Facebook Ad Examples: 15 Strategies to Kill it in 2020

Want an idea for an advertising strategy that will kill it in 2020? We have 15 great Facebook Ad Examples to inspire you!

We’re way past the conversation of whether Facebook Ads work. They do!

I’ve seen talks of “Facebook dying” contradicted by the continuous growth of the platform way too many times to count.

The truth is, Facebook is still one of the fastest growing online platforms and has an audience of about 2.38 billion users.

In addition, as advertising is Facebook’s primary source of income, they make sure that advertisers have the best experience.

Facebook constantly update their algorithms and arguably have the best machine learning advertising platform, second only to Google.

What does owning WhatsApp and Instagram have to do with it?

DATA. ⚡

In fact, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that Facebook has made more than 82 acquisitions in a period of just 15 years.

The reasoning behind the acquisitions is mostly speculation, but we would lie to ourselves if we thought Facebook doesn’t use a plethora of various tactics to improve its advertising personas.

Privacy issues aside. That’s great for us! Advertisers!

But how do you go about your online advertising strategy? ????

Is Facebook the right platform for your business? ????

I’m here to help you decide!

Facebook Ad Stats: Is it the right platform?

First, let’s talk about demographics. I’d be lying if I was to suggest Facebook as the most popular platform among ALL demographics.

It isn’t. Especially, if your target group is teens!

Social Media use is changing so rapidly for teens that even this data from JUST two years ago is already vastly outdated.

And you’d probably have to look into advertising on TikTok or something …

However, using percentages are not all that counts.

But let’s talk about THE RIGHT method to check if Facebook is the right platform for your target demographic.

Step 1: Traffic (Platform Usage)!

Traffic and platform usage is the most obvious step.

In fact, I’ll give you this demographic cheat sheet, created by PewResearch.

Depending on the type of business and your audience, you can pinpoint the best places for digital advertisements.

Let’s say you have a very expensive cosmetic age reduction device that you’d want to advertise to women 65+

While I’ll recommend far more in-depth research on the digital habits of your audience, the cheat sheet is a good place to start.

You can clearly see that Facebook and YouTube are pretty obvious choices for advertising to that demographic.

But Houston, I hear you say, isn’t YouTube a better choice? ????‍♂️

Let’s get into step 2.

Step 2: Resource (Effort, Cost vs. Results)

To build out a proper advertising strategy, you also need to consider the resource and advertising cost, compared to the results you’ll get.

Let’s say you expect to get a 20% conversion rate from your funnel. And if you want to improve your funnel friction, I talk a lot about that here.

This time we’ll use a cheat sheet by WordStream. In particular, we’ll use their research on Google Display Ads (YouTube is a part of Google Display Ads) and Facebook Ads respectively.

Let’s compare the costs on each platform, considering a $1000 ad budget.

On Facebook, the cost is clear: For $1000 you’ll get about 552 clicks.

On Google Display networks, this cheat sheet isn’t perfect. First, the Google Display network is more than just YouTube. Second, we don’t have a clear “Beauty” industry sector.

However, putting our product in the “dating and personals” category, we see that we’ll get 671 clicks.

That’s about 110 expected converted customers (at the 20%) from your funnel on Facebook and 134 on YouTube.

IMPORTANT! I ALWAYS suggest finding the most concrete data available for your particular industry and case. The above is just an extremely rough overview of the process of making an advertising strategy for a digital platform. ????

Another note: In cases of high uncertainty, it’s best to test first, get data and make big decisions after you have better certainty of the outcome. ????

But how much does making an ad on Facebook cost?

On the surface, YouTube is the clear winner. That’s an expected 24 leads for your funnel more compared to Facebook.

However, you’ll also need to consider the cost of making an ad.

Facebook Ads are perfect, especially if you don’t have a big budget, because they only require graphic design and copywriting.

Even if you’re making a Facebook Video ad, the expected production quality on the platform is FAR LOWER than what’s expected on YouTube.

Step 3: Think about your Strategy!

Another thing you’ll need to take into consideration is your acquisition strategy.

Each platform is used for a specific purpose. Both YouTube and Facebook are used for information and entertainment, but the Facebook experience is considered far more personal.

In fact, according to PewResearch, 71% of U.S. adults say they don’t understand how the posts on their feed work.

And even from an emotional perspective, despite the “Sponsored” tag, chances are your Facebook Ad would be considered far more personal.

So in our case, for the beauty product, as we want to achieve the highest levels of intimacy with our customers, we’ll select Facebook Instead of YouTube.

Of course, if you don’t want to think about it, you can just hire BAMF for media buying! And we use far more sophisticated methods than the ones explained above. Just saying! ????

Step 4: The Creative Strategy

Last, but not least, once you’ve analyzed and selected the right platform, it’s time to think about your paid media creativity.

This includes various decisions, including the type of the ad,

Don’t know where to start?

That’s why I’m here!

I’ll help you get a foothold of your advertising game and start boosting your results using these 15 innovative and age-old creative tactics that truly work.

15 Best Facebook Ad Examples and Creative Strategies to Get you Inspired in 2020

I’ve selected 15 of the best Facebook Ad Examples I could find that explain great creative strategies that you can try out in your own business.

Let’s start with the examples! ????

Calm “Be Calm” Facebook Ad Campaign

Running for the past several years, the “Be Calm” campaign by the self-help app Calm is amazing.

The reason? ????

It’s a great example of a “showing your product in action” ad. ⚡

Full of a series of videos that simply say “do nothing for X seconds” Calm is able to showcase the strength of their product.

This type of advertisement might seem difficult to implement in most business cases, but it’s easier than you think. You just have to get creative.

• Selling a seminar/book/course? – Teach with your ad, rather than just selling the course.
• Selling a SaaS B2B product? – Show it DIRECTLY in action. No fluff.
• Selling a beauty product? – Easy. Before and After shots have been around for decades for a reason!

Showcasing your product is a truly effective way to advertise it!

MailChimp Rocking Visibility Ad

After outgrowing its name and making the move to rebrand, MailChimp is continuing to rock it!

Why is this ad awesome? Because it’s highly visually engaging!

That’s right! You have to GRAB the attention of the user with your ad and do so in a creative and stylish manner.

That’s just what Mailchimp did with their ad!

Bold, Visually engaging, and to the point. That’s what your ads should look like if you want actionability from your customers.

Class Pass – Clear and to the Point!

Speaking of being clear and getting right to the point, I couldn’t help but be reminded of this beautiful Facebook Ad example.

ClassPass does many things great with this ad. The simple design, the visually appealing niche-related photos, and the direct call-to-action are all things you should try to include in your ad.

However, I would like to emphasize arguably the most important thing in the ad.

THE COPY.

A lot of advertisers don’t realize that a powerful copy can be just a few sentences long.

They go overboard with long-form paragraphs, that most prospects don’t read. You’ve probably seen a few of them on Facebook.

Instead, try to be clear and concise. Just like ClassPass were in the example above.

Web Summit – Advanced Personalization!

One of the clearest benefits of using Facebook Ads compared to other advertising platforms or methods is the advanced personalization options.

This Web Summit ad is an effective representation of how to use personalization to your advantage.

In this particular case, they’ve targeted based on location. “Australian startup?”

However, you can use various interests and demographics options to personalize your Facebook Ads in almost unimaginable ways.

Granted, you should make sure to do so in a testable manner.

A/B test EVERYTHING!

Check out these 60 growth hacking tips to understand why testing and creativity is important in the digital age.

While it will take you more resources, make sure to plan out your advertising creative in a manner. Think about ad creative that allows you to increase personalization while retaining your testing options.

Guardian Weekly – Using the RIGHT Facebook Ad Type!

There are a number of different Facebook Ad types.

Make sure to choose the right one for your business.

In the case of Guardian Weekly, a carousel allows them to create an interactive ad experience similar to opening pages.

That’s why this ad type works great for them.

Think about what ad type would work best for your product or service.

Would a carousel showing multiple products be better?

Or maybe you want to go for a personalized video shot of yourself talking? This will allow you to bring the customers into your world.

In both cases, the choice boils down to — what works best for YOUR particular case!

Design Pickle – Offer Clear Value!

When you advertise, to get people in your funnel, you should offer them some sort of value.

I can’t stress this enough!

EBooks have become a tactic that’s a bit overused nowadays, but they still work.

But you can’t expect people to give you “clicks” or let alone their email address without receiving something in return.

That’s why Design Pickle did the awesome ad above.

A clear message with a clear value being offered can go to lengths in improving your Facebook advertising game.

“Free eBook with 200 Design Ideas for Your Business”

Who wouldn’t want to check that out?

I even want to click the ad and get this book now!

Do you want to click it? Build an ad you would want to click yourself when looking at it!

Dollar Shave Club – Speak Less, Say More!

In a gender-stereotype-based society, a lot of brands are taking a stance against gender conformity.

The list of reasons why going political can hurt your business are endless!

However, the ad from Dollar Shave Club is a great example of how you can SAY A LOT with an ad, without speaking as much.

With a simple photo, they are able to take a stance for equality, without having to deal with internet trolls in the process.

Wouldn’t you want to do the same?

And you don’t necessarily have to reap political benefits, without dealing with the backlash.

It can be anything. Best case scenario? It revolves around your brand values and product benefits.

To be able to create the perfect ad, you should follow the best practices.

This means the ad SHOULD follow your brand values. This will help your ad be more authentic and help you acquire some hot and engaged leads, rather than just increasing your numbers, without providing real value.

You can simply use your ad creative to show a clear message and entice your audience, without having to say a thousand words in the process.

With just a single photo. ????

Heal – Show Authority Proof

Continuing on the trend, here’s another example of how you can tell a lot, without speaking too much.

This ad from Heal is a great example of how you can use authority proof to your advantage.

The “CNN” that’s front and center would CLEARLY get the attention of the target prospect.

Of course, your type of proof can be from another brand. Heck, you don’t even have to be covered by a media to use proof to your advantage.

I’ve seen a ton of people use TechCrunch quotes that are simply related to their industry.

Granted, you should always use the best advertising practices! ????

Authority proof is just one of the effective methods you can use to boost the effectiveness of your ad.

WestJet Facebook Ad Example – Use Social Media Awareness to Your Advantage!

Regardless of the platform, you should always consider the digital habits and engagement metrics of posts on THAT specific platform.

This one is the best Facebook Ad Examples of how to achieve this for Facebook.

WestJet posted an amazing scenery photo for their travel target prospect.

And is there anything more engaging for the traveler prospect on Facebook than photos of amazing scenery?

But the scenery is not the only reason I like this ad.

The copy of WestJet is amazing too!

Just look at it! ????

Every word in that sentence is engaging and perfectly leads to a highly actionable CTA. Visit Calgary!

There aren’t many such examples that are as perfect as the one above.

A QUICK TIP! When thinking about your business, make sure to put the digital habits of YOUR target prospect first.

If they like memes, use memes. If they like personal photos, try social proof.

Shopify Content Driven Facebook Ad Examples

Here are two different examples from one single brand to show different angles of using Facebook Ad strategies to your advantage.

The first is great in showcasing something similar to social proof. The image is a perfect example of social prospecting.

They’ve selected a visual, that shows a clear message – a single entrepreneur in a homely environment in front of her product.

The caption? “Turn what you love into what you sell.”

The ad couldn’t be any clearer in what it’s trying to achieve.

And that’s what makes it so powerful!

ALWAYS REMEMBER! You don’t have to SPEND 1000 words to SELL your product.

The best ads are simple ones.

Shopify Example #2 – Content First!

A few examples ago, I spoke about offering value with your advertisements.

This Shopify Facebook ad is another perfect example of offering value in action.

Instead of driving their leads directly to a sales pitch, Shopify is using Facebook Ads to grab them into a funnel.

They further offer amazing value related to their target prospect to be able to nurture them down the funnel.

It’s simple and easy! Whoever thinks that the biggest brands are the ones that don’t conform to the status quo and ONLY advertise through innovative means, clearly don’t understand marketing.

The biggest brands, much like Shopify, use well-established marketing tactics with PROVEN results.

In fact, just last year, I’ve shared an article about how Grammarly flipped its funnel to mark an amazing success.

Even if you are highly inspired by the innovative marketing of old (think 1984 and Apple), that doesn’t mean you should ONLY think about the most amazing creatives you can imagine.

Instead, put your mind on how you can use existing Facebook Ad strategies that are proven to work to your advantage.

PayPal – Captions should be your Friend!

You can already see this on most of the Facebook Ad examples I’ve shared. Captions should be used in the best manner possible.

This particular PayPal ad example is a great showcase of how a caption can be the best place to share the biggest benefits that your product offers to your target prospect.

Just look at it! It’s perfect! ????

Most advertisers who build out the creativity of an ad would probably make different choices.

In particular “Swipe, tap, or chip.” sounds an extremely catchy and actionable thing you should include in your image, right?

Well, no!

The purpose of the ad isn’t simply to sound catchy. It’s to get the attention of your target prospect.

And what’s the first thing your prospects see?

That’s right! The image and the caption on that image.

That’s why, in most cases, the caption of the image is the best place to showcase the biggest benefits of your product.

Just think about it. Would the ad example above have been as powerful, if the words “Swipe, tap or chip” were written on the image instead?

My answer would be NO.

Because it’s about time that we say YES to using proven tactics to improve our ads, rather than just thinking about “what looks good” to our creative eye. ????

Of course, you should still consider your funnel strategy, your branding, and THE BEST thing to showcase for your specific case, because not everything is black and white.

You should always think about the specifics of your particular brand, ad targets, and ad choice.

Novus – Use Video to Your Advantage

Everyone talks a big game about video.

But not everyone does it right.

Here’s a great example by Novus on how you can use effective videos in your advertising.

There’s a growing misconception that you must have highly-produced 30-60 second long videos for your ads to be effective.

I’m here to tell you that THIS is not the case.

A short 6-second skit, like the ad shown above, can do miracles to your advertising campaign.

Reiterating on what I’ve already mentioned above, you don’t have to speak VOLUMES for your ad to TELL volumes.

Similar to effective copy, an effective video can be short, to the point, and concise.

Soylent – Combine Multiple Tactics

You don’t have to conform to one simple tactic when making your ad strategy.

In fact, the more you diversify, the better.

I’ve mentioned a lot of tactics on this list, but you’ve probably seen that most ads on this list use MULTIPLE tactics to achieve their goals.

USE ALL TACTICS you’ve seen in these Facebook Ad Examples.

Just check out how Soylent has done it with their amazing ad shown above.

• Their copy is simple, concise and to-the-point. They immediately share the benefits of their product.
• Their call to action is actionable and engaging.
• Their imagery uses authority proof and lowers the resources their target prospect needs to put to make an action. It’s available on Amazon. It’s easy to get!

When working on your ad creative, don’t try to copy-paste. Instead, build your ad around your target goals and by implementing multiple tactics to improve your chances to get a high-converting media campaign.

Hello Fresh – Work the Angles

Last, but not least, I have this great example from Hello Fresh.

With it, I want to leave you on a high note about your business – it’s already great. The reason you are advertising is to START selling.

To SELL your product, you need to create your ad for YOUR product.

You aren’t selling Soylent or a service like PayPal and Shopify.

Yes, the tactics are great and you should DEFINITELY use them to your advantage.

However, you should put them through the lens of your particular business.

In the example above, Hello Fresh has showcased clearly appetizing photos. They are perfect for their foodie target prospect.

They’ve additionally chosen dishes that look easy to make. This additionally sells the benefits of your product.

And it will be different for your particular case.

Based on your business, brand, and product, you’ll have to make different decisions for your ad creative. What does your target prospect like? What do your sales funnel like? What is the particular goal of your ad?

These are all questions you need to answer when building out the perfect Facebook ad.

That’s what a STRATEGY is all about. Implementing a MULTITUDE of tactics and making data-driven analytical decisions that will best suit YOUR brand case.

Optimize and be Streets Ahead!

Regardless of the creative, you would want to build and the expected results, one thing is certain.

To be able to get the most bang for a buck, you’d have to consistently optimize and improve your Facebook Ads. Of course, I have a guide that shows you how to do it!

However, the optimization also stands true for your paid media creative.

Try out new sales angles. Experiment with your Call To Action.

Novel ideas? Why not!

There isn’t a recipe for the perfect Facebook ad, because we don’t have the same ingredients.

Each product is different. Each brand is unique.

Depending on the choices you’ve already made, you would be building advertisements that achieve your business goals.

And while you can hope for the biggest ROI, it is only achieved through consistency, experimentation, and case-specific strategies.

I’ve laid out the foundations, the tactics and have given examples to inspire you.

Now, it’s your turn!

Go make the perfect ad!

And of course, I hope the 15 Facebook Ad Examples mentioned above help inspire you to be streets ahead!

Featured Image by Pixabay on Pexels
Image Sources: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]