Paid, organic; let’s get your advertisements seen and engaged.
The current social media landscape is more congested than ever with users being bombarded with a constant stream of ads across various landscapes. According to a 2018 report from Sprout Social, the overall perception of social media advertising among consumers has declined by 27%, with users choosing to simply ignore brand offerings. On Facebook in particular, engagement on posts created by brands has dropped over 20% since January 2017, and with ongoing algorithm changes, only 2% of a brand’s audience is currently seeing organic content on this platform, according to research from Hootsuite. This number is expected to continue declining. For those working in the social media sphere, this all may sound very bleak, but there are several useful strategies that can be utilized to combat this decline. So, what exactly are these strategies?
One of the simplest ways to create more effective Facebook campaigns is to employ a combination of both paid and organic Facebook posts. On the paid side, there are four different ways Facebook can help businesses boost brand awareness; brand awareness campaigns, reach campaigns, unique ad formats, and brand analytics.
Brand awareness campaigns are all about optimizing ads in order to increase Estimated Ad Recall. Estimated Ad Recall is the number of people likely to remember your ad after two days. For Facebook advertising, this is an important key metric. Brand awareness campaigns combine both reach and attention to ensure that your ads reach those who are most likely to pay attention. This is a great tool for advertisers to have in their arsenal as it helps brands avoid wasting money on ineffective campaigns.
For those looking to be seen by and engage a more broad audience, reach campaigns are a great way to go. This format enables you to maximize your reach over the full length of your campaign, set a minimum number of days before the same user sees your ad again and use location targeting. Reach campaigns also allow you to control the order users see ads in. This option good for advertisers looking to make the largest impact for the lowest cost.
Unique ad formats fall into two categories: video ads and slideshows. Video content is king right now and the stats back this statement up. Users currently spend 5x longer looking at video than static content on Facebook and Instagram. If creating a video seems expensive and cumbersome, creating a slideshow is a another alternative. With this option you can combine images and text to create an asset that behaves just like a video. Unique ad formats, and video in particular, offers advertisers a versatile strategy. You can share the experience you offer, feature your product in action, and deliver your brand’s story in a meaningful and memorable way.
Lastly, there is the brand analytics option. Facebook offers a wide variety of data and analytics that can help advertisers determine whether their campaigns are creating the kind of awareness they are looking for. Examples of this are the estimated ad recall lift and brand performance metrics. These two options offer a specific way of measuring and tailoring ad campaigns.
Ultimately, despite the changing landscape of Facebook, and social media as a whole, campaigns created with these four strategies will be sure to stand out from the pack.