Keeping your finger on the pulse of social media is no easy feat these days.
With so many new releases and upgrades to keep track of, some of them can slip right past us.
But there’s no doubt that one of the most exciting developments that have come about in the past few years has been the Facebook Automated Ad Builder.
What We’ll Cover:
- What are Facebook Automated Ads?
- Setting Up Facebook Automated Ads
- Facebook Automated Ads Dos and Don’ts
- Key Metrics to Measure
- How do Automated Ads on Facebook Help Your PPC Strategy?
Everything you need to know about Facebook automated ads and how to use them
Facebook has become one of the top advertising channels online, with digital ad spend accounting for more than 50% of total ad spend in the United States.
And with more than two billion active users on the site, taking advantage of the bells and whistles Facebook has to offer will yield nothing but positive results.
In this guide, we’ll run through what Facebook Automated Ads are, how to set up a campaign of your own, and the best practices needed to ensure long-term success.
What are Facebook Automated Ads?
Launched in 2007, Facebook Ads is an ad system that allows businesses to connect with users and tailor advertising to the exact audiences they’re targeting. Through Facebook Ads, users were able to easily discover businesses, brands, and products through the trusted recommendations of their Facebook friends.
But with all of Facebook’s incredible features, many marketers simply didn’t have the time or resources to spend monitoring and optimizing on social media.
Fast forward to 2019 where Facebook announced its new plan to assist small businesses meet their Facebook and Instagram advertising goals. Thus, Facebook Automated Ads were born. With these ads, you can create a custom advertising plan for your business and then in turn build ads that will run on a continuing basis.
Here’s Facebook Business’s original statement: “We know small business owners are strapped for time, which is why we’re committed to building tools that save you time and enable you to focus on the parts of your business you love. Today, we’re making it easier for you to manage and promote your business across our platforms through tools such as Automated Ads, appointments and new video editing tools.”
If you’re still unsure whether Facebook ads will work for you, let’s take a look at what the data says:
- 26% of Facebook users who clicked on an ad reported making a purchase afterward.
- Roughly 93% of social media advertisers use Facebook Ads.
- The average click-through rate across all industries equates to 0.9%.
- While the average price for an ad decreased by 4% in Q2 2019, the number of ad impressions increased by 33%.
- The average Facebook user clicks on 11 ads per month.
- Nearly 95% of Facebook’s advertising revenue comes from mobile devices.
Setting Up Facebook Automated Ads
First, log in to Facebook Business Manager and go to your page. Once there, click “Notifications” and then the “Get Started” button on the left-hand side of the screen.
From there, you will be prompted to answer a few questions regarding which ad account you want to use and broader questions about your business goals.
In the event that your business may not fall completely under one category, just go with the closest option.
In the next screen, you get to choose your plan. Facebook’s custom plan includes a suggested budget, a call to action, and estimated daily traffic results (ie. clicks and impressions).
On to stage two! At this point, you’ll be taken to a preview screen where images have been pulled directly from your organic page posts. Facebook offers a variety of customization options and settings to work with here.
You can either keep the pre-selected images or replace them with new ones. Once you’ve picked your photos and sorted them in the order you prefer, you can perform many of the same tasks you would on Ad Manager, such as creating headlines, crafting ad copy, entering a final URL, and customizing the call to action button.
This is probably one of the more important parts of the process—choosing an audience. By default, “Automated Ads” aims to target your website visitors and lookalike audience based. Underneath it breaks down the audience by location, age, and interest expansion.
If you’d rather create your own audience, click on “Customer Audiences.”
Selecting this option allows you to choose from your library of custom audiences within the ad account you went with at the beginning.
In addition to this, you can also use saved audiences and/or create a new audience.
Now that you have clearly defined your audience, Facebook will make some budget suggestions. You can select your Pixel and conduct a final assessment of the campaign that you’re about to launch.
Another great feature that Facebook offers is sending you updates via Messenger on how your ads are performing and offering tips to improve them.
Facebook Automated Ads Dos and Don’ts
Listed below are some of our top advertising dos and don’ts so your business can hit the ground running with high-quality, engaging ads.
Dos
- A/B test your ads. A/B testing, gives you the opportunity to test different versions of your ad so that you can see which tactics are working best and adjust future campaigns accordingly.
- The bigger and more eye-catching the image, the better. Facebook ad images should be 1,200 X 628 pixels.
- Narrow your targeting as much as possible. Facebook allows you to target users based on age, location, gender, and language. But, it’s better to get more detailed so you can target factors like the cars they drive, their job titles, or their annual household income.
- Your landing page should be consistent with your ad’s wording and design. Having the landing page compliment the ad makes it appear more professional.
- Try creating visual contrast to make certain parts of the ad stand out. Experiment with fonts and colors to see what looks best.
- Your daily budget should be at least five times your bid. This is a good rule of thumb, especially if you’re new to Facebook Ads.
Don’ts
- Don’t limit yourself to only highlighting product features. Motivate with images and copy that engages users emotionally and showcases the product’s benefits.
- Avoid using a call to action that is unclear or misleading. Your call to action should be equal parts concise and powerful.
- Say no to long copy. You may be thinking, “but I’m paying for this ad and I need to include as much information as possible!” Keeping your message short while also offering value is what will get you more engagement.
- Don’t bid too low. Bidding low means you likely won’t reach enough people and ultimately, you get what you pay for.
- Avoid targeting users who are already your customers. They’re not the ones you need to convince to complete the buyer journey with you.
- Most importantly, never assume anything and always test everything!
Key Metrics to Measure
Metrics absolutely cannot be overlooked when it comes to Facebook Automated Ads. Track the wrong ones and you’ll have no clue if what you’re doing is actually working.
Here are the ones we suggest you pay attention to:
- Reach: How many users are you currently? If not enough or none, try increasing your bid.
- Frequency: On average, how many times has a unique user come across your ad. If the ad has been seen too much, try changing the target or ads’ design.
- Cost per Action: This is one of the best metrics to help you understand if Facebook Ads are profitable for you. You should aim to lower this value.
- Likes: Likes shouldn’t be overlooked. But actions and engagement will paint a more accurate picture.
How do Automated Ads on Facebook Help Your PPC Strategy?
If you run a small business and don’t have the marketing manpower to consistently churn out killer ad campaigns, then Facebook Automated Ads is a no-brainer.
Now more than ever, we need to be more cognizant of how we allocate our Facebook ad budget. But doing this requires launching new ads, pausing underperforming ads, adjusting bids, and everything in between.
Within Facebook Ads Manager, you can gain access to a multitude of features that help you create highly targeted, ultra engaging ad campaigns that give you the biggest bang for your buck.
Plus, Facebook Ads Automation gets you out of the never-ending loop of a launch-pause-re-launch routine so you can scale your campaigns more efficiently and effectively.
Wrapping Up
Ready to get the most out of your Facebook ad spend and give Facebook Ad Automation a try?
As an online marketer, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. There’s too much to do!
Harnessing the power of Automated Ads on Facebook will not only automate dull, laborious tasks, but will improve your ad performance in ways that get results every time!
