Where to Start
Planning a Facebook campaign raises many questions: which ads perform best, what content is worth promoting, do ads that send people to a website work, and how do you measure results? The first decision is between two kinds of ads:
- Ads (the "voice of business"): messages written by the advertiser and targeted at a chosen audience.
- Sponsored stories (the "voice of friends"): paid promotion of how a person's friends interact with your business.
Below are the main voice-of-business formats, as they worked when this article was written.
Page Post Ads
Ideal for sharing company news with current and potential customers, on desktop and mobile, in the News Feed or the right-hand column. Only the first 90 characters show in the sidebar, against 500 in the News Feed, so put the key message first. The same rules apply to photo, video and link posts.
Question Ads
Great for engagement and for collecting answers directly from your audience. Combined with Facebook's targeting, they help you understand what customers want. Only the first few answers are shown in the ad.
Offer Ads
Suited to businesses that give coupons and special offers. They attract new customers and strengthen loyalty. With only 90 characters, the text needs a strong call to action.
Event Ads
Designed to promote events to the right audience. In the News Feed they show the page, event title, date, time and place, so keep the extra text short.
Page Like Ads
One of the most used formats for growing your fan base and awareness. Keep the text short and clear, and test different images, as the photo is one of the biggest factors in success.
App and Mobile App Ads
The best way to get people to install an app. Desktop app ads allow 90 characters; mobile app ads allow 130, and their image is taken automatically from the app's listing.
Domain Ads
Promote content on a website outside Facebook, with a 25-character title and 90 characters of text. Test combinations of title, text and image to find the best one.
Conclusion
Choosing the right format is the first step to a campaign that pays off. Etherlogic can help you plan, run and measure your Facebook advertising.
