Facebook ads - design and strategy

The look and feel of your Facebook ad might not be your first consideration when putting together a strategy, but as Scott suggested it should be given priority. Scott and I were discussing Facebook ads offline, and he brought up a good point - consider all of the segmenting we do with mail and email solicitations - why can't and why shouldn't that also apply to Facebook ads? It should. If we’re paying per click, then let’s make sure the click is a valid prospect who wants to attend an event, become a fan of your page, or go to your external website for a particular purpose (like giving). Take advantage of the fact that we can be very targeted and strategic with the placement of Facebook ads, and consider which segments are active in Facebook and what those segments want to see. I can honestly say that I've probably only noticed a dozen or so of the hundreds of Facebook ads that I see when I’m logged in. And it’s not due to tunnel vision - I'm always looking for a deal, a new gadget, or the next best purchase for my 21 month old. So that tells me that in order for me to even glance at an ad, it has to be 1) visually appealing. In order for me to click it needs to be 2) relevant to me. Seems obvious right? Let's consider more detailed strategies for design and layout. A few gimmes:

• branding - we need a graphic that ties back into your brand and is easily identifiable as your institution
• copy - 135 characters goes by pretty quickly (that’s 38 right there) so make them thought provoking teasers to take the next step
• destination url – make sure you drive people directly to the information you reference in the ad – if they have to click around to find it, you will lose them.

Now consider your segments – what does your Facebook population look like? Do you know which constituents are on Facebook? If you don’t, then you could start with a few general ads and maybe a few specific ads that target certain constituent groups who are likely to be active on Facebook. As you get more comfortable, try building more ads that are more segmented. We can’t personalize the ads, but we can include things like class year, school affiliation, degree, etc - things that will catch the attention of a specific target audience.

Finally, there’s the “like” link which is akin to a college t-shirt, hat, bumper sticker, etc. It’s a way to share your pride and show your affiliation with a group or institution online. And the best part is that the “like” link has that viral marketing effect – if one of your friends likes something, you’re more likely to give it a second thought yourself.

So yes, the design of these ads goes hand in hand with your strategic planning for the ads and segmentation.

While this should probably be discussed in a new post, I want to be sure to mention that when developing Facebook ads it’s important to consider your end goal. Are we driving constituents to our Facebook page to build a stronger group of fans to whom we can promote events, giving and other institution-related information or are we driving them to our external website to take another action? Fortunately, we can test both options using Facebook ads and see what is successful with different segments. I’m sure Scott has some valuable insights to add...