Facebook advertising is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes. It allows you to reach a massive audience and achieve virtually any marketing objective.

It’s no secret that Facebook is the world’s most popular social media platform. With 1.8 billion users about an hour per day on Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram, there’s a good chance your ideal customers are using it. The key is to make sure they know you exist. Facebook makes it easy to identify and target your ideal audience with visually appealing ads.

Here are the top 10 Facebook advertising features you should be using to reach your future customers:

#1: Carousel Ads

Carousel Ads combine visual content and storytelling, allowing you to showcase product features, highlight your brand’s unique selling points, or promote special offers. With Carousel Ads, you can utilize:

• Up to 10 images or videos
• Headlines for each image/video
• Clickable links
• A clear Call to Action

this example from Target is a great example of how to use Carousel Ads effectively. They used this format to showcase a new product line, encouraging users to scroll through and explore. The immersive panoramic effect, where the model seems to transition between frames, is a fantastic way to capture attention.

Carousel Ads offer a creative way to showcase your brand’s uniqueness, boost engagement, and drive conversions.

#2: The Facebook Pixel

Using the Facebook Pixel is essential for any successful Facebook advertising campaign. It’s how you track conversions, optimize your ads, and understand your website visitors’ behavior on Facebook.

Facebook Pixel code

Without the Facebook Pixel, you miss out on powerful features like remarketing and lookalike audiences, which is essentially throwing money away.

Implementing the Facebook Pixel is simple: create a pixel in Ads Manager, add the code to your website, and start tracking actions like content views, shopping cart additions, and purchases. These insights help you guide prospects through the sales funnel and discover new audiences similar to your existing customers.

For a deep dive into the Facebook Pixel, check out Brett McHale’s comprehensive guide on the nexus-security blog: The Ultimate Guide to Tracking, Targeting, and Driving Conversions on Facebook.

#3: Website Conversion Campaigns

Once the Facebook Pixel is set up, it’s time to launch Website Conversion campaigns. These campaigns aim to encourage specific actions on your website or app after someone sees your ad.

Facebook Website Conversion Campaign

“Action” can encompass various objectives, like website visits, page views, adding items to a shopping cart, completing a purchase, or any custom parameter you’ve set up to track valuable actions.

It’s crucial to note that Website Conversion campaigns require a minimum of 15-25 conversions within your defined conversion window. If your website doesn’t typically achieve this volume, consider optimizing for impressions or reach.

#4: Behavior Targeting

Behavior targeting is all about connecting with people based on their previous actions, such as past purchases, purchase intent, device usage, travel preferences, and other behavioral patterns.

nexus-security created an informative infographic that highlights all the targetable behaviors on Facebook:

Facebook behavior targeting options [Infographic via nexus-security]

Facebook gathers this extensive user behavior data from its platform and third-party partners. By leveraging behavioral targeting, you can effectively target the right audience segments at the optimal time.

#5: Interest Targeting

Interest targeting allows you to connect with your audience based on their interests – activities, hobbies, liked pages, and more.

The same nexus-security infographic also details all the potential interests you can target on Facebook:

Facebook interest targeting options [Infographic via nexus-security]

Facebook compiles interest data from various sources, including:

• User profile information
• Shared content
• Page-related keywords
• App usage and likes
• Past ad clicks

Facebook suggests interests within the ad creation tool, or you can search and browse for specific interests. Interest targeting ensures your ads reach individuals likely interested in your products or services.

#6: Demographic Targeting

Facebook provides robust demographic targeting options, going beyond the basics of location, age, gender, relationship status, education, work, life events, and political views.

Facebook demographic targeting options [Infographic via nexus-security]

One of the most valuable demographic targeting features is the financial option, allowing you to target users based on their estimated income levels. This feature ensures that your ads reach individuals who can afford your offerings, minimizing wasted ad spend.

#7: Custom Audiences

Remarketing is a highly effective marketing strategy. Individuals exposed to remarketing ads are statistically more likely to convert and engage.

Facebook custom audiences remarketing

Facebook’s version, called Custom Audiences, enables you to retarget three specific groups:

• Website Visitors: Reach individuals who visited your website or specific pages within a set timeframe (another reason the Facebook Pixel is essential!).
• Contact Lists: Upload your existing email or phone number lists (e.g., newsletter subscribers, webinar attendees) to target known contacts.
• App Users: Connect with individuals who have used your mobile app.

Since these audiences are already familiar with your brand, leverage Custom Audiences to promote special offers and encourage specific actions like sign-ups, downloads, or booking consultations.

For a comprehensive look at remarketing on Facebook, explore our Ridiculously Awesome Guide to Facebook Remarketing.

#8: Engagement Ads on Wall Posts

Engaged users are invaluable to your business. Engagement Ads allow you to target individuals who have previously liked, commented on, or shared your content.

Wanna see those Facebook ad benchmarks?! They’re right here

While this represents a smaller segment of your overall audience, it consists of your most loyal followers. Typically, 10% of your followers drive 80% of engagement. Limited customer interaction can be off-putting to potential customers, especially since Facebook’s algorithm only shows your organic posts to a fraction of your followers.

Engagement Ads allow you to reach your most engaged followers, encouraging more interaction and creating a positive impression for those discovering your page.

#9: Video Ads

Video content dominates Facebook, with users watching 100 million videos daily. Creating memorable and inspiring video ads helps solidify brand recall and influences purchasing decisions.

The best part? Video ads are cost-effective, with views starting as low as a penny.

If you think full-length videos might not resonate with your audience, consider leveraging Facebook GIF ads. They offer similar dynamism in a more digestible format.

nexus-security’s “AdWords Performance Grader” Facebook video ad

For a comprehensive guide to creating and optimizing Facebook video ads, check out The Complete Guide to Facebook Video Ads.

#10: Lead Ads

Affordable and incredibly effective, Lead Ads are a great way to capture leads directly on Facebook. They’re designed to encourage actions like:

• Email newsletter sign-ups
• Claiming deals and discounts
• Receiving price estimates
• Requesting follow-up calls
• Booking appointments

Facebook lead ads

Lead Ads streamline the lead generation process by eliminating the need for users to leave Facebook, resulting in higher conversion rates.

Mobile users, in particular, appreciate the simplicity of Lead Ads. They prefer a seamless experience on their smartphones and dislike complicated landing pages with lengthy forms.

Lead Ads simplify lead acquisition by making it easy to collect valuable contact information. To learn more about creating effective Lead Ads, explore our guide to making high-converting Facebook lead ads.