If you’re dipping your toe into the pond that is paid social advertising, Facebook Ads is a fantastic place to start.
Why?
Pretty much everyone has a Facebook profile, you can take advantage of super-detailed targeting options, and you can even create Instagram ads at the same time!
However, what do you do if your Facebook Ads aren’t getting clicks?
Don’t throw your laptop out of the window and start cursing Mark Zuckerberg’s name.
The good news is that you can do many things to improve the CTR (or click-through rate) of your Facebook ad campaigns.
So if you’re wondering how to increase CTR in your Facebook Ads, let Bubblegum Search, the Facebook Ads specialists, be your guide.
Looking to get started on Facebook Ads? Check out our ultimate guide to the platform.
1. Choose the right audience
Nearly 49 million people in the UK have a Facebook account. That’s a pretty hefty audience!
However, when creating a Facebook Ad, it’s best to drill down and serve your ad to the relevant people. This increases the odds of people that are potentially interested in your product or service seeing your advert, increasing the CTR of your Facebook Ads.
The good news is that Facebook has some cool targeting options, meaning you can make sure the right people see your ads. So whether you need to target gamers in Grimsby, retirees in Reading, or arborists in Aberdeen, you can do it with relative ease!
2. Stick with the news feed
When you create a Facebook Ad, you get many different placement options, from Facebook Marketplace and Business Explore, to Messenger and Stories.
If you’re pondering how to increase CTR in your Facebook Ads, we recommend sticking with the news feed. This is because everyone who uses Facebook can access the news feed, whether they’re scrolling on mobile or desktop. Conversely, not everyone uses Stories or Marketplace.
And the more impressions, the more likely that people will click on your ads. We call that a win!
3. Optimise for link clicks
Ad automation is a hotly contested topic in the digital marketing world. Some people like that ad providers save time by making decisions on their behalf, and others just aren’t that keen on AI.
If you’re short on time and low on clicks, Facebook can do the hard work for you. Just optimise your ad delivery for link clicks. That way, Facebook will serve your ad to the people it thinks are most likely to click on your ad. Pretty nifty!
Bear in mind that doing this might cause your ad budget to increase. Setting an account spending limit can give you peace of mind and means no nasty surprises at the end of the month!
4. Sense check your copy
You could have the best ad placement and the most amazing images and videos… but if your ad copy is a steaming pile of dinosaur dung, then people aren’t going to click.
If you’re wondering how to increase CTR in your Facebook Ads, one of the best things you can do is to look at the wording of your ads. Here are some short and simple tips for making the most of your Facebook ad copy.
- Talk directly to your reader – imagine you’re having a face-to-face conversation with them
- Identify your target audience’s main problem and use your ad to address it
- Sell the benefits of your product or service – not the features
- Keep it short and sweet. Remember that only the first few lines of your ad will show automatically
- Use short, punchy language that inspires people to take action. Emojis can work, but it depends on your industry. Marketing agencies? Yes 👍Solicitors offices? No 👎
5. Offer something of value
People are becoming increasingly savvy when it comes to social media. They won’t click on something unless they know they’re getting something in return.
You can use this to your advantage by offering prospective customers something awesome in exchange for clicking on your ad.
Run an eCommerce store? Offer free shipping or a discount code.
Run a B2B business? Promote a free eBook or white paper in exchange for your customer’s contact details.
Understand your target audience and provide something that will add value to their lives, and you’ll see the clicks roll in!
6. Use images that stop the scroll
There are a lot of ads on Facebook these days. Seriously, a lot. This means it’s crucial to stand out, especially if people are scrolling on their phones or tablets to pass the time.
A quick win if you’re deliberating how to increase CTR in your Facebook Ads is to use a stunning image, photo or video.
Ditch the stock imagery and opt for a bright, vivid asset that elicits a response and makes prospective customers want to know more.
Not sure which images resonate best with your target audience?
Create two identical copies of your ad, each with a different image attached. Let them both loose into the Metaverse and see which has the best click-through rate!
7. Look at the stats
The great thing about paid social platforms are the analytics you get, making it easy to see what you’re doing right and what you can do when your Facebook Ads aren’t getting clicks.
Facebook has a helpful set of statistics called ‘ad relevance diagnostics’ that you can use to see if your ads are relevant to the audience that saw them.
To see your ad relevance diagnostics, drill down to the relevant ad. You’ll see three columns; each ranked below average, average, or above average.
- Quality ranking. How the quality of your ad compares to other ads shown to the same audience
- Engagement rate ranking. How people engage with your ad compared to other ads shown to the same audience
- Conversion rate ranking. How your conversion rate compares to other ads shown to the same audience
If anything is below average, it’s a sign that your ads might need a bit of TLC.
8. Use social proof
It might be that prospective customers don’t care what you have to say, but they do care about what people that use your product or service have to say! If this is the case, taking advantage of user-generated content and testimonials is a game changer when it comes to increasing your CTR on Facebook.
Weave customer reviews into your ad copy and ask happy customers if you can use their photos in your adverts. We always recommend keeping a ‘swipe file’ of content on standby that you can use in your ads and other marketing channels!
9. Utilise the fear of missing out
If you are looking to increase CTR in your Facebook Ads, the fear of missing out (or FOMO) is a great way to drive clicks!
People are impatient, and instilling a sense of urgency in your ads can mean more people clicking on your ads to see what you have to offer. In fact, 60% of millennials have admitted to making a reactive purchase after experiencing FOMO online!
How can you use FOMO to increase the CTR of your Facebook Ads? Mention time-limited offers, promote flash sales, and mention the scarcity of your brand – once it’s gone, it’s gone!
10. Don’t be afraid to experiment
Our last, but indeed no means least, tip if you’re wondering how to increase CTR in your Facebook Ads? Throw the rulebook out and try new things!
Rather than running one ad, it pays to try many different ideas and see which your prospective customers are more likely to click on. Facebook even offers A/B testing so you can run two ads simultaneously. You can then use what you learn to drive your Facebook ads moving forward.
Use different copy, images, targeting, and ad types and get a feeling for what your target audience likes. Over time, you’ll see your click-through rates grow as a result!
Just keep an eye on your statistics so that if something isn’t working, you can quickly move on to the next big idea.
p.s What’s a good click-through rate for Facebook Ads?
We’re often asked what the average CTR for Facebook Ads is, so that customers have something to aspire to.
It depends on the industry you’re in, as some products and services are a little harder to sell than others. You’re likely to see a higher CTR if you sell lower-priced items like clothes and beauty products than you are with high-ticket things like cars and holidays!
In our experience, if your click-through rate is above 1%, you’re on the right track. Remember that the key is turning those clicks into conversions, so make sure your landing pages and web content really show off all the benefits and USPs!
Need a little extra help increasing the CTR and conversions of your Facebook Ads?
Tried everything on this list and still not sure how to increase the CTR in your Facebook Ads?
If the answer is yes, our free ads audit can get you the clicks you crave!
Our Facebook Ads specialists will review your Facebook Ads account and create a report detailing how you can boost your click-through rate and drive those all-important conversions.
Put your feet up, get the kettle on, and leave the hard work to us!
Arrange your free Facebook Ads audit today.