7 Reasons Facebook Ads Aren’t Resonating With Your Audience
With the decline of organic reach on Facebook, the need to incorporate sponsored content into your strategy can no longer be ignored. Even with a modest budget, Facebook Ads can result in social engagements, web traffic, and, ultimately, conversions for your brand when used effectively. Already running ads for your page but something’s just not clicking? You may be making one of these mistakes.
- Your Targeting is Off
- Ads Feature Poor Quality or Inappropriate Images
- Using Too Much Jargon
- You Used Uninspiring or Misleading Messaging
- You Made Too Big of an “Ask”
- There’s No Clear Path to Conversion
- You’re Not A/B testing
Ineffective targeting can hurt the performance of your paid campaign, so know your audience and which of Facebook’s targeting parameters you need to include to reach them. Chances are you don’t want to send the same message to pet parents and prospective MBA students. Sure, some people may fall into both categories (who doesn’t love baby animals?) but the demographic and interest factors you’d use to target them and the messages you’d communicate would differ.
Stock photos are fine in moderation, but original photography will win every time. When choosing images think of what would make you want to engage. Steer clear of those “stocky” group shots with thumbs up and cheesy smiles and opt for images that tell (and enhance) your brand story. And once you’ve chosen those perfect images make sure they’re optimized. Is there too much text? Facebook might penalize your reach. Are they sized appropriately for Facebook? Make sure your images can be large enough to make an impact in the News Feed without becoming blurry or pixelated.
Are you speaking your audience’s language? Remember, just because you understand what you’re trying to say doesn’t mean your audience will. Write for the audience you want to reach and avoid loading your copy with industry specific buzzwords that may confuse them.
What are you saying to draw people in? You need to be compelling, yes, but that doesn’t mean you should resort to the dreaded click-bait. If your headline or copy includes a “you’ll never guess what happened next…” statement scrap it and start again. Keep your messaging relevant and make sure you follow through on any promises you make to your audience if you want to see success.
Once your target audience sees your ad it should be easy for them to take action. Asking them to convert immediately might not be the best option, especially if you have a long consideration cycle. Instead ask them to complete smaller micro-conversions to set them on the right path and nurture them until they’re ready to take that next big step.
Driving people to your site and seeing lots of clicks but only a few conversions? Dive into your Google Analytics data to see why. What actions, if any, are people taking when they come to your site from a Facebook Ad? If they’re bouncing before taking action it could be because they can’t find the offer or action they clicked through for.
Always be testing. One of the biggest advantages of social media, and digital advertising in general, is the ability to optimize your campaigns in real time. Run multiple versions of the same ad, changing only one element (copy, images, etc.) to see which performs better with your audience and be sure to act on any insights. Maybe photos with people perform better than product shots or a stronger CTA earns more clicks. If you don’t test you’ll never know.
