Interactive marketing is all the rage and it’s easy to see why. With more measurable direct results, tightly monitored budgetary considerations and direct, simplistic implementation, interactive ads are today’s marketers’ dream come true.
There’s no shortage of online ad development theories. Pro-marketers and tech savants have tested, analyzed and theorized what works and what doesn’t work with the newer medium’s resulting target audience. Their findings? With regard to Facebook ads in particular, the same principles that applied to traditional print, television and radio advertisements also apply online.

if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Advertising theory, like any other, will continue to shift and reform as long as it remains an unavoidable segment of successful business ventures. However, certain advertising principles existed long before the Internet takeover and still prove their merit today. The recent June 2012 Advertising Research Foundation’s Audience Measurement 7.0 found that the same factors that matter in the Facebook ads of the present, mattered in the traditional media ads of the past:

  • Strong Ad Focus – Is the ad all over the place or does it have one central, strong focus?
  • Apparent Branding – Could this ad belong to anyone or is it clearly and visibly yours?
  • Consistent Brand-to-Ad Tone – Does the tone of the ad match the tone of your social media, website, press and marketing collateral?
  • Ad Placement – How large is the ad? How easy is it to see?
  • Clear Messaging – Does the ad communicate its purpose effectively?
  • Action Benefit – Why should someone click on or “Like” your ad? What’s in it for your customer?

Among these, the first three points proved the strongest in determining whether or not online ads proved successful when ranked according to ad recall and customer purchase intent.
even online, a customer is a customer
Social media marketing and online marketing differ. The former is more conversation based, while the latter is more conversion grounded.
Today’s advertisers and PR professionals may still be trying to figure out online marketing, but today’s customers are not. Now hit with ads from all sides of on- and offline life, your best customers will appreciate getting a clear concise message from you. Use your online ads the same way you use your traditional ones – to gain brand awareness, and more importantly, procure profit. Deliver your online ad content apart from your true social media. Both strategies may occur online and may tie into each other, but they differ and should remain separate in both tone, intent and execution.
When it comes to your business’ Facebook advertisements, be direct, be clever and adhere to traditional standards to get the best result.