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5 Facebook Advertising Lessons You Should Learn Sooner Than Later

Facebook advertising can be complicated, but here's a look at practical lessons that will prepare you to get the best results.

Photo: David Reimherr; Source: Steve Viner
Photo: David Reimherr; Source: Steve Viner

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Facebook advertising guru Jon Loomer to gain insight into some of the most common advertising mistakes businesses make on Facebook.

We talked about some of the mistakes Jon himself made early on … like not concentrating enough on the design of his posts, spending too little (or spending in the wrong places), and ignoring email list building as a part of an overall Facebook ad strategy.

Luckily, Jon shared insight on what he did to correct these mistakes, along with great ideas that any small or startup or small business an use.

Facebook advertising can be complicated, but here’s a look at practical lessons that will prepare you to get the best results.

 

1. Learn which cost model works best (and when).

There’s a time to use pay per click (PPC) and then there’s a time hen cost per thousand (CPM) makes more sense. The PPC cost method is best for pushing ads or content to a larger, less engaged audience. In contrast, CPM rates are ideal when you’re working with more engaged (and smaller) audiences.

Highly engaged audiences are usually those that visit your website and/or your Facebook fans. You can create custom audiences using the Facebook Ad Manager or Power Editor. This is a key. It will save you from wasting money and help you get the very best bang for your buck.

 

2. The Facebook ‘boost’ button isn’t as useless as you think.

Jon calls the “boost button the “gateway drug to the good stuff.” The boost button is not totally useless, but he doesn’t recommend it, due to the lack of targeting it provides. Facebook put the boost button out there to give people an easy way to amplify their posts. But it won’t get you the targeted reach you really need if you want to stretch your dollars, and get your content in front of the right people.

 

3. Learn from Facebook changes instead of complaining about them.

When it comes to Facebook algorithms, so many people get up in arms about changes. Yet, all Facebook did was reward good content. His advice is to learn from the Facebook algorithm changes, instead of fretting them. What Facebook wants is ultimately a reflection of what that marketplace is asking for.

 

4. Facebook doesn’t work well for boring brands.

Many of us expect people to love our businesses right away. Jon pointed out that we are brands, and brands in general are boring. So, do your best to create applicable, helpful, funny and engaging information and then get it in front of the right people. Over time, people will begin to trust and like you. But you must be consistent.

 

5. It’s possible to target the ‘wrong’ Facebook audience.

Build the wrong audience and it will hurt your reach and waste your money. For example, luring people into giving you their email, or like your page, to win a free iPad will most likely result in a bunch of followers who just want to win free stuff. Also, not paying attention to the location of your posts can be problematic. If you end up with tons of followers from India, and you don’t sell your products in India, you’ll create annoying and costly issues for yourself in the long run.

Again, it comes down to targeting the right way.

 

Jon is truly one of the very best in the business. He knows his stuff. If you want to continue to learn from Jon, listen to our podcast. As we all know, best practices change quickly in this industry, so it’s always a good idea to keep learning from the best.

 

This article has been edited and condensed.

David Reimherr brings 20 years of sales, marketing, strategy and branding experience to the table and is the founder and CEO of Magnificent Marketing. Connect with @davidreimherr on Twitter.

 

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