According to Los Angeles SEO companies, one of the most valuable marketing attributes related to social media platforms is the ability to advertise. Facebook ads have long been used to generate leads by reaching two billion eyes every month. So, while this concept is widely understood, many people still have to ask: What are Facebook ads, really? How do they work and how can they be optimized for the highest ROI?

Facebook ads are a powerful tool for reaching your target audience. When utilizing a campaign in the right way, a business can gain significant visibility in their market. These ads can be tracked, analyzed, and improved each month in order to optimize their effectiveness against competitors. The reason why so many businesses hire an SEO expert to manage their ads is because there is, definitively, a wrong way and a right way. In order to be successful, Facebook ads require a thoughtful strategy. So, in an effort to educate struggling business owners and aspiring marketers, here is our brief guide for how to set up a successful Facebook ad campaign. 

Before setting up an account with Facebook ads, you first want to create a Facebook business page. This will allow you to connect to a Business Manager account that you can use to run ads for the page. Then, you should install the Facebook pixel. This feature is powerful for identifying your target audience. It tracks the users who visit your website and shows them your ads when it is relevant to their online activity. On your Business Manager account, you can monitor your audiences and utilize portions of them for different marketing campaigns.

There are many different Facebook ad formats. You can create an ad out of a normal Facebook post to generate clicks, views, sales, and leads. However, you can also design and track a Facebook ad through Facebook Ads Manager. This will allow you to craft a campaign that is unique to your brand and complementary to your strategy. 

Facebook Ads Manager has five essential sections that you must understand if you want to optimize your campaign for success. Here they are: 

• Plan: When you open up this tool, you will be able to see different metrics regarding your audience. This information is best used for creating meaningful ads that will resonate with viewers and induce them to follow your call to action.  
• Create and Manage: This tool allows you to design ads with various templates and keep track of your different campaigns. 
• Measure and Report: If you are interested in learning about the performance of your ads, then you can navigate to this section. You will be able to customize how your conversions are tracked according to your business’s needs and goals. 
• Assets: In this section, you will find your saved target audiences, your images, Facebook pixel, and more assets that allow you to build an ad campaign. 
• Settings: When you need access to any basic account information, you can navigate to this tool. You can manage things like the email connected to the account and your saved payment information. 

Remember that the Facebook pixel is one of the most important aspects of a successful ad campaign. This allows businesses to reach targeted audiences that are interested in their product or service. The way that this works is through a base code and event code. The pixel tracks all traffic to your business’s website, which is the base code. The event code can track additional elements of activity on your website that are important to your specific brand and website design. 

Once you have your first round of ads set up, you need to start strategizing for future messaging. You should be comfortable with reading and analyzing metrics in order to determine what’s working for your target audience. Successful Facebook ads also require the right budget and an attention to your competitors’ tactics. Here are four main questions that you should ask yourself when developing your next campaign: 

1. What’s the main objective/what are you hoping to gain? (i.e. sales, leads, subscribers)
2. What is your website traffic like now? (i.e. consistent, sparse, nonexistent)
3. Do you have an email list that you can utilize in your marketing efforts? 
4. What is your unique selling proposition and how can integrate it into the content you create?

While you are navigating Facebook ads, you should think about other ways to generate interest in your brand or product. Is there any kind of content you can create and share, free of charge? Think about the ways that you can add value to your customers’ lives. Once they become familiar with your positive attitude and dependable reputation, they will be more apt to invest in what you’re selling. According to the Los Angeles SEO experts of Drive Traffic Media, blogs, videos, infographics, and guides are great content that can help inspire and educate the audience that you hope to attract. 

As you watch your ad performance over time, you will start to get a sense of what strategies are working. Every industry is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all answer for any business. With a little bit of trial and error, you will start to learn how to attract the audiences you need to grow your business.