Paid advertising on Facebook can be a powerful part of a brand’s social media marketing and online advertising strategy. It offers affordable options as compared to advertising through Google AdWords and some other social networks out there. Facebook also provides great targeting and analytics tools for advertisers. Additionally, it’s the most heavily used social media site by just about every demographic in existence, well known for its ability to generate high levels of engagement.
If you’re experiencing hit-or-miss results from your Facebook ads—or even just a lot of misses—don’t give up. Take a look at the common reasons that these campaigns don’t succeed below and consider which apply to the ads you’re creating and running. With some thoughtful tweaks, you can probably turn your results around fairly quickly and continue to improve your efforts.
Why Facebook Ads Flop
- You’re using low-quality images. These send the wrong message about your brand. They say that your organization isn’t contemporary, successful, invested in its image, and offering high-quality products or services. Think of the image in your ad as a stand-in for your brand.
- Your image doesn’t convey credibility. This goes hand-in-hand with the above. Quality communicates credibility. But if your image looks spammy, salesy, cheesy, desperate, or something else that sends up red flags, you undermine your credibility and turn people off.
- Your ad image isn’t engaging. Nobody cares about a boring shot of a product or an image that’s just words. Images need to convey emotion. For example, showing a product is never as powerful as portraying people in the midst of enjoying and benefiting from that product.
- Your ad copy doesn’t grab people. You have so little time, so little content to work with, and so much other stuff competing for your audience’s attention on Facebook. The copy has to immediately stand out and communicate a benefit your audience is looking for.
- You have grammar or spelling errors in your ad copy. This happens a lot, and it too reflects poorly on your brand, quickly triggering skepticism. Have your Facebook ads written by a professional writer, or at least reviewed by someone with an excellent grasp of good writing.
- You’re not targeting your audience well. Successful ads are created for and shown to a well-defined target market with an understanding of its buyer persona. Think about who you’re trying to reach and what they want, and continue experimenting with Facebook’s targeting options.
- You’re aiming too high. Low-consideration decisions fare much better in social media ads. People are happy to learn more, subscribe, or download something through a Facebook ad, but they don’t usually go straight from there to listing their house for sale or buying a new boat.
- You’re not using the right format. Facebook offers many different ad formats. That’s great, but also means it can take some experimenting to find the right one for each ad. Consider which format best serves as a platform for each ad based on its purpose and promotion mechanism.
- Your audience is tired of seeing your ads. This may explain why once-successful campaigns are declining. If you run a lot of ads or repeatedly target the same group, consumers may see the ads a lot and be tired of them. Consider a break from Facebook or a new approach to your ads.
- Your website landing pages don’t get the job done. If your Facebook ads are getting click-throughs but your sales funnel breaks down when people get to your site, your landing page is probably the problem. Check out these important tips for creating effective landing pages.
