Advertising on social platforms such as Facebook has long been a successful tactic for B2C marketers, but in recent years, B2B teams have begun to get into the act as well. More than half of Facebook users say they’re likely to buy products or services from businesses they “like” on the platform. And with Facebook’s recent changes to its Newsfeed algorithm, Facebook advertising will likely dominate the B2B social strategy moving forward.
Facebook makes the process pretty intuitive for advertisers. Less intuitive, though, is what it takes to run a successful campaign. Having worked with hundreds of B2B clients to transition successful digital ad campaigns to social media, our digital advertising team has compiled five essential tips for improving B2B advertising campaigns on Facebook.
Tip #1: Get specific with your goals and KPIs
Every marketing campaign needs a goal and a way to measure success. To the majority of marketers, that’s not new news, but it’s actually something we routinely need to reinforce with clients. The goals you select through Facebook will provide very different results because of how the ad-serving platform optimizes your campaigns.
If marketing says they’re looking for increased video views, but sales is looking for lead conversions, success will mean different things. Build consensus before the campaigns begin, so you’re getting the most return on your investment.
Tip #2: Create content with your audience in mind
With intense competition to reach high-valued audiences through social, tailoring the offer and content of your ads is critical to the campaign’s success.
And remember, less is more. Keep your copy brief, clear and compelling. We recommend no more than 90 characters in your ad copy.
Equally important is your call to action. An unclear CTA will kill your campaign. If your target audience doesn’t know what they’re in for, they won’t click.
Tip #3: Remember that imagery matters
It’s well-known across all forms of advertising that strong imagery works. Choosing bright colors, or graphics that feature people or faces, can significantly boost engagement. Facebook’s system also rejects artwork in which 20% or more of the surface area is cluttered with text.
Let those eye-catching images speak for themselves.
Tip #4: Test. Test. Test.
One of the best outcomes of all your hard work is the opportunity to learn from your data.
We suggest running multiple campaigns with one variable per campaign. And test everything:
Images
Headlines
Supporting copy
Offer language
Tip #5: Refresh
Don’t relax just yet — refresh! SmartBrief recommends that you refresh ad creative at least every 2-3 weeks. In fact, as your ad ages and its performance begins to fade, Facebook’s ad-delivery system may even downgrade its relevance and serve fewer, more costly impressions.
Keep your creative fresh, and that’s right — keep testing!
Check out our interactive guide to improving your B2B campaigns on Facebook — we have these five tips to creating optimized campaigns, PLUS five additional tricks.
Nick Clarke is a director on SmartBrief’s product team, with a focus on paid advertising. He’s responsible for working with internal and external clients to optimize SmartBrief’s advertising products and systems to meet the needs of our partners.