Canvas ads and their new simplified siblings – collections – are doing the rounds on Facebook these days, with marketers relishing the opportunity to play with Zuckerberg’s shiniest new toy. And while there’s no denying that these mini publications are impressive and visually rich, the question is, do they really work? It’s all very well to create a stunning showcase for your business, but what does it even mean if nobody is clicking on it?

Ultimately, every audience is different, and it’s important that you understand its dynamics before tossing those tried and tested tactics out the window. For instance, if your users are mostly desktop based (and unbelievably this remains the case for many), they’re basically going to be confronted with what literally equates to a blank canvas – an unclickable area of dead space that does little to further brand equity.

So, when do you venture into unchartered territory and when should you apply an ‘if it ain’t broke’ stance? Here are a few options to consider before diving down the Facebook rabbit hole:

How does your audience interact? 

Only mobile users are going to be able to access Canvases and Collections, so if your audience is mainly desktop based – think 9 to fivers who predominantly use their lunch time to browse the net – you might need to think twice before testing these new toys.

However, if your business objectives include driving product discovery on mobile, delivering a seamless browsing experience and converting demand into sales, then Canvases and Collections can work wonders when delivered to the right audience.

Where are your clicks coming from?

For any content strategy to be successful, it’s important to understand how users engage with your content. Are they more responsive to deeper, immersive content such as blogs or are they better triggered by targeted sales drives? While each element has its own role to play, differentiating between which element works hardest for your consumers is vital for any business.

What’s your objective?

Looking to showcase a brand-new offering or introduce a more complex campaign? Then canvas is going to serve you well. But if it’s pure sales you’re after, you’re likely to convert more effectively using tools like Carousels, which quickly drive both desktop and mobile users into the sales funnel by identifying key products and deals. If brand building is your aim, then a canvas or collection ad offers you a unique way to present your product or service, enabling you to insert impressive visual elements on a tight budget.

Experiment

It’s important to get to know your audience and to establish what makes them tick…and click. As such, it’s never a bad idea to sample the latest offerings, but it is important to constantly evaluate and re-group based on business results. Yes, it might get you brownie points from a client to show off your understanding of the latest and greatest technologies, but ultimately, it’s important to go with what works, based on your overarching goals and objectives.

While it may seem like a waste of hard-earned production budget to dedicate time to creating content that’s only visible for 24 hours, there are in fact plenty of good reasons to adapt to this more transient form of storytelling.

And with new and exciting features becoming available daily, there are now countless ways to up the ante without breaking the bank. From sound effects to click-through links, there are plenty of simple ways to upgrade your Stories and use them to achieve your business objectives.

Here are a few of our favourite hacks to get you started:

Colour overlays

Sometimes you just want to say something in a Story that needs more focus on the text than on an actual image. A solid colour background will allow your text to really pop, and also works well for breaking up your story or introducing what is to follow. To make your entire screen one solid colour, simply select any picture from your recent batch, select the pen icon, pick the colour and hold your finger down on the screen. Now you can add text as you usually would, or use the eraser tool to selectively reveal certain parts of your original image or video.

Drop shadow effect  

If you’re looking to add some flair to your Story text,  Drop Shadow is your friend. Start by tapping the “Aa” icon and write your message as per usual.  Tap the “Aa” icon again and write out the exact same copy using a different colour.  Then simply arrange the top layer of text so that it’s slightly off-centre from the bottom layer of text and boom, you’ve taken your Story to the next level!

Pinning

Want to add a sticker or text to a certain part of your Instagram Stories video and have it either move along with the object, or appear on the screen where relevant? You can. All you need to do is pin the text or sticker by long-pressing it to open up the “Pin” option. Here’s how:

Animated text and different fonts

Noticed how some stories have animated text appearing on screen? Well, this isn’t something churned out by some overpriced in agency. In fact, it’s only a click away. Simply download the Hype Type app , and you’ll be able to choose from a selection of beautiful fonts and make your captions really pop in your Stories.

Here’s an example by SharonTutorials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0jC13NWw0k

Add some beats

An Instagram Stories video can be so much more impactful with some music added, so why not add some beats the next time you post?  You can either play music natively from your device – from whichever streaming service you prefer, or from your own library – or add music to an older image or video using the Hype Type app.

Note: You may have to purchase the Hype Type app to unlock more features but the basics are available on the free version.

Hacking the 24 hour rule

Although Instagram Stories are meant for sharing recent content, there are times when you want to build your Story using content that’s aged by more than a day. If you already have the Hype Type app, it automatically allows you to add older images to your Story. Alternatively, you can WhatsApp the pic to someone to renew the timestamp, take a screen shot of the pic to bypass the time restriction, or download the Later app, which is specifically intended for this purpose.  The free media library will allow you to upload, store, and manage all of your visual content.

“Swipe up”

If you’re a verified account or have more than 10k followers on Instagram, you’re eligible to link your Stories to a webpage, which is a great way to drive traffic and sales! You’ll automatically have a paper clip icon added to the top of your list of options – simply click this link button which will take you to a page where you can enter or paste the URL that you want to link to.  The link button (Swipe Up) isn’t very obvious so don’t forget to add a strong call to action by way of copy on the pic you’re loading on Stories. This will help to inform your followers that they can buy or learn more by doing so.

Long gone are the days when the big blue ‘Boost’ button was the only option available – don’t they seem like such innocent times? And thanks to Facebook’s insistence on offering more and more excuses for marketers to pay up, clients have in turn become more demanding in their asks, no longer willing to settle for ’15 likes and 42 responses’ as an acceptable metric.

So with expectations at an all-time high and options aplenty, how does one go about picking the right approach for one’s content? Is there even a sure-fire route to success, or is experimentation the key to generating results?

The thing is, every audience is different, and to really achieve optimal impact, it’s vital that you get to know your consumer base, massaging information out of them using a variety of diverse tactics, designed to elicit workable intel that in turn informs your strategy. But having said that, you’ve gotta start somewhere right?

Here’s a quick checklist to work through before getting your next Facebook advertising campaign going:

Awareness/Reach

These might seem like the same thing, but there are subtle differences to be found in these confusingly similar objectives.

The awareness objective is the one to go for when you’re looking to increase awareness of your brand or product and don’t necessarily need people to engage with your content. This objective will help you to reach those who are likely to pay attention to your ad.

The reach objective, while seeming quite similar, will simply help you reach as many people within your target audience as your budget allows. Whereas the awareness objective targets users likely to engage long enough to actually recall your message, reach simply goes after volume. So while you may get more eyes on your carefully crafted content, it doesn’t necessarily mean that anyone is paying attention.

Sales

Let’s be honest, money talks, and if we aren’t aiming to get a bit of ROI then really, what’s the point. If your brand hosts an e-tail website, it would be in your best interest to direct your consumers to it as often as possible.

If your goal is to direct users away from Facebook and to your website, you’re looking at traffic as your main objective. This could be to read a blog article, listen to a podcast or simply visit your website. Facebook will display your ad to those who are most likely to click through to your website based on their regular behaviour. However, if you’d like people to do more than just visit your website, but also make a purchase or subscribe to your newsletter, and track whether they actually performed that action (i.e. whether they ultimately landed on a ‘thank you’ page) you should select the conversions objective.

When setting up your ad for conversions, your advert will be geared toward reaching users who are likely to follow your calls to action to completion based on their past behaviours. This could be to opt-in, register or make an online purchase.

Remember, in order to set up a conversion campaign, you’ll need to install a Facebook pixel on your site’s back-end. This will allow you to keep tabs on the people clicking through from your ad, and enable you to see whether they’re following through on your intended action.

But you can already track this in Google Analytics, right? Wrong. While good old Google does give you insight into those users who follow the entire purchase funnel in one fell swoop, it does precious little to identify the users who casually clicked on your ad only to return later to actually complete the transaction.

Leads

The lead generation objective is the ideal one to use when looking to source leads without directing users to another website. Facebook Lead Generation Ads allow you to capture important customer data, like names, contact info and gender. It even auto-populates these details where the information is available, making it easier for users to complete these forms. This is most useful when looking to beef up your eCRM mailing list or gather more information about your customers to create more personalised and segmented campaigns.

Video Views

Ah, now this is a tricky one. When it comes to sharing video content, it’s safe to assume that most of your customers have the attention span of a gnat. So while Facebook has designed this objective to get as many users within your audience to watch your videos (or at least the first three seconds of them), chances are that if you’ve shelled out a few million bucks on a well-crafted TV ad, you’re probably after a bit more commitment than that.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the video views objective is the only selection you can make when loading a video – consider splitting objectives between reach, engagements and views, running two separate ad sets to see which is most effective.

At times, Facebook advertising may feel like a bit of a guessing game, but you can refine your skill over time by experimenting and testing new things. What’s important is that you track your results and make changes when needed.

Split testing your objectives can be a very effective way of identifying what works and what doesn’t, presenting you with comparative data and enabling you to make better advertising decisions next time around.

You see, while the digital space is filled with great ads, shoppers have developed thicker skins over the years, tightening their fists and demanding even more from even their most beloved brands. A poorly designed print ad may have yielded great results in years gone by, but today’s consumers have grown a lot savvier and now, so must we. Curses.

These days, our customers want to feel thought of, loved even, and they expect brands to serve them a hot plate of tailored inspiration on the regular. Needy much? I mean, just give us your money and go! But alas, these guys are not as easily wooed, so let the wining and dining begin…

Here are a few things to keep in mind when building your brand on social media:

1. Create a strategy

It might seem like an obvious pointer, but you’d be amazed how many brands change their minds based on the latest, shiniest social media trick they just saw in their feeds. And while there is undoubtedly need for agility in the digital realm, staying on point is one of the greatest things that you can do for your brand. Instead of posting just for the sake of it (or because someone else just did it), be sure that every message you post on social media ties back to your main objectives.

2. Identify you audience

Different strokes for different folks. While you’d probably be happy to grab money from whatever source it eminates, social media doesn’t play that way. So it’s vital that you adjust your offering constantly based on what your audience is telling you. If your boring, generic sales posts aren’t performing as well as your more engaging offerings, switch things up. Give the people what they want, and they will do so in return.

3. Use your voice

Many brands fail in the area of voice and tonality. Instead of using social media to give their brand a personality, businesses use generic sales-pitchy captions that merely state the obvious (if even that). Use your social media to bring your brand to life. Your audience loves to know that there are actual humans working behind the scenes, adding real flavour to their feeds.

4. Measure what matters

Different campaigns have different objectives, so it’s important that you’re looking at the metrics that talk to your goals. If you’re looking to boost brand awareness, shares and friend tags may be an adequate barometer of success, but if your client’s coffers are emptier than the Cape’s dams, they’re likely to be less wowed by your ability to rally up non-paying followers.

5. Don’t overdo it

Have you ever been stuck on an aeroplane seated next to someone who just will not shut up? Don’t be that guy. While supposed experts might have you believing that more is always merrier, when it comes to social media, subtlety is a wildly underrated tool. So while you shouldn’t be afraid to make your voice heard, remember that people will take you more seriously if you only speak when you have something to say.

You know them well. You see them sharing their weekly “OMG thank you!” posts, humbly bragging about the R5000 worth of cosmetics that they just scored for free. You look at their timelines wondering why they’re off to Italy again, and more importantly, who is footing the bill.

So you gaze down at your own meagre Instagram following and wonder why you didn’t pay it more attention. Sure, your brand accounts are sitting comfortably in the thousands, but you? You’ve just got your mom and your aunt Kathy (bless her and her unwavering likes).

Then you think, why not gift them a pair of your latest sneakers in exchange for a post. Surely that’s all there is to it, right? But alas, they want money too. What? Who do they think they are? And more importantly, how do we get in on this action?

But before we decide to boycott all influencers, sadly we must realise that their participation in brand campaigns could be of valuable use. And as charming as these personalities may be, we can’t overlook the fact that these social media aficionados (oh how it hurts to say it) really do have a knack for grasping the attention of those who are far too eagerly scrolling through their Insta feeds.

It’s the new generation of word-of-mouth, and if you’re looking to boost your bottom line without coming across as a sales-pushing lunatic, you may want to suck it up for the greater good.

But before you go in eyes wide shut, take a look at our top tips to avoid making some rather embarrassing mistakes. Here they are:

1. Set goals

Often, marketing managers are too busy bending to the unbearable will of these diva-like influencers that simply getting them to cooperate at all seems to be the big win. But no, just as you would do when setting up any other campaign, you need to establish a list of clear KPIs to determine its success. @hotgirl100 simply mentioning your brand on her timeline doesn’t cut it – we’re after mentions, shares, engagement, growth within your own community and, well, ROI.

2. Do your research

Before embarking on a grand campaign, be sure to research your influencer. They may dazzle you with their 100K+ following, but if they tend to go rogue and misbehave in public, it may be something you’d like to know before decking them out in your latest kit. Remember that your brand will be associated with this influencer during and beyond your campaign, so choose one who genuinely shares your brand values and you’re good to go.

3. Know their audience

Their large follower numbers may be impressive, but if those followers have no interest in your brand or product, you’re simply wasting your time. Different influencers attract different people, so make sure that yours draws in a crowd that falls within your target market.

4. Look beyond the followers figure

Sure, the number of followers an influencer has can give you a good idea of their position, but keep in mind that there are many dodgy ways to build a large and meaningless empire on social media these days. You are well within your rights to request a few stats on engagement rates and shares to assess the activity of both the influencer and their community.

5. Establish exclusivity

Whether you’re looking to form a long-term relationship or just partnering up for a campaign, it’s important to set up some ground rules, and establishing exclusivity is a great place to start. This should restrict your influencer from showcasing your competitor brands’ products for a defined period. Because, pick a team dammit. On the bright side, this type of agreement is mutually beneficial, because it prevents them from endorsing your competitors and revealing to their audience that they’re too easily swayed by money and freebies.

Thanks to the exorbitant costs charged by photographers, stylists and (ahem!) influencers to create new and original content, stock image libraries are regularly frequented by desperate social media marketers in an attempt to add some pizzazz to their posts. The only problem of course, is that we’re all barking up the same tree.

Much like turning up to a party in the same outfit as your sworn nemesis, using duplicate stock imagery can be both embarrassing and damaging to your brand, exposing you as inauthentic and willing to cut corners.

And while there are definite cost saving benefits to using stock imagery in the digital space, the truth is they can be spotted a mile away, their overly shiny, catalogue-ready subjects all too recognisable thanks to their toothy grins and mysteriously shadow-free environments.

So what’s a brand on a budget to do? Here are a few key dos and don’ts to get you started:

Don’t: Post for the sake of it

 Ever heard the saying “less is more”? Well it’s actually a thing, and one that is best put into practice when it comes to your social media planning. Instead of posting useless stock images, rather reduce your posting schedule to allow for fewer, more impactful posts.

Do: Up your photo budget

It may be time to grab the finance guy an extra doughnut to go with his coffee because let’s just be honest, stock photos are really just awful. In fact, eye-tracking studies have shown that consumers spend 10% more time looking at original images and their accompanying text. In contrast, most completely ignore stock photos. You do the maths.

[Source: NNC Group]

Don’t: Forget the demographics of your audience

Far too often social media managers seem to forget that most stock photo images are taken a lot further up north. Their lily-white subjects sit wildly at odds with the reality of a country like South Africa with cultural diversity all but overlooked in the endless catalogues of shiny meals, overly smiley days out and homogenous family gatherings. Remember to use images that your audience can actually relate to, or you may have a PR crisis on your hands. 

Do: Involve your community in creating imagery

User generated content is so not overrated. By engaging your audience, you can gain access to an endless supply of authentic and original images without having to lift a finger! Reward your followers with spot prizes and features on your page. A simple promise of 5 second InstaFame and that’s it – job done. Besides, they’ll love you for it.

Don’t: Forget that most people won’t read your post copy anyway

We all love a cleverly worded caption, but if your pictures fail to draw your users in, you’re done for. Remember that imagery is the gateway to deeper content, and if you’re not able to catch your reader’s eye, your story will be over before it even begins.

Well, the good news is that there’s no need to start picking favourites just yet. With a few simple organisational tricks, you can still hit the mark and give each of your clients exactly what you promised.

Here’s our guide to managing the madness:

Set up your workflow

When it comes to juggling a hundred and one projects, it’s quite easy to slip up from time to time (not to mention the old brain ain’t what it once was). Using a workflow management tool like Trello will help you to visualise all of your upcoming tasks, and allocate time for each one.

By arranging your tasks using a series of cards, which can then be moved across a board with a swipe of your cursor, you’ll be able to prioritise your workload, and ensure focus. Once done, you get to partake in the always-awesome-but-not-quite-sure-why task of ticking said item off your to-do list by whipping it enthusiastically into the ‘Done’ column.

Organise your artwork

We’ve all felt the panic of needing to publish an urgent post, but the artwork is nowhere to be found. You know exactly which image you need – the colours, the dimensions, the call-to-action – but when it comes to locating the cursed thing – nada.

Creating folders by brand and campaign will really help you to stay on top of your game. Be sure to cleverly store all of your artwork as soon as you receive it from your design team – that way you’ll know exactly where to find them when it’s time for your campaign to go live, allowing you to avoid that all-too-familiar last minute scramble.

Create evergreen content

Social media managers are expected to produce a continuous flow of original content, and that’s perfectly fine when there are a number of exciting campaigns on the horizon. But what happens when there isn’t all that much to scream about?

Instead of thumb sucking mediocre content in the final hour, rather look at creating content that is not time sensitive or campaign based. That way you’ll always have a stash of worthy and re-usable content to fall back on – a real life-saver when you’re in a pinch.

Use scheduling tools

Setting aside time to schedule a bunch of posts may not seem like the best use of billable hours, but dedicating an hour or two to getting ahead can save you plenty of anguish down the line.

Aim to schedule your posts at least two weeks in advance to ensure that each of your brands have a steady flow of rich content lined up. That way, when you forget (because you WILL at some point) to post thanks to the flurry of notifications darting across your screen, you’ve covered your own back.

At the end of the day every buck adds up, and as a marketing manager, it’s up to you to ensure that you are spending them wisely. To avoid tossing your budget straight down the toilet, be sure to dodge these common rookie errors when setting up your next Facebook campaign.

Here you go:

1. Lame imagery

Always make sure that the images you use are showing off your brand and products in the best possible way. Your images should reinforce your message and inspire your audience to find out more. We already know that posts with images perform much better than those without, but so does everyone else. It’s up to you to catch the attention of your customers as they scroll through their already packed news feeds.

2. Stop trying to be too cool for school

Facebook is well known for its ability to spring surprises on unsuspecting social managers – oh look, canvas ads! But didn’t we just come to terms with the art of the carousel? Naturally, it’s tempting to jump on the proverbial bandwagon and ensure your page is bang on trend, but just because the cool kids are doing it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily effective. Remember, your audience is also just trying to keep up with Facebook’s trickery, meaning that new-fangled ad formats often struggle early on to get the traction that their more familiar counterparts are able to garner. So keep an eye on those results, and make sure you’re using your ads for the right reasons.

3. No Call-To-Action

The easiest way to see that hard-earned money go to waste is to place ads without adding a relevant call-to-action. So you’ve got their attention – now what? Sadly, businesses cannot pay their bills with comments and likes, even if they do tally in the thousands. Remember to always use your ads to encourage sales and sign ups.

4. Broad targeting

We all hope to see a hefty figure when pulling up our reach and impression stats, but if you’re targeting decadent cake ads to the elite fitness community, chances are you’re not going to see much in the way of ROI. To boost sales and grow a relevant following, make sure you’re targeting those who’ll take an interest in your product, your brand and its values.

5. Boring landing pages

There’s nothing more disappointing to a customer than to click on a great ad and be directed to a sub-standard landing page. It’s like being invited to a lush event, only to be handed a cold and limp savoury snack upon your arrival. Getting your customers to your site is only half the job. Make sure your webpage is one worth landing on

6. No product availability

Far too often, social media managers set up their campaigns with pre-set start and end dates before riding off into the sunset, with no intention of giving them another glance until they reach completion. Don’t be that guy. Unless you want to leave your customers with a bitter taste in their mouths, we suggest that you hang about and keep a close eye on your stock levels. Once the product runs out, turn off the advert and re-allocate your remaining budget. There’s simply no use in creating a demand when your business can no longer offer up the goods.

Far too many agencies find it easy wave their clients’ flags, hiding behind the names and reputations of those who are listed on their beloved retainer list. But wouldn’t it be great to introduce your company, knowing that its name carries its own weight? Yep. It’s time for you to start batting for your own team.

Sure, pushing your services may not seem like an all too thrilling task from the outset, and you may find yourself gasping for air as those non-billable hours begin to stack up, but maybe you should look at those hours more as an investment than as money thrown at a non-profit side project.

While devoting a day to uplifting your own business may seem like a luxury you can’t afford, if you look at the bigger picture, you’ll see why treating your own brand like an actual client can save you time and ultimately boost your bottom line. Here’s why:

1. Expertise count for more than clients

While it may seem pretty cool to be able to throw about some well known brand names, it’ll never come close to actually showing people what you’ve got. After all, without clear evidence of your capabilities, people are more likely to assume that you’ve cosied your way up to the big boss in a less than ethical fashion, or that the marketing manager is your second cousin once removed. Let your expertise speak for you, and you’ll never have to run your mouth again.

2. Build your own brand

Sure, building other brands may be what brings the money in each month, but without establishing your own brand you’re only in it for short-term success. By committing time to developing your own brand and business, you can put your best work on full display and be recognised for your mad skills. Why wait to be asked what you can do? By demonstrating your expertise in your own way, you can hop off your clients’ backs and stand on your own credentials.

3. Bring in more business

Striving to be the best in your field only really counts if people know who you are. When you dedicate time and effort to building your brand, you are able to make the introduction and put your best foot forward. Using your own channels to demonstrate your skills and creative flair is the simplest way to show new businesses what you’re capable of – so why waste the opportunity to be discovered?

Sure, being free from the binds of ‘office hours’ and working from the comfort of  freshly pressed sheets may be perks that many covet from their cubicles, but while they’re safely guarded by a company-wide ban on social media, they’re also blissfully unaware of the madness that prevails on these platforms.

Yep, the crazy is strong on the social front. Turns out, it’s a land populated with ardent psychopaths, loathesome trolls and a great deal of people who appear to have very little to occupy their time. If the world is losing the war on stupid, social media is the frontline on which the battle is being waged.

From competition-holics (the VERY worst) to serial complainers, wannabe influencers to know-it-alls, every kind of mental disorder is well represented and on full display out on the social battlefield, and it’s up to community managers to navigate these charming personalities without causing any type of unnecessary PR fall-out.

A challenging task indeed, but one that certainly keeps life interesting.

Here are a few of our favourite social media ‘personalities’, whose incorrigible psychosis is to thank for our ongoing employment. So here’s to you, you raging lunatics. We secretly love you.

1. The abusive complainer

While your frequent and most dramatic use of expletives is nothing short of astounding, you won’t be getting any form of resolution here. If you’re going to be an asshole, nobody is going to help you. Not us, not the customer service team, not anyone. Ever.

2. The Specialist

Don’t you just love it when random strays suddenly feel that they’re eligible to assess the latest technological breakthrough in product development? We’re sure your degree in fine art more than qualifies you to comment on the latest chocolate conching methods. Take a seat.

3. The model

Curse the person who came up with the term ‘influencer’. So you’ve built an army of 500 Instagram followers and reckon you’re ready to make your big break. Power to those who aspire to be more – but for now, you cannot sit with us. Do not slide into our DMs, and do not send nudes. We’re serious.

4. The freebie seeker

We know you love the brand, and we do too. We’ve batted our lashes many a time, and what do we have to show for it? Nothing. You see, these items are not simply picked off trees and lovingly packaged without any cost. Materials need to be purchased, and people need to be paid (you know, people like us). So no, you get nothing.

5. The cheapskate

Premium comes at a price, buddy. You see those trainers that just dropped? Yeah, it actually took time, effort and research to make them. Shocking, we know. If you’d rather purchase something cheaper, that is entirely your prerogative. Enjoy that 10km run in your knock-off trainers, but when your ankles give in – and trust us, they will – we’ll see how much your feet are really worth.

6. The photographer

These guys are our best. So your phone upgrade has finally come around and you’ve kitted yourself out with latest smartphone, featuring a fancy camera – nice! However, did it not occur to you that the pictures we are currently posting daily must have been captured by something? Like, suppose, a camera? Hard pass. But thanks for playing.

Oh. Solutions, you ask? There are none. Just keeping sipping on strong coffee (or tequila), keep a stash of treats nearby, and take many screenshots so that you can laugh at them with your colleagues later. Good luck comrades, the struggle is real!