Are you new to creating ads? Unsure of what type, stage, ad to create?
In this article, we’ll break down why every business should be running three types of ads and how to use them in sequence to get more people interested in your products and services.
Running Facebook ads is a lot like dating. Wondering where we’re going with this aren’t you… let us break it down a little.
You typically aren’t popping the question on the first date. The reason for dating is to spend time getting to know each other to see if you are a good match. Ads are the same. In the beginning, people may not know a whole lot about your brand and if you’re a good fit for them. At this point, they may not even know they have a “need” for you yet (aka your product/service). This “first date” is the awareness phase.
In the awareness phase, you’re introducing yourself to your target audience and offering them value. It’s not about selling in this phase, it’s about getting to know one another, and seeing if the relationship makes sense.
After date #1 proves to be a success, it’s time for the “getting to know you” stage in the relationship. The consideration phase. Here is where we learn about each other’s personalities, aspirations, and pet peeves. Hopefully at this point, there haven't been any crazy red flags. If you both are still hitting it off, a relationship starts to blossom and voila, you’re dating. In advertising, this is when your audience starts to see and like the value you’ve provided them. They’re aware your brand exists and are learning more about you, but aren’t necessarily sold on you yet. They are still getting to know you.
In this phase, you want to show why you’re the best option for your target audience. At this point people are aware they have a problem or need that exists and are researching all of the options they may have. In the consideration phase, you want people to start viewing your products and services and you want to show why you’re their best choice.
So you’ve been dating a while and everything is going great, it’s time to pop the question. In advertising, this is called the decision or conversion stage. It’s in this stage where you can finally ask for someone to purchase your products because they know you, they like you and they trust you because you’ve just built a relationship with them. They’re ready to say “I do” … aka, buy.
Dating = Facebook Ads Takeaway
You can’t ask for people to buy from you when they don’t know who you are or trust that you can provide them with the products or solutions they need. You’ll want to “warm people up” by showing them ads in sequence to make them go from a first date to fiancé (or happy customer).
Let’s dive into how ads may look for each phase in the process.
Awareness
The What.
Before people buy from you they need to get to know about your business and if it is right for them. This is where awareness ads come into play, your prospecting ads. These are meant to be seen by people that don’t know about your business just yet nor the products it sells.
The Who.
Since these are prospecting ads, you should focus on targeting Saved Audiences as well as Lookalike Audiences on Facebook. Saved Audiences are audiences composed of interests and demographics.
Lookalike audiences are audiences that share characteristics of a source audience. For example, you could upload a list of your past purchasers or an email list and get a 1% Lookalike Audience of these people in the United States.
For these ads we suggest excluding people who have engaged with you online via your social channels/website, as well as past purchasers. This will totally save you money when it comes to your ads as it serves the right message to the right people at the right time. You don’t want to be introducing yourself to people that already know who you are. It’s like reintroducing yourself to someone you’ve already met… awkward.
The Why.
The main goal of awareness ads is to get eyes on your brand. Provide value to your customers and make them feel like you understand who they are and care about how to ease their pain points.
Your ads should make people feel understood. (click to tweet)
The How.
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes… what is it about your brand that they would be most interested in? Think about questions people may have. Do you have resources that would provide value to them? If not, create a guide, worksheet, or video that helps your audience learn more about your products and services. Tailor your awareness ads to reflect those key points, it could be as simple as offering a free download or worksheet.
For example, at NOW Marketing Group we know people come to our website and want to learn more about Relationship Marketing. To help our audience infuse relationship marketing strategies into their plans, we give them our C.A.R.E. Approach Workbook as a valuable free resource they can use. This is a perfect example of something we already have that can be leveraged for awareness ads.
Once someone downloads the workbook from us, we can then follow up with them and serve a consideration ad next.
Consideration
The What.
Consideration ads are all about showing why you’re the brand your targeted audience should choose. In this phase, people are aware that they have a problem or a need and they are shopping around for solutions. Ads should be focused on getting people to look around on your website and checking your various products or services.
The Who.
The best people to target on Facebook are Custom Audiences. Target those people who have shown interest in your brand by engaging with you on Facebook/Instagram or by visiting your website. Again, you don’t want to waste your ad spend here either, so exclude people who have already purchased from you. When creating ads, always think about which audiences should be excluded, so people don’t get fatigued with your messaging or see the wrong ad at the wrong time.
You want to eliminate any customer doubts in your consideration ads.
The How.
What does that look like? Here are a few ways you can run ads at this level:
- Share a case study of how your product or service helped a customer
- Show your unique selling proposition/what makes you different from other competitors
- Use testimonials and product reviews
- Share user-generated content
If your business or products have any awards, accolades, or credibility you can share, make sure to mention it in your consideration ads. This could be things such as having a high amount of purchases, “Over 100,000 happy customers”, having tons of 5-star reviews, “1,000+ 5-star reviews”, or having been featured on television shows or in magazines, “Featured on Shark Tank.”
After you’ve proven why you’re the best choice for your targeted audience, you can move on to start conversion ads.
Conversion
“If you like it then you better put a ring on it.” - Beyoncé
The What.
Conversion ads are designed to encourage people to come back and buy. These are the ads most people think about when they think of ads. We see a lot of people only focusing on creating conversion ads, which isn’t effective.
Conversion ads work best on remarketing to highly engaged audiences. These ads can have a stronger call-to-action because you are targeting people who have shown a high intent of interest in buying your products.
The Who.
For conversion ads, it’s best to target Custom Audiences of people that have viewed product pages and service pages but haven’t purchased from you yet. People who have added items to their cart or initiated checkout, but haven’t purchased are also great audiences to target. Again, to save money, exclude people who have purchased from you already since you don’t want to tell them to buy a product they just bought.
The How.
If you're an eCommerce business we definitely recommend running Dynamic Product Ads for your conversion ads. Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs) are ads that sync with your product catalog. These ads will show people the exact items they previously viewed on your site. They are perfect to remind customers to come back and complete their purchase.
For example, who has been shopping around online then jumped into your Facebook account and noticed an ad for the exact thing you were just looking at on a consumer site? It may seem like sneaky wizardry, but this is a Dynamic Product Ad.
It’s easy to get distracted, especially at home with kids, work and everything people may have going on in their lives. Conversion ads are the simple reminders people may need to come back and shop.
Pro tip: Some people may still be on the fence with buying your product. Think about offering them a coupon code for free shipping or a percentage off of your product to help sweeten the deal for them.
Summary
We often see people go wrong with their Facebook advertising by trying to sell to people too early in the process. They’ll often have conversion ads trying to sell to strangers who have never heard of the company and products.
Instead, when you use this sequence of these three different ads, you’re showing people the right ads at the right time. You are taking people along a buyer’s journey from awareness to consideration to conversion. Making the messaging relevant and your ads work efficiently without wasting money.
To recap, advertising is just like dating.
The first date is equivalent to awareness ads. You’re just getting to know people, so don’t rush it. Run awareness ads first which provide value and answer questions your targeted audience may have about your products or services.
Now that the person knows more about you, it’s time to become Facebook official. Run consideration ads now to get people clicking over to your website and show why your products/services are the best fit for your audience.
Finally, it’s time to pop the question. Remind people to come back and checkout with the product they are interested in with conversion ads. Follow this advertising sequence so people go from knowing you, to liking you, to trusting you and ultimately to making the decision to buy.
What value will you provide to your targeted audience for your awareness ads? Why should people choose your products/services over your competitors? Will you invite us to your bachelor party? Let me know in the comments below.
Comments