If you’re reading this article, chances are that you already know how to create Facebook ads. You’ve probably done a few campaigns already, and they’re working pretty well. But there’s one big problem: Your ad isn’t driving people to anything specific.

That’s not a good thing. The point of advertising on Facebook is to drive people to a specific page or website—like your latest blog post. If you’re using an ad that doesn’t drive people anywhere, you’re just wasting your money. So how do you get more people clicking through? Here are some tips to help you create Facebook ads that drive people to your latest blog post.

1. Decide on an Audience for Your Ad

One of the first things you will need to do is decide who you want to advertise to. Facebook’s targeting options are robust and can be used to target a specific demographic from within a specific location, or even just people who have visited your blog before.

Some basics: You can target by age and gender, location, education level, and interests. This can all be done manually or with the help of a tool such as Facebook’s Power Editor (which we’ll talk about later).

2. Decide on Your Campaign Objective

Before you can create your ad, you’ll need to decide which campaign objective you want to use. There are five different campaign objectives available:

• Engagement — The goal of an engagement campaign is simply to get people to interact with your ads. For example, if you own a clothing store, you might want to increase the number of clicks on your products or increase the number of people who like your page.
• App installs — App install campaigns are best suited for apps or games that monetize through in-app purchases or subscriptions. You can also use app install ads to drive downloads when there is a free version of your app available in the App Store or Google Play Store.
• Lead generation — Lead generation ads are used by service businesses and other B2B companies whose customers are likely to be researching their options before choosing one provider over another. You can use lead generation ads to collect leads and then follow up with them later on in the sales funnel with more traditional advertising tactics such as retargeting.
• Sales conversions — Sales conversion campaigns help convert shoppers into buyers by driving them through the checkout process after they’ve added items to their cart but haven’t yet completed their purchase.

3. Choose Your Ad Placement

Once you have selected your target audience, you will have to choose where on Facebook you want your ad to appear. You have four options for placement: Right Column, News Feed, Mobile News Feed and Instagram Feed.

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing which placement is best for your ad campaign, but here are some things you should consider:

• Right Column Ads – Right Column ads are meant for desktop users only and typically appear in the right-hand side of their desktop browser window. These ads tend to perform well when they contain an image or video because they take up more space than other types of ads do and catch the eye better than text-only ads do.
• News Feed Ads – News Feed ads are meant for desktop and mobile users, but they perform best for desktop users. These ads tend to perform well when they contain an image or video because they take up more space than other types of ads do and catch the eye better than text-only ads do.
• Mobile News Feed Ads – Mobile News Feed ads are meant for mobile users only and typically appear when someone is using their phone or tablet.

4. Write Your Headline, Text and Description

Your headline is the first thing people see when they click on your ad (it’s also how they will find your post in search results). It should be interesting enough to grab people’s attention so that they click through to read more of your text copy (which is what describes your product).

The text copy is what appears under the headline — it should be short and sweet, but still describe what your product or service does in a way that makes people want to know more! Be sure to include any specific features or benefits that might make someone interested enough to convert on your landing page (more on that below).

The description is optional but recommended — it allows you to include extra information about your product or service without cluttering up other parts of the ad with text. The description can be up to 20 words long.

The headline, text copy and description are all important parts of your ad that should work together to create a compelling message that makes people want to click through!

5. Create/Upload Your Images or Videos

Your ad needs to include at least one image or video. Your images can be up to 15MB in size, and your videos can be up to 60 seconds long (and must be less than 20MB). In addition, there are some guidelines for what types of images/videos you should use:

• Your product: If you’re promoting a specific product or service, use an image of that product or service. If possible, show the consumer how they’ll benefit from using it — for example, if they’re buying a pair of shoes online, show them how cute they look in said shoes!
• Your brand: If you’re promoting yourself as a business rather than a product or service specifically, use an image of yourself. Show the viewer that you’re approachable and friendly. Try to capture a moment that shows what you do best — this could be something as simple as showing your workspace, or even just having a conversation with someone on camera!
• Your audience: If you’re promoting something specific to your target audience, use an image or video of them engaged in their everyday lives. If possible, try asking them questions about what they like about themselves and their day-to-day life.

Takeaway

These tips should give you an idea about how you can run an effective advertising campaign and tap into the vast network of eyeballs that Facebook has to offer. The next step is to get some experience with marketing your own products, which will teach you invaluable lessons about using different types of social media to promote yourself and what you’re selling.