the essential guide to facebook and instagram advertising...the essential guide to facebook and...

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THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM ADVERTISING The absolute best formats for brands and retailers

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Page 1: The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising...The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 3 Facebook and Instagram: Your Ticket to Billions of Purchase-Ready

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM ADVERTISING

The absolute best formats for brands and retailers

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The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 2

The following is based on a true story.The online retailer’s digital marketing strategy was overdue for an overhaul when the e-commerce director decided to make some changes. The question was: Where to start?By many standards, sales were more than sufficient. As a fast-growing startup, the sellerhad quickly expanded to provide tens of thousands of products to hundreds of thousands ofactive customers.

Yet much of the company’s catalogue still wasn’t getting in front of the right customers at the right times. So the company decided to see what could be accomplished with social media advertising.

It didn’t take long.

Within months of placing Facebook advertising at the core of marketing, the results were remarkable: Average order values were up, costs-per-click were down and sales were stronger than ever.

Stories like this one abound, for one very simple reason:

Facebook and Instagram advertising has become one of the best channels for connecting with e-commerce consumers and growing sales channels. But with millions of businesses advertising each month, competition is fierce. Having a laser-focused strategy is critical to success.

IN THIS EBOOK, YOU’LL LEARN:

Why Facebook and Instagram are essential to e-commerce success

Which advertising options should be on every seller’s radar

Best practices for maximising your Facebook and Instagram ads

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Facebook and Instagram: Your Ticket to Billions of Purchase-Ready Consumers When it comes to connecting with e-commerce customers, all social media platforms are definitely not created equal. Savvy marketers are well aware of Facebook and Instagram’s successes as the top two most frequented mobile social networks in the US and in some countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

1.63 BILLION

daily active Facebook users

2.2BILLION

 use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or Messenger every single day on average

1BILLION

monthly active Instagram accounts

But it’s much more than these platforms’ popularity that makes them ideal components of an e-commerce digital marketing strategy. The majority of Facebook and Instagram users are consumers who are actively seeking ideas, inspiration and product information. Eight in 10 accounts follow at least one business on Instagram, and three in 10 have purchased products from brands after discovering them on Facebook. In fact, over one-third of consumers say social networks have become as important as other shopping resources.

There’s just one downside: With millions of brands and retailers aware of the tremendous benefits offered by these two channels, the competition is fierce. You’ll be contending with 7 million active advertisers on Facebook, and ad spending that’s rising at a year-over-year rate of 177% on Instagram.

Sources: Facebook, Statista

HOW CAN YOU SUCCESSFULLY TAP INTO THE GROWING INFLUENCE OF FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM AND MAKE YOUR ADS STAND OUT?

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Facebook Features and Instagram Insights for Greater ProfitabilityRight now, your consumers are experiencing all kinds of micro moments that will influence the next purchases they make. They aren’t yet sure what they want to buy and won’t be doing any product-specific searches today. But show them the right product... at the ideal moment... in the most compelling format possible, and you may just turn their daily Instagram check-in and casual Facebook scrolling into full-blown shopping.

With Facebook and Instagram, it’s possible to connect with consumers in ways that aren’t possible on other channels — and shrink the path to purchase from weeks or months to days or hours.

Let’s take a closer look at the ad formats that offer strong potential for brands and retailers (many of which can be used in conjunction with one another):

Stories Ads .............................................................................................................................. 5

Collection Ads ........................................................................................................................ 6

Dynamic Ads ........................................................................................................................... 7

Carousel Ads .......................................................................................................................... 8

Video Ads .............................................................................................................................. 10

Instant Experiences .............................................................................................................. 11

Facebook Messenger Ads ................................................................................................... 13

Facebook Offer Ads ............................................................................................................. 14

Shopping on Instagram ....................................................................................................... 15

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The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 5

Stories AdsMore than 500 million accounts use Instagram stories every day. Another 300 million use Facebook stories and Messenger stories. These slideshow-style photos and videos are currently some of the most effective methods for creating meaningful connections with consumers. They allow you to focus attention on your most stunning product imagery, within a format designed to inspire action.

ON FACEBOOK

50%of consumers are making more online

purchases as a result of seeing stories

38% have talked to others about products

after seeing them in stories

34% went to stores in search of products in

response to stories

ON INSTAGRAM

1/3 of the most-viewed stories are

from businesses

96% of marketers plan to continue

using stories in the next 6 months

50% of businesses create at least one

story a month

Ads in stories use the same targeting and measurement tools as ads that run elsewhere on Facebook and Instagram. That means you can use stories to connect with new audiences and then drive those consumers further down the funnel — whether by sending them to Facebook Messenger or checkout on Instagram, or by targeting them with additional advertising that appears in their feeds.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF STORIES ADS

Things move especially fast in stories, so you’ll have mere seconds to showcase your products. Use these proven tips to create ads that stand out:

Be as concise as possible. Focus on creating succinct narratives that are effective at getting your message across quickly.

Enhance your stories with sound. Experiment with voice-over or music to enhance the message and value proposition for your brand or product.

Put your products front and center. Integrate branded elements like logos at the start of your ad to make sure they’re seen and easy to remember after stories disappear in a day.

Use your best images. The full-screen format of stories means you can use beautiful, full-size photos that would otherwise be cropped.

Split your story into scenes. According to Instagram, the highest-performing ads leverage a sequence of short scenes and quick messages to convey a full narrative.

Source: Facebook Source: Instagram

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The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 6

When you want to nudge consumers from discovery toward purchase, collection ads are the way to go. Each one features a primary image or video followed by several smaller product images presented in a grid-like layout. When consumers tap on your collection ad, they’ll land on a full-screen Instant Experience (on Facebook) or an Instant Storefront (on Instagram) for additional product details. This format makes it easier for people to discover, browse and purchase products in a visual and immersive way — all without leaving Facebook or Instagram.

Collection Ads HOW TO MAXIMISE COLLECTION ADSWhile collection ads differ slightly from Facebook to Instagram, you can easily create one ad that will run on both platforms. Use these “starter” guidelines to ensure you’re making the most of your collections:

Put your best image forward. Whether you manually select each hero image and video or allow them to be chosen dynamically, make sure consumers will see your most captivating and alluring product shots.

Choose the right format. Different templates can be leveraged for different conversion goals. Use the:

Instant storefront template when you want to display your products in a grid so people can browse them in one place. You can also use this template to dynamically organise catalog items into relevant groupings like “Suggested for You” and “Most Viewed.”

Customer acquisition template when you want to guide consumers to take specific actions on your website or drive conversions on your mobile landing page.

Storytelling template if you have particularly interesting visuals that can be used to tell a story. The storytelling format can be an enticing way to help consumers explore your business and engage with your brand.

Lookbook template (on Facebook only when you want to create an interactive version of your catalog, or give consumers a way to see your products in action.

Create a compelling headline. On Facebook, you can create a 25-character headline to help draw in consumers. Use this space to highlight your most enticing product messaging and convince potential buyers to click your call-to-action button.

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Dynamic Ads HOW TO OPTIMISE DYNAMIC ADS

Before you can be successful with dynamic ads, there are several essential steps you’ll need to take to make sure the right ads are rendered to your target audience:

Use a large product set. The more inventory you choose to share, the more Facebook and Instagram can do to pick the products most relevant to each consumer.

Check your product feed. To ensure consumers will see relevant product recommendations, you’ll need an up-to-date feed. When in doubt, use a product feed management partner to ensure you’re sending error-free data to Facebook and Instagram.

Block out-of-stock products. When setting up your product feed, make sure you’re syncing inventory updates so dynamic ads will contain only items that are currently available.

Looking for a quick, easy way to increase your inventory visibility on Facebook and Instagram? Several years after they first arrived on the social scene, dynamic ads remain a reliable option for brands and retailers. This ad format lets you promote products in ways that are engaging, enticing and highly relevant — without a lot of heavy lifting. You can upload your product catalog once to have the right products automatically shown to the right people at the right time.

Dynamic ads look just like other single-image ads. But instead of creating individual campaigns, you set up a template. Facebook and Instagram will then pull images and details from your product catalogue to automatically create ads based on personal interests and previous interactions. If you’re already using product feed with Google, you can use your Google feed with Facebook dynamic ads — and even analyse Google Shopping performance history and other metrics to help you create ads that get results.

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Carousel Ads BEST PRACTICES FOR CAROUSEL ADS

The right mix of high-quality imagery and descriptive text is key to success with carousel ads:

Select your best photos. While you can use a product feed to streamline the process of creating carousel ads, it’s important to provide Facebook and Instagram with a selection of only your most visually appealing photos.

Provide a large bank of imagery to customize the experience. The more images and videos Facebook and Instagram have to choose from, the more personalised each ad will be. For example: If you use the expandable stories carousel on Instagram, the number of cards displayed will vary for each person.

Use the right amount of text. Concise product titles, descriptions and calls to action are key to carousel ads. Using the right character count will not only keep your ads in line with Facebook and Instagram technical specifications, but provide context and encourage purchases, too.

Carousel ads allow you to showcase up to 10 images or videos within a single ad, each with its own link. These can be used to tell a story around a single product, or to introduce social shoppers to multiple products in a visually stunning way. Whether you’re launching a new product line, showcasing top sellers or demonstrating compelling uses for popular products, carousel ads can be a very effective way to increase awareness and grow sales. According to Facebook, the carousel format is a particularly effective option when you want to lower your cost per conversion or click.

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LOOKING FOR AN EASIER WAY TO MANAGE ADVERTISING?

With ChannelAdvisor, there’s no more logging in and out or going back and forth between accounts. Get set up with Facebook and Instagram once, and then manage all of your campaigns in one centralised location.

Want to see how your current digital marketing strategies measure up? Our digital marketing specialists are on hand to audit your advertising accounts to identify new opportunities to exceed your goals. Request a complimentary advertising analysis below, and an e-commerce consultant will be in touch soon.

REQUEST A DEMO

GET YOUR ANALYSIS

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Social media videos are one of the most engaging, memorable types of content for consumers — making them an ideal advertising option for e-commerce companies. Surveys show that 76% of consumers (and 85% of millennials) have purchased products after watching a video.

Video Ads

The more videos you add to your advertising campaigns, the more lasting your impression will be. And thankfully, you won’t need a big budget or massive creative team to take advantage of video ads. Facebook and Instagram offer a variety of tools you can use to simplify the process. In many cases, creating a compelling video is as easy as leveraging your existing product catalog. For example, you can:

The amount of time users spend watching videos on Instagram has recently increased by

ENHANCE YOUR IMPACT WITH VIDEO ADS AND INSTANT EXPERIENCES

Use product images and descriptions to create a slideshow

video ad featuring top sellers

Start your Facebook collections ad with that same product video,

followed by a grid of photos that let consumers explore additional angles

and details

Add the product video to your carousel ads in Instagram Stories

Invite viewers to click from your video ad to Messenger to start one-

on-one conversations

80%Source: Instagram

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When you create an Instant Experience, you’ll be driving consumers even deeper into the buyers’ journey by bringing your products to life. You can invite people to watch videos, swipe through carousels, explore lifestyle images with tagged products, complete a form and more. Experiences can be used in combination with a wide variety of ad formats, from carousels to collections. True to their name, these “experiences” will open “instantly” when someone clicks your ad on a mobile device.

You’re not limited to one experience, either. Each ad can link to two more Instant Experiences, giving your audience different ways to discover additional product content. And because they load up to 15 times faster than standard mobile webpages, Instant Experiences are highly effective at capturing attention in a smartphone-first world.

Instant Experiences

HOW TO CREATE OUTSTANDING EXPERIENCESYou can build your own custom Instant Experience or choose from a variety of templates to create fullscreen destinations for your ads. When leveraging pre-built templates, choose the one that most closely matches your current goals:

INSTANT STOREFRONT

Best for: Targeting consumers who have expressed a strong interest in your products or brand.

This template is optimised for sales with a grid layout that lets shoppers browse multiple products in one place. Since it relies on your e-commerce catalog to categorise products, you can use the storefront template to easily create fully optimised mobile shopping experiences.

INSTANT LOOKBOOK

Best for: Moving consumers from discovery to exploration with an interactive version of your product catalog.

Use this template when you want people to see your products in action with lifestyle images. Product tagging and tabs allow you to organise items into easy-to-digest segments.

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INSTANT STORYTELLINGBest for: Giving people an engaging way to explore your products.

This template relies heavily on images and video to help create an emotional connection with your brand. If you have a strong visual catalogue and the resources to get creative, storytelling can be an effective way to call attention to best sellers and let people see your products in action.

INSTANT CUSTOMER ACQUISITION

Best for: Encouraging actionamong consumers who aren’t ready to buy yet.

This template takes people directly to a mobile landing page, where you can feature subscriptions and signups. Unlike other templates that rely heavily on product images and descriptions, customer acquisitions work best when you focus on a concise message and strong call to action.

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There are many different ways to leverage Facebook Messenger. You might choose to reach new audiences by running ads within Messenger itself — either by sending direct messages to consumers or by opting to have your stories ads appear within the app. Or you might choose to leverage Messenger as your call to action in dynamic ads, carousel ads and other ad formats: Clicking the “send message” link will give credit card-ready consumers an easy way to continue further down the path to purchase. And when you want to retarget consumers who have already engaged with your brand via Messenger, sponsored messages make it easy to do just that.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF MESSENGER ADS

Decide first what your goal will be — more engagement, immediate sales or retargeting — and then decide which type of Messenger ad will best help you get there:

Integrate Messenger with other Facebook ad formats to guide people further down the path to purchase.

Experiment with “Messenger-only sales” by using the “Send Message” call to action in Facebook ads to launch a conversation in Messenger.

Re-engage existing customers by using Sponsored messages to offer personalised promotions and upsells based on previous purchases.

Facebook Messenger AdsMore than 20 billion messages are sent between people and businesses every month on Facebook Messenger. And, according to Facebook’s own research, the majority of people who message businesses say it helps them feel more confident about brands. Incorporating Messenger into your social media advertising strategy can be a great way to personalise the consumer journey.

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Are you looking to run a seasonal special or limited-time promotion? That’s what Facebook offer ads are for. Whether you need to unload excess inventory or want to expose more shoppers to your products, this ad format is a particularly strong one for brands. When you create an offer, the discount or deal will post right to your business page. When someone claims your offer, they receive a discount code and are sent to your website to shop. And if they don’t take advantage of it right away, Facebook will automatically send reminders when the deal is about to expire.

Facebook Offer Ads HOW OFFERS WORK ON FACEBOOK

Looking for a quick and easy way to increase visibility? Facebook offers can be created right from your business page:

First, create your offer from within your business page to have it automatically shown in the news feeds of people who have “liked” your page.

Set the terms of your offer, such as when it will end and how many consumers can claim it.

If you want to extend the offer to consumers who may not be familiar with your brand, select the age ranges, genders and personal interests you want to target.

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With Shopping on Instagram, you can make it easy for users to explore and buy your best products by tagging them in organic posts. These shopping posts can be used to give people quick access to pricing and product details — both within the Instagram feed and via the Shop tab on your business profile. Originally offered to select sellers in the US, this feature has expanded to empower more e-commerce companies to connect with millions of users who visit one or more business profiles daily.

Shopping on Instagram Sellers can tag items to give consumers quick access to pricing and product details:

After choosing the photos you’d like to feature, you can tag posts with up to five products per image

When someone taps a tag on your post, they’ll be taken to a product details page with a product description, price information and additional photos. The product details page will also showcase other shoppable posts from your brand.

If users like what they see, they can tap “View on Website” to go directly to your mobile site

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