What Are Facebook Ads?
Before digging into whether or not Facebook ads will be effective for your tech company (spoiler: they will be), let’s review: what are they? I am sure you have seen them. They show up in different forms: on the right side of the page, the news feed on desktop, and the news feed on mobile.
They are targeted ads customized for you. Businesses will target people like you in order to drive traffic to either their site or Facebook page.
Do Facebook Ads actually work for technology companies?
Yes. Facebook has approximately 2 billion users. “Billion”… with a “B”. Chances are, with a following like that, your target market is in there somewhere. Organically, the challenge is to reach the subset of the market that works for technology companies. With Facebook’s Ad targeting, this is no longer a problem. You can target different locations, demographics, interests, behaviors, and more. The best part? It’s cheap. This targeting is one of the biggest reasons that Facebook ads are so effective. Being able to tailor your message down to such a granular message enables you to have more control over your CTR’s, and enables you to personalize each message. Finding the right people for the right message is essential when working with an audience as large as Facebook’s. A less-obvious reason that Facebook ads for technology companies are effective is that Facebook has done a great job changing with the times, so all your investment into learning how to effectively create ads will not go to waste. Facebook started as primarily a desktop channel, and has almost completely transitioned over to mobile. They have also transformed to become more video-centric. They change with the times, and so will their advertising methods.
Tips and Tricks
So, now that you know these ads work, how do you promote your organization effectively?
Have an Eye-Catching Design
Don’t create a bland text-based ad. No one will click on it. Design quality is a big indicator toward what kind of CTR you will get. The design needs to match your company’s brand and catch the eye of your target market. Your design should make the end-user feel something. Invoke an emotion, and pair the design with the text to create a congruous message. Here are a few ads that have been done the right way. Use examples like these as inspiration to create your own lead-generating ad.
Clear Call-to-Action
The best design in the world doesn’t matter if there is no CTA. What do you want your audience to do? Download an EBook? Fill out a form? The action is important; a quality CTA is how you turn a Facebook user into a lead. Make sure your CTA is clear and concise. They should know where they are going to land when they click on it. Something like “Download your…” or “Get a FREE…”.
Target, Target, Target
If you aren’t targeting your audience correctly, you are wasting your time and money. You created a stellar ad, so share it with who it is made for. Not doing so is like putting an ad for industrial rock crushers in Cosmopolitan… a complete waste of time and money. Get as niche as possible. It is better to get your message in front of 500 relevant prospects than 5,000 irrelevant Facebook users.
Don’t Make these Mistakes with Your Facebook Ads
Now you know what to do, but what should you avoid?
Not targeting fans
“Why would I target my own fans? They already follow me?”
Until every single one of your fans is also a customer, you are missing out on your strongest prospects. Don’t spend all day cold calling when you have a line of interested leads. If you haven’t built up much of a following, however, you can use the ads to do so. Just make sure not to ignore those who chose to like your page. They have shown interest in your product.
Using the Net Approach
The days of sending out a message to 1,000,000 people in hopes that 100 bite are over. Instead, send 100 custom messages to 10,000 audience segments that you know your message will be relevant for. Rely on strategy when creating Facebook Ads, not luck. I know what you are thinking – I already talked about targeting. Yes, because it is probably the most important part to remember when starting your Facebook ad campaign. Don’t forget it.
Not Testing
Just like you would for any other type of marketing, test your work. Test that your ad looks good on desktop, tablet, and mobile. Test different images with mini-campaigns to make sure you have something that resonates with your audience. Test to make sure your CTA is enticing. Then, once you have done that, test it all again. It is better to find out that no one likes your design in the testing phase rather than $2,000 in.
Best of Luck
Now that you know everything you need to get started, create your first ad and be off to the races. You can read all day about the strategy behind Facebook ads, but the best way to learn is to try yourself. I will warn you – it’s not easy. When you add Facebook ads to the rest of your marketing strategy there is a lot to think about. That is where New North comes in. We have experience in a multitude of marketing strategies and tactics that we can apply to your business. You don’t need to learn everything yourself – that is what we are here for. Get a free consultation and find out how New North can help your company grow.
