The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 1 THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM ADVERTISING Tips and insights to shrink the e-commerce path to purchase
The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 2 The following is based on a true story. The e-retailer s digital marketing strategy was overdue for an overhaul when the e-commerce director decided to make some changes. The question was: Where to start? By many standards, sales were more than sufficient. As a fast-growing startup, the e-retailer had quickly expanded to provide tens of thousands of products to hundreds of thousands of active customers. Yet much of the company s catalog still wasn t getting in front of the right customers at the right times. So the company decided to see what could be accomplished with social media advertising. It didn t take long. Within months of placing social media at the core of marketing, the results were remarkable: Average order values were up, costs-per-click were down and sales were stronger than ever. Stories like this one abound, for one very simple reason: Social advertising has become one of the best ways to connect with e-commerce customers and grow sales channels. Retailers and brands are clearly aware of this shift, as evidenced by the explosion of socialfocused digital marketing strategies. After surpassing television advertising faster than forecasts suggested, social ad spend continues to grow at 20% per year and is well on its way to overtaking newspapers. Two of the world s most-frequented social platforms, Facebook and subsidiary Instagram, have proven to be the most profitable social networks for e-commerce companies. But with more than 5 million businesses advertising each month, competition is fierce. Having a laser-focused strategy is critical to success. IN THIS EBOOK, YOU LL LEARN: Why Facebook and Instagram are essential to e-commerce success Which advertising options should be on every seller s radar How to maximize your presence on these top-performing social networks
The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 3 Facebook and Instagram: Your Ticket to Billions of Purchase-Ready Consumers When it comes to connecting with e-commerce customers, all social media platforms are definitely not created equal. Savvy marketers are well aware of Facebook and Instagram s successes as the top two most frequented social networks in the US. Some 7 in 10 online adults about 2 billion monthly users have Facebook profiles, with 66% interacting with the platform every day. While no other social media network comes close to those numbers, it s Facebook-owned Instagram that takes the number two spot. The photo-sharing social app s user base doubled within the span of two years to reach 700 million users in early 2017. But it s much more than these platforms popularity that makes them ideal components of an e-commerce digital marketing strategy. The majority of Facebook and Instagram users are consumers who are actively seeking ideas, inspiration and product information. 100% % of online adults who use... 80 79 2 BILLION monthly users 60 40 32 31 20 29 of those interact with the 66 % platform every day 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 24 Source: Pew Research Center
The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 4 This intent explains why, according to the National Retail Federation and Forrester, 68% of retailers have seen increased conversions from paid Facebook efforts and 40% claim the same about paid Instagram efforts and why so many e-commerce brands and retailers are flocking to advertise on Facebook. Six months after the number of advertisers reached a milestone of 3 million, it quickly climbed to 4 million... then 5 million... and on it goes. 1 MILLION Facebook Ads generate some 1 million store visits a day in 100,000 locations But how do you successfully tap into the growing influence of Facebook and Instagram? 60 % OF USERS 60% of Instagram users say they discover new products on the platform, and 75% say they ve taken action after being inspired by a post 56 % OF CONSUMERS Generally speaking, more than half (56%) of consumers who follow brands and retailers on social media do so to view products
The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 5 Facebook Features and Instagram Insights For Greater Profitability Right now, your consumers are experiencing all kinds of micro moments that will influence the next purchases they make. They aren t yet sure what they want to buy and won t be doing any product-specific searches today. But show them the right item... at the ideal moment... in the most compelling format possible, and you may just turn their casual social scrolling into full-blown shopping. With Facebook and Instagram, it s possible to connect with customers in ways that aren't possible on other channels and shrink the path to purchase from weeks or months to days or hours.
The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 6 Facebook Facebook is making it easy for marketers to get smarter about how they target (and retarget) consumers with a steady stream of innovative advertising features, including: 53% OF PEOPLE say they are more likely to shop with a business they can message directly MESSENGER ADS (WITH PAYMENTS) More than 2 billion messages are sent between people and businesses every month on Facebook Messenger. And, according to Facebook s own research, 53% of people are more likely to shop with a business they can message directly. Incorporating Messenger into your social advertising strategy can be a great way to develop interactive experiences around consumers individualized needs. You can choose from two basic types of Messenger ads: 1. Ads that are placed directly on the home screen of the Messenger app to drive new conversations, and 2. Sponsored messages that appear in the news feeds of users your business is already talking to on Messenger. Quick Tips for Maximizing Messenger Ads: Integrate Messenger with other Facebook ad formats to guide people further down the path to purchase Experiment with Messenger-only sales by using the Send Message call to action in Facebook ads to launch a conversation in Messenger Reengage existing customers by leveraging Messenger to offer personalized promotions and upsells based on previous purchases. But that s not all. Using the payments tool within Messenger allows you to incorporate buy buttons so consumers can purchase your products directly from a secure Messenger bot without having to leave the app. TV ADVERTISING Up next: Watch for opportunities to increase reach through video streaming services such as Roku and Apple TV. This much-discussed extension of the Facebook Audience Network may soon allow retailers and brands to have ads appear as people stream TV through these platforms.
The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 7 Instagram Creating Instagram campaigns is straightforward and can be implemented through Facebook, eliminating the need to learn a new advertising platform. Essentials for e-commerce companies include: SHOPPABLE PHOTO TAGS With the rollout of photo tagging, a growing number of retailers have been granted the ability to tag products in organic posts. This option eliminates friction between brands and consumers on mobile devices, where users are often forced to stop scrolling through Instagram feeds to visit a browser window. With product tags, they can learn about products by following a more convenient step-by-step process that reveals bitesized product information on each screen. In the words of one early adopter, it allows consumers to go from inspiration to information to purchase in just a few steps. How Shoppable Tags Work: A user clicks on the tap-to-view icon at the bottom left of a photo Tags appear on up to five products in the post, along with their prices When a user selects a tag, a new detailed view of the product opens Tapping the shop now link takes the consumer directly to the product on the retailer s website STORIES ADS Every day, some 250 million people tell Instagram stories: creative collections of photos and videos that are presented in slideshow format before disappearing within 24 hours. Advertisers can leverage this popular feature by uploading immersive, full-screen ads that appear between the slides in people's stories and include a sponsored label. Ads in Instagram Stories use the same targeting and measurement tools as ads that run elsewhere on Facebook and Instagram so you can capture new audiences by showing people ads in stories and then target them with additional advertising that appears in their Facebook and Instagram feeds (and vice versa). Quick Tips for Ads in Instagram Stories: Optimize content to capture attention quickly since stories ads are skippable Incorporate branding that stands out and is easy to remember after stories disappear in a day Take advantage of the full-screen format with a that would otherwise be cropped
The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 8 Proven Profitability: Dynamic and Carousel Ads Amidst the many options for reaching consumers on Facebook and Instagram, two specific types of advertising have proven to be consistently profitable: dynamic and carousel ads, which are designed specifically to promote products in ways that are engaging, enticing and relevant. DYNAMIC ADS Dynamic ads allow brands and retailers to automatically promote personalized product selections to people who have already expressed interest, be it through website views, shopping cart additions or previous purchases. Dynamic ads look exactly like other image-based ads, but instead of individually creating an ad for each product, you create an ad template that populates with images and details from your product feed. You can can upload your product catalog once to have the right products automatically shown to the right people at the right time. And if you use dynamic ads for retail, you can also close the gap between mobile searches and brick-and-mortar stores by showcasing nearby in-store availability, pricing and promotions. BONUS TIP If you're already using a product feed with Google, you can use your Google feed with Facebook dynamic ads and even analyze Google Shopping performance history and other metrics to help you create ads that get results.
The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising 9 CAROUSEL ADS Carousel ads enable sellers to showcase up to ten images or videos and links within a single ad unit that directs people to your website. They can be used to tell a story around a single product, or introduce social shoppers to multiple products in a visually compelling way. Whether you re launching a new product line, showcasing top sellers or demonstrating compelling uses for popular products, carousel ads can be a very effective way to increase awareness and grow sales. Why Use Dynamic and Carousel Ads? Scale campaigns: Promote products in creative campaigns without having to configure each individual ad. Connect to new customers: Set up campaigns once to continually reach new audiences with the right product at the right time. Extend your reach: Quickly create ads that are optimized for all the devices consumers use to interact with Facebook and Instagram, from smartphones and tablets to laptops and desktops. Stay Tuned... A like here, a follow there. Tagging, storytelling, direct messaging these are the hallmarks of the new consumer path to purchase, which is increasingly influenced by social media interactions. The essentials in this ebook serve as the foundation for a social advertising strategy, but the key is to stay up-to-date on new tools and features as they become available to Facebook and Instagram advertisers. Because when you do, the selling potential of your brand s social presence will remain powerful.
10 The Essential Guide to Facebook and Instagram Advertising Connect and optimize the world s commerce ChannelAdvisor is a leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions that enable retailers and branded manufacturers to integrate, manage and optimize their merchandise sales across hundreds of online channels including Facebook, Google, Amazon, ebay, Walmart and more. Stay updated on the latest e-commerce trends, tips, news and best practices to help you drive more revenue across all your online channels. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG The global standard for e-commerce leaders. Copyright 2017 ChannelAdvisor Corporation. All rights reserved. SCHEDULE A LIVE PRODUCT DEMO SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER 866.264.8595 www.channeladvisor.com