How to make a killer Facebook ad

Facebook’s algorithm is prioritizing video, making paid video ads an increasingly powerful tool that small businesses can use to engage with their audience and build brand awareness.

I recently ran a very successful video ad on Facebook for one of my clients.

For $19, we reached of 2,150 people in our geographic location and generated 900 video views. The resulting cost per video view was $0.02. 

Would you pay 2 cents for a quality lead? …I know I would.

Given how successful this campaign was, I wanted to share what I learned through the process.

Here are a few best practices that I recommend for how to create a killer ad:

• Use the Power Editor: It provides a few more options for content and headline copy that the general Ads Manager doesn’t.
• Have a goal: Decide why you are creating the ad in the first place. Do you just want to maximize video views? Or do you want to direct people to your website? 
• Placement: I highly recommend placing the ad in the mobile newsfeed, as I have seen the best results from mobile placement vs. desktop.
• Format: The video should be mp4 and 1.75GB is the max file size for a video.
• Tools: While you can create videos straight through your phone and use those for your advertisements, I highly recommend using a video editing tool such as: Videohance,Videolicious or Splice.

Setting up your ad with the correct specifications and details is a very important starting point.

Now let’s take it a step further by detailing what you should include in your video ad to ensure you reach the right people while spending the least amount of money:

• Targeting: Take advantage of Facebook’s powerful targeting options to be sure that you’re serving your ad to the most relevant audience.
• Start with a question: Powerful video advertisements typically start with a question to grab attention from the audience. Ask a question that you know your target audience will respond “yes” to. For example, my latest video ad started with me saying “Are you a small business owner or entrepreneur?” I did this because those people are my target audience. By starting my ad with a question, I grab my desired audience’s attention and pique their interest in the offer I’m about to share with them.
• Introduce yourself: If you are going to feature yourself in your video, be sure to make an introduction and let people know who you are and what you do. This will help establish your credibility, and let your audience know why your message is relevant to them. For example, my introduction states that I’m a social media consultant.
• Include a call to action: Be clear on what you want your audience to do after consuming your ad. You want to grab people’s attention within the first three seconds of the video ad, so be creative with how you can provide value and generate excitement. Similarly, add the call to action button to your ad so that people know what action you want them to take.

Through following these best practices above, you will be on the path towards creating killer Facebook video ads.

Have you had success with video ads on Facebook?

Comment below and share what you’ve learned!