A Guide to Facebook Ads

Anyone looking to advertise on Facebook has a host of targeting options and campaigns at their disposal, so it is little wonder that businesses of all shapes and sizes continue to use Facebook’s advertising platform- from startups to Fortune 100 companies.

Indeed, having access to an expansive variety of advertising options is a marketer’s dream come true, but can also mean that getting started seems a daunting task. For those feeling a little overwhelmed, here are the six types of Facebook ads, and how you might apply them to your own business.

Lead Ads

The lead ad unit makes the process of collecting email addresses and building email lists a simple task. Even better is the fact that Facebook auto-populates most of the fields, increasing the likelihood that users will follow through.

If you’re looking to grow your email list, lead ads are a great place to start.

Dynamic Ads

Dynamic ads connect your product catalog with your Facebook ad account and pixel. When someone visits your site, they’ll start to see Facebook ads featuring the same products they were looking at on your website. As such, the ads in their view are personalized and particularly relevant.

Multi-product ads, or carousel ads, promote a collection of multiple items from your online store. Each product carries its own caption, image and destination URL. According to Facebook, the carousel ad type carries with it a 30-50% decrease in cost per acquisition and a 20-30% decrease in cost per click (CPC).

Abandoned Cart Ads

Some 70% of shoppers end up abandoning their cart. In other words, for every ten people that you manage to not only attract to your website but also convince them they should purchase your product, nearly 7 of them will leave your store without making their purchase. Ouch.

With targeting, you can run a highly personalized Facebook ad aimed at these shoppers. These types of ads tend to offer an incentive, such as free shipping or a 10% discount if the person returns to complete their purchase.

Thank You Ads

It is easy, as a business owner, to put all your marketing efforts into acquiring new customers – and stopping there. It is much easier to turn a first-time customer into a repeat customer than it is to turn a cold lead into a first-time customer, so ads that help build brand loyalty are always money well spent.

Traffic Generation Ads

It is always a good idea to have a Facebook campaign dedicated to driving potential new customers to your store. These kinds of ads are likely the first time a viewer has heard of your business, so be sure to design your copy accordingly.

This type of ad will typically have a lower click-through rate (CTR) due to you not knowing much about the people viewing your ads, but using a “lookalike” audience, you can make sure you’re off to the most promising start possible.