How to Use Existing Video Content to Build Audiences

How to Use Existing Video Content to Build Audiences

If you’re even kiiiiinda in the avenue of marketing (which I’d bet you are, if you’re reading this blog post!), there’s no way you haven’t heard a zillion and one things about the power of video. Whether it’s on social media or on a business website, people love talking about video.

We do, too — and we’re big believers that video content can totally transform your Facebook ad strategy and build audiences.

Plus, we know that our clients have zero time to build out a bunch of extra videos on top of everything else (retweet, right?!). That’s why we place a huge emphasis on already existing video content… AKA, the videos you already have in your arsenal. 

So, have you been looking for a new way to level up your ad strategy… without a bunch of extra work? We’ve got you covered. Here’s how to use existing video content to build your audiences.

Here’s the key to using existing video content

Marketing your business often goes hand in hand with feeling like you need to catch up… always. Here’s the thing, though: you do not need to reinvent the wheel with every piece of marketing content you send out, and you certainly don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you build out a Facebook ad.

The key? Use what’s been well received. It’s that simple. For instance, say you hopped on IG stories recently to talk about something business-related and it sparked engagement! Save the story from your archive and use it as an ad. Say you recorded a video for a course or class a few months ago that seemed to really resonate with your audience. Save the video and use it as an ad. 

It’s that simple.

Video content = engagement ad content

When you build out your video content with content that people have already engaged with in the past, you’re setting the stage for what we like to call engagement audiences — which build warm audiences very quickly and very inexpensively. We use engagement ads constantly with our clients by utilizing their existing video content, because these can easily be edited and run with the ‘post engagement’ campaign objective to build ‘video view’ audiences for $0.01/post engagement.

Like, that’s basically free. (!!!) 

We’ve done it time and time again, and it’s been an excellent way to help our clients build their followings, create lookalike audiences, and spur engagements with their brands — it’s that easy. Now, it’s your turn!

So, if you’ve been looking for new, easy, and inexpensive ways to boost your engagement and ad strategy, there ya go! Existing video content is your secret, pals.

 

Top 4 FB Metrics To Pay Attention To

Top 4 FB Metrics To Pay Attention To

The key to a successful Facebook Ad campaign starts with tracking and analyzing results. The data in the Facebook Ad Manager lets you know what’s performing well and what isn’t. The information can be used to adjust ads and track the results of those adjustments. It also gives you ad-specific data to improve your overall Facebook marketing strategies.

Facebook ad metrics are pieces of data that convey the success of your ad campaigns based on the intention of the ad. Some of the key elements of a successful ad campaign are:

  • Desired Action – Is the ad doing whatever it is you’re asking it to do (get clicks, garner engagement, get conversions, etc.)?
  • Cost – Are costs acceptable?
  • Building your Brand – Is advertising overall helping to build your brand and engagement in a positive way?

There are many factors that determine ad campaign success but answers to these three questions are an excellent place to begin.

Perhaps you’re already familiar with your Facebook analytics in Ads Manager and you regularly track how your campaigns are doing. For some, the data in there can be overwhelming, particularly if you aren’t a marketer or you’re just getting started with ads. Let’s get you started and stick with it! I promise it will be worth it.

I’m going to break down some of the steps so you can use the data to improve your results. We’ll walk through the process of analyzing your Facebook ad performance using the analytics dashboard and a few important metrics. Let’s zero in on some key ad metrics in your Facebook Ads Manager that tell you how your campaign is doing.

HOW TO FIND YOUR DATA

If you’re just starting out, you’ll need to know how to get to your Facebook Ads Manager, which houses all the data:

  1. Sign into Facebook.
  2. Click the arrow at the top right of the screen and then click Manage Ads (you can also click here – you must be logged in to Facebook). 
  3. Click on your ad account.
  4. From here, you’ll see your current and previous campaigns and can click on any of them for more detailed information.

This area is what we’ll be using to find key metrics to analyze including link clicks, ad frequency, cost per action, and return on investment.

CLICKS

Clicks are one of the most straightforward forms of ad data and the most important Facebook ad metrics, even when not the main objective of your ad. How many times a click on your ad occurs is the most basic way to know that your ad prompted an action. The click confirms that action. I’m sure you’ve clicked on ads on Facebook. Here’s what happens next.

LINK CLICKS

When you click on an ad it takes you to a landing page where you are asked to take another action. It’s there that you’ll either take another prompted action – like sign up for an offer or make a purchase or register for something – because you’re interested in what you see. Or, you’ll click away and go back to what you were doing because the offer didn’t interest you enough, even though the original ad did.

Your ad link clicks can show you if your ad is interesting enough to make people click, which is critical for you to know. If your audience is not clicking over to the landing page, they never consume the message on that page. They won’t be signing up for an offer, making a purchase, or registering, etc. Link clicks tell you if the ad is effective enough to get them to go to the landing page in the first place.

CONVERSIONS

If they click over to your landing page but then don’t sign up, buy, register, etc., this tells you it may be the landing page (and not the ad itself) that needs adjusting. Link clicks with minimal conversions (purchases, sign-ups, etc.), reveal that something isn’t working with your landing page or offer itself, and the ad is not the likely issue.

Find your link clicks in Ads Manager. If you’ve chosen Traffic as your main objective when you created your campaign, clicks will automatically show. Alternatively, you can click on Columns (see screenshot below) and select “Performance and Clicks.” And if you REALLY want to see what’s what, click on Breakdown (right next to the Columns ) -> By Action -> Destination, to see the breakdown of where people clicked from your ad, like your page’s name or the URL associated with your ad (which will most likely be your landing page).

AD FREQUENCY

The frequency metric, ad frequency, shows how many times Facebook shows your ad to each person who sees it. Think about some of the ads you see on Facebook. You might see some only once or twice, while others come across your feed a few times a day.

Those that you see frequently might start to annoy you after a while. They might even cause you to click on the “Stop showing me this” option that Facebook offers.

Use your frequency score to improve your results. Retarget the Facebook audience that sees your ad to include new people instead of the same pool of Facebook users. Here’s more information on Facebook targeting and retargeting to help you out!

Find the frequency by clicking on Columns: Performance and Clicks. You want that number as low as possible. For my clients’ campaigns, I start itching when it’s above 3 views per person. There are some exceptions. However, higher frequencies run the risk of irritating people, so keep that in mind.

COST PER ACTION AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT

These two go hand-in-hand. They’re both related to how much you spend, obviously a crucial part of the ad process. Cost Per Action (CPA) refers to how much you spend per targeted action. For instance, it’s how much it costs you for someone to sign up for something or make a purchase. Return on Investment (ROI) is how much you make versus how much you spend. In Facebook Ads world, it’s called ROAS, or Return on Ad Spend.

Your CPA helps you know how well your ads, your landing pages, your targeting and your offer are working together in terms of getting prospects from your ad to your chosen action. 

Your ROAS depends on the type of conversions you’re looking for because sign-ups will obviously not bring you money immediately like a purchase will. But, if you’re getting hundreds of sign-ups from people who will become potential customers from spending $100 on one ad campaign, then that’s a pretty good return, amiright?

PUTTING THE METRICS TO WORK 

At face value, Facebook Ad metrics provide valuable data about the results of our ad campaigns. Their true potential is found when we take action after analyzing them.

Get familiar with the data for your ads by using the steps we’ve explored. Then adjust your current and future ads based on what you learn. This is the best way to use Facebook Ads to market your business over the long haul. Metrics help you fine-tune your Facebook Ads marketing strategy.

These steps offer an introduction to Facebook ad metrics and their value to an overall Facebook Ads marketing strategy. Using the data to improve your results over time is how you can really have an impact. Anything here shed some light on data to help your ad campaigns? I’d love to know.

 

Why Final Day Ads are so Important

A huge part of the work we do at our Facebook ads agency comes down to launch strategies. In fact, that’s our team’s FAVE part of this whole thing — especially when we get to help lead our clients with everything from launch prep all the way to reaching launch goals. 

Here’s the thing: the Facebook ads we run over here at System Envy are a massive part of the launch strategies that our clients use.

Because they work. 🙂

And, more importantly, we’re always on the move here to continually improve our clients’ launches — which is where the focus on final day ads have come into play!

Okay, so… lemme explain.

When our clients are running their launches and we’re prepping their ad strategies, we’re all putting a lot of thought into the customer journey, especially on Facebook. People are so bombarded with content and sales and things to remember each and every day, so we have to get really strategic about how they’re given ads for a launch.

Enter: human nature, and needing to understand it.

And humans forget — which means that most of us tend to get to the last day possible to do something we meant to do, only to… well, forget about it.

This is where last day ads come in, AKA busting through the noise of life and Facebook feeds and everything else to remind people that the product they were going to purchase/the course they wanted to join/the membership they wanted to sign up for is in its last and final day.

They’re magical.

This is why last day ads are an important part of all our ad strategies.

See, these final day ad campaigns are exactly what push people off of the fence and into a purchase at the last minute. They don’t have to be a big budget part of an ad campaign, either — they just need to be in the strategy, prepped and ready to go with messaging and graphics designed to encourage a purchase.

Plus, final day ad campaigns are what make all of your hard work worth it. A long launch comes alongside tons and tons of prep work in itself, from sales pages to product development and everything in between — and those final day reminders are often exactly what human psychology needs to make it all worthwhile.

So, here’s your challenge: in your next launch, implement one or two ads for the last day of your campaign, and watch your sales rise.

Promise.

My Office Tour

While these last couple of years have made WFH a huge part of pretty much everyone’s vocabulary, it’s not new for me! As an entrepreneur, I’ve been working from home for a looooong time… and I love it.

I especially love my home office. 

And, as someone who has worked from home for a long time, the space I work in is SO important to me — and I’ve really realized that the space I sit in each day is a huge determinant of the mental space and productive space that I sit in, too. I used my Business & Interior Design majors to cultivate a space I am obsessed with (and proud of), and wanted to show it off to you today!

Here’s a sneak peek inside of the System Envy HQ over at my home:

And here is the before and after! 

Plus, I have to say — the office wouldn’t be an office if I couldn’t actually, well, work from it. 

These are the WFH tips I swear by each and every day:

  • I get dressed every day: I drop my kids off at school, come straight home to make my bed and get ready, and then sit down at my desk. If I don’t do this, it’ll be 2 pm before I know it, and I’ll still be in my PJs.
  • I love a timer challenge: I’m a huge fan of the Focus Keeper app, which keeps me on task and productive. Plus, it helps me see how much time something is actually taking me, too.
  • I will allllways take breaks: I don’t ever want to get to the end of the day and realize I haven’t moved for 8 hours, so I’m super intentional about breaks. I’m a big fan of sitting in the sun, so I love to sit outside for 15-20 minutes if it’s sunny outside — and I also will use my Mirror for a 15-minute yoga session if I feel overwhelmed or like I’ve been staring at my screen for hours.
  • I’m pretty intentional about work hours: While I’ll sometimes need to check in later in the evening, I really try to end work at around 4 pm every day so I can pick up my kids from school and embrace the mama time while I still can!

There you have it — my favorite ways to spend my days in this cozy home office of mine, AKA one of my favorite places… ever. Now, I just need to figure out how I can have a home office in Rome, Mykonos, and the Bahamas.

Someone let me know if they’ve figured this out yet. 

Looking to shop? Check out the links below! 

 

What Copy Do I Need In Ads?

How important is ad copy? What details, angles and points should I include? What will compel people stop scrolling and take action?  These questions are so, so important for anyone thinking of creating a Facebook ad because copy is a huge component of how well an ad works. 

Q: How do I know what kind of copy my audience wants to see in my Facebook Ads?

A: Split-testing! (Okay, I know, this comes as no surprise!)

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Split-testing is one of the best things you can ever get into the habit of doing when you’re creating Facebook ad campaigns. The same holds true for testing your Facebook ad copy

The thing is, ad copy comes in all shapes, sizes, and creativity levels. There’s:

  • Short copy (perfect for getting the point across quickly and making people take action)
  • Long copy (I really only recommend this if the copy is more story-like or super engaging)
  • Stories (meaning, tell a story in your copy to lead your audience to the conclusion that they need what you have because it has worked for you or others)
  • Engaging, eye-catching copy (like those with a bunch of emojis or special fonts that help catch someone’s eye and stop the scroll)

Before you start split testing copy, first consider the audience. Do they have time to read something super long (or are they busy people, like surgeons, who have little to no time to read a long post)? Do they NEED something long (i.e. they need to feel like you understand them in order to take action)?

You’ll also want to consider your brand voice. Make sure that it sounds like you speaking directly to your audience. There are obvious ways of doing this, for example, “Hey Photographers!”, but there are also more subtle ways of doing this by speaking to their direct pain points, and narrating how you can overcome those setbacks with your guidance. It’s also handy to add your personal sayings. For example, some greetings you might typically open your marketing emails with “Hey Friends”, “Hi Gals”, etc. can work well in ads as well for brand cohesiveness.

Another tip is to lean in on the benefits. Facebook ads actually flag copy that is too directive with the use of the word “you”. If you’re often saying “you feel this”, “you should do this”, or “you need this” it can come off as singling your audience out. You want to express how you understand your audience, and how you can help them. Outlining the benefits and what is included in your offer in a bullet list helps people see the value at a glance!

Beyond those tips, start testing different versions and you can decide what content types might work the best and go from there. But split-testing can usually help you decide between two or more content types, especially when you literally have no idea what copy your audience might prefer.

What Creative Do You Need for a Launch?

When you’re prepping for a launch, a key part of the overall launch strategy is the ad strategy you’ll deploy.

(I mean, of course! Right?!)

And while there are many pieces to every launch ad strategy, one of the most important is the creative. So, what creative DO you need for a launch?

This, friends, is an excellent question to ask — and an important one. It’s one that I get all the time. After all, the creative (AKA, the copy, the images, the videos, and everything else) is what makes prospects stop and take note. In a very busy world, this is huge! Without your creative, your ads will be passed by. It prevents people from moving to the next step in your funnel.

However, here’s the thing about ad creative…

Ad creative — and what you need — is always going to differ depending on the type of ad campaign you’re running. This goes for a launch, too! Some launches are going to be webinar-style and some launches are going to be challenge-style, a lot of launches follow the simple process of webinar/challenge/freebie opt-in —> retarget to sale.

So, when you’re tailoring your ad creative for a launch, you first need to get really clear on what type of launch it is that you’re doing in the first place. We’re a big fan of asking the following questions:

  • What are the KPIs for your launch?
  • Who are you targeting for this launch? An existing, warm audience? A cold one? Something in between? Both?
  • What does your target audience want to see? What do they resonate with?
  • Do you want to focus on relationship-building engagement, or does this launch go more in line with a direct, straightforward sales approach?

Once you’ve gotten clear on that aspect of your launch, you can move forward with the right creative — and I’ll share our go-to creative launch formula (as well as some examples!) below.

 

 

 

 

What Creative Do You Need for a Launch?

Over here, we’re big testers — and so we continue to tweak and adjust during launches for all of our clients! However, our base formula — for a webinar-style launch — always follows the same cadence and map. Plus, this formula can be easily adjusted for any type of launch you’re running.

Here’s the kicker, though: since we’re big testers, we place a huge emphasis on creative testing, as well. We’d recommend that you try out 3 pieces, or versions, of creative for each step in the formula (images, videos, Reels, or gifs are always worth testing).

The creative formula we use for webinar-style launches:

  • Ad/creative #1: Invite!
  • Ad/creative #2: Reminder — “Your free class/challenge/etc. is happening today!
  • Ad/creative #3: Replay — ”Did you miss it? Catch the replay.”
  • Ad/creative #4: Cart open — “Enrollment/doors is/are open!” (this is one where you could test even more than 3 versions of creative)
  • Ad/creative #5: Mid-cart bonus (we typically do 2 versions here)
  • Ad/creative #6: Cart close — “Doors are closing/time is running out!” (for these, test at least 3 — and try out a testimonial version, too. They can be super powerful in this stage)
  • Ad/creative #7: Final day — ”LAST DAY to sign up/enroll!” (we usually shoot for 2 versions here)


It’s really that simple — we promise. In fact, this is why we love the creative strategy behind a Facebook ads launch SO MUCH… because there is so much room to play around, to test the waters, and to try new things. And mark my words – the more you do it, the more quickly you’ll be able to do it for each future launch. Bookmark this one for your next launch, ok?!