The total number of social media users worldwide in 2020 is 3.80 billion, and as of the first quarter of 2020, Facebook had 2.45 billion monthly active users. The number is humungous, and each of them spends at least an hour on this platform, which makes Facebook one of the best platforms for social media marketing. However, figuring out how to optimize your strategy isn’t always easy. There are a lot of tiny mistakes that are committed by the marketers, which depletes the sole purpose of advertising on Facebook. 6 of the most common Facebook advertising mistakes that should be avoided are:
- Lack of a landing page
An advertisement without a landing page is like asking the viewer to not only see your advertisement but also to specifically open the website on a browser. And that scenario takes place rarely. The absence of the landing page would mean that the purpose of Facebook has been watered down and turned ineffective. And we can consider it as one of the major Facebook mistakes.
- Too many words
Previously, Facebook had an automated ‘20% rule’. As per that rule, the word content couldn’t be more than 20%+ of the ad image. However, this rule was taken down, but research proves that fewer words worked better. Higher percentages of word content risk the reach and effectiveness of the entire campaign. It gets boring for the readers to read long headlines. It was concluded that around 5 words were sufficient in the ad. Readers could easily be lured by short and catchy headlines on Facebook.
- Overlooking Video as a Marketing Method
The amount of content being created on an everyday basis is enormous. And not everything a person reads stays with him. However, strong words along with images or videos can leave a much stronger impact in comparison to only textual ads. Therefore, maximum advantage can be taken if Facebook advertisements are supplied with not just text, but also some visual content. Since it’s not so prominent, therefore marketers could use this opportunity to fill the void and gain attention by posting video-based ads.
- Connecting to an irrelevant audience
A marketer could have a catchy Facebook advertisement yet not make a good impact. This mistake could be due to a mismatch between the ad and the targeted audience which needs to be avoided. Since the main purpose of a Facebook advertisement is to generate new attention, so it is very important to cater to the right audience. An in-depth analysis is required to know more about the targeted audience. Also, this can help the marketer in saving a good amount by reaching only the concerned potential number of people.
- Choosing the Wrong Type of Ad
Facebook offers many different types of advertising options. Another common Facebook mistake is when a marketer picks an ad type without making sure it is the most appropriate type for the desired response. A marketer must be familiar with each type and its purpose, and this will help him/her in selecting an appropriate ad. It could vary from a picture, video to slideshow, or a canvas. Different types of ad types work for different types of audiences. Also, the placement of the advertisement matters a lot. It could be a desktop ad, mobile ad, and/or a landing page ad. However, it takes a careful mix and testing to find the perfect advertisement and also the right mode.
- Testing Too Many Things at Once
A marketer could test different kinds of Facebook ads depending upon the type of targeted audience. But each of these should be inadequate isolation. This gives time to the marketer to research on the level of impact the advertisement had on viewers. Putting multiple types of advertisements out on Facebook at the same time would make each of them competitive towards the other, thus reducing the impact envisioned by each one of them.
As a marketer, it is very important to be smart and flexible to be able to craft innovative and creative ideas for Facebook ads. The value and importance of social media marketing can’t be undermined. Being patient and regular experimenting often results in better than expected payoffs. Each marketer can learn from his/her own mistakes, but these tricks can help you in avoiding a few of them.
