5 Facebook Advertising Tips that Will Save You Money

A couple of months ago I created a video on how to Create a Targeted Facebook Ad on a Budget (refer to the video below). I can appreciate that for most of us just starting out, managing our monthly marketing expenses is of vital importance.

Sure we can expect that our expenses will outweigh our income in the beginning, but soon enough the pendulum will need to shift if we are to stay in business – and we do this by being budget conscious.

Although social media can be a great platform to increase brand awareness, build authority online and generate qualified leads —- often times for free — it stands to reason that if we want to expedite our results, then sometimes that will involve additional expenses.

But like I said before (as well as mentioned in the video), bootstrapping our way to business success often takes a bit of research, trial and error, and some creativity. Here are five power tips on using Facebook advertising to leverage your business efforts … that will ultimately save you money.

Learn to Understand!

Unfortunately most entrepreneurs are flying by the seat of their pants trying anything and everything in hopes that something *sticks*. In the process of doing so, much time and money is wasted; they are often left not understanding what went wrong and how to correct the issue.

Most of us were raised and educated on memorization versus understanding/comprehension. This “bad habit” keeps many entrepreneurs repeating the same mistakes over and over. When implementing new strategies, in particular paid services such as Facebook Ads, make it a goal to learn to understand (as much as possible) the process before jumping in. This holds true for just about anything, including free marketing strategies such as SEO.

See SEO Mistakes You Should Avoid

How To Create A Facebook Ad On A Budget

Recap: Stop. Learn. Understand.

Create a Plan

What is your ultimate goal with using Facebook ads? What do you aim to get? More leads? More likes? More engagement?

Having a goal in mind will allow you to structure your ad campaigns with intention and focus. Different goals will require different types of ads. Start with the goal in mind FIRST and then create your ad from there. Taking the time to create a well, thought-out plan will shorten your learning curve and ultimately save you money!

Use the Power Editor!

There are multiple advantages to using the Power Editor (works only on Chrome), but first and foremost it allows you to get super-uber targeted on Facebook. By doing so, this is going to allow you to narrow down your results to the most effective ads – ultimately saving you time and financial resources.

Another advantage is that it allows you to decide where your ad placement shows up – newsfeed, newsfeed sidebar, and/or on mobile – offering additional options not available through the Facebook Ads Manager.

Remember the key here is to get lean and mean in the attempt to find your sweet spot.

Download the Complete Facebook Power Editor Guide here (PDF)

Track and Analyze your Progress

Tracking and analyzing your results with your ads in order to evaluate what your ROI (return on investment) is, is an important step in the process. Yes! It’s a tedious process! But it will give you a wealth of information on how you can adjust your ads for optimal performance.

One way to best analyze your results is by utilizing split testing. Believe me, it sounds scarier than it is. People hear the term ‘split testing’ and they think this is something only tech geeks do … aah … no!

It simply means that you are creating the same ad but targeting to different people, countries, etc. You can easy do this by utilizing the Ads Manager area or by using the Power Editor (discussed above).

For example, you’ve created an ad with intention of getting more Likes. In one ad you target women ages 29-39. Using the same type of ad, you create a second ad that targets women ages 39-49. After analyzing your results, you notice that you’ve received more CTR’s (click-through rates) with women in the 29-39 age range than the 39-49 age range. You are narrowing things down in search for your sweet spot.

So what’s the big deal with CTR? It’s two-fold. The higher your click-through rate the more engagement of course AND the less you’ll get charged . Why is that?

In Facebook’s mind (if it had one) high CTR’s means your ad produces more engagement with its site, thus it rewards those ads with more exposure and lower fees. Facebook WANTS people to engage with those popular ads.

Let’s Get Real!

Finally the last tip I’d like to offer is to understand that Facebook Ads is not going to be the solution to all your problems. Using Facebook ads is just one piece of the pie of your marketing plan. It’s going to take patience to learn what is going to work best for your business. Be clear on your objectives and understand what it can and can’t do for you and your business.

Using Facebook Ads can be a great tool for lead generation as well as to increase Likes and engagement. If you are using it to directly sell your products and services, you may be disappointed with your results.

Two key takeaways:

Facebook is a platform for relationship marketing — the growth of your business will be directly proportional to the growth of your relationships. Secondly, this is a long-term process that should be in line with your long-term goals. Don’t expect overnight success. But if you learn to understand, create a plan, track your results and oh yeah, use the Power Editor, you’ll be sure to see some rockin’ results!

Have you use Facebook Ads yet? What has been your experience with it?