5 Simple Facebook Ad Tips

Getting started with online ads is very much like starting a new job. Nothing around seems to make much sense, you aren’t sure if things are working the way they should, and, most importantly, no one seems to be able to answer your questions. So, you start a long journey of trial and error with one single-image ad, and, eventually, start doing things the right way and get sales.

However, as your business develops, single-image ads don’t seem to do the trick anymore - at the very least, they don’t enable you to grow as quickly as you expect to. Over 4 years of RetargetApp history, we've seen many growing businesses struggle as they were looking for the perfect recipe for better sales through the online promotion of their products. Based on their experience and best advertising practices, we've made a list of 5 Facebook ads hacks that have proven to make your ads stand out of the crowd and help you sell more:

1. Personalize ads with Customizable Copy
2. Add emotion with Emoji
3. Stand out with Creative Tools
4. Grab attention with Slideshow ads
5. Offer immersive experience with Collection ads

Personalize ads with Customizable Copy

You don't need to type in the name and price of each product if you use Customizable Copy

When you want to show an ad to a whole country of your potential customers, staying personal is hard. However, there are ways to make your ad look more like it was crafted specifically for the person who is looking at it. It's called customizable copy - a set of special tags that you can add to your ad headline, description, and primary text.

In actual Dynamic ads and Collection ads (we will discuss those a bit later) each tag you set will be replaced with the information from your Facebook Product Catalog, such as product name, its discounted and full price, brand and even product description.

Suggested reading: Top 10 Google Shopping Ads Tips for Success in 2020

How do I set this up?

Customizable Copy tag will be replaced with the parameter of your choice in the actual ad

1. In your Ads Manager, click "Edit" on the ad you want to add Customizable copy to
2. Pick a field - you can add tags to Headline, News Feed Link Description and Primary Text.
3. Click on a + icon on the right side of the text box
4. Choose a dynamic parameter you want to include and click on it.
5. Check the preview on the right. Note: the preview will feature the info for the random demo product, while in the actual ad the text will feature the info on the product displayed in the ad.
6. Click on the green "Publish" button in the bottom right.

Add emotion with Emoji

Colorful emoji immediately catch the eye and help you draw special attention to your offer

Due to excessive use of emoji by younger generations, some marketers fall under impression that including smiley faces into ads is childish and unprofessional. This couldn't be more wrong - emoji help convey positive emotions, brighten up the message and actually make the ad stand out of the endless line of posts.

Just like with customizable copy, you can add emoji to ad headline, description, and primary text. Unlike customizable copy, though, emoji work equally well on any type of Facebook ad that features text. If you are feeling particularly playful, you can also add emoji as a custom overlay - we will get to them shortly.

How do I set this up?

1. Go to getemoji.com and pick the emoji you would like to add to your ad text.
2. In your Ads Manager, click "Edit" on the ad you want to add Customizable copy to
3. Pick a field - Headline, News Feed Link Description or Primary Text and insert emoji into text.
4. Check the preview on the right. Note: emoji may look different on different operating systems. You may want to both check the preview and view the emoji variations on Emojipedia.
5. Click on the green "Publish" button in the bottom right.

Stand out with Creative Tools

Creative Tools let you add Price to all your product images in just a few clicks

If you want to tell people that you offer a discount on a physical product, the fastest way to do so is by slapping a neat bright sticker on it. With Dynamic ads, you can do the same - and more - with Creative Tools.

The preset options you can choose from are price (taken from your Product Catalog) and free shipping (for products that are accordingly marked in the catalog):

You can also add custom images up to 1 MB - be it your logo, emoji, or cute seasonal creative like Santa's hat for Christmas sale - as a so-called "Frame". Frames can be located in one of 9 predefined positions on your product image and (that's the coolest part) can be combined with the price or free shipping overlays:

A custom-made "Free Shipping" frame will give your customers one more reason to by from you

Suggested reading: 3 Best Alternatives to Facebook Ads for Shopify Stores

How do I set this up?

1. In your Ads Manager, click "Edit" on the ad you want to add overlays and/or frames to
2. Just above the Headline section, find the Creative Tools section and click on the "Customize Images" button
3. For price and shipping info, pick the necessary parameter in the "Info" dropdown. Customize the color, font, size, and position if necessary. Note: to display shipping info, you may need to make a quick change to your Product Catalog setup.
4. For logo, emoji and seasonal overlays, pick "Frames" in the menu on the left. Under "Image", pick "Custom", upload the image and modify the opacity, size and position if necessary.
5. Click "Done" to save the changes.
6. Click on the green "Publish" button in the bottom right.

Grab attention with Slideshow ads

Slideshow ads let you show a few different product images within one space

Animated objects tend to catch your eye more effectively than the static ones. This explains the huge success behind video content and gives yet another idea on how to make your ads truly grab the attention of your potential customers.

If you haven't yet invested in product videos or 3D photography, there is still one thing you can do right now - set up slideshows instead of static images. The slideshow can feature color or style variations of your product, lifestyle pictures or shots of a product from different perspectives - the choice is all yours.

How do I set this up?

1. In your Ads Manager, click "Edit" on the ad you want to add overlays and/or frames to
2. If you are creating a Carousel ad, pick "Slideshow" in Catalog Cards. Note: for this to work properly, your Product Catalog needs to have at least 2 pictures for each product featured in ads.
3. If you are creating a single image ad, pick "Video/Slideshow" and click "Create Slideshow". Use one of the free PowerPoint templates and edit it according to your needs.
4. Don't forget to publish the changes once you are happy with what you are seeing in the Ad Preview section.

Offer immersive experience with Collection ads

While it only takes minutes to create, Instant Experience ad will offer an engaging and immersive experience for your potential customers

In many cases, limitation inspires creativity. Think of how people manage to say something witty with just 280 characters on Twitter or tell a story with a 6.5-second Vine video. Still, there are times where you simply hate the limits and wish they weren't there.

Facebook ads are one more example. In a carousel ad, you can showcase no more than 10 products - and it seems unfair to some. Well, get this: there's a possibility of showing up to 50 products in one ad, which, to some online store owners is pretty much like bringing their whole store to Facebook in just a few clicks.

This marketing wonder is called Collection ad and it lets you feature a video (or a slideshow like the one we have just discussed) and 3 products from your Product Catalog. When tapped on - yes, it's a mobile-only thing - it expands to a full screen containing anywhere from 3 to 50 products you chose to feature.

How do I set this up?

1. When creating an ad, pick "Collection" under "Format"
2. You will be offered to customize your Instant Experience - that's what those ads are now called by Facebook. Find a Storefront template and click "Use template".
3. Design the Instant Experience using the prompts. Be sure to save the changes once you are done.

Are there any other things I can do to sell more with ads?

Of course. Advertising is a very dynamic environment, and, with new features and tactics appearing every month, there's no limit to the perfection of the ads you run online. Here are just some of the things you should try:

Advertise on more than one platform

Your potential customers don't limit their online preferences to one website. Why should you? As you learn who your target audience is, reach out to them in more than one way. Google Ads are a great place to start, as they enable you to reach over a billion potential customers across Google itself, YouTube, Gmail, and a wide network of partner websites. Don't forget to check out Twitter and Snapchat ads, too - especially, if you advertise to younger audiences. Also, check Facebook Ads Comments once you’ve launched your campaign and leverage Facebook ads reporting tool, they can give you a lot of brand new insights.

Make use of various advertising tactics

"Carpet-bombing" people on social media with ads may work in the beginning, but in the long run it only results in fatigue and eventual hatred towards your brand. It is important that you show different (creative-wise) ad types to different groups of your existing and potential customers - Prospecting, Retargeting, and Cross-Sell being some of the tactics you should definitely be using.

Automate your online ads

Online advertising is effective, but it is really, really time-consuming. As an online store owner, you already have too many tasks to handle, so ads are something you can - and should - automate. Apps like RetargetApp will let you create, edit and optimize all the online ads your business needs in a matter of minutes. All you need to do is install the app and decide how much you would like to invest in ads on a daily basis.

No matter what platforms and tactics you choose to promote your products, remember to stay ethical - in a nutshell, don't post ads that you yourself would hate to pop up on your Facebook Newsfeed. May the sales be with you ?

About the author:

Alex Yemets is the Content Manager at RetargetApp — an app that helps online businesses run efficient ads in one click. RetargetApp analyses website visitors’ behavior, and, based on it, runs a range of fully automated advertising campaigns aimed at boosting sales.

Facebook Ad Tips FAQ