Facebook Ads Best Practices & Strategies for Success

Whether you’re starting out with a brand new Facebook ads strategy or looking to refresh what you’re currently running, you’re going to want to have a game plan.

Besides knowledge of how to prep for Facebook ads campaigns, it’s also helpful to know some tricks of the trade. So here are some Facebook ad tips to keep in mind for audience targeting, ad copywriting, and more.  In fact, we’ll be covering answers to questions like:

• What is a good Facebook ad strategy?
• What are some Facebook ad best practices to keep in mind?
• Are there any do’s and don’ts for Facebook ads?
• And more!

Let’s jump right into Facebook ad best practices and the tips you need to know.

Audience targeting can make or break your Facebook ads, so here are some Facebook ad audience dos and don’ts:

Do: stick with a narrow audience

Not everyone is your ideal customer. So while it might seem counterintuitive, don’t go broad hoping to convert more customers. The narrower your targeting and the more relevant your ad is to that defined audience, the higher your conversion rates will typically be.

However, just be sure not to be so specific that you limit your ad’s chances to show and truly perform. The guidelines shown below that Facebook ads provides in the ad set creation portal can be helpful when finding the sweet spot between a broad and specific audience.

Do: test different audiences

Does your business serve more than one audience or customer type? If so, remember that scrapping underperforming ads isn’t always the best move. Sometimes an ad that doesn’t convert when targeted at one portion of your audience may work when targeted at another. So don’t be afraid to change your targeting settings and see what happens.

Don’t: focus only on potential customers

Of course, reaching people who didn’t previously know about your business and converting them into customers is important. But don’t forget about the potential to earn business by advertising to people who are already familiar with your business or who’ve bought from you in the past.

If you’ve made a good impression on the latter, it may be easier to get them to convert, allowing you to rack up some easy wins while you’re earning the trust of audiences who’ve just been introduced to you.

Don’t: confuse AND-OR logic

Before you spend a dime on a Facebook ad, double-check that you’ve used this logic correctly. Remember: AND means that your ad will be shown to people who have all the characteristics you set. OR means that it’ll be shown to people who meet one or more but not necessarily all the criteria you set. If you were to use the wrong logic, you could easily exclude big chunks of your target audience or include people outside of that group, which would waste a portion of your budget.

Facebook ad copywriting is a common challenge for small businesses. Unless, of course, you have these handy Facebook ads copywriting tips below:

Experiment with length

The idea that short copy is always better isn’t true across-the-board. For example, say you’re advertising a high-ticket item or service to people who aren’t familiar with your solution. You may need a longer explanation of benefits and features to convince them to click through to your website or buy. So, think about what you’re advertising and to whom, and test longer and shorter variations of your copy to see what performs best.

Use social proof in your ad copy

Has your app gotten thousands of 5-star reviews on the App Store? Mention that to encourage potential users to check it out. Did a happy customer just give you a rave review that mirrors a pain or goal your ideal customers have? Include it in your ad copy (and other creative such as images or customer testimonial videos) to build trust.

Mention your location to grab attention

Do you only or mainly serve local customers? To reduce the chances of interested people scrolling past your ad, make sure they know right away that it’s relevant to them. If you have what they want and they know you serve their locale, the chances of them converting are higher.

State a clear call to action

Don’t assume that the people who see your ad will automatically know what to do next. Give clear and specific instructions, reinforcing the benefits of taking the actions you recommend. For example, rather than a nondescript call to action like “Contact us,” try something like, “Call us at 1 (234) 567-8910 for your free 30-minute consultation!”

Test emojis

Adding emojis to your Facebook ads can help you capture users’ attention and make your ad copy stand out. Plus, adding the right emojis can help humanize your brand.

Creative elements matter just as much as copy when it comes to your Facebook ads. Give your image or video assets a facelift with these Facebook ads creative tips:

Put thought into visuals

Unlike ad copy, which your audience may only see a few sentences of before having to click “See More,” images and videos take up more space. They have the potential to be attention-grabbers. But only if you don’t treat them like an afterthought. That means no bland stock photos. Opt for original, high-quality images if you can, and choose eye-catching colors and typography.

You’ll also want to ensure your image or video marketing assets within your Facebook ads fit the requirements for the platform. This ensures your images and videos will be eligible to show how you want them to and provide a high-quality experience for your ad viewers.

Keep branding consistent

It’s easy to mindlessly scroll past ads when browsing Facebook, which is no good for you as an advertiser. You need people to see your ads first before they can click or convert. So the solution is to keep the aesthetic of your images and video—the small business logo, colors, and overall vibe—consistent with your brand. That way, if a person has been exposed to your brand before, brand recall and awareness may kick in to grab their attention before they move on.

This business includes its logo and brand colors in its Facebook ad image. 

Create the mood you want

It can be tempting to choose your favorite colors, imagery, or audio. Instead, choose what will appeal to your audience and what will align with the vibe your copy creates. Want to trigger positive emotions in your audience? Images and videos of smiling people will serve you better than images or videos with a neutral or negative sentiment. And brighter colors will probably be better than darker ones.

This Facebook ad example from Lev Baby emulates a positive mood with a happy image and bright colors:

Want even more Facebook ad tips and best practices? We’ve got you covered:

Test various images and copy

Even an ad that’s performing well can always be improved. So A/B test variations of the same ad. While the targeting should remain the same for more accurate insights, each variation should test a single change to the copy or visuals so that you can pinpoint which aspects of the variations improve performance. Or, you may even try to test various ad types, like a Facebook lead ad versus a Facebook carousel ad.

These two Facebook ads within the same ad set are A/B testing slightly different variations of copy and creative.

Develop custom benchmarks

General resources like industry benchmarks can be helpful when you want to know what a normal Facebook ads performance might look like for a business within your industry. However, once you have some ad campaigns under your belt, record your averages. By implementing Facebook ads reporting to record how your ads typically perform, it will be easier to judge the success of ads you run in the future and set optimization goals.

Consider scheduling

If you’re using a lifetime budget, scheduling an ad set is an available option that will allow you to create them in advance and run them when you’re ready. And you can increase the likelihood of your ads being seen by the right people based on what you know about your audience. For example, if you know they’re typically on Facebook between 12 and 2 pm on weekdays, showing ads within that time frame can get you more visibility. This can also help you keep your Facebook ad costs under control since you’ll be more selective of when your ads are spending.

Run your Facebook ads on Instagram

Since Meta owns both Facebook and Instagram, you can easily run the same ads on both platforms instead of having to start from scratch for each. Just connect your Instagram account to your Facebook business page via Settings. Then, when you create your next ad on Facebook, on the ad placements screen, you’ll see the option to push it to Instagram as well.

For good measure, here’s a bonus tip. Don’t forget about organic marketing!

Learning how to run Facebook ads properly can give your local business an incredible advantage. However, should they be small business owners’ only tools for increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or driving sales? No. The best strategies are well-rounded, including paid methods like advertising and organic methods like blogging and social media marketing.

But, of course, the more moving parts your strategy has, the more challenging it can be to manage effectively. Especially if you have a small team. That’s where solutions like ours can come into play. We can take everything from social ads and video ads to social media marketing and email marketing off your plate. Not only to free up your time but also to ensure that you reach your business goals!