This article will help point you in the right direction when creating a Facebook or Instagram ad within Ads Manager.
Set a Monthly Budget
First and foremost, you need to have a monthly budget to run ads on Facebook and Instagram. Every business is different, so you will need to determine how much you can spend per month.
As a base, it’s recommended that you spend at least 10 Dollars/Pounds/Euros per day for each ad that you wish to run, and the ad should run for at least 10 days to improve its performance. However, we recommend that you continuously run social media ads across the month to see a better return on your investment.
Plan, Plan, Plan
It’s very important that you take time out to create an ad marketing strategy. By programming ads according to seasonal events and public holidays happening throughout the entire year, you’ll be able to not only increase your reach but also publish seasonal ads at the best time possible.
For example, when you’re planning your marketing strategy make sure to factor in key dates such as Mother’s Day, and have an ad running to promote a Mother’s Day offer in your salon. Or for Summer Season, you can run ads offering a Summer-Ready pamper package.
Check out the Phorest Marketing Calendar for details on key dates, seasons, suggestions and tips to get you started.
Think of Your Goal
An ad must have a main message to prompt the viewer to click it. You know that you want to drive customers in through your door, but an ad that reads “Come to our Salon” might not capture the attention of that potential customer. Your goal should be to create interest in your business and the service you offer. This can be done by showcasing a main topic of interest such as:
- Limited-Time offer
- Seasonal or holiday theme promotions
- Specific service offered
- Service benefits
- Your team and examples of their work
Enhance Visual Elements
Social media ads capture attention with a great image. It’s recommended that you use real and high-quality imagery to showcase your business and your services, however, you can also use any stock images you own, or free stock images related to your ad topic.
To help you create stunning ads, we’ve created over 100 ad templates in Canva so you don’t have to worry about coming up with a nice design. These templates are available to you when you begin creating an ad in Phorest.
Try to choose colour palettes that match your branding and the “feel” you wish to convey with them. You can learn more about colour psychology and its application in adverts in this article by 99designs.com.
Be Concise With Your Message
Once you’ve chosen your ad images, don’t overload the space with too much text. It’s generally recommended not to exceed 20% of the image area in order to get better ad engagement. Remember that people scrolling through their Facebook and Instagram Feeds will be interested in seeing ad images rather than text.
For that same reason, when you choose a headline and ad description, keep it simple and to the point. We have hundreds of examples available to you so you don’t have to sweat it.
Meta's Personal Health and Appearance Advertising Policy
Meta's policy does not allow advertisers to run ads for health or appearance-related products that imply or attempt to generate negative self-perception. This includes not allowing before and after images with idealised results.
Failure to adhere to this policy may result in your Facebook or Instagram account being restricted.
For more information, see Meta's article on Personal Health and Appearance.
Choose the Right Font
When it comes to choosing a font for any text within the image space, try to stick to ones which can be read easily. This will help to prevent eye fatigue. Canva has listed 50 commercial fonts that are free for you to use. If you choose a color for your font, make sure its contrast with the background doesn't make it difficult or straining to read.
Run Multiple Ads at Once
This will be tied to your monthly budget, but aim to run more than one ad at a time. This increases your brand awareness in social media channels, and it allows you to test out different types of content to find out which works best for your audiences. We would recommend that you run an ad in at least 2 use cases at one time for maximum results.
Monitor Your Ad Performance
It’s not enough to only publish and wait for an ad to complete its run course. While it’s running, set reminders in your calendar so you can check its performance. This will allow you to make decisions such as keeping it running with its original settings, updating its content, or changing its duration. These decisions should be made considering all of the performance metrics available in your Ad Overview dashboard within Phorest.