Twelve years ago, Facebook was a budding social network brushing up against big players like Friendster and Myspace. But in the decade-and-change since, the network has obliterated the competition and turned into the internet’s second biggest advertising channel. Facebook advertising now generates more than $180 billion annually, claiming 12% of the global digital advertising market.
Things change fast in social media and marketers who want to stay on top of changes in Facebook advertising need to be quick on their toes. To help, the Facebook advertising experts at Qiigo have collected five of the biggest changes and trends that you should expect to dominate the coming months.
1. Prices Will Continue Climbing
To date, Facebook advertising remains one of the most cost-effective digital marketing streams out there. On a cost-per-conversion basis, online marketers see huge value out of Facebook ad campaigns, particularly in streams like video and retargeted ads.
But as Facebook ads have become more and more in demand, prices are climbing, a trend that marketers should expect to continue into 2017 and beyond. Thanks to Facebook advertising’s auction system and the way certain types of ads are thriving, ad space on Facebook will only get more and more valuable.
2. Dig Deep on Mobile vs. Desktop
It’s no secret that mobile dominates the digital landscape, especially when it comes to advertising. But desktop is still tops in certain market segments. If your business relies on a desktop-preferred segment, you need to be careful about the way you advertise on social media.
One of the biggest problem areas are Facebook advertising campaigns that target both mobile and desktop users. If your campaign is set up to target all devices, the majority of your impressions will likely come from mobile, where Facebook has more advertising real estate to offer. If you’re seeing low mobile conversion rates, you’ll want to segment your campaigns by device to get the most value for your dollar.
3. Sales Funnels & Impulse Captures
As Facebook ads have become more and more common, users have become more and more resistant to clicking on certain types of ads in their feeds. One effect of this is the decline of the “cold-sell” ad. Simply put, users are increasingly unlikely to click on a transactional ad unless they have a pre-existing relationship with the brand.
Here are three quick ways brands can circumvent this problem through Facebook advertising:
1) use retargeted ads to capture users who have an existing relationship with your brand
2) invest in ads for impulse purchases that capture first-time clicks
3) develop longer sales funnels to build relationships with users
4. In-Platform Transactions
If your website has slow load times or poor design, a strong click-through rate can be squandered by bounce after bounce after bounce. One way to avoid a high bounce rate is to leave your website out of the picture entirely. Facebook is offering more and more in-platform features, like lead-capture ads and the revamped Facebook Shop, that make it easier to capture leads and drive conversions on the network itself. Over the coming months, expect more and more brands to take advantage of these features.
5. Retarget, Retarget, Retarget
In terms of Facebook advertising, there’s been no trend more important over the last few years than the rise of retargeted ads. Facebook’s share of retargeted ad spend has skyrocketed over the past few years, more than doubling in 2016 from the previous year’s figures. While Facebook advertising experts don’t expect to see that level of growth duplicated in 2017, the share of Facebook ad spend on retargeted traffic should continue to rise.
Expect this trend to tie in with expanded Facebook sales funnels. Through 2016, we began to see brands start pushing retargeted ads earlier in their funnels. After starting a user relationship through an avenue like SEO-backed content marketing, brands began to introduce retargeted ads to steer users back into their funnel. As more brands begin to find success with this strategy, we expect that retargeted ads will be used in increasingly versatile ways.
Stay on top of the latest trends in Facebook advertising by partnering with the social media marketing wizards at Qiigo. Call (888) 673-1212 today to find out how our experts can supercharge your brand’s social performance.
