Marcel Sattler is an entrepreneur and Founder of an agency. He is the brain behind many profitable brands with his sustainable strategy.
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Interest-based targeting is so 2018.
Every ad platform wants to make the experience for users as simple as possible. Facebook has a pioneering role in this area. Despite the incredible possibilities of advertising on the platform, the operation, after a short familiarization, is relatively simple. Why? Because every entrepreneur should run ads (in Facebook’s opinion).
That’s why it implements things like campaign budget optimization and why it’s working so hard to make the algorithm smarter every day.
For you, as an entrepreneur or advertiser, in 2021, it will no longer be just about the latest hacks or advertising strategies. In the meantime, other things have become more critical.
Note: Instagram is part of the Facebook family, and you can run ads for Instagram from Facebook Business Manager. For better readability, I’m only naming Facebook in this article. However, in addition to Facebook as a platform, I also mean Instagram.
Why Targeting Gets More Irrelevant in 2021
A few years ago, the right targeting was the holy grail to get the most out of your ads and make them profitable. But Facebook has a lot more data points in 2021 than a few years ago. And yes, it sees a lot more things from a user than you as an advertiser. So, the algorithm has an unfair advantage over you. But that’s OK because, in most cases, machine learning is much smarter than us people.
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To make data-driven decisions, one thing is necessary: data. The more data points, the better. A data point can be a “view content” event on your website, a lead for your newest e-book, or a purchase event in your online shop. If you have a lot of data points, the machine learning algorithm can work best.
But if you already have pixel data, you will see that broad campaigns with virtually no interest targeting typically work better than your interest-based audiences. The broad audiences are mostly huge, and Facebook has many potential users to choose the right ones for your goal.
Now we know what does not work anymore for Facebook ads. But what works?
Creativity Is Key for Successful Ads on Facebook And Instagram
Facebook is a social network and wants users to spend as much time as possible on the platform. That’s why it mixrd organic posts from your friends with paid advertising.
But the platform goes deeper. Every image and video gets analyzed by machine learning to identify the content. In addition, user signals, such as the interaction rate, are also measured to determine how relevant the advertising content is for each user.
In simple terms, ads that are relevant to users are rewarded with lower advertising costs and receive better advertising space.
And that is also the key that you can use to your advantage in 2021. It’s no longer about the right targeting but about creativity, authenticity and entertainment.
Advertising doesn’t have to be boring and monotonous and continuously call out “buy my products,” but can also be conveyed in such a way that users enjoy looking at the advertising message.
Facebook is and remains a kind of native advertising. Therefore, statements that are too promotional are punished by users because they achieve fewer conversions than natural-looking advertisements.
Even large enterprises have detected the value of a more natural and creative style of ads. This can work for every niche, for every company size, and certainly also for you.
No Creativity, No Problem
Maybe you’re not the “creativity person” with a thousand different and crazy ideas every day. Don’t worry — that’s not a problem. Here are four tips on developing creative ideas even if you are not creative at all.
1. Create a swipe file.
Next time you’re scrolling through your Facebook feed or Instagram stories and you see a great advertisement that catches you, screenshot it or make a screen recording. You can save this file into simple cloud storage like Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox to get access to every device, or you create a notebook like Evernote or OneNote to save the files.
Whenever you want to create a new image or video for your ads, you can get inspiration from the best ads.
2. See what other advertisers are doing.
Use the Facebook ad library to check out other businesses running ads. You can search for every fan page and watch your competitors or get inspiration from great advertisers in your niche.
3. Just start the camera app.
If you are a coach or sell products in your small online shop, show you and your services or products on video and how they can help people. Ads in this style are natural, and people love to see natural advertising instead of expensive, high-end productions. It’s that simple.
4. Ask your customers for video testimonials.
Get in touch with your existing and happy customers and ask them for a genuine and honest video testimonial. They can film it with their smartphone and say what they think, feel, or how your product/service helps them. You can use this video as an ad — especially for retargeting.
Why It’s Important to Take Action Now
The trend toward creative advertising messages is already underway. With creativity, authenticity and entertainment, you can sell your products and services on Facebook better than ever before.
Take advantage of the early stage to gain experience now and get better every day.
This can help give you a competitive advantage over those competitors of yours who might only notice this development later and then start using it gradually.
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Author: Marcel Sattler, Forbes Councils Member
