Many businesses and organisation use Facebook Advertising as a channel to grow. It can be a highly effective, low cost way to connect with your your targetaudience, and with a new change ahead, this great tool is about to improve the way your Ad is seen.
The key change I want to focus on in this article is to the newsfeed description text (this is the text you see under the large headline). Essentially, when you include a link in an Ad you have the option to add a description (this is separate from the headline).
Previously, everyone got to see this piece of text in your ad. Now, when this Ad appears in the News Feed it will now show ONLY to those more likely to take the action you want, whether it’s purchasing a product or filling out a lead form.
Why is Facebook doing this?
Because they are on a mission to make the delivery of content (paid and organic) more relevant to its users. So hopefully it will make marketers (and publishers generally) be more strategic in the content they produce.
What does it mean for users?
To be honest, they are not likely to see the change at all. And the description is only going to be shown to those most likely to engage with the ad anyway. But it does mean that the headline text is all the more important.
Will it improve the performance of your Ad?
At the moment it’s hard to tell. But, any change that improves the experience for Facebook users is a good thing.
Just as an example, some people are more likely to take an action, such as making a purchase, when they see the price of an item directly in an ad. Others are more likely to make a purchase when they see the price only after interacting with an ad. Facebook will decide whether or not to show your description based on what we think will most impact each person and cause them to take a meaningful action.
It’s an even more tailored way to get your product in front of the right audience.
What’s the catch?
It won’t always be seen by your target audience, that is the nature of the social media beast. So be strict with what you put in the description. It’s best to keep it as non-essential information (to your brand) and put that essential information in the headline of your Ad. What’s the headline we hear you say? This text (up to 25 characters) below the image or next to the image is larger and more obvious than the other text sections, and clearly describes the most important piece of information to users.
Don’t forget though that non-essential isn’t always non-useful, think of it is an additional way to connect with those you want to serve.