Facebook Ads Dos and Don’ts

Facebook Ads are paid advertisements that businesses use to promote their products, services, or brand on Facebook. With millions of people using the platform every day, these ads help businesses reach the right audience based on interests, location, behavior, and other factors.

There are different types of Facebook Ads designed for various marketing goals. Carousel ads let businesses showcase multiple images or videos in one ad, making it easier to highlight different products or features. Video ads help capture attention with engaging visuals and storytelling. Lead generation ads allow businesses to collect customer details, making it easier to follow up with potential buyers. Sponsored content appears directly in users’ News Feeds, blending in with regular posts while still promoting a brand.

With so many options, businesses can create ads that match their specific goals, whether it’s increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, or boosting sales.

Types of Facebook Ads

Facebook offers a variety of ad formats to help businesses reach their audience in different ways. Each type serves a unique purpose, making it easier to connect with potential customers.

1. Single Image Ads

   Single Image Ads are one of the most commonly used ad formats on Facebook. They include an image, optional text at the top, a link description, and a call-to-action button that directs users to your website. The image size is 1200×628 pixels, making it large enough to stand out when someone scrolls through their news feed. Because of their simplicity and visibility, these ads work well for grabbing attention quickly and driving traffic to a website or landing page.

2. Multi-Product Ads

   If you want to showcase multiple products in a single ad, Multi-Product Ads, also known as carousel ads, are a great option. This format allows users to swipe through a series of images or videos, each with its own link, giving them a better look at what you offer. Businesses often use these ads to highlight different products, show various features of a single product, or even tell a story through multiple images. The interactive nature of carousel ads makes them engaging and encourages users to explore more.

3. Video Ads

   Facebook Video Ads allow businesses to capture attention with moving visuals, making them one of the most engaging ad formats on the platform. These videos can be just a few seconds long or go up to 120 minutes, depending on your content. Since videos tend to hold attention better than static images, they often receive 10% to 30% more views compared to other ad formats. Whether you want to introduce your brand, showcase a product, or share customer testimonials, video ads provide a strong way to connect with your audience and encourage them to take action.

4. Lead Ads

   Lead Ads make it easier to collect user information like names, email addresses, and phone numbers directly on Facebook. When someone clicks on the call-to-action button, such as “Sign Up” or “Get Offer,” a form pops up where they can fill in their details without leaving the platform. This saves time and makes it more likely that users will complete the form. Businesses often use Lead Ads to build email lists, gather potential customer contacts, or offer exclusive deals. These ads can also be connected to customer relationship management (CRM) systems, making it easier to organize and follow up with leads.

5. Slideshow Ads

   Slideshow ads bring together images, videos, and carousels to create an engaging experience for viewers. These ads often include zoom effects, tilting views, and smooth transitions that make them more interactive. A strong call to action is usually added to encourage people to take the next step, whether it’s visiting a website, signing up, or making a purchase.

6. Collection Ads

   Collection ads are useful when promoting multiple products at the same time. These ads combine videos, slideshows, or product images directly from a catalog. When someone taps on the ad, they can browse the featured products in a fullscreen view without leaving Facebook. This format makes shopping easier and keeps potential customers engaged.

7. Poll Ads

   Poll ads are designed specifically for mobile and allow users to participate in a quick two-option poll. Whether it’s an image or a video ad, these polls make the audience feel involved. Both you and the participants can see the results, giving insight into customer preferences. This format not only boosts engagement but also helps in understanding what people are more likely to respond to.

8. Instant Experience Ads

   Previously known as Canvas ads, Instant Experience ads open in fullscreen when clicked, creating a smooth and immersive browsing experience. These ads load much faster than external mobile websites, reducing waiting time and keeping users engaged. People can watch videos, swipe through carousels, and explore tagged products—all within a single ad. This makes it easier to capture attention and encourage deeper interaction with your brand.

9. Dynamic Ads

   Dynamic ads are a great way to target people who have shown interest in a product but haven’t made a purchase yet. These ads automatically show relevant products to users based on their browsing behavior. If someone has looked at an item on a website or added it to their cart but didn’t check out, dynamic ads can remind them about it and bring them back to complete the purchase.

10. Stories Ads

    Stories ads take up the entire screen on mobile devices, making them impossible to miss. These vertical video ads blend seamlessly with Facebook Stories, giving businesses a chance to grab attention in a more natural and engaging way. Since Stories disappear after 24 hours, they create a sense of urgency, encouraging users to act quickly. With more people watching Stories daily, this format has become a strong option for businesses looking to connect with their audience in a more casual and immersive way.

Facebook Do’s

1. Know Who You Want to Target

   Catering your content to your target audience is KEY! Looking at all the targeting criteria Facebook has to offer can be daunting. You can target demographics like age, occupation, income, geographic location, education level, interests, buying habits, and more.

   Chances are that you already have a target audience. Who buys your product the most? Who engages with your social media content the most? If it’s women in their 40’s you can target them. If it’s men living in Florida who are interested in roofing, you can market to them. You have a lot of options, just make sure you pick what suits you best.

   A helpful exercise is to create personas of people you want to target. Make them representative of each distinct demographic. If you have a greater percentage of people who align with a certain persona, cater your content more to them. Just be sure not to neglect anybody!

2. Have a clear Call to Action (CTA)

   Facebook Ads include call-to-action buttons that let you decide what you want your audience to do after interacting with your ad. Once you know who you want to target, consider what you want them to do for you. Should they sign up for a newsletter, join a mailing list, sign up for a free trial, etc.?

   It is important to know what stage of the conversion funnel your customers are in. If you are focused on conversions, a “Buy Now” button may be appropriate. Use this when targeting people who already know about your product and are most likely to convert.

   If you want to increase awareness, a “Learn More” button may be more appropriate. Use this when targeting users who may not know about you and are prospective customers.

   Make sure your call to action button aligns with who you are targetting. If your CTA is too vague or you choose the wrong button, you are likely to experience poor results. When you are spending money on advertising, a poorly chosen call to action results in thousands of dollars of lost revenue.

   Also Read: Mid Funnel Marketing: Tactics & Example

3. Keep Content Concise

   Be brief! 81 percent of people only skim the content they read online. If you want to keep them engaged, create content that stands out or ads value and present it clearly. If I’m scrolling mindlessly through my Facebook feed, it is your job to stop me and get me to engage with your content.

   While Facebook may not have a character limit like Twitter does, every character still matters! The shorter the post the higher the engagement. Posts with 80 characters or less receive 66% higher engagement. Even more concise posts, ones with less than 40 characters, received 86% higher engagement. While a 40-character post may be hard to stick to, remember this is a general statistic. Your audience may read more.

   Suppose you want to advertise your blog content. Posting the whole blog or even one paragraph of it on Facebook, while convenient, is overkill. You don’t know if the people who see your post want to read your blog. It is important to let THEM decide whether or not they are interested.

   Make “Learn More” a CTA button. If a user is interested in your blog, they can click on the button and be redirected to your blog. That’s a conversion for you!

   Also Read: Content Marketing Analytics to Track Content Performance

4. Plan Your Budget Wisely

   Spending too much on a campaign that isn’t performing well can drain your resources quickly. It’s important to set a budget that matches both your financial limits and the results you expect. A high budget doesn’t always mean better results. For example, if you’re running a lead generation ad but can only manage 20 leads a day, there’s no point in setting a budget that attracts 100 leads. The goal is to find a balance between your spending and what you can handle.

5. Use High-Quality Images and Videos

   Facebook is packed with posts, ads, and updates. People scroll fast, so if you want them to stop and pay attention to your ad, your visuals need to stand out. Clean, simple, and high-quality graphics work best. Bright colors, pets, and smiling faces tend to catch more attention, but they should still be relevant to your brand.

   Follow Facebook’s ad guidelines to make sure your images meet the right size and format. Also, avoid using images with too much text. Facebook limits text to 20% of the image, and if you go over that, your ad might get rejected or perform poorly. If you’re unsure, Facebook provides a free tool to check if your text takes up too much space in the image.

6. Always Double-Check for Mistakes

   Even a small typo can hurt your brand’s image. Instead of focusing on your offer, people might start pointing out errors in the comments. Before posting, take the time to review everything. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. It helps to ask a colleague or social media manager to take a final look. A fresh pair of eyes can catch things you might have missed.

   Making sure your ads are error-free not only protects your brand but also makes your content look more professional and reliable. Always review before you hit publish.

7. Test Different Ad Versions with A/B Testing

   A/B testing helps you figure out what works best for your ads. This method involves creating two versions of an ad and changing just one thing between them. It could be the headline, image, or call to action, but not all at once. Keeping everything else the same allows you to pinpoint what makes one ad perform better than the other.

   Make sure your test audience is large enough and not already being targeted in other ad campaigns. If your test ads and real ads compete for the same audience, it can be tough to see accurate results.

   For example, you might test whether an image ad performs better than a video ad. Or you might compare two different headlines while keeping the rest of the ad unchanged. Testing these small differences gives you clear insights into what gets the best response.

8. Keep an Eye on Your Ads and Make Adjustments When Needed

   Setting up a Facebook ad isn’t something you can just do once and forget about. Ads need regular monitoring to make sure they’re performing well. However, making too many changes too quickly can mess with the results, so it’s best to tweak them only when necessary.

   Keep track of how your ads are doing by checking Facebook Metrics and Insights. Business Manager also provides valuable data, showing who is engaging with your ads and how they’re performing.

9. Use Video Ads to Capture Attention

   If you haven’t explored video ads yet, you’re missing out on one of the fastest-growing areas in digital marketing. Facebook is quickly becoming a major video platform, with billions of video views every day.

   Videos tend to hold attention longer and drive more engagement compared to static images. They are also more likely to lead to conversions. To get the most out of Facebook video ads, keep a few things in mind:

   • Make the first few seconds count. Viewers scroll fast, so grab their attention right away.
   • Add captions or text on-screen since many people watch videos without sound.
   • Target your video to the right audience segments so that it reaches the people who are most likely to be interested.

Facebook Don’ts

When running ads on Facebook, there are some common mistakes that can hurt engagement, waste money, or even get your account restricted. Avoiding these mistakes will help make your ads more effective and build trust with your audience.

1. Don’t Complicate Things

   People scroll through Facebook quickly, so ads need to be easy to understand at a glance. If an ad is too complicated or filled with too much information, users might skip past it.

   A good ad should have a clear headline, a short message, and an image that aligns with your brand. Make sure your business name is visible, highlight what you are offering, and explain why it is useful to the audience.

2. Get Complacent

   Complacency is the enemy! Keep testing, and see what works. A/B testing is important in the world of advertising as you may make mistakes. Some content will be ineffective, continuing to run such content will waste money. Stick with what’s successful. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

   Large companies often split test ads. They will test two versions of the same ad on their target audience and see which one is more effective. Things to test include word choice, image choice, CTA button, etc. Picking the right combination of these things is crucial to ensuring your hard-earned money doesn’t go to waste.

   Look for differences in impressions, clicks (CTR), sales (conversion rate), money spent, and most importantly, Cost Per Sale (CPS). Analysis of these metrics will let you know which ad provides the most ROI, or as I like to call it, the best bang for your buck!

   Related Read: What is the Marketing Efficiency Ratio?

3. Spend More Than What You Have

   After spending so much time crafting the perfect ad and choosing who you want to target, it can be tempting to just post the ad and forget about it. Unfortunately, you still need to set a budget.

   Marketing on Facebook can be advantageous because you don’t have to be a millionaire to achieve success. Low-budget campaigns can still bring in the dough if you spend wisely. Facebook lets you cap your spend. Set a maximum you are willing to spend on a campaign, once you reach that number, the promotion will automatically stop running.

   After you’ve grown your audience to a comfortable point, it gets easier to reach them. Set them as a “Custom Audience“, seek lookalike audiences, and re-target. Saving successful audiences makes it easier to benefit from your hard work!

4. Thoughtlessly Boost Posts

   But, boosting is so convenient… Unfortunately, it can be a huge waste of money when used incorrectly. Boosting posts can be useful if you want to increase reach as it essentially gets the post to be seen by more people. It is not effective when trying to increase conversions.

   If increasing conversions is your goal, try starting a promotion. You will have a lot more options to reach your target audience. The problem with boosted posts is that you only have to set the “general” targeting to your users and their location, set the budget, and then your good to go.

   You are limited to one audience at a time, have no placement or device targeting (desktop vs. mobile), and have a limited duration of ad flights; there’s no ongoing option.

   While clicking that beautiful Boost button is so tempting, set aside 10-15 minutes to promote your posts properly. Use Facebook’s Ads Manager and adjust targeting to maximize your total Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Trust me, your wallet won’t regret it!

   Use ViewMetrics for Facebook performance reporting—streamline analytics, save time, and make data-driven decisions with ease!

   

5. Don’t Lie or Use Ads for Clickbait

   An ad should never make false promises or trick users into clicking. If an ad doesn’t match what is actually being offered, it can frustrate users and damage your reputation.

   Once trust is lost, it can take a long time to rebuild. Facebook also has strict policies against misleading content, and violating these rules can lead to ads getting rejected or accounts being banned. Always ensure your ads are truthful and represent your business accurately.

6. Don’t Ignore Mobile Users

   Most people use Facebook on their phones, and if you check your page insights, you will likely see that mobile users far outnumber desktop viewers. This makes it important to optimize ads for mobile devices.

   Make sure that mobile placement is enabled when setting up an ad. Your landing page should also be mobile-friendly so users don’t have trouble navigating it after clicking on the ad. A poorly designed mobile experience can lead to lost potential customers.

7. Avoid Too Much Text in Images

   Facebook has a 20% text rule, meaning if an image contains too much text, it may get rejected. Even if it is approved, ads with heavy text generally don’t perform well.

   People use Facebook mainly for entertainment and casual browsing. They are unlikely to spend time reading an ad that looks cluttered. Keep text minimal and focus on making the message clear and engaging. A clean, visually appealing ad is more likely to grab attention.

8. Don’t Forget to Set Up Facebook Pixel

   Facebook Pixel is a tracking tool that helps monitor how users interact with your website after clicking an ad. If you have ever visited a website and then seen ads from that same brand on Facebook later, that is the Pixel at work.

   This tool helps measure how well ads are performing by tracking user behavior. It also allows businesses to retarget visitors with relevant ads, increasing the chances of conversions.

   If you are unsure how to install it, Facebook provides step-by-step instructions to guide you through the process. It is important to have this set up before running any ads to get valuable data on your audience.