How to Start Advertising on Facebook and Instagram in 5 Easy Steps
The Coronavirus pandemic has radically shifted how we do business. In Q2, consumers spent $211.5 billion online—a 31.8% increase from the previous quarter. And after over six months of social distancing, mask mandates and cancelled events, people are online now more than ever.
In fact, daily Facebook users saw a 12% year-over-year increase, and its monthly usage amongst its family of apps (including Instagram and WhatsApp) jumped 14%. While it’s uncertain how long this trend will last, now is the time to start advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
If you’re new to the world of Facebook advertising, or just need a refresher, here are 5 steps to get you started!
Understand Your Audience
The most important thing about advertising on Facebook and Instagram is understanding who you’re trying to reach. Knowing this information will help you with budgeting, creative, ad placement and much more. It is the foundation to your ad’s success.
If you’re a small business owner, you’re probably already familiar with your target audiences. That’s great! Here are some questions to consider to help you translate that into Facebook’s terms:
What’s the age range of your target audience?
Do they live within a certain area?
Do they have any particular interests?
Does your business cater to either women or men?
Do you want to reach people who already follow your page?
The more specific you can get, the better! Having a clear and defined audience will help Facebook’s algorithm better place your ads so they have a better chance of getting results.
Choose an Objective
Facebook currently offers eleven objectives based around three main goals: Awareness, Consideration and Conversion. Choosing the right objective is paramount to your ad’s success. Not sure what to choose? We’ve got you covered:
Awareness — Are you looking to get your name out there or expand your reach? If yes, an awareness campaign is what you want. These ads will focus on getting your business in front of as many people as possible.
Consideration — These objectives are all about engagement. If you’re looking for someone to visit a landing page, download an app or inquire more about your product via Messenger, this is for you.
Conversion — Are you selling a product, hosting an event or trying to move someone down the sales funnel? As the most specific category, conversion objectives are highly targeted and focus on getting your target audience to perform a specific action.
For a full list of objections and descriptions, click here.
Get Creative
This is the fun part. There are two main components with an ad’s creative: artwork and copy. The artwork should draw people in and the copy should inform them. Here are some tips to make your ad stand out:
Artwork — When creating art for your ad, you have some formatting options. You can choose an image, a video, a carousel or a collection. No matter what format you choose, the visual part of your ad should follow your brand identity and overall look and feel. And while you can add text to your artwork, Facebook only allows it to take up 20%.
Copy — There are three main areas for copy for you to consider: the text, the headline and the description. Each component should help your audience understand what they’re viewing and why they should perform the desired action.
It’s important to note that artwork size and ad copy allowances will change due to their placement. Your ad on a desktop will not look the same as in Instagram stories. For optimal formatting, consult Facebook’s Ads Guide.
Determine Ad Spend
A major benefit of advertising on Facebook is that it’s designed for big and small spenders alike. Even if you only have twenty dollars to spend, you can make an impact with your ad if you followed the aforementioned steps. If you have a marketing budget, here’s an article to help you determine how much to spend specifically on digital ads.
You have two options: daily or lifetime budget. If you’re planning on running your ad for a short amount of time (think a week or so), a lifetime budget is sufficient. If you’d like your ad to run continuously, a daily budget will help you stay within budget while being competitive. Whatever you choose, there is a chance that the actual spend will be up to 20% higher due to Facebook’s bidding strategy for ad placements.
Analyze, Adjust and Repeat
The key to a successful Facebook ad strategy is analyzing your data. Smart marketers learn from their mistakes, understand their wins and don’t ignore the numbers. No matter the results, there’s always something to learn from how your ads performed.
With these five steps, you’re ready to launch your Facebook and Instagram ad campaign!