A Guide to Facebook & Instagram Advertising During COVID-19 Pandemic

This pandemic has everyone in a tight grip, and the outbreak has had a considerable impact on daily business and consumer behavior. These are times when small business owners and advertisers need to find opportunities to help them build personalized relationships, in spite of this pandemic wreaking havoc. We present a guide to advertising during COVID-19 pandemic.

Unprecedented times call for an adjustment to the way you do your online advertising. That’s why today, we’ve compiled a 6-point guide to help you continue with your Facebook and Instagram advertising during COVID-19 pandemic.

How to Keep Advertising During COVID-19 Pandemic

The world may be going through a crisis, but that doesn’t mean life stops all together. We need to keep going, and we need to find new and practical ways to cater to our market no matter the circumstances.

That’s why we’ve got a Facebook and Instagram advertising during COVID-19 Pandemic guide just for you.

#1 Building brand awareness with the online audience

More consumers are opting to stay at home. That means we are likely to see more consumers browsing online to pass the time. There has been a 20% week over week increase in internet traffic. That means more impressions, and definitely more shifts in the competition. Your CPM is likely to decrease, but it presents a great opportunity to capture more reach from your budgets on Instagram and Facebook.

You’re really lucky if you were able to plan out your ads in advance, because now is the perfect time for people to look for content to consume. That means content should revolve around the value of your services or products. Talk about how it benefits your target audience whenever they’re ready to purchase, or when they plan to do so in the future.

Make sure you continue engaging with your audiences with the latest news pertaining to your business. Highlight how they help during these times. Try out some business activities like:

• Writing positive online reviews.
• Shopping via phone and/or online.
• Buying gift cards.
• Online shopping during promotional sales.
• Doing curbside pickup or ordering with deliveries.

#2 Extend high-performing ads and stay consistent

There was a recent warning from Facebook to advertisers. Because of the recent staffing changes, there would be delays and errors as the reliance on automated systems increase in order to review new ads and commerce listings. What does that mean?

That means that when new ads are edited or submitted (like when you’re changing copy, images, headlines, audience targeting etc.), it will place the ad under a new review policy. Luckily, you can avoid disruption to your ad.

Facebook’s Director of Product Management, Rob Leathern, recommends that brands extend the delivery period of their best performing ads, because new campaigns will be subject to a new review:

Image Credit: Wordstream

#3 Build email marketing lists and find new leads

Service-based, online, and/or local-based businesses, are likely sending emails to keep audiences engaged and up to date through newsletters. If your business is slow or closed right now, this could also be a great time to shift strategies from promoting sales to collecting new leads and emails — while being ethical about PPC, of course.

Using a Facebook lead ad campaign, you get the opportunity to:

• Increase your leads and signups for email newsletter campaigns.
• Pique interest through content.
• Create an audience to remarket to in the future.

A few things to keep in mind too:

• Less is more when creating lead generation forms: Consumers opt out when you keep asking for more and more information from them. The best practice is to leave it at no more than two fields, like just your name and email address.
• Integrate with your CRM provider: In addition, set up your welcome newsletter to make sure you immediately follow up with them regarding content that’s related to your advertising campaign.

#4 Set your sights on remarketing

75% of shoppers will abandon a site without completing their purchases. Because internet browsing is at an all-time high right now, it’s a good time to focus on re-engaging with previous website visitors.

Image Credit: SEO.com

It’s time to bring them back to your site with an incentive. Maybe something like free shipping or special promos and price-drops.

Aside from website visitors, you can also drive new potential leads and sales by testing engagement custom audiences, which lets you target users who’ve engaged with your content across Instagram and Facebook.

This means jumping back in to revamping Facebook Ads and remarketing to those who have liked, commented on, shared, or interacted with your Instagram and Facebook business page, watched your videos, or viewed and filled out a lead form. 

Remember that the more relevant you are, the better engagement you’ll be able to see. And on that note, make sure you segment your audience as much as possible.

#5 Testing new audiences and ad creatives

While business for the rest of the world has slowed down or temporarily closed, now is the perfect time to conduct tests on a new ad creative to see if audiences engage better with a particular imagery or messaging. This is the perfect time to do it and gather information that will make your future campaigns more effective.

And when you’re testing new audiences, also consider creating a new ad set instead of updating an existing one. This way, you’ll better understand the true impact of a set. 

Test this new ad creative against an already high-performing ad, so you can compare results directly to an ad that you know performs great for your business, saving you time as you analyze results.

Only test out one element at a time to get a more accurate analysis. A couple of things you can try testing include:

• Ad copy: That includes CTAs and headlines.
• Audience targeting: Interest-based, demographic, or custom audiences.
• Ad creative: Your images and videos used in the ad.
• Landing pages: That includes the copy, design, and messaging.

#6 Try out Instagram and/or Facebook Live

If your local business is hurting more than ever before, try to think of ways to shift business strategies and offer your services or products a new platform to be seen or noticed. The answer is obvious in this case. It’s really a great idea to go online and get in touch with customers and prospects on Facebook and Instagram Live.

Image Credit: AutoMonkey

Live video connects with your audience directly and in a more genuine way. Plus, there’s also the fact that an effective video marketing strategy results in higher conversions. In fact, Instagram and Facebook Live videos actually receive 3x higher engagement than a pre-recorded video.

People nowadays will be seeking new opportunities to connect with more people face to face. Yes, it’s true that going live on social media isn’t direct contact, but it’s a current solution that offers interaction in real time, and it’s an online experience your audience might be craving.

Do a Q & A in real time, offer online check-ins, do at-home webinars, online demos, and more to keep your audiences up to date with your business’ latest ventures and what it has to offer.

In order to execute successful live events, make sure your broadcast is as clear and possesses high-resolution visuals. Do practice rounds beforehand, but don’t stress about it too much. After all, the point of a livestream is to provide a real and genuine reflection of your brand to your audiences.

So grab your phone, grab a camera, and start your streaming!

Don’t Fear Advertising During COVID-19 Pandemic

Every great digital marketing agency knows this…

There’s always a positive and empathetic angle no matter the circumstance. There are measures you can take to become creative in a world of social distancing. Use the opportunity to get creative, and explore new ways to expand your reach through Facebook and Instagram. Don’t be afraid to do advertising during COVID-19 pandemic.