22 Ways to Improve Your Facebook Ads

Are you running Facebook ads but having a hard time getting them to work?

Perhaps you face a low conversion rate, not enough audience interest, or even a terrible ad campaign on Facebook.

If you are concerned that your ads are not performing well, reassure yourself.

There are several ways to get them going in a way that brings you new fans, customers, and subscribers.

I have done many ad campaigns on Facebook over the years. One of the biggest problems I’ve seen, especially with people new to Facebook Ads, is a low click-through rate.

If you’re trying to improve your click-through rate and conversions, these 22 strategies are what you need to improve your ads.

Pick one or two to implement, test the results, and watch the traffic come in.

So let’s get started.

1. Present customer testimonials

If you are trying to create ads that drive the public to take a specific action, you should include customer testimonials in your advertising.

This technique works because you start the conversation by answering objections that your potential customer may have.

Instead of driving with a generic offer, show the same benefits that one of your happiest customers has received from your product.

In this ad, Betty Rocker uses a powerful customer testimonial to promote the company’s diet and exercise system.

To maximize conversions and run profitable ads on Facebook, you have to show real people recommending your product.

It’s the perfect way to engage interested users while being authentic and transparent about the benefits of your product or service.

2. Experience carousel ads

If you want to add a fresh feel of color and design to your ads, you should experiment with the sequenced format, also known as a carousel ad.

It’s a great way to give your ad a more significant impression without having to invest in the specialized knowledge required for other types of ads, such as canvas.

Shutterstock used a multi-pane carousel ad to show their collaboration with Adobe Photoshop.

The sequence was extended to show the entire length of the image of the aircraft being edited.

The effect was compelling and made the ad even more exciting and engaging.

3. Synchronize your landing page

Your landing page is not the ad itself, but it does play a massive role in how effective your Facebook ad will be.

If you’re having trouble with visitors leaving your landing page shortly after clicking on the ad, look to create an ad and landing page that match each other.

It is good to copy both the message and the design.

This LeadPages ad and landing page work in harmony. The ad has a blue color scheme with a distinctive image of the product (a box with a DVD in front of it).

It promises a webinar funnel system.

And sure enough, the landing page delivers. The page uses the same product color and image and the same promise of a webinar funnel system.

By matching your ads to your landing pages that way, you will increase your conversions and make your ads much more effective.

4. Improve the clarity of your offer

Look, I’ll be honest. Even if your offer is clear to you, it is probably too vague for someone who has never heard of you.

If you want to be very successful with your Facebook ads, you have to clarify your offer in the ad copy. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to describe it even more.

What exactly does the potential customer get when they click on your ad? You have to make it incredibly clear from the start.

This ad is specific and to the point. It shows a date, the number of people who should sign up, and what the walk is about.

If your Facebook ads are not performing well, consider the type of offer you are making. Is there a way to make it even more transparent?

Remember, it is impossible to be too precise with your ad copy.

5. Schedule ads for a specific time of day

If you haven’t changed the default Facebook settings, you are probably running your ads 24 hours a day.

While that can be good if you’re trying to target international Facebook users worldwide, it can also be a complete waste of time and money if you’re not.

Rather than running expensive ads all the time, AdEspresso recommends finding the best time of day for your ads.

Review the breakdown of the ad data, and then click on “Time of day.”

You will be able to see the price for different periods. Find the most profitable period for you.

With this in mind, go to the schedule and change the period in which your ads are displayed.

Look to spend more of your advertising money during these periods when you can get more subscribers, users, and customers at a lower cost per action.

This is a great way to save money and improve your ads.

6. Drive action using urgency

Urgency has been around since marketing has existed.

It’s a proven fact that people are more likely to act if there’s an expiration date, price increase, or limited-time offer.

If you haven’t yet used real urgency in your copy, it’s time to start.

By “real urgency,” I mean an offer that will really run out. Saying “buy now” is not a form of urgency. You must indicate that the request will disappear.

This Watch Junction ad offers a staggering 60% discount, but only until midnight.

Setting a clear deadline is a sure way to run converting Facebook ads.

7. Collaborate with another leader

If you have difficulty gaining brand recognition with your small business or startup, you can partner with someone else to attract more traffic and followers.

Using an image of a well-known figure in your field can gain exponentially greater recognition by partnering with another leader.

In this ad, EO Fire references Lewis Howes, using his image and name to draw attention to the offering.

Even if you don’t have a great connection to a star in your industry, consider including a reference to them in your copy or image.

This can be an excellent way to attract attention to your business, even if you are just starting out.

8. Try different images

If you’re not testing different variations of your ad, you need to start doing it right away.

Testing is the best way to improve the results you get with your ads to create ads that bring you, new visitors and customers.

The first thing to try is the images you use. That can make a big difference in the effectiveness of your ads, and the results may surprise you.

When AdEspresso wanted to increase registrations for its free e-book with more than 500 Facebook ads, it hoped that the image of the brand’s signature character would work better.

However, compared to a sepia image from a similar Polaroid camera with Instagram, the sepia image cut the cost per conversion in half.

Don’t be afraid to test a wide variety of images to see which ones perform better.

9. Change the location

If you are running ads without choosing Facebook’s placement, you are losing much ground in how your ads are displayed.

Kissmetrics offers an explanation of the different locations you can choose from.

By default, Facebook places your ads in all three areas: the computer and mobile devices’ news feed and right column.

But, you may not want your ads in these three locations. Chances are, only one place will work much better for you.

If this is the case, you need to analyze and find out where your ads perform best.

For that, you will have to look at the “Breakdown” section of your ads in the Facebook Ads Manager. Choose “Location.”

From there, you can see how your ads are performing based on cost and click-through rate (CTR). Choose only the best performers, and eliminate the rest.

Digital Marketing Institute recommends adjusting this in your ad’s “Location” settings.

You can even decide whether or not to show ads on Instagram and the Facebook Audience Network on this dashboard.

Look to change your location to have complete control over your Facebook ads and get maximum results.

10. Customize with specific images for each location

If you have a local business, you have to attract buyers located near you.

Facebook offers a variety of geo-targeting strategies and options, and you should take advantage of them to the best of your ability.

This ad shows an image of a showroom in New York City for users in this area. It is a more personalized experience for these users and results in a higher level of interaction.

Even if you don’t have a local business, you can use this same technique to attract users located in areas with different landmarks, weather, or even sports teams.

11. Offer something for free

It is no secret that free things sell.

By giving away a version of your product for free, you will start to see a noticeable increase in the effectiveness of your Facebook ad campaign.

To get started with that, you have to figure out an offer that works for your budget and ensures that trial users will become paying customers.

Once you’ve done that, you should start setting up an ad to effectively promote the offer.

This Plated Facebook ad offers free meals and free shipping for new customers.

This is a desirable offer for someone interested in service but has not yet had a reason to start.

If you already have a free version in place, such as a trial offer or a free plan, look to promote it through your Facebook ad.

12. Try different color schemes

The image you choose makes a big difference in how your ad is received, but you can make a few minor changes to the colors of your vision for added effects.

LinkedIn has a specific branding and color scheme that it wants to preserve in its Facebook ads. But, it doesn’t mean that you can’t try different shades just because you have good branding.

This first ad promotes your Modern Recruiter Guide with a darker blue, closer to the color of the LinkedIn logo.

But they also created a different version of the message using a lighter sky blue background and a whimsical image.

By adjusting those slight variations, you can create great ads that get massive results.

13. Exclude people who have already converted

Are you wasting money on people who have already converted through your ad?

If you are, you are wasting your time. It’s a bad idea to keep promoting to users who have already seen your ad and done what you asked for.

To solve this problem, you have to create a custom audience for your Facebook ad account. Look to use the Facebook pixel to find out who has converted with each campaign.

It’s best to exclude that list of converted users from your targeting using the “Custom Audiences” section in your ad settings.

If your campaign performed well at first but is now struggling to gain traction, this could be the problem you are facing.

14. Include a call to action in your copy

If your ad isn’t generating the number of clicks you expected when you started the campaign, the problem may be that your copy isn’t driving people to action.

Instead of leaving your call to action in the button text that Facebook offers, consider including phrases that lead to conversion in the copy itself.

A great way to do this is to include short phrases like “apply for your spot” or “try it for free” when writing your ad script.

These ads have done an excellent job, including a short call to action in their copy. That makes the reader more interested in clicking and offers a reward for the effort.

Seek to change your copy to captivate the audience to take the action that you are promoting in your Facebook ads.

15. Use “you-based” phrases

The copy you use in your ad should appeal directly to the reader, not an ambiguous “person” who will benefit.

To drive your point directly and make a big difference in your ad performance, you should include what I have called “based on you” phrases.

Whenever possible, use the word “you” and write directly to the customer. This is an excellent way to show the benefits now.

Seek to expand your copywriting capabilities by using this type of copywriting whenever possible.

16. Use less professional photos

There is a problem with photos that look generic and professional. On Facebook, they tend to look like corporate-style stock photos, and they fade into the background.

For excellent results, look to use more natural-looking images that look like photos taken by friends rather than buying them from a stock photography website.

This ad, for example, is not very attractive with its generic image of a MacBook.

Swapping it out for a more attractive image with a low-resolution image of a broken laptop immediately grabs your attention.

This type of family photography will grab the attention of those who see the ad and lead them to take action.

17. Speak directly to a specific group of people

The days of generic marketing appealing to your entire audience are long over.

If you’re still using marketing strategies from the Mad Man era of the 1960s, it’s time to move on to today’s targeted marketing landscape.

Instead of writing an ad for all the different types of readers who might find your product, you should be looking to create personalized experiences for specific demographics.

AdEspresso recommends speaking directly to your audience using targeted campaigns, like this Sprint ad that exclusively reaches AAA members.

By being more specific, you will get a better return on your ad spend and increase the subscriptions and purchases of those customers.

18. Target friends of fans

If you want to run a very successful ad campaign, you will need a lot of social proof to make it work.

An excellent way to do this is to reach out to friends with someone who has already liked your page.

Facebook will show the connection, giving you an extra dose of authority and incentivizing those readers to sign up for what you have to offer.

Social Media Examiner recommends experimenting with different types of “like” campaigns. It’s a great way to add new authority to your Facebook ads.

And of course, the more authority you have in the eyes of your potential customer, the more likely you are to increase your conversion and click-through rates.

19. Show people and faces

One of the best strategies for choosing images that will make your ads stand out is to search for pictures of people, particularly faces.

That allows you to attract users with a friendly face, which directs them to your copy and ultimately leads them to take the action you have included in your ad.

This strategy is so effective that it is one of Facebook’s own recommendations on how to better create ads on the platform.

Look for happy and smiling customers or just close-ups of faces to skyrocket your engagement and make your ads much more effective.

20. Mention social proof in the copy

The copy you use should refer to the popularity of the product or service you have to sell.

Instead of relying exclusively on Facebook algorithms to show the popularity and reactions of other users to your post, mention some social credentials in the ad copy itself.

This Dropbox ad includes a reference to its large number of customers within the copy. It’s a great way to show that more than 100,000 companies have already tried the product.

Even a subtle reference to how many people use your product, have downloaded your resource guide, or signed up for your website can lead to a drastic change in conversions.

21. Attracts viewers both emotionally and rationally

Most marketers understand that reasoning plays a huge role in how people interact with your ad and overall marketing strategy.

It is essential to have the correct reasoning when addressing a potential new customer. You want to make sure your offer makes sense, is priced right, and offers excellent features and benefits.

But you also need to establish an emotional connection with your potential customer. It’s on that emotional side that many ads fall short, and you can stand out by presenting it effectively.

This Hootsuite ad has both emotional and rational characteristics, showing a happy and relaxed software user, as well as reasonable characteristics, as a risk-free test.

Make sure to appeal to both the emotional and rational side of your potential customers with your marketing.

22. It points to interrelated interests

Today’s marketing through Facebook ads gives you the advantage of targeting users with interrelated interests.

Look to create custom audiences with multiple overlapping interests and target those specific interests.

This Dr. Pepper ad promotes the product to college students (interest # 1) who like college sports (interest # 2) and soft drinks (interest # 3).

It is a perfect intersection of interests for a client interested in the giveaway that Dr. Pepper is running.

Try to understand the complementary interests of your audience and target those demographics directly.

conclusion

If you still don’t see a massive hit from your Facebook ads, don’t worry. Some simple solutions can give you great results without a lot of work or effort.

When you want to improve your ads, the first thing to do is to make sure that you are displaying them in the right environment. Seek to use the correct location to maximize your impact.

If you display them on the correct screens, check your audience. Find a custom group for a particular offer. Target specific interests and locations.

Images play an essential role in the success of your ads. Adjust your color scheme and include different photos and designs, including those with smiling people and faces.

If you are looking for drastic improvements in the success of your ads, make adjustments to the copy. These seemingly light adjustments can really make a difference.

Also, make your offer very clear and include a call to action in the copy, if possible. It is a good idea to appeal to the different objections of the user and use urgency.

Lastly, test and refine. No matter what you change with your Facebook ads, you will have to adjust and see your results.

The more you try, the more improvements you will see every day.

How are you going to improve your Facebook ads?