but there are few things that shouldn’t be shared on the world’s largest social networking website. I’ve written about 5 things you should never do on Facebook. Just get it here.