I can see your Facebook ads

Hi there Facebook Page admins, did you know that Facebook recently turned on a bunch of things that mean transparency for your page?

For example, I can see when your page was created. And then when your admissions page was created.

I can also see the ads that are running. The University in my backyard is currently running three ads. One for fundraising, and two that are admissions related.

UMass Amherst is running 310 ads. They are video ads, and they are probably really focussed. I’d copy them if I was running a higher education Page for admissions.

Facebook transparency

With politicians ads, I can click through and see who is being targeted. With non-political ads, I can only see the ad, not the buy.

That said, I’ll bet UMass is getting a solid amount of data about who is interested in the ads. And I’ll bet the landing page traffic is also interesting. These ads are probably designed to raise someone’s hand and get them interested.

For example, the ads from Colgate above ask for the order before introductions are fully made. Same with my alma matar UofT.

The ad copy for UofT reads: Join a global leader in innovation and study at a world-renowned university. Choose #UofT today!

It is true, there’s a video. But the video has no words on the screen, it assumes people are watching this with headphones, or in a place wherein they can turn on the volume.

Aside: Someone once got Ryan Seacrest to explain to people why they should attend Colgate’s reunion. I posted it on FB and it got 27K views. It was Ryan freaking Seacrest talking into the camera, so that wasn’t unexpected. However, when I dug into the numbers, I discovered that 87% of the people who watched it did so with the volume off.

About 23.5K people watched a man talk to the camera with the sound off. !!!!

People look at FB when they are bored of what’s happening. They are at dinner, on the subway,  at work, in school, all places that aren’t easy to listen to a video.

So people will probably not hear the VO in your FB video ad.

So when you just have an ad that many won’t hear, and a CTA that is apply, with a link to the application page, you’re missing some steps.

It is like me walking up to a woman in a bar and asking her to marry me. It skips some steps.

Ad copy

There are many compelling reasons to go to UofT. They could list some of them. But more so, they could do this ad regionally.

American students are invited to join a global leader in innovation and study at a world-renowned university. Live and study in a world-renowned city, at a world renowned college. Use the learn more button to see how American’s can choose #UofT.

Over X number of Albertans have graduation from UofT. You’re invited to join a global leader in innovation and study at a world-renowned university. Some alumni include: Name, name, name. Use the learn more button to join their legacy and choose #UofT. 

See, these ads are targeted to people. They will feel like personal invitations, not ads.

Facebook ads

Facebook has a lot of data. Thus, you could think about how to use that data to make more personalised ads. Yes, you can steal some of these ideas, but you could also focus on what makes your school unique. What is the compelling reason to attend?

Then, target the ad, and the copy.

Also, if you’re doing it on Facebook, almost all people will view it via a mobile device and with the sound off.

Good luck.

Matt does things on Twitter.