Remember the good ‘ol days, when you could post something on Facebook and the majority of your fans would see it in their news feed? It’s been at least 5 years so you might not remember! Nowadays you need to pay Facebook for any kind of exposure, which is annoying but – if done correctly – you can generate engagement and even leads.
Before you decide to “boost a post” or run an ad you need to think about your goal. If your goal is to simply generate engagement and awareness – perhaps you’re announcing an award that the practice received – you’ll want to target only people who “like” your page. Those who don’t know how you are won’t care, so why pay for that impression?
If your goal is to generate RSVPs for an event, I’d take a similar approach as you did with an awareness campaign except you might consider broadening out the reach a little to target friends of those who “like” your page.
If your goal is to promote a specific procedure with a unique offer then you might consider targeting patients outside of your sphere of influence. If you’re taking this route then it’s vital you hone in on your target market, both geographically and demographically.
Once you’ve got the offer and the target market nailed down it’s time to create the ad! In this article we’ll focus on the structure you need to be successful.
Here are the 6 key components of a quality Facebook ad (that won’t get flagged):
- Choose the right photo: Make sure your photo…
- follows the 80/20 rule for image/text ratio
- is relevant to what you’re offering
- doesn’t make claims
- doesn’t show any nudity or too much skin (even a woman in a swimsuit could get flagged)
- uses bright colors
- is not a “cheesy” stock photo
- appeals to your demographic and geography of your target market
- feel free to work in video instead of an image
- Your headline needs a geographical reference: this actually appears below the photo and not at the top of your ad. Nevertheless, you want your headline to appeal to the prospective patient geographically and by their pain point (lose your double chin).
- Your business name ALSO needs a geographical reference: If your name includes your city/metro then you’re good, but if not – or your name is too broad (such as Surgical Specialists of Texas) – then you need to tweak it. For example, Surgical Specialists of Fort Worth. Keep your name the same and simply add the geographic identifier. That’ll make it much more relevant to potential patients.
- Avoid any claims or “salesy” verbiage in your text: this info shows up right below the business name. Don’t get cute; get to the point.
- Ensure news feed description emphasizes scarcity: You want to…
- catch the readers’ attention
- appeal to a pain point
- work in geographic relevance
- give them urgency to take action
- Always add a call to action button: should be non-committal, such as “Learn More”
Once you’ve got the targeting set up, along with the ad, make sure your landing page is relevant and includes an easy way for patients on any device to leave their information.
Do you have a question about Facebook ads, or would you like to learn more about improving your Facebook ad efforts, then drop TRBO a note here. You can also reach us directly at 877-673-7096 x2.
