On average, Facebook has over 1.8 billion active users from companies to stay-at-home moms.  And although all of these people are hanging out in one place, it can take more than simply boosting a post to spur your ideal customer into action.  Here are some things you can do to optimize your Facebook ads and spend your budget wisely with a high return on investment.

Have a plan.

It may sound silly or even obvious, but the VERY FIRST thing you should do before you start your Facebook Ad Campaign is to have a plan.  

I’m a very a very visual person, so for me I like to draw out a map of what I am planning for each campaign that I run.  It’s important to map out what the end result is that you are trying to achieve and how you are going to get a customer to that end result.

For example, if the end result is to have a customer purchase a golf outing for four, you have to get them there through a path.  There can be several different paths, but here is an example:

Facebook Ad (with an offer) → Landing Page (opt-in to get offer) → Upgrade Offer → Purchase Online with Offer

Be Relevant to Your Audience.

Who is your target market?  Targeting is a very important part of making your Facebook ads successful and cost effective.  You need to be relevant to who you are targeting.  What are they going through?  What are their pain points and where are they in the buying process?

Once you have defined who your target market is, start to categorize them into cold, warm and hot leads.  

Cold leads would be those who don’t know your business at all.  A cold lead may be a lookalike audience from your email list or an audience you created based on interest targeting in Facebook.  These customers need more persuasion and need to gain more trust for you before they purchase.  

Warm leads are those who have some contact with your business.  They are either on your email list, they have recently visited your website or they may even follow you on social media.

Hot leads are those who are avid followers of your business.  They know and like you.  They have most likely purchased from you in the past.

As you can see in the above plan, it is a pretty aggressive plan to get a customer to purchase.  You need to have a good understanding of where your leads are in the buying process.  You will take a cold lead through a much different process than a warm or a hot lead.  

Click here to learn 6 audiences that you should be targeting with high ROI.

Be Visual.

Visual content is, firstly, treated more favorably in the Facebook algorithm AND is more likely to be shared and liked than just textual content alone.  

Video, in particular, has taken a huge surge in importance on Facebook.  Consider creating video tips, testimonials and picture collages to attract attention in your ad.

If you’re not a video person, graphics can be very engaging.  Choose something that depicts your brand – a beautiful picture of your course, friends playing together in an outing or a drill class.

Here are some templates on Canva to help you design your first ad.

Not sure what Canva is?  Get my “What’s In the Bag” Guide on the Tools Needed to Create a Profit Generating Marketing Calendar.

Have An Offer.

A value proposition tells the customer or reader why they should click on your ad and learn more.  Telling someone that you are the greatest golf course in the world may not lead to many clicks to your website, but offering them 20% off their next round might.  

Adding social proof can help move your ad along even more.  For example: “A Donald Ross course loved by thousands of golfers each year.  Get your game Masters ready with 20% off your next round. Claim your coupon below.”

Have a Clear Call to Action.

A beautiful ad targeted to the right audience can fall flat without a clear call to action.  Take the extra step and tell your audience exactly what they need to do next.  Use words like “Hurry, offer ends soon” or “Claim your 20% off coupon”.

Your Turn.

Start today by creating a marketing calendar for this week.  Write in the things you’d like to get done with your marketing for just this week and then work from there.