Social media has become an integral part of many companies digital marketing strategies as they look to connect with consumers directly. Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world and is often utilised for marketing campaigns due to the useful information and features provided such as consumer age, interests, location and various other ad tracking metrics (Carter, 2013). Ensuring a Facebook ad campaign is targeted at the right market is extremely important for companies as users who have no interest in their products aren’t going to click on their ads. The aforementioned features help facilitate marketing efforts by allowing companies to target specific markets with tailored ads based on user profiles and subsequently track the response.

The question remains however, how effective is Facebook advertising?

In a study of 25 marketing campaigns conducted by media intelligence firm Aggregate Knowledge, plans that focused on Facebook ads saw 24% more new sales compared to those that didn’t (Peterson, 2013), suggesting the social platform to be a useful advertising tool. When designed to a certain standard and targeted appropriately, advertising on Facebook can be very effective in terms of increasing brand awareness, increasing website traffic and ultimately improving sales conversion rates (Zarella and Zarella, 2010). Notably, the quality of a Facebook ad’s aesthetics stands out as being of key importance with users more likely to click on an ad and follow through to the landing page if the design is effective (Ray, 2013).

This promotion by NatureBox represents a good example of an effective Facebook ad.

• “Try a free sample” signals a clear call to action.

 

• The words “free trial” are in big and bold lettering, subsequently grabbing the user’s attention.

 

• The image showcases exactly what the product on offer consists of, giving the user a clear idea of what to expect

 

• The link directs users straight to the NatureBox landing page.

 

For more examples of effective Facebook ads, simply click here.

 

On the other hand, it can often be difficult for smaller companies to stand out on Facebook as the news feed is cluttered with posts and it costs money to get Facebook to promote an ad campaign that has a higher chance of engagement. This means that smaller companies are often seeing very little engagement from Facebook users and subsequently low traffic and conversion rates (Luo, 2017). For companies that do increase their website traffic, this has not necessarily led to an increase in sales as users often fail to convert for various reasons such as a poorly designed landing page or one that doesn’t match up with the ad (Wishpond, 2014). Moreover, as with any purchasing process users might simply change their mind at the last minute, lessening the effectiveness of Facebook ads in terms of generating sales.

As mentioned previously, the design of the ad is crucial as a campaign that’s been poorly put together is unlikely to be very effective at attracting users.

This ad from Barclaycard gives an example of what an ineffective ad looks like.

• The ad looks too corporate and formal for a social site like Facebook.

 

• There is no clear call to action

 

• The ad fails to grab the attention with a lot of unutilised white space.

 

• Whilst the accompanying link is simply an agency that tracks where visitors are coming from, users could easily mistake the ad for spam or malware and scroll past it.

 

It would seem that Facebook can be very effective for increasing website traffic and generating sales although this largely depends on varying factors. Indeed, it would seem that the quality of an ad’s design and its ability to stand out, as well as who is targeted, play a large part in determining the level of success it experiences. While advertising on Facebook might not always result in increased website traffic and sales, an ad campaign can still be effective in regards to improving brand awareness as the news feed gives it a degree of visibility and exposes users to it repeatedly which could eventually lead to a sale in future (Matchcraft, 2015).

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For a detailed guide on creating an effective Facebook ad campaign that can potentially help increase website traffic and sales conversion rates, simply click here.

 

 

 

 

References

Carter, B. (2013) The like economy: How businesses make money with Facebook. 2nd edn. Indianapolis, IN: Que Corporation,U.S.

Luo, C. (2017) How Facebook is failing local businesses | Fastcompany | the future of business. Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/3044299/hit-the-ground-running/how-facebook-is-failing-local-businesses (Accessed: 24 February 2017).

Matchcraft (2015) 5 benefits that Facebook advertising can bring to your business | MatchCraft | premier digital marketing platform. Available at: https://www.matchcraft.com/5-benefits-facebook-advertising/ (Accessed: 25 February 2017).

Peterson, T. (2013) Study: Facebook leads to 24% sales boost. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/digital/study-facebook-leads-24-sales-boost-146716/ (Accessed: 25 February 2017).

Ray, R. (2013) The Facebook guide to small business marketing. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Tij2PAQHUiYC&pg=PA88&dq=facebook+ad+design&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbqsuwn7PSAhWhOsAKHRlcA604ChDoAQg6MAU#v=onepage&q=facebook%20ad%20design&f=false (Accessed: 22 February 2017).

Wishpond (2014) 3 reasons why people click your Facebook ads but Dont convert. Available at: http://blog.wishpond.com/post/75896272479/3-reasons-why-people-click-your-facebook-ads-but (Accessed: 24 February 2017).