How to create Facebook ads for Ecommerce Business

How to create Facebook ads for Ecommerce Business

If you have an online ecommerce business, Facebook Ads is a great way to get more sales. In 2024, Facebook has almost 3.07 billion active users every month. Facebook Ads have changed a lot over time to work better for everyone. People who create ads have also had to keep learning new tricks to get good results.

People often have questions about using Facebook Ads for ecommerce business. Some common ones are: Do Facebook Ads still work in 2024? How much money do I need to start? And how can I create a successful ad campaign for ecommerce? Which Facebook Ads are Best for Ecommerce? How can I improve my Facebook ads campaign?

I will explore everything in this blog post.

What are Facebook ads?

Facebook ads are paid posts that businesses use to show their products or services to Facebook users. They can be pictures, videos, or a group of images you can swipe through. These ads appear in many places on the app, like in users’ feeds, Stories, Messenger, Marketplace, and more.

Facebook ads are usually shown to users based on their:

• Age, gender, and other demographics
• Location
• Interests
• Profile information and online activity

Businesses set a budget and pay for each click or every thousand times the ad is seen. Facebook ads often look like regular posts but have a “sponsored” label to show they’re ads. They also have more features than regular posts, like buttons to take action, links, and product catalogs.

If you want more people to see your brand, ads should be part of your Facebook marketing plan.

Do Facebook Ads for Ecommerce Still Work in 2024?

After looking at over 900 ecommerce ad campaigns, I found that Facebook Ads for ecommerce are still very profitable, but they depend a lot on having great creative content and copy. Ads that focus mainly on targeting aren’t as successful.

Today, content is king. So, if you want to succeed with Facebook Ads for your online store, here’s what you need to do:

How to Create Facebook Ads for Ecommerce Business?

First, I’ll share 6 steps to get started with Facebook Ads for ecommerce. Then, I’ll give you some tips on how to improve your ad performance.

Here’s how to start promoting your ecommerce business on Facebook:

Step One: Study Your E-commerce Competitors on Facebook

The very first step, before anything else, is to analyze your competitors’ ads. This helps you understand what kind of content is working well.

Look for other ecommerce sites that are running Facebook Ads for ecommerce and see how they do it. Pay attention to their copy and creative:

• What format do they use? (images, videos, carousels, etc.)
• What colors do they use?
• What common themes do you see in their designs?
• How long is their copy?

How can you find your competitors’ ads?

1. Go to Facebook.com and search for pages in a similar niche. Ideally, they should be ecommerce stores, but they don’t have to be. Also, look for ecommerce stores in different niches to get a variety. Make a list of 10-15 pages to start with.

1. Go to the Meta Ads Library and enter the names of the pages from your list. This will show you all the ad campaigns they are running.

3. Write down the URLs of ads that catch your eye for future reference. If you see a campaign that has been running for a long time, it’s probably a successful ad.
4. Use these ads as inspiration to come up with ideas for your own ads.

Look for companies that do a lot of testing. Their ads usually have high conversion rates.

Step Two: Set Up Meta Pixel

Meta Pixel (formerly Facebook Pixel) is a piece of HTML code that you simply copy and paste into your website.

It lets you track your visitors and see which pages they visit, which is important for retargeting.

Pro Tips:- I always recommend setting up the Pixel in Advanced Way. You can setup advanced pixel and conversion API through Google Tag Manager.

Step Three: Set Up Conversions API

 

Conversions API is a tool that lets Facebook collect data from your Shopify or Woo Commerce store.

Conversions API is another way to track visitors along with Facebook Pixel. You should use both because:

Facebook Pixel tracks data using the user’s browser, while Conversions API tracks visitors through your website’s servers. This means Conversions API isn’t affected by things like ad blockers, browser settings, or crashes, making it more reliable.

Using both tracking methods together gives you the most accurate data for your campaigns, covering the entire customer journey from start to finish.

Step Four: Design Your Ad Creative

On average, people spend about 2.5 seconds looking at each Facebook post on desktop and only about 1.7 seconds on mobile.

This means your ad has to catch their eye quickly.

But here’s the thing:

There’s a difference between grabbing someone’s attention and really standing out.

People don’t like ads that feel pushy. If they know it’s an ad before they even read it, they’ll just skip past it. The most effective ads are the ones where people are scrolling through their feed, read a post, and only realize it’s an ad after they’ve read it.

To create award-winning ad creatives, consider these tips:

1.Start by looking at your competitors’ ads to see what’s working and what’s not.

2. Identify your audience. There’s a difference between creating ad creative for a warm audience versus a cold one.

3.Decide which type of ad creative to use.

4. Make sure your image/video sizes are correct to avoid wasted space or awkward margins.
5. Try using a tool like Canva for quick, easy, and professional designs. Canva is popular because it allows fast designs for testing. Plus, it offers many Facebook image/video templates to help you get started!
6. Apply some basic color theory.
7. A/B Test
8. Test, test, test… The only way to create a killer ad creative is by testing dozens of times every month. Aim for 20-40 tests per month.

Step Five: Launch the Campaign

Once you’ve designed your creative, the final step is to launch the campaign. To set up your campaign, you’ll need to name your ad sets, choose an audience for targeting, and set up A/B testing.

Make sure to use proper naming conventions that will make data analysis easier. Later, I’ll discuss how to structure your ad campaigns.

Step Six: Analyze the Data

 

Once the campaign is over, it’s important to analyze the data. This step is crucial, but many people avoid it because they’re not comfortable with data and numbers.

Thankfully, understanding Facebook Ads for ecommerce data isn’t too hard. Anyone can learn how to do it, even if they don’t know much about statistics.

I suggest picking a data analysis tool that you’re comfortable using. Some options include:

1. Excel
2. Google Sheets
3. R (more advanced)
4. Polymer Search

R is powerful and can handle complex data manipulation and large datasets, but it requires a background in data science or extensive training to use effectively. On the other hand, Excel and Google Sheets are good options, but some people find their interface confusing.

Using a tool like Polymer Search can make analyzing Facebook Ads data much easier, especially for beginners. Polymer’s dashboard makes the data interactive and easy to understand. You can filter through the data using tags and extract all the insights you need to run a successful ecommerce ads campaign.

14 Simple Tips to Get More Sales on Your Ecommerce Online Store

Now that you’ve learned how to launch a campaign, let’s explore ways to boost your profits.

These tips come from studying more than 900 ad campaigns on Facebook:

Make Landing Pages That Make People Want to Buy

No matter how good your Facebook Ads are, you won’t get sales if your landing page isn’t good. The landing page is the most important part of a paid campaign. Here are some tips to make your landing page better:

– Make sure your website has a clear unique selling point (USP): If someone visits your landing page and doesn’t understand what your website sells within 3 seconds, you’ve missed your goal. The landing page should be clear and easy to understand, explaining what your product is and why or how it’s useful to the customer.

– Use real user testimonials. Unboxing videos are really popular. Include headshot photos with full names and contact info to build trust and boost sales. Adding statistics or specific details about your products in these testimonials can also help.

Getting testimonials from well-known individuals or companies can greatly increase conversions.

– Warm up your audience: Conversions aren’t the only important thing in an ecommerce Facebook Ads campaign. More than 90% of visitors won’t buy your product the first time they visit your site. It’s a waste to ignore these people. Instead, offer them information or even a freebie to warm them up. Later, you can retarget these audiences.

– Keep your design clean and simple: When designing ecommerce pages, less is more. Minimal designs are often best. Avoid using too many calls to action (CTAs), and if you’re going to use pop-ups, make sure to delay them or have them appear at the end of the page.

Note:- I also can help you to make user friendly ecommerce website with SEO friendly. 

Show Faces in Images/Videos

You might have noticed that many YouTube content creators include a reaction face in most of their videos. They do this because it gets more clicks.

People are attracted to faces. It’s the same with Facebook Ads. Using a reaction face as your image can really increase engagement and click-through rates.

Create Killer Ad Copy

There are different ways to write Facebook Ad copy, depending on your audience. But if your brand is new to Facebook Ads, I suggest starting with a short, catchy one-liner as your hook. It’s one of the simplest and most effective methods for a successful ad.

Also, remember: the first thing your reader sees is the first line of your copy, not a title. So, it’s crucial that the first line is the hook, not the title. The length of your copy depends on how well-known your brand is.

If your audience isn’t familiar with your brand and what you offer, your ad might need to be longer to explain their problems and the solution you provide. Using cliffhangers can be a great strategy to get people to click through to your website.

Try Broad Targeting

 

There are three ways to target people: through interests, lookalikes, or broad targeting. Lookalikes used to be the most effective, but now broad targeting is becoming more important because of privacy regulations.

As of 2023/2024, broad targeting is the most popular form. It means letting Facebook’s algorithm decide who to target without restrictions.

Every industry is unique, and there’s no universal solution, but every ecommerce store should run an A/B test with broad targeting. I’ve found that the fewer restrictions we used, the lower the customer acquisition cost (CAC).

Add a CTA Button

Facebook offers many CTA buttons, but for ecommerce, focus on ones for conversions. Here are some “conversions” CTA buttons for Facebook Ads:

• No Button
• Donate Now
• Download
• Get Showtimes
• Learn More
• Listen Now
• Request Time
• See Menu
• Shop Now

For ecommerce stores, “Shop Now” almost always performs better than other CTA buttons. Generally, it’s better to have a CTA button than not, but every industry is different. I highly recommend A/B testing with “No Button” as well.

Start Retargeting Campaigns

 

Retargeting means showing ads to people who have already visited your website.

So, If someone looked at the “Nike Shoe” page on your website, you can retarget them by showing an ad for the Nike Shoe along with a limited-time discount.

It’s not a good idea to retarget everyone who has visited your site, but you should focus on engagement metrics such as people who have added items to their shopping cart or visited specific pages. These are “warmer” audiences, so your ad copy should be tailored to them, which is different from a cold audience. Limited-time promotions may not work well for a cold audience, but they can convert very well for warmer audiences.

Advertise at the Best Times

Running ads during peak times and on specific days can boost conversions.

According to Buffer, engagement rates are 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays. It’s generally best to have ads running between 1-4 pm.

That being said, there’s no single answer for everyone. The best way to find out is by testing and looking at the data. You’ll need a tool like Polymer to help you analyze the data and get insights quickly.

Make Sure You Budget Right and Have Enough Money

A common mistake is starting Facebook Ads for ecommerce with a low budget and trying to run tests or experiments. If your budget is in the “low four figures” range, it’s probably not enough for extensive A/B testing.

Here’s how to budget correctly:

To get valid A/B test results, you’ll need at least 100 conversions per ad variation. Let’s say the cost per conversion is $5, and you want to test 2 ad variations. To get valid results, you’ll need a budget of $1000 or more (100 x 2 x 5).

A/B testing becomes extremely important for 5-figure ad campaigns.

Keep A/B Testing

For 5-figure campaigns, you should be A/B testing everything: copy, creative, audiences, placements, CTA buttons, and more. Since creative and copy are crucial, I recommend testing at least 20 or more variations per month.

Every 20 tests might uncover 1 highly effective ad with a 4% click-through rate (CTR). And every 100 tests might reveal that one exceptional ad with a 5.5% CTR, which you can then scale up significantly. To find winning ads, you need to test extensively!

Try Carousel Ads

Carousel ads let you display up to 10 images, each with its own link. They’re great for showcasing multiple products with their own landing pages and are highly effective. For ecommerce stores, I’ve found that carousel ads often result in a higher return on ad spend (ROAS) compared to static images or videos.

Stay Away from Words That Trigger

People don’t like ads that feel too pushy, especially on Facebook. Trigger words are phrases that make your ad look very promotional. Examples include “limited-time,” “follow,” “like,” “share,” and “discount.” When you’re showing ads to people who haven’t shown much interest yet, these words can make them ignore the ad without even thinking about it. But if someone has already shown interest in your brand, like by visiting your website before, then these words can be more effective.

Try Hosting a Contest

A contest or giveaway is a fantastic way to get lots of user-generated content (UGC) and increase brand awareness. If you’re giving away products from your ecommerce store, make sure to mention the value of those items (for example, $1000 worth of items).

Including a dollar amount helps your audience understand the value of the contest. Make sure to follow Facebook’s rules for running contests. You can’t require people to share or tag others as part of the giveaway, but you can ask them to like or comment.

Avoid Targeting Customers Who Already Purchased

A simple way to save money on ads is by using the “audience exclusion” feature. If you have an email list of current customers, you can upload it to Facebook and exclude those people from seeing your ads.

You can also use the audience exclusion feature to avoid targeting the same audience in multiple campaigns, ensuring there’s no overlap between your campaigns.

Gather Reviews from Other Places

If someone clicks on your ad and visits your website, they might do some research on your product before buying. Reach out to other publications and even people on Reddit to get reviews about your products.

Many people search for things like “Is Website X a scam?” or “Product X reviews” before buying. Having reviews from other places can really help customers decide whether to buy from you or not.

How to Structure Your Facebook Ads for Ecommerce Business?

Now that you’re prepared to get started, how should you organize your campaigns? I suggest beginning with at least 10 ad sets.

Choose automatic placements and make everything the same across these 10 ad sets, except for who you’re targeting. Test 10 different interests, and try a broad approach with one of those ad sets. Spend $20-30 on each ad set.

Be sure to stick to my Facebook Ad naming rules. This will make it much easier to analyze your data later.

Believe it or not, if the product is good, you can make money right away. Out of these 10 ad sets, find the ones that make a profit and start scaling them. Once you’ve figured out the audience, you’ll want to start testing different ad copy and images.

Top Facebook Ads for Ecommerce: What Works Best?

Among Facebook’s ad formats, I’ve found carousel ads to be the most effective overall.

However, there are several reasons why you should consider using other ad formats:

1. Different audiences may respond better to different formats.
2. Audiences at different stages of the sales funnel may have different preferences.
3. Showing the same ad repeatedly can lead to ad fatigue, causing people to ignore it.

That’s why most online ecommerce shops use a mix of everything:

1. Dynamic Product Ads

 

One of the best ads for online shops is Dynamic Product Ads (DPA). Dynamic Product Ads are similar to carousel ads, but instead of making an ad for each product, you create a template. It’ll then automatically use images and details from your product data. These ads are great for online stores because Facebook Pixel tracks data and shows ads to people interested in specific products.

Ebay uses DPA often. They have millions of products, but can advertise exactly what people want without making each ad by hand.

2. Carousel Ads

If your online shop has only a few products (like 20 or less), carousel ads are a good choice. You can customize each one separately. You can use them like DPA to promote different products on each slide, to tell your brand’s story with different slides, or to have certain slides drive traffic to your informational content (like a blog post).

3. Video Ads

 

Videos can grab people’s attention better than pictures, and many marketers like using them because they get more clicks (CTR).

However, there are two big problems with using videos:

1. Making them can be time-consuming and expensive if you don’t have user-generated content (UGC).
2. Videos can end up costing more for getting new customers (CAC) and for each thousand views (CPM).

Even though they might get more clicks (CTR), you could still end up paying more to get each new customer compared to using static images.

This isn’t always true, which is why testing is crucial. But remember, while high CTR with videos can be exciting, what really matters is return on ad spend (ROAS).

When you use videos, you should pay attention to two things:

1. Thumb stop ratio: This shows how many people watched at least 3 seconds of your video. It tells you if the beginning of your video is grabbing attention.
2. Average watch time: This tells you how long people watch your video on average. If it’s low compared to the thumb stop ratio, it might mean people lose interest after the start.

 

   4. Images Ads

Marketers shouldn’t overlook images. They can bring a high return on ad spend (ROAS), and because you can make them faster than videos, you can test different designs more often. The top online stores use a mix of everything to get the best results and keep their audience engaged.

Understanding Facebook Pixel for Ecommerce Marketing

When exploring Facebook ads for ecommerce, one essential tool to understand is the Facebook Pixel. Installed on your website, this small code tracks user actions and sends the data to Facebook. It helps measure campaign effectiveness, target ads better, and improve conversions.

Facebook Ads for Ecommerce: The Critical Role of Facebook Pixel

1. Conversions Tracking: A key feature of Facebook Pixel is monitoring conversions. It records when users perform actions on your site, such as making a purchase, and connects it to your Facebook Ads campaign.
2. Retargeting: Facebook Pixel helps you track what users do on your site so you can show them ads later. For example, if someone looked at a product but didn’t buy it, you can show them ads for that product later.
3. Lookalike Audiences: With Facebook Pixel’s data, you can create groups of people similar to your current customers. This helps you find new potential customers who might also be interested in what you offer.
4. Making the Most of Your Budget: By understanding how people use your site, you can tweak your ad strategies to make them more effective. This means you can get better results from your ad budget.

How to Add Facebook Pixel to Your Ecommerce Site:

1. Create a Pixel: Go to Ads Manager, then to “Events Manager,” and click on “Pixels.” Follow the prompts to create your Pixel.
2. Install the Code: Once created, you’ll receive a code snippet. Add this to all pages of your ecommerce site. Many platforms, like Shopify, have easy integration options.
3. Test the Pixel: After installation, verify it’s working properly. Tools like Facebook’s Pixel Helper can help.
4. Set Up Events: Define specific actions you want to track, such as ‘Add to Cart’ or ‘Purchase.’

Pro Tip: I always recommend setting up the Pixel in Advanced Way. You can setup advanced pixel and conversion API through Google Tag Manager.

How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook?

Facebook ad budgets vary greatly depending on several factors.

The cost of Facebook ads depends on several factors, such as:

• Audience targeting: Ads can cost more when targeting a specific audience compared to a broader one.
• Ad placement: Costs can be different for ads on Facebook and Instagram.
• Campaign Duration: How long your campaign runs affects the total cost.
• Industry competition: Some industries are more competitive for ad space, leading to higher costs, especially for high-priced products or valuable leads.
• Seasonal timing: Ad costs can change during different seasons, holidays, or special events in your industry.
• Time of day: Generally, CPC is lowest between midnight and 6 am in any time zone.
• Location: The cost of ads changes depending on where they’re shown. Different countries have different prices for ads.

Getting Started

Start by creating the 10 ad sets I talked about earlier. Then, decide how much money you want to spend.

Listen to what the data tells you. Figure out which tests worked best, and focus on those. First, make sure you’re targeting the right audience. Then, tweak your ad designs and words. Try different buttons and times to run your ads. After that, use what you’ve learned to target people again.

Retargeting is still really effective.

If you need any help to run Facebook ads for ecommerce business, Feel free to reach out to me. WhatsApp:-  +8801571208791