The Search Marketer's Guide to Successful Facebook Ads - March 2011
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WHITE PAPER
The Search Marketer’s Guide
to Successful Facebook Ads
March 2011
The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Audience Targeting 5
Understand Your Audience 5
Use Keywords to Identify Likes 6
Target Your Fans & Their Friends 6
Use Root Analysis to Expand Targeting 7
Segment Audiences 8
Creative 9
Images are Important 9
Keep Ads Fresh 9
Match Creatives to Audiences 10
Facebook-Specific Promotions 11
User Experience 12
Maintain the Facebook Experience 12
Measure Conversions 13
Facebook Influences Search 13
Conclusion 14
About Marin Software 15
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Introduction
With US consumers spending more time on Facebook than Google or any other website, adver-
tisers are jumping at the opportunity to reach them. The number of monthly visits to Facebook
first surpassed Google in May 2010, and continues to outpace Google today. During the week
ending November 13, 2010, nearly 1-in-4 page views in the US took place on Facebook.com,
representing 24 % of the total market share for page views that week, almost four times the
volume of the 2nd ranked website, YouTube.com. 1
Facebook vs. Google Visits:
2
It makes sense that marketers are rushing to build a “social” presence on Facebook. Not only
are consumers spending more time on the social network, but Facebook users are also extreme-
ly engaged with both friends and brands, sharing activities and interests sometimes multiple
times a day. With advertising, however, marketers are still in the early stages of understanding
how to best use the Facebook platform. Despite Facebook’s sizeable and growing ad revenues,
advertisers in many cases are still limiting their efforts to testing on Facebook to evaluate per-
formance.
This hesitation from advertisers in the Facebook market represents an opportunity. There is still
a chance to get ahead of the curve and build a Facebook advertising program before competition
increases click prices. For search marketers, advertising on Facebook represents a shift from
intent-based advertising to interest-based advertising, similar to running campaigns on con-
tent networks. A common starting place for search marketers is to think of Likes and Interests
on Facebook as paid search keywords. While these targeting criteria can be a useful place to
begin, there are a variety of skills and techniques used by successful search marketers that
can also be translated into building successful Facebook ad campaigns. Despite differences in
targeting methodologies, Facebook and paid search advertising share a common bond – their ad
platforms fundamentally rely on narrowly targeting segments of users to drive specific traffic to
a site or application.
1.
http://weblogs.hitwise.com/heather-dougherty/2010/11/facebookcom_generates_nearly_1_1.html
2.
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/facebook.com+google.com/#
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 3The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
With a large variety of targeting criteria to explore, Facebook advertisers must balance expanding
their audience with refining traffic quality, all the while paying attention to the impact that fac-
tors such as creative and landing pages have on conversion. This plays to the search marketer’s
strengths: analyzing conversion rates and ROI down to the creative level; building out multiple
campaigns with varying targeting parameters; sub-segmenting based on quantitative results to
refine traffic; testing ad copy and landing page effectiveness; and managing ad quality.
So, you have the skills, but where do you begin? We interviewed large-scale paid search market-
ers advertising on Facebook and put together a summary of tips and tricks to help marketers
get Facebook ad programs on track. These tips are focused on helping advertisers improve the
performance and ROI of Facebook Ads through best practices in the areas of targeting, creative,
and user experience.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 4The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Audience Targeting
Understand Your Audience
With over 500 Million users on Facebook, there are likely a lot of consumers you’d like to tar-
get – but where do you start? Facebook Ads provide a unique audience-buying experience. On
Facebook, consumers choose to share information that is vastly more valuable for ad targeting
than what marketers can typically gather from behavioral data or online surveys. By now, most
organizations have built some type of social presence and have organically attracted fans. The
advertisers we work with find a surprising amount of insightful information from users who al-
ready “like” their page. If your company already has a Facebook page or application, it can be a
great way to understand the seed audience that will perform well for your ads. On the “Insights”
page you can see the breakdown of your fans’ by age, gender and location. Use information from
the Insights page to understand your demographic, and apply these parameters to target users
similar to your current fanbase.
Use Keywords to Identify Likes
Targeting by Likes and Interests on Facebook allows marketers to serve ads to users who have
expressed affinity for particular activities, products, brands, or services related to their busi-
ness. One best practice we identified across leading advertisers was using paid search key-
words and themes to identify initial targeting criteria. Identify your highest performing paid
search groups or terms to determine relevant interests for targeting. You should be thought-
ful about how you use these keywords, focusing on topics and themes rather than individual
terms, to translate search keywords into terms representing Likes and Interests. Also, not every
term is going to work, some iterations of ‘likes’ only reach a few users on Facebook, and others
may not even be targeting options. Use Facebook’s advertising tools to estimate the reach of
an ad with particular targeting parameters.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 5The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Target Your Fans & Their Friends
Just as you would want to serve an ad to a consumer on their
second or third search, marketers should take advantage of users
that already “like” their page or app. Especially for well-known
brands with an established presence on Facebook, your fanbase
is likely already a strongly performing audience; they might just
need that extra push or reminder from an ad to make a purchase.
One advertiser we spoke to said ads targeted at existing fans drove
30% more new customer sales than ads targeted towards generic
audiences. Friends of connections are also a great way to expand
your audience to reach people likely to convert. User’s connections
tend to be of similar age, status and location so that puts them in
your target audience. Moreover, when you target Facebook users’
friends, your ad will mention their connection, giving it increased
credibility and relevancy to the audience.
Case Study: Success with Existing Fans
Situation: Razorfish began running ads on Facebook for a large retail client. This
branded retailer had organically built a fan base of millions of Facebook users but
weren’t able to generate sales from this organic traffic.
Solution: With the help of Marin Software, Razorfish published Facebook Ads specifi-
cally targeted towards “fans” of the brand, using an aggressive call to action / linking
to their site (what about the ads drove response).
Results: By targeting ads to existing fans of the brand, Razorfish drove a measurable
increase in revenue for the brand. Surprisingly, Facebook ads targeted at existing
connections had higher new customer purchase rates. For one campaign they saw a
new-to-file rate over 30% higher than any other marketing channel.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 6The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Use Root Analysis to Expand Targeting
As referenced above, paid search keywords are a great place to get introductory lists of likes
for targeting. However, in order to target a full audience of potential customers, you may have
to do some investigating for likes and interests that go beyond your general keyword terms. For
example, using the targeting parameter “Camping,” an ad will not reach users who have listed
“Camping in the Mountains” or “Tent Camping” on their profile. However, these users could be
valuable consumers. Root analysis is a useful way to discover likes and interests on Facebook to
expand your audience and drive more conversions. Simply start with a root word and expand your
targeting to include related interests. You can do this by typing the root word into Facebook’s
“Likes & Interests” targeting settings and then typing a single letter to find related terms. Using
the camping example, entering “Camping I” results in a list that includes “Camping in Califor-
nia” and “I love camping.” Adding these unique terms to your targeting criteria expands your
audience, helping to discover additional valuable consumers and improve overall ROI.
Root Analysis
To the left is a screenshot showing how
to use root analysis to expand on Likes
and Interests targeting on Facebook.
The advertiser types in the root word
and a single letter, and then additional
targeting criteria are suggested by Facebook.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 7The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Segment Audiences
With all of the targeting options above, and over 500 Million users on Facebook, you probably
already have a sizeable potential audience. However, not all Facebook users are created equal.
Audience groups will inevitably convert at different rates. Segment audiences to understand the
value of each group of consumers and then adjust your bids accordingly to optimize your Face-
book budget. Segmenting audiences by age, location, gender, and “likes” are the most com-
mon types of segmentation we’ve seen across advertisers. As you see the performance variance
between your segmented advertisements, you can adjust bids for each segment up or down to
improve overall ROI for your Facebook advertising campaigns.
Audience Segmentation
Automatically segment audiences
by targeting criteria in Marin, creating
multiple micro-targeted copies of the
original group.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 8The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Creative
Images are Important
The audience you are targeting on Facebook is on the social network to interact with friends,
share their photos, and play games, not to look for products and services; so ads need to grab
their attention. Facebook users are inundated with content and typically scan text and images
quickly to find what interests them, but there are tricks to attracting attention in the Facebook
world. Our research shows that images are the key driver for click-through rates. Advertisers
need to focus on creative that first captures the consumers’ attention, unlike in search where
they are already seeking information about a topic related to your product. We’ve found the most
successful ads tend to be those that standout on a page with engaging images and contrasting
colors. Adding borders to photos in colors like orange or yellow, that contrast with the blue and
white Facebook interface, is a simple way to pull the users’ eyes towards ads. Relating images
to your audience, for example by serving an image of a local landmark or a sport’s team that
users have listed in their Likes, is another way to garner more attention than a generic image.
One marketer we surveyed suggested “amateur” style images, instead of stock-photos, are more
successful because they mimic the rest of the content on the site.
Notice how the yellow image below grabs your attention more than the image on the left.
Keep Ads Fresh
Believe it or not, just standing out on a page is not enough; marketers need to rotate ads to keep
them fresh. Facebook Ads are typically served to the same users multiple times, often in the
same day, so they quickly tune-out repeat ads. Facebook doesn’t have frequency capping, so it
is up to you to monitor the number of impressions each ad receives daily and watch for drops
in click-through rates. Successful Facebook advertisers typically rotate creative to combat the
“ad blindness” that can result from a user seeing an ad multiple times. Switching out images
and headline copy typically helps boost click-through rates. Facebook itself even suggests that
advertisers change images and copy every few days to make sure ads remain fresh to the viewers
and encourage clicks.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 9The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Creative Rotation
Marin Software automatically rotates
creative for you to keep Facebook advertise-
ments fresh for viewers and maintain high
click-through rates.
Match Creatives to Audiences
If you’re following our advice, you’ve probably built out a variety of audience segments with
unique characteristics, so it makes sense to apply this knowledge to creative decisions. For ex-
ample, for campaigns targeted by region, inserting city names or promoting local events can be
more effective than generic creative. One advertiser that we spoke to promoted college-focused
apparel, segmenting audiences by their alma maters. When they targeted their copy and images
so ads referenced each user’s school, they saw significantly improved performance. For adver-
tisements targeted at existing fans, referencing the fact that they’ve already expressed affinity
for your product or brand can catch their attention.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 10The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Facebook-Specific Promotions
Getting consumers to convert on Facebook requires more than just getting them to your page,
users also have to click the Like button or install your application. Just as you would provide a
promotion or call-to-action on a paid search landing page, marketers must encourage Facebook
users to convert even past the click. One of the most successful practices we’ve seen on Face-
book is when advertisers reward consumers for engaging with them through fans-only sales and
promotions. It is simple to build a tab on your Facebook page that appears only to fans. Promot-
ing a coupon code in ads, as well as on the landing page, is a great way to get users to convert.
And, this conversion is easier for consumers than most paid-search conversions, because they
don’t have to enter any information. Consumers just click “like” or “accept” and marketers im-
mediately have the ability to engage with them.
Case Study: Reward Fans Offline
Situation: A multi-channel retailer was looking to engage on online audience to drive
purchases both online and in brick and mortar stores.
Solution: The brand used Marin Software to run promotional ads targeted to women in
their core demographic that were geographically located close to stores.
Results: By providing a special discount coupon, only to Facebook users that “liked”
the brand, this retailer was able to build out their fan base and drive business to the
brick and mortar store. Marin Software made it easy for the retailer to target specific
cities where the retail stores were located. More importantly, now that they have
Facebook Fans, the retailer can promote sales and new merchandise directly to an
interested audience.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 11The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
User Experience
Maintain the Facebook Experience
Many of the advertisers we spoke with have found keeping users “Access to our brand’s
on Facebook is a more engaging experience. While sending users Facebook page is pivotal.
We weren’t seeing any
to external websites may work for some, tailoring your brand expe- results sending ads to
rience to Facebook users typically delivers better results. Linking external websites, but as
ads to Custom Pages, Applications, or Events on Facebook allows soon as we could target
existing fans, we saw ROI
you to keep users within the social network for a consistent brows-
and measurable increase
ing experience, resulting in lower bounce rates. Use Custom Pag- in business.”
es, as part of your Facebook Page, that make it easy for consumers
to “like” your product or brand. A Like allows you to then remarket - Shawn Cheng,
to them over time with messages and status updates about deals Lead Account Manager
Razorfish.
or upcoming events. Facebook Apps, on the other hand, provide
the marketer with more control over the user experience, as well
as the ability to gather detailed demographic data from user pro-
files. If keeping users on Facebook isn’t ideal for your business,
consider tailoring your site landing pages for social users. This
could include writing different ad copy, using Facebook connect
to include Like and sharing buttons, or presenting user-generated
content such as videos or reviews instead of product information.
Rewarding Likes
There are countless ways
to reward Facebook users
for liking your brand,
including fan-only sales
or coupon codes. To the
left is an example of a
RueLaLa promotion giving
fans access to a private
sale in exchange for liking
the brand’s page.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 12The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Measure Conversions
A number of the advertisers we spoke to started advertising on Facebook as an experiment. They
weren’t specifically thinking about what type of conversions they were driving, nor did they know
what type of performance to expect. However, a cardinal rule of online marketing still applies
– you need to track conversions. Once you define the goal of your campaign, whether you want
to drive fans, sales or installations, an important step is to track these actions and measure
cost-per-conversion. Because many Facebook advertising programs drive a variety of different
conversion types, you might need to track multiple conversion types. Facebook’s integrated
tracking solution automatically tracks likes, RVSPs, and application installations within the
social network. With this data, you can understand your cost-per-conversion and begin optimiz-
ing spend. If ads are driving clicks off of Facebook, you can use any third-party tracking system
to monitor conversions, in the same way you would for search or display ads. Just be sure you
regularly evaluate the cost of conversions and adjust budgets and bids accordingly.
Facebook Influences Search
Although Facebook users spend a significant amount of time online within the social network,
they’re not browsing in a vacuum. Consumers exposed to a brand’s social media content are
actually 50% more likely to click on paid search ads and 1.7 times more likely to purchase
through search. As you manage and optimize Facebook Ads, it is important to analyze cross-
channel performance and adjust spend and messaging accordingly. Your Facebook and search
audiences overlap, and it is critical that paid search campaigns are optimized for the increased
traffic driven by the social network. When launching new Facebook Ads, advertisers should pay
attention to the impact these ads have on paid search performance and attribute appropriately.
Start by tracking users across channels to understand which channels combine to drive sales
and specific paths to conversion. Understanding the interaction between channels should allow
you to quantify the value of companies for budgeting purposes, and to adjust the tone of the
media on each site.
Above, in the screenshot from a Marin Paths report, most users who interacted with both paid
search and Facebook saw the Facebook Ads first. In this case, the advertiser could adjust the
tone of the Facebook messaging to be more focused on top-of-funnel interactions, and make
sure paid search creative encourages a final purchase or conversion.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 13The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
Quick Facebook Ad Don’ts:
• Don’t over-target – Ads that are targeted to too-small of an audience won’t get any traffic or
conversions. Be sure your ad’s reach is over 100 people.
• Don’t over-punctuate – Facebook will disapprove any ad that is overly punctuated so ‘Free!!!!!’
or ‘Love PowPow Sports?!?” won’t get approved.
• Don’t over-capitalize – All-cap headlines or weirdly capitalized words will not make it through
Facebook’s approval process either.
• Don’t try to create an ad as Paused – As you’re getting started, don’t think your new add will
be hidden if it is “Paused.” Facebook reviews new ads as paused, but if ads are approved,
they will turn them on.
Conclusion
These tips should get you started on the road to a successful Facebook advertising program, but
the buck doesn’t stop there. Marketing campaigns require continued analysis and adjustments
for optimal performance. Don’t underestimate the value of analytics and daily reporting. Just
because you may not be directly driving sales from Facebook ads doesn’t mean there isn’t an
opportunity to optimize for downstream conversions.
Not only will you need to adjust to the performance of your campaigns, but we as marketers will
need to continue evolving with Facebook solution as its advertising tools change. As we men-
tioned earlier, most organizations are still figuring out how to best leverage Facebook Ads and
we expect Facebook to grow with them. However, building a fan base now, before cost-per-likes
begin to rise, can work to your advantage. Marketers looking to get a jumpstart on testing and
campaign automation should consider leveraging an advertising management platform to do
the heavy lifting. Marin Software’s platform is fully integrated with Facebook’s API and enables
marketers to efficiently follow the best practices we have discovered through a growing client
base of large-scale advertisers and agencies.
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 14The Search Marketer’s Guide to Successful Facebook Ads
About Marin Software
Marin Software is a leading provider of online advertising management solutions for agencies
and advertisers. Offering an integrated platform for managing search, display, and social market-
ing, Marin Software helps enterprises save time and improve financial performance by increas-
ing marketing insight, efficiency, and effectiveness. Headquartered in San Francisco, with of-
fices worldwide, Marin Software runs marketing campaigns for over 800 clients managing more
than $1.8 Billion in annualized ad spend in 47 countries.
Marin Software provides a complete workflow, analysis, and optimization solution for marketers
using Facebook Ads, saving time and improving financial performance. Marketers can easily
analyze the performance of Facebook Campaigns, edit targeting parameters, and optimize bids
to meet business goals. Unique solutions for Facebook Ads deliver automated audience segmen-
tation and rotation of creative to increase advertising effectiveness and ROI.
Like this paper? Tweet about it (www.twitter.com/MarinSoftware)
Copyright © 2011 Marin Software, Inc. All rights reserved. 15You can also read
