How to Save Money on Facebook Ads
We’ve all heard the saying, “You get what you pay for.” It’s true in most cases. However, when it comes to Facebook ads, there are ways to save money and still get a good ROI.
In this article, we’ll share tips for saving money on Facebook Ads and how you can get started today.
Understanding How Facebook Ads Work
Learning how to properly set up and make the most out of your Facebook Ad account may seem obvious, but believe it or not -- many new business owners and even advertisers often skip this step. Why?
Because most people think they can figure it out as they go. This mistake is a surefire way to burn through your initial budget.
Like any new technology platform, there’s a learning curve and some trial and error when entering the digital ad environment. Although some money will be lost during the testing phase, there are strategies you can implement to save extra dollars. We’ve outlined a brief guide for you below, but HIGHLY recommend you dive into other resources as well. This is by no means an exhaustive list of everything that should and can be done with Facebook Ads, but through our testing, we think this is a great place to start as a beginner.
Step 1: Set up a Business Account through your personal Facebook account.
Step 2: Create your first campaign and keep it simple as you get your feet wet. Facebook breaks down campaigns into three categories:
Objectives: Stick to the "Sales” objective as often as possible. This will tell Facebook to spend your campaign budget on the users who are most likely to engage with your ads.
Ad Sets: The ad set category allows you to narrow down your target market’s demographics and choose how you’d like your ad delivered. Here, you can create different groups of ads that target different audiences, ad destinations, and more. As you’re starting out, we recommend keeping your audiences broad with very minimal tinkering on your part. Facebook will start collecting data from your target market as your ads start generating traffic. Create at least one ad set for each objective.
Ads: Create only one ad per ad set and keep it simple! The more variations you add, the harder it is to evaluate performance. Ensure each ad has only one CTA (call to action) and limits itself to one offer or message that can be easily understood after reading it once.
Step 3: Understand how Facebook spends your budget and the different bidding options:
Highest Volume: This option allows you to set your daily budget and let Facebook determine where it should spend that money. It’s a great option for beginners, but we recommend using the other two options once you get a solid idea of your cost per acquisition.
Cost Per Result: This option allows you to set a bid amount per action (like click or conversion).
Bid cap: This option gives you more control over how much money is spent on each individual ad compared to the cost per result option. It offers two different ways to do this: You can choose a maximum cost per day or a maximum lifetime cost for each ad set.
There is tons of FREE information out there. Take advantage of it! We recommend starting with Facebook's Blueprint course. It may seem overly long and tedious, but this is by far the most up-to-date and conclusive resource on Facebook ads out there.
Want to jump into ads but don’t know where to begin? We’ve got you. Sign-up for a FREE 30-minute consultation with us, and we’ll help guide you in the right direction for business needs.
Use Platform Data To Guide You
There’s been some big changes to Facebook Ads this year -- the most notable being the future of data tracking. In September 2020, Apple introduced its iOS 14 software update that caused big riffs in Facebook’s ability to track how people interact with and engage with your purchase funnel outside of the platform. In other words, once a potential customer clicks on your ad and leaves Facebook -- data is lost.
This makes it a lot more challenging for advertisers to know exactly which campaigns are working and which are spending recklessly.
Before the update, Facebook’s pixel was enough to track the customer journey and optimize where needed. In other words, Facebook’s original algorithm made it really easy to invest more in what was working and fix what wasn't. Now, advertisers must get creative with how they can scale top-performing campaigns and kill the ones that are burning through cash.
However, this isn’t the end of ads on Facebook. (Kind of bittersweet, huh?) In fact, there are still several opportunities to get an accurate representation of your data within Facebook itself. Two campaign types that will give 100% accurate data are Lead Generation and Facebook Shop campaigns.
Lead generation campaigns are campaigns that encourage sign-ups to an offer within the platform. Rather than clicking on an ad and heading to a landing page, users who click on lead gen ads can submit their information without ever having to leave Facebook. This is a game-changer for two reasons:
Lead generation ads allow for fewer friction points between clicking on an ad and the desired goal. Oftentimes, users who click on an ad that takes them to another website exit somewhere along the funnel because of the extra steps to get to where they want to go.
Facebook algorithm can more accurately optimize your ads because it’s using its own data to deliver results rather than having to rely on unreliable data from outside of the platform.
Facebook Shop Campaigns are structured very similarly. Instead of sending customers to your e-commerce site, you have to option to build your shop right on Facebook and Instagram! Customers can make purchases with just a few clicks, and all that conversion data will be stored with no hiccups.
So, if you’re just starting and want to feed the Facebook algorithm, we suggest starting here!
Side note: Another new tool that Facebook has implemented to track offline conversions is called Conversions CAPI. However, you will need to enlist the help of a developer to install it. We recommend holding off on CAPI until you have more experience using ads.
Leverage Your Existing Customer Base
Facebook doesn’t use some special secret to show your ad to your ideal customer at the right time and in the right place. Its algorithm needs to be fed data and learn from actions performed on your ads to create a high-quality audience for you. If you don’t have a clear idea of who your audience is, you’ll typically need to feed the algorithm on a campaign before launching a highly targeted campaign that will begin to convert. With this strategy, it may take you a few months before you begin to see a positive ROAS. This is why we recommend building your audience through low-cost tactics before jumping into ads.
One of the simplest ways to save money on Facebook ads and feed the algorithm is through first-party data. First-party data is data that you own. This can include your growing email list or pre-existing data you’ve collected through a CRM. What are the benefits of using data that you own? You don’t have to front-load money towards Facebook’s algorithm, and you have more accurate data on your ideal target customer than Facebook will likely ever have post-iOS 14.
Disclaimer: You must have permission to use this data. It is against Facebook’s policy to use bought email lists.
Make Sure Your Funnel is AIRTIGHT
Your sales funnel is the most important piece of your business. It’s the path that leads your target audience from not knowing about you to becoming paying customers.
With most marketing efforts, if you don’t have a solid funnel, then it’s likely that your campaign won’t be successful. There are four main areas of your sales funnel that you need to make sure are airtight before using Facebook Ads:
Ad Creative, Copy, and Call-to-Action
When it comes to creating an effective Facebook ad, it all starts with the creative and copy. The creative is the visual content that catches a user' eye and prompts them to stop scrolling and check out your ad — while the copy is what sells them on the value of your offer.
This means that when you’re creating your Facebook ad content, you need to think less like a business owner or salesperson and more like a consumer. You need to consider what type of content will truly engage your audience. Remember, at the end of the day, Facebook is a social platform, and people are engaging with the platform to unwind, not to look at overly promotional advertisements. The best way to do this is by asking yourself, “What would make me want to click on this ad?”
Three main factors go into creating an effective Facebook ad:
Copy - What will convince your audience they need what you're selling? This can range from personal stories or testimonials, discounts, or even unique benefits that relate directly to the product/service being advertised. If people don't understand how your product/service will benefit them personally (or directly), they won't click on it.
Visuals - Images speak louder than words, so make sure you use visual elements like photos or videos in your ads so people can envision themselves using your product or service and understand how it could improve their lives. If you don’t include visuals with your copy, people may not connect with the message!
Call-to-Action - A Call-to-Action is a short statement or prompt that encourages people to take the desired action. Examples of call-to-actions include shop now, subscribe, or book a meeting. Having a clear will also help with your conversion rates because it will show potential customers what they need to do next and how they can get some value from your product or service without having to ask questions first.
Landing Page Optimized for Conversion
The next step will involve making sure that the transition from your ad to your landing page is smooth and frictionless. Your landing page’s entire goal should be directing people toward your desired outcome. This could be purchasing a product, signing up for an email list, or registering for a webinar. Whatever your campaign goals may be, make sure your landing page focuses only on that offer.
Avoid including other products and offers that aren’t relevant to what your ad campaign is promoting, and keep writing at a minimum. If someone lands on a page and can’t find what they’re looking for, they’re more likely to exit the page without completing the desired action. Your landing page should provide not only useful information about your product but also be simple enough for people to understand quickly. The loading time on your website should also be quick and glitch-free to prevent interested viewers from bouncing off the page.
Accessibility and Options
Finally, your offer should be accessible. You should have multiple purchase options available so that customers can choose what works best for them based on their needs and budget constraints at any given time. For example, you can offer multiple ways to purchase a product or offer subscription-based services that appeal to different budgets and needs.
Monitor Your Ads Daily & Test!
We can’t stress enough how important it is to monitor your daily spending in relation to cost per click and cost per conversion. You need to keep in mind that Facebook ads aren’t a static thing. While you might feel like you’ve created a great ad, you will still want to look for better opportunities & the changes in your niche and demographics. So always stay on top of things, track everything, and optimize ads to find the ones that work best.
