With nearly two billion users across the globe, Facebook’s appeal to advertisers is immediately obvious.

Combine this massive user base with the rich system Facebook has implemented for targeting ads based on interests and geography and you have one of the most powerful tools a marketing team could hope for.

But there is a lot more to bringing in new customers than just targeting ads. Even if your ads are hitting your targets exactly, if there is no follow-up to guide and support the user towards actually making a purchase or using your service, it won’t do anyone any good!

To make the most of your Facebook advertising dollar, you need to optimize your entire advertisement and landing page to encourage conversion — that magical point in the process where the user is converted from a clicker to a customer.

Here are three vital strategies which the best Facebook ad campaigns use to drive conversions.

Stand Out from the Pack

Facebook is a massive platform which incorporates multimedia of every description. When you place an ad on Facebook, you’re not just competing against similar advertisers. Your ad is competing with everything on a user’s Facebook feed for their attention.

But remember, our goal isn’t just to get their attention. We want the user to click on our ad, visit our site, and purchase our products or services.

Your ad needs to be eye-catching and informative. At a single glance the user should be able to identify what you’re offering and be treated to enough intriguing details that they want to learn more.

At the same time, you don’t want to give too much away. Too many details and the user won’t be compelled to click on the ad. Your ad should raise questions which your website answers.

Setup A Complete Conversion Funnel

Your Facebook ad is only the first step in the journey to getting a conversion. Don’t think of the ad as something that works in isolation.

To optimize your Facebook ad conversions, you’ll need to think about everything your user does before and after they click your ad.

Once your user clicks on your ad, they should be delivered to a relevant landing page. Your landing page should be directly relevant to the ad. It should continue the story which your ad began, driving the users further down the conversion funnel by offering them extra information or special deals.

Think of your ad as the cover of a pamphlet. Your landing page is the information inside the pamphlet.

Some of the most effective Facebook ad campaigns create a unique landing page for every ad. This technique allows you to craft extremely refined advertisements which speak directly to the user’s interests and needs.

From top to bottom, your conversion funnel should take the user through all of the following steps:

1. Get their attention: Create an intriguing ad which stands out in a Facebook feed. Use images, videos, and short, snappy, easy-to-digest copywriting.
2. Inform and Intrigue: The goal of any landing page is to move the user a little closer to a purchase. Once the user has landed at your website, you can be sure you have their attention. Your landing page should be informative and contain all the answers to the questions which your ad raised. Because you know which ad they clicked, you can create pages specifically tailored to the demographics and interests which you used to target the ad.
3. Convert from Click to Customer: Now it’s time to get down to business. If the user has stuck around long enough to read through your landing page, they’re definitely interested. Drive their attention to your C all T o A ction ( CTA ) and create an irresistible offer. You can create a sense of urgency by offering limited time discounts or stressing the limited availability of your products or service.
4. Product Pages and Checkout: At the bottom of your funnel should be the pages the user actually uses to make an order. Rather than thinking of the funnel as directing people to these pages, think of these pages as part of the funnel. Continue the narrative and style of the ad through the entire purchasing process. Never stop vying for their attention!

For Text, Less is More

Text should be used sparingly in your Facebook ad. The text in your ad should only tell the user enough to get them interested in clicking the ad to learn more.

While a bit of text is vital for any ad to get the message across, text doesn’t grab the user’s attention in the way a video or an image might. Reading is an active process compared to passively viewing an image or video.

Take a minimalist approach to all of the text on your Facebook ad. There are three locations for text in any Facebook ad:

1. Headline: Your headline needs to be quick and to the point. This is the most prominent text placement in your Facebook ad. Use it wisely!
2. Text Body: The body can be a small excerpt from your landing page, or it can be a brief summary of what the ad is offering. Remember that this is text the user is likely to read after you’ve grabbed their attention with your image and headline. Use it to reel them in a little deeper.
3. Text on Images: You can employ a little bit of text written in the image of your ad. However, use this extremely sparingly. At most, you want a short sentence in the image of your ad. An image cluttered with text can be hard to read at a glance. You want an evocative image which is supported by the headline and text body, with the clear implication that more information is available if they click.

Never Stop Testing!

The strategies we’ve laid out in this piece should give you a good handle on how to get started making exceptionally converting Facebook ads. However, even if you find one that works brilliantly, don’t grow complacent!

Always test different versions of the ad. Change the image, change the text, change your targeting. Run several ad campaigns simultaneously for A/B testing to see which campaign is the most effective at actually converting users into customers.

Be daring. But collect data! Today’s brave moves might become tomorrow’s trusted strategy.