If you're looking for a powerful tool to help grow your small business, Facebook Ads deserves to be at the top of your list. With more than 2.8 billion active users, Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, offering businesses a massive potential audience to target. In fact, according to a 2022 HubSpot survey, Facebook Ads are the highest-performing paid channel for the majority of companies. More than 1 in 3 listed Facebook Ads as their best performer in terms of ROI, ahead of Google Ads and Instagram. With a proven track record of delivering impressive ROI, Facebook Ads can help you boost your brand awareness and drive business growth.
In this post, we'll go through the basics of using Facebook Ads to boost your company’s brand awareness, including what you need to know before getting started and 10 of the best practices and industry tips to help you hit the ground running.
So, let's get started!
The basics of a Facebook brand awareness campaign
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of how to create a successful Facebook brand awareness campaign, it's important to understand the basics of Facebook ads. Facebook offers a variety of ad types, allowing you to choose the format that best suits your business's needs and marketing strategy.
Ad types include:
- Image ads
- Video ads
- Carousel ads
On top of deciding the most appropriate format, you'll also need to decide on your target audience, which you can do by specifying demographic information like:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Interests
Facebook ad campaigns provide incredibly advanced targeting options that also allow you to target users based on the following:
- Behaviours, e.g. recent purchases or searches,
- Connections, e.g. friends of your Facebook page followers
Once you've selected your ad format type and target audience, you'll need to create your ad and set a budget. Facebook offers a flexible bidding system that allows you to set your own budget, so you can determine how much you want to spend on each ad campaign.
How do Facebook ads increase brand awareness?
Facebook ads increase brand awareness by allowing businesses to target specific audiences. The advertisements can be displayed in various formats, such as an image or video ads, and can appear in the news feeds, Stories, or right column of users. By consistently exposing a target audience to the business's messaging and branding, brand awareness can be increased.
How do I measure success with Facebook?
Businesses can use metrics such as impressions, reach, engagement, and conversions to measure their success on Facebook.
- Impressions refer to the number of times an advertisement has been displayed
- Reach is the metric which shows the number of unique people who have seen an advertisement
- Engagement gives you data on people's interactions with an advertisement
- Conversions are the number of people who took a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
By monitoring these metrics, businesses can assess the effectiveness of their advertising spend on Facebook and make informed decisions about future campaigns.
Top 10 expert tips:
Facebook brand awareness campaigns
1. Audience targeting
Utilise the Facebook audience insights tool to gain a clear understanding of your target audience's demographics, interests, behaviours, and more. This will help you create ads that resonate with them.
Coca-Cola's #ShareACoke campaign is an excellent example of audience targeting. The campaign was specifically designed to target a younger demographic, particularly millennials, who were looking for personaliseΩd and shareable experiences.
The campaign involved printing popular names on Coke bottles and cans and promoting it through Facebook with messages encouraging people to purchase and share the personalised beverages with their friends and family. Coca-Cola also created a website where people could customise their own virtual Coke bottle and share it on their own personal social media, further increasing engagement and the campaign's reach.
By targeting a specific audience with a campaign that tapped into their unique preferences, Coca-Cola created a campaign that deeply resonated with their target demographic, resulting in increased sales and brand awareness. The campaign's success was due in part to its focus on personalisation, a trend particularly appealing to millennials and younger generations.
2. Define your campaign objective
Clearly define what you hope to achieve with your Facebook brand awareness ad campaigns, such as increasing brand awareness or reach, driving traffic, or lead generation. Your brand awareness campaign objective will be used to measure performance, and you can make ongoing adjustments to the campaign depending on its performance results.
Spending time developing specific objectives for the campaign will ensure you tailor the campaign accordingly and can accurately measure its success.
3. Use eye-catching visuals
Facebook is a visual platform, so use high-quality images and videos to tell your brand's story and stand out from the crowd. You can also make use of Facebook’s different ad format variations that allow you to show your products in unique ways, measure their performance and adjust based on your results.
Facebook video posts have a higher average engagement rate than other post formats, with a 0.26% engagement rate reported by Hootsuite in 2020 compared with just 0.18% from other formats.
Video ads are one of the most effective ways to increase brand awareness on Facebook. They allow you to showcase your product or service in action and are more engaging and memorable than static image ads. Consider creating a short video highlighting your brand's unique features and the benefits of your products or services. Make sure your video is high-quality, visually appealing, and captures the attention of your intended target audience.
Airbnb leveraged Facebook’s videos in an ad campaign, which highlighted the unique travel experiences offered by their platform. The video showed breathtaking footage of different destinations, with the tagline "Belong Anywhere." The ad was a hit and helped to increase brand awareness and drive conversions for the company.
4. Leverage storytelling
Use brand awareness campaigns to share stories that are relevant to your brand and will resonate with your target audience to increase brand awareness and engagement.
Stories are a powerful way to connect with your audience. Use your Facebook ad to tell a story highlighting your brand, products or services, or the problem you're solving for your customers. Make sure the story is relatable and emotionally resonant and that it highlights the unique aspects of your brand. Humour can be a highly effective way to make storytelling more engaging.
Tomcat, a US-based rodent extermination company, created a great example of this strategy. Their team had a creative idea for Halloween in 2016 - host a horror-themed live video event with puppet mice protagonists. With suspenseful storytelling and audience participation deciding their fate, 2.3 million viewers viewed the gruesome narrative of hapless teenage rodents stranded in an eerie cabin.
Many engaged further by voting on how each mouse would meet its end and the premise of 'they all die' created anticipation for what lay ahead. The brand awareness ad was deemed highly successful, with 21% active participation throughout this macabre adventure.
5. Partner with influencers
Influencer marketing combined with Facebook online advertising reaches a wider audience and increases brand awareness. Find influencers who are a good fit for your brand, and work with them to create Facebook content that showcases your products or services. Influencer marketing can be a cost-effective way to reach a large and engaged audience and can be a powerful tool for building brand awareness.
One of the best examples of this strategy is Michael Kors' recent Facebook ad campaign, which featured top influencers showcasing the brand's latest collections and created a huge amount of buzz around the brand online.
6. Use interactive elements
Interactive elements, such as quizzes, polls, or games, can be a great way to increase engagement and build brand awareness. One of the best examples of this strategy is Jeni's newest Buttercream Birthday Cake ice cream flavour launch. The brand hosted a surprise virtual birthday party, dropping tantalising teasers and hints. Their eye-catching content featured product details in vibrant colours that set the stage for this memorable event.
To commemorate their new Buttercream Birthday Cake ice cream flavour, Jeni's threw a lively online celebration on their Facebook feed. With delightful stop-motion confetti graphics and an animated pint 'bouncing' in its own bouncy house, fans were also treated to up-close product shots with vivid descriptions of the gluten-free cake pieces inside.
The icing on top? A real-life balloon artist! And no matter your location, consumers can still get their hands on this delicious treat by clicking through from any post, thanks to Jeni’s embedded Shop tags.
By giving your audience a fun and interactive experience, you can build a deeper connection with them and leave a lasting impression.
7. Utilise retargeting
Retargeting can increase brand awareness and drive conversions by showing your brand awareness ads to people who have previously engaged with your brand. Facebook retargeting ads are a great way for brands to connect with their most loyal customers.
Targeting those already familiar with the company can help establish trust with potential new clients and demonstrate that they are an established and trustworthy brand.
8. Maintain consistency
Consistency is key when it comes to building brand awareness. Ensure your Facebook brand awareness ads have a consistent visual style, messaging, and tone and are aligned with your brand's overall image and message.
A great example of this strategy is Nike's "Just Do It" Facebook ads, which utilise the same messaging that has become synonymous with the brand. The ads' consistent messaging and visual style have helped increase brand awareness and drive engagement for the athletic apparel company.
9. Optimise for mobile
Most Facebook users access the platform via mobile devices, so make sure your ads are easy to view and interact with on a mobile device. Facebook offers a great resource to help you ensure the optimal experience for mobile users.
10. Monitor and regularly adjust
Regularly monitor your ad campaign's performance and adjust your strategies based on the results. Use metrics like ad recall lift and brand survey tests to measure effectiveness. Facebook also offers automatic ad placements and ad recall lift to reach your target audience more effectively. By following these tips, you can effectively use Facebook to boost brand awareness and achieve your goals.
Getting the most from your Facebook Ads Campaign
Facebook ads have become a staple in the world of digital marketing, with some of the biggest global brands using this platform to increase brand awareness, reach a wider audience, and create a deeper connection with their customers. From interactive elements to eye-catching visuals, there are many strategies you can use to create a successful Facebook ad campaign.
It's important to have a set budget and allocate your resources accordingly. A well-designed Facebook ad campaign can be very effective in increasing brand awareness, but it is not a one-time effort. You will need to invest time, money, and resources into your ad campaign over an extended period of time to see significant results.
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