4 Facebook Advertising Strategies for 2021
Facebook advertising continues to be one of the top returning digital tactics for small businesses and growing brands that want to cost-effectively reach targeted customers at scale. But as with anything, the tips and best practices are constantly evolving.
Try These Facebook Ad Strategies
Facebook ad spend has increased exponentially in recent years and will almost certainly reach new heights in 2021. From 2014 to 2017, global advertising spend on the platform grew from $135 million per year to $324 million per year. Then in 2018, it eclipsed the billion-dollar mark to the tune of $1.11 billion. In 2020, more than $2.26 billion was spent on the platform. (That represented a 44 percent year-over-year increase.) An aggressive year could catapult spending to the $3 billion mark in 2021.
The fact that more money is being spent on Facebook advertising than ever before is an excellent sign that something is working. Advertisers don’t continue to dole out dollars on strategies that are ineffective or low-returning. The proof is in the pudding.
From an individual advertiser’s perspective, the key is to implement the right tactics to maximize ROI. And while it’s easy to get lost in the complexity of the platform, here are some trends, tips, and best practices that will prove useful this year and beyond.
1) Fall in Love With Video
All other factors equal, video dramatically outperforms standard image and text-based ads. With each passing month, the importance of video is only growing. And if you want to penetrate your market with engaging advertising, you have to fall in love with video.
“Not only do video ads get more clicks (two times more, according to one recent experiment), but they give marketers more creative freedom to show off a brand’s personality and connect emotionally with an audience,” Hootsuite explains.
Video can be leveraged in a variety of ways. You don’t have to come up with the next Dollar Shave Club video. Something as simple as an honest customer testimonial or quick product how-to can be enough to grab someone’s attention.
2) Maximize the Facebook Pixel
Most Facebook advertisers understand the importance of using the Facebook Pixel on their website as a way of retargeting website visitors. However, many businesses and marketers are missing out on the full value. If you’ve only installed the base code, you’re missing a chance to generate more value. To accurately measure all of your KPIs (like cost per purchase or cost per lead), you’ll need the event code added as well.
The event code is easy to add – you just have to do it. For best results, place it on thank you pages where people are dropped after performing particular actions. If you aren’t savvy about how to do this, there are plenty of tutorials out there. If nothing else, you can hire someone very inexpensively to get you set up.
3) Master Targeting
The real power of Facebook’s advertising platform (when compared to Google and other social networking sites) is the amount of data it has on its users. In turn, this creates amazing opportunities for targeting.
“Facebook offers the most advanced targeting methods known to any business,” Blue Water Marketing explains. “Due to the incredible amount of data that Facebook holds, your ads can be placed in front of the most relevant audiences for your business.”
However, much like pixels, targeting is only as effective as you let it be. If you’re going to study one aspect of Facebook advertising this year, get laser-focused on targeting. It’ll transform your ability to reach the right people with the right message.
4) Become a Better Storyteller
It would be accurate to say that 90 percent of Facebook advertising success is rooted in storytelling. If you can tell a compelling story, you’ll get results. If your story falls flat, well, you’re ROI will be minimal.
Storytelling, whether through video, images, or text, makes or breaks your efforts. And remember to prioritize consistency throughout the funnel. In other words, there has to be a smooth transition from the ad to the landing page. Otherwise, people will bounce.
Win Big With Facebook in 2021
If you have a product that you know people will respond to, Facebook advertising is an extremely cost-effective option for garnering cold traffic. So much will depend on your ability to convert that traffic, but you can rest assured that Facebook will give you an opportunity to be successful. Make this the year that you win big!
