Chris Mikulin joined #ContentChat this week to give us the low-down on how to use Facebook ads to promote our content. A few must-bookmark resources mentioned in the chat include:
Q1: Who should consider using Facebook ads to promote their content and why?
A1: Let’s start with some stats – DYK that one in five page views in the United States occurs on Facebook. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A1: There are 1.94 billion monthly active Facebook users … just a few. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A1: … And 1.28 billion people are daily active users. #contentchat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A1: If your audience is on Facebook, it’s worthwhile to create ads to see how they perform for you. #ContentChat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) July 17, 2017
A1 Facebook ads are a great lead gen source, generates traffic to websites, boosts brands’ presence, and page engagement. #contentchat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
EVERYONE!! if you have a business or looking to promote an event or book. You will need to run ads or boost posts. #ContentChat
— Brandie McCallum (@lttlewys) July 17, 2017
A1: 82% of 18-29 year olds online use Facebook
79% of 30-49 year olds online use Facebook
56% of online users 65+ use Facebook #ContentChat— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A1: So chances are your target audience is on FB. #contentchat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A1: So chances are your target audience is on FB. #contentchat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A1: BUT you need to make sure your target audience is there first. Some age ranges. Locations. Demographics aren’t. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A1: brands with small budgets and low brand awareness for sure! Great place to get your brand out there with tangible results. #contentchat
— Matt Mason (@MattMasonPPC) July 17, 2017
Q2: I have a small budget. Can Facebook ads still help me meet my marketing goals?
A2: It depends on what your marketing goals are. If it’s like $1million revenue in 1 year directly from Facebook. Then #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A2: In most cases though you can get a lot out of them with a small budget if you’re creative. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A2: I’ve worked on accounts from $5/day to $1500/day. Almost anyone can benefit from them. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A2. even on tight budget, put smart, organic content out there and boost that – results will show for themselves #contentchat
— Top Uniforms (@topuniforms) July 17, 2017
A2: Absolutely!! Middle-market brands need not fear the ad machine, it’s affordable as long as you’re strategic in ad making. #contentchat
— Hanna Steinker (@Hann_bananz) July 17, 2017
A2: facebook does offer some advertising for really cheap. as @cmikulin said, if you have a small goal, that’s perfect! #ContentChat
— Independent Retailer (@indretailer) July 17, 2017
A2 Absolutely! With careful targeting, budget caps, monitoring. Ads Manager and Power Editor skills a must. #ContentChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
A2: Yes, even with a small budget. Stay consistent and have a strong strategy. You can do a lot with ads over time #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/ZGSnGo4C9T
— Brandie McCallum (@lttlewys) July 17, 2017
I’ve worked with budgets way under $1,000 for a lot of brands, and it’s amazing how much you can do with so little. #ContentChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
True story: We used to do about $20 per ad or roughly $100 per month. Helped drive traffic to our blog. #contentchat
— Jason Webb (@JasonLWebb) July 17, 2017
A2: If your ad content is strong enough, clicks on FB cost just about as much as a gumball #ContentChat
— Max Bailey (@maxthemarketer) July 17, 2017
A2: Check out @dennisyu who’s “Dollar a day” method @BlitzMetrics helped @theisaac become a viral sensation. #contentChat https://t.co/uZhYONqXEO
— Stacey DePolo (@sdepolo) July 17, 2017
A2: absolutely! I’ve run a campaign for a friend that was lead gen focused at $10/day! Perfect for everyone. #Contentchat
— Matt Mason (@MattMasonPPC) July 17, 2017
Q3: OK, I’m convinced—how do I get started with Facebook ads?
A3: First steps are to create an Ad Account. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A3: If you’re an agency or have multiple users in your account – Use Business Manager. https://t.co/MdJpaVlQ5q #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A3: Business Manager will make your life easier and your account/pages more secure. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A3: Business Manager will make your life easier and your account/pages more secure. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
Determine content worth throwing money after, determine the right audience and then budget. #ContentChat https://t.co/sj3kNFywSV
— Christoph Trappe (@CTrappe) July 17, 2017
A3: THEN LEARN ALL THE THINGS!!! #contentchat pic.twitter.com/2iAbynl0CP
— Chris Mikulin (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A2: If your ad content is strong enough, clicks on FB cost just about as much as a gumball #ContentChat
— Max Bailey (@maxthemarketer) July 17, 2017
A3! #ContentChat https://t.co/GIkTrqcB59
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
Good way to get started and maximize exposure with content you already know is working! #ContentChat https://t.co/QFBEqK0Eb1
— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) July 17, 2017
A lot of trial and error to figure out which interests work best for “prospecting” campaigns. It’s a science for sure. #ContentChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
Totally agree, boosting our best posts really do a lot for my smaller clients. #ContentChat
— Brandie McCallum (@lttlewys) July 17, 2017
You should check out their Blueprint courses if you haven’t already. Jon Loomer is another great resource. #ContentChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
Facebook wants to make it easy but it becomes a little TOO easy to click BOOST without having a strong strategy.#doyourhomework #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) July 17, 2017
A3: Nothing wrong with an old-fashioned “boost” to get comfortable #ContentChat
— Max Bailey (@maxthemarketer) July 17, 2017
Make sure u have a strong brand and targeting strategy b4 boosting a social media ad. Test copy to ensure you get best results. #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) July 17, 2017
A3: create an ad account or have the ad account added to your business manager! Then, place pixels! pixels for audiences #contentchat
— Matt Mason (@MattMasonPPC) July 17, 2017
Q4: What are some tips for creating effective Facebook ad copy and visuals?
A4: Follow the guidelines for the ad copy and visuals! Keep it simple, engaging and inspiring. Don’t overwhelm your audience. #contentchat
— Hanna Steinker (@Hann_bananz) July 17, 2017
A4: Match your images and copy to your target audience. Make sure everything relates to them. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
Stock art will never help you differentiate. #ContentChat
— Christoph Trappe (@CTrappe) July 17, 2017
A4 A/B test everything. I love having options to give and am usually pleasantly surprised by the winners. #ContentChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
A4: Keep it simple and make sure you just have 1 clear CTA #ContentChat
— Max Bailey (@maxthemarketer) July 17, 2017
A4: I also like to make sure that landing page copy and images match with the ads. So there is no surprised when they click. #contentchat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A4: Strong call to action, short and to the point. Use a picture that’s not complicated. Keep it simple #contentchat
— Brandie McCallum (@lttlewys) July 17, 2017
A4: Images with faces or hands tend to do well. Use good quality photos and stay away from stock images if you can help it. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A4: Make sure the image delivers on the promise of the copy, and the landing page too, for that matter. No sad trombones! #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) July 17, 2017
A4: Video also does amazing! I recommend usually 30seconds. First 3 seconds need to catch attention. Use captions! #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A4: Keep it FUN and make people feel like they’re getting something useful. Bright & easy to read while scrolling helps too. #contentchat
— Jessica Reeder (@jessicareeder) July 17, 2017
A4: test, test, test! Keep testing! Let the users tell you what the best copy and creative are. #contentchat
— Matt Mason (@MattMasonPPC) July 17, 2017
A4: Your visual should not be too dense or distract from CTA–Otherwise, you’ll end up attracting the wrong type of engagement #ContentChat
— Max Bailey (@maxthemarketer) July 17, 2017
Constantly thinking “what will make them stop scrolling” when generating creative for ads! #contentchat
— Hanna Steinker (@Hann_bananz) July 17, 2017
Q5: There are so many audience customization options. How do I choose the right ones?
A5: Retargeting is very affective on Facebook. So setup your Website Custom Audiences. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A5: Actually before you even launch your website, add your Facebook Pixel asap & start collecting users ASAP. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A5: You can also target your email list on Facebook. Upload a CSV or sync your Mailchimp account. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A5: Some really cool new audience types are Facebook Engagers & Instagram Profile Viewers. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A5: You should have an idea of who your audience is so you don’t spend as much info. GA is a good resource. #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) July 17, 2017
A5: You’ll pay less per action to audiences that already know about you. So take advantage of that. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A5: custom audiences based on current users or website behavior! Then lookalikes off of those audiences for prospecting. #contentchat
— Matt Mason (@MattMasonPPC) July 17, 2017
A5b: You might also consider lookalike audiences, take who you know is a good customer and find more that look like them. #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) July 17, 2017
A5b: You might also consider lookalike audiences, take who you know is a good customer and find more that look like them. #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) July 17, 2017
A5: You really need to get to know who your audience is. This is going to help you target the right people in the first place. #ContentChat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) July 17, 2017
A5. Do your research! Talk to a few customers, google for target profiles of clients, –> customize for best prospective leads #ContentChat
— Top Uniforms (@topuniforms) July 17, 2017
A5 (2) Create lookalikes from page likes, target friends of your page, etc. Just keep track of results and always be tweaking. #ContentChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
A5: Test! I like too start “low budget, broad targeting,” then increase budget/tighten audience once I have better data #ContentChat
— Max Bailey (@maxthemarketer) July 17, 2017
Super important! Always have pixel working and have access to Google Analytics. #ContentChat https://t.co/NpwPmn5Dc0
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
Q6: What are some typical mistakes first-time Facebook advertising users make?
A6: Having too broad of an audience that is being targeting. Add a location. Narrow your age range. Add interests. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A6: Having too broad of an audience that is being targeting. Add a location. Narrow your age range. Add interests. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A6: Too many interests or interests that overlap = bad. Keep it simple and split your ad sets up by interest / persona. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A6: not placing pixels and collecting the right data. Failure to use custom audiences. Not building a mini funnel on FB! #contentchat
— Matt Mason (@MattMasonPPC) July 17, 2017
A6: not placing pixels and collecting the right data. Failure to use custom audiences. Not building a mini funnel on FB! #contentchat
— Matt Mason (@MattMasonPPC) July 17, 2017
A6: ANOTHER ONE is setting & forgetting. To see success you need to be in your account often optimizing & adjusting things. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A6: Not doing your homework. Don’t just throw spend behind any post just to say you made a #ad. Be strategic and informed. #contentchat
— Hanna Steinker (@Hann_bananz) July 17, 2017
A6: Not doing your homework. Don’t just throw spend behind any post just to say you made a #ad. Be strategic and informed. #contentchat
— Hanna Steinker (@Hann_bananz) July 17, 2017
A6: Start with 3-4 ad sets each with different targeted interests/personas, keep the best performers & pause the poor ones. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A6: I’ve gotten Facebook ads by a major cell retailer that are shrunk down versions of print ads. No. Just no. #ContentChat
— Alan Fleming (@alan_fleming) July 17, 2017
Q7: How do I know that my Facebook ads are working? What benchmarks should I use?
A7: @Wordstream has a great CPC/CTR benchmark guide: https://t.co/aeme8s7V1f #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A7: But it really depends on what your goals/budget are and what your objective is. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A7: For me I’ll do whatever I can to get the CPC as low as I can and CTR as high as I can. Turn off any outliers. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A7. Depends on objective – usually mine are more clicks on website, more impressions, better online presence #ContentChat
— Top Uniforms (@topuniforms) July 17, 2017
A7: As long as the desired actions are happening (conversions, sign ups, engagement) & it’s within budget. Then it’s all gravy. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A7: If there was a perfect formula for results, we’d all be out of jobs. Set measurable goals ahead of time and iterate a lot! #contentchat
— Hanna Steinker (@Hann_bananz) July 17, 2017
A6: I set up a custom column to outline:
Results, $, impressions, cpm, ppe, link clicks, cpc, link-ctr, desired action, cpa.#ContentChat
— Ryan (@KovachR) July 17, 2017
A7 Depends on your goals. I look at CTR first and then work around there. I also compare to GA since metrics can vary. #ContentChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
A7 #contentchat before launching ads have goals -trying to get conversions or attention? check ads to see if you’re close in 24 hrs
— Thomas Broadus (@TbroOnline) July 17, 2017
A7b: There are plenty of “averages” out in the wild, but just focus on small wins- low CPR and average engagement to start #contentchat
— Hanna Steinker (@Hann_bananz) July 17, 2017
A7b: There are plenty of “averages” out in the wild, but just focus on small wins- low CPR and average engagement to start #contentchat
— Hanna Steinker (@Hann_bananz) July 17, 2017
#contentchat it’s getting old but still good for baseline i think – if there’s a better one please let me know! pic.twitter.com/bmnzAaAQRF
— Thomas Broadus (@TbroOnline) July 17, 2017
Q8: Where can I go to get inspiration for my Facebook advertising content promotion campaign?
A8: My favourite resources are @AdEspresso and @jonloomer. Amazing frequent content, Plus their Facebook Groups are fantastic. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A8: Another one is just keep an eye on the ads you see and document the ones that catch your eye. #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
Most of the experts that share the deepest tips and tricks are in @JonLoomer‘s Power Hitters Club. Geniuses! #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
A8: I strongly recommend @jonloomer‘s training. Very insightful/highly actionable. Also, look at competitors who do it well! #ContentChat
— Matt Mason (@MattMasonPPC) July 17, 2017
A8: My general rule of thumb is making note of every and any facebook ad that gets me to stop scrolling! #contentchat
— Javier Aguiar (@JavierTAguiar) July 17, 2017
Oh damn! There’s this Chrome extension that you can use so that you only see the ads in your Facebook feed! #ContentChat
— Chris Mikulin 🚩 (@cmikulin) July 17, 2017
Was just going to say this! Here’s the link to the @AdEspresso ad gallery: https://t.co/8GqYfxZWoc #ContentChat
— Jessie Lewis (@ItsJessieLewis) July 17, 2017
A8 I’m a nerd and take screenshots of ads and campaigns that I love. I have a folder saved with all of them. #ContentChat
— Cristy (@lacristysalinas) July 17, 2017
This represents only the highlights from our conversation. For the full tweet stream, head over to Twitter.
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