How to create Facebook ads

Different Facebook ad campaigns fit different business objectives. The key is picking the right business objective for you.

Once you start creating an ad on Facebook, you’ll see three main categories: awareness, consideration, and conversion. Each category has different ad campaign objectives, and each meets a different need.

1.    Awareness

If you want to increase awareness of your brand, this is where you’ll start. Brand awareness creates authority and trust. This is the least direct method of advertising, and it works best for companies like Coca-Cola or Nike – well-known brands that are already established and just want to remind as many people as possible that they exist.

2.    Consideration

Consideration is a little more targeted than awareness and is more likely to increase engagement. It uses ads that motivate customers to interact, whether by liking a page, clicking a link, or entering a contest.

3.    Conversion

Conversion is by far the most direct type of ad campaign. The point of a conversion campaign is to convert ads to sales. This method is meant to bring the customer straight to the point of making a purchase. This works best with people who are already thinking of buying your product, and just need one last push to commit.

So, which ad campaign objective is right for you? It all depends on the state of your company. Awareness campaigns aren’t the best for newer companies because they don’t encourage as much engagement, and the payoff is slower. Conversion isn’t the best choice for newer companies, either, because people need to be familiar enough with your product to want to buy before they’ll be pulled in by a conversion campaign.

Now, each of the three main categories of ad campaigns has several pieces. Let’s go through them.

Awareness

Brand Awareness: The goal of brand awareness is to reach as many people as possible who are likely to connect with your brand. This is a more targeted awareness campaign that allows you to focus in on certain demographics. You can narrow down your potential customers by things like age and geographic location.

Reach: The goal of reach is to share your ad with a certain number of people, regardless of who they are. Reach isn’t very targeted; it’s just to get the ad out in the world for people to see. For example, I don’t drink Coca-Cola, but I see the ads constantly. Even though I’m not a Coca-Cola buyer, the brand is trustworthy in my mind because I see it so much.

Consideration

Now let's walk through the subtopics of the consideration category.

Traffic: The goal of traffic is to drive people to a destination. This doesn’t just have to be a Facebook page. It could be a website, or a blog, or any other page related to your company. With traffic, you just want as many people as possible to click.

Engagement: The goal of engagement is to get people to interact, or engage, with your Facebook post or page. This can include comments, likes, shares, RSVPs to events, and even offer claims. One of the advantages of engagement is that it’s easy for your customer. Usually, all they have to do is click a button to “like” or interact in other ways.

App Installs: The goal of app installs is to send people to the app store where they can download your application. Once people download the app, you can later make money on in-app purchases or by letting other companies advertise their products on your application.

Video View: The goal here is obvious: get people watching a video. The video could be anything from behind-the-scenes footage to a product launch campaign to a customer service story. People buy with their eyes, and funny or interesting videos are a good way to get customers to engage.

Lead Generation: The goal of lead generation is to collect the contact information of people who are interested in potentially becoming customers. When you have a person’s information, you can start building a relationship with them, and start marketing value to them.

Messages: The goal of messages is to get customers to engage directly with the brand. When a person clicks a button, it takes them directly to the Facebook Messenger app. Usually, an automated message will appear, such as, “How can I help you?” or “Hey, did you have any questions about our product?” This is a very direct, personal way of engaging with customers.

Conversion

Conversion is the most focused on getting the sale. Here is a breakdown of the three main sub-categories of conversion.

Conversions: The goal of conversions is to get people to take high-value actions, 

such as providing their billing information or buying your product. These campaigns tend to be more expensive, because it takes more work to get customers to a point where they’re willing to commit to a purchase.

Catalog Sales: This takes your customer straight to your store catalog on Facebook when they click a targeted ad. If someone clicks on one of your ads, they’ll be directed to your Facebook shop. From there, if they click on an item, they’ll be taken straight to an e-commerce site or to your Amazon store.

Store Visits: The goal of this method is to direct people straight to your brick-and-mortar store. Rather than an online catalog with coffee mugs and coffee beans for sale, they’ll be directed to your coffee shop. The ad itself might say something like, “Click here for 20% off your first cup of coffee,” and when the person clicks, they’ll receive a downloadable coupon to use in-store.

This is all just an overview of the many facets of Facebook ad campaigns, but the main point is this: when you understand the objective of your company and the sales funnel customers go through before they buy your product, picking an ad campaign is so much easier. Understand what you’re trying to do and pick the right ad campaign to help you succeed.