Fixing Facebook 101: Frequency
When we talk to business owners, many smart marketers tell us they tried Facebook and it didn’t work for them. It's not surprising. There are so many reasons a Facebook campaign might have failed. It’s a great platform, but it's NOT foolproof.
That's why we've started our periodic Fixing Facebook series. We’ll address specific issues and coach you on ways to fix your biggest potential issues.
Today’s Lesson is on the Power of Frequency
We all know that the more people see your business, your products, or your services, the more likely they are to buy. The same rule applies to ads and website visits. More impressions are generally better. After all, it’s unrealistic to expect someone new to your brand or business to purchase immediately. Repeated exposure to positive messages breeds trust. In fact, creating awareness is one of the most important steps in promoting a product.
That's why first-time visitors to your website aren’t likely to convert. In fact, 98% will not convert into a customer on the first visit.
That means that if you are advertising on Facebook, only 2% of first-time visitors to your website will buy, sign up, opt-in, or ask for more information. It's easy to see why getting the same people to your site over and over again is so important (and why blogs are so useful. Read more about that here.)
The awareness/frequency rules that apply to your website also translate to Facebook. Marketers generally agree that it takes at least five exposures to your Facebook ad before a user is likely to click through. Disclaimer: that data is soft. Depending on what kind of ad you’re running and how saturated your industry is, those numbers could increase dramatically. But it’s a good bet that this number won’t decrease.
The same holds true for your website. Because you can’t expect first-time visitors to convert, you might want to focus your marketing on people who have visited your site more than once.
Facebook has Tools That Make This Kind of Frequency Targeting Possible
There are lots of ways to target timing, including the following.
You are able to target people who visited a specific website, or even a specific page on your site
You’re able to layer on a time limit for that visit; in the last day, 30 days, 60 days, or even more
You’re also able to layer on a number of visits, asking Facebook to send your ads only to people who have visited your site more than 2 times, 3 times, or more.
However, if your website is new or if you’ve had low traffic numbers to date, this might not be a practical approach for your business. You may want to take one step back and focus on the frequency of exposure to the Facebook ads to drive more website traffic.
How to Get More Frequency for Your Facebook Ads
In the Facebook ads manager, increasing the number of times a user sees your ad is a pretty straightforward task. To increase the frequency of your Facebook ads without increasing your budget, narrow your target market a bit by getting more specific with demographics, psychographics, or interests. You’re then able to tell Facebook how many times you’d like your audience to see each ad.
Try for at least 5x exposure. If Facebook tells you your audience is too small, try expanding your timeline. This will give Facebook more time to reach that small audience again and again, although it will take longer.
Want to Know More?
Please note that all information on this blog is up to date as of the publishing date; however, features and techniques change quickly in digital media. If you’d like to find out how Cup O Content can help your business increase Facebook or website engagement through enhanced frequency features or get a free proposal on how to improve your content marketing and Facebook programs, contact us today.
Want to read more blogs about social media advertising? Check out these Cup O Content articles.
