If you ask any Facebook Ads expert what the secret to a successful campaign is, they’ll tell you there is none. Guaranteed. Although this may seem discouraging, when it comes to running successful Facebook Ads campaigns, there is no one-size-fits-all approach that will automatically bring you the results you’re after. The truth is Facebook Ads, like any other skill or craft, takes time to master.

Whether you’re in e-commerce, own a store or offer services, attracting quality leads on Facebook takes time, effort and patience. In this blog post, we’re going to share 6 techniques on how get more leads for less!

Scale Down Your Audience (But Not Too Much)

When setting up your ads at the Campaign level, it’s oftentimes tempting to expand the mileage for the area you’re looking to target, but don’t let those high audience counts tempt you. You have to ask yourself if people outside of a given area will take an interest in the products or services you’re offering. This is especially true if you’re advertising for a physical location. Scale down your audience to the lower portion of the green area between “Specific” and “Broad”.

Fine-Tune Your Ad Copy

When planning the creative direction that you want your ad(s) to go in, writing copy that is effective and to-the-point is extremely important. The key is to stop the user from scrolling past your ad by grabbing their attention. If your copy is too lengthy, it can seem like fluff to an unintroduced user, and they’ll scroll right past it. The key is to write one to two compact sentences that explain enough about your products or services and leaves the user wanting to know more.

Utilize Authentic Imagery

With advertising becoming prevalent on social media platforms over the past few years, the average user is hyper-aware of the difference between an organic post and an ad. The key is to have your ad stick out with that ‘something extra’. One way to achieve this is by having authentic imagery. The days of using stock imagery are behind you, and you’ll thank yourself for it. Whether you have to place a photographer on retainer or have someone in-house taking the photos, having authentic imagery makes a massive difference in grabbing attention and drawing in leads.

Schedule Your Ads

We’ve all heard the saying ‘Nothing good ever happens after midnight’. Well, the same goes for advertising on Facebook. Facebook gives you the option to schedule your ads to run at customized times. If you know that most people are asleep between the hours of 10 pm to 6 am, there’s no point in letting your ads be served to a dormant audience or only to night owls. Running your ads at an appropriate time not only allows for you to not waste ad spend, but it also serves them to your ideal audience.

Monitor Ad Progress

Always make it a cardinal rule to never ‘set it and forget it’. This phrase means that you never touch the ad the second you hit publish. As marketers, we know all too well that campaigns are often moving targets and require adjustments. Maybe your copy or imagery just isn’t hitting home, or the target audience you’ve set up in your ad set is too broad. Check in with your ads a few times a day to see what you can do to maximize performance

*Pro-Tip: If you are going to make what Facebook deems as a major change (imagery, copy and/or audience placement), be sure that there is enough time for reviewal from Facebook’s team. This can sometimes take up to 24 hours, so make sure that there’s enough time left in your campaign to allow for changes to be pushed through.

Be Aware of Your Audience’s Sales Funnel Journey

Last but not least, always be cognizant of what stage your audience is at within the sales funnel, and tailor your ad copy and creative accordingly. Are you advertising to a completely cold audience? Try shaping your ads around the pain points that your products or services can alleviate. Are you serving ads to a retargeted warm audience from your website? Craft your messaging around a limited time offer or specific details about your products or services.

Whether you’re more left-brained and love being immersed in a sea of data, or you’re the creative-type that enjoys testing the boundaries of aesthetics and tone, Facebook Ads are a fun exercise in applying your skills for the benefit of your clients. Now, more than ever, leads are so important to foster and build relationships around. As marketers, we can bristle at the fact that the legwork that we’ve put in is helping both your clients and their potential customers. It’s amazing when creativity meets analysis and adding Facebook Ads to your lead generation mix only makes being a marketer just that much more satisfying!