E-Comm Guide to Instagram and Facebook Ads in 2024

Ecomm ads for Facebook and Instagram

So, you got your Shopify account up and running, imported your products, and you're ready to start to see traffic and most importantly SALES! However, you have no traffic and don't have a clue how to implement ads on Meta. You understand their importance and maybe you've tried in the past only to come up with no results and wasted money (with added frustration). No worries, below we'll give you everything you need to get on track with your performance.

7 Step E-comm Framework

Below, we'll breakdown how to drive more results using Facebook and Instagram ads.

1) Give Advantage+ a try

Different from generating leads and working the funnel like typical strategies Advantage Plus Shopping presents you with an alternative similar to Google's Performance Max. Advantage Plus is broad and less structured - it has fewer controls and basically allows the platform to "go wild". You'll want to set some parameters on it and also A/B test your Advantage Plus adsets with a traditional conversion types campaigns to ensure you cover all possibilities.

For some, Advantage Plus outperforms standard campaigns. While others have seen a more traditional approach work best. That said, a duo approach can only increase you chances of standing out in-front of your audience. You can also set parameters on your Advantage Plus audience to ensure that the platform is attacking the right audience segments.

2) Go broad with targeting

Going with broad targeting in e-comm campaigns and letting the platform "find" your audience is a pretty effective way to start your top of funnel. Don't assume or harness your campaigns too much in the beginning, the only real restriction you want to put is to exclude past purchasers (30-45 days is a good start). Let the algorithm find the most likely buyers for you.

Audience limitations is a sure fire way to increase your CPMs, so it's better to go broad and build your audience with Meta taking charge on the best leads for you. Trust the algorithm's power and understand that the system WANTS you to succeed.

3) Intentional Traditional Campaigns

In e-comm, when running traditional conversion campaigns (or any campaign if we're being thorough) it's important to be hyper specific in what your objective is. While the platform is powerful, it will give you exactly what you ask for. Run a traffic campaign and you'll get traffic - however, don't expect that traffic to immediately/typically translate to sales or add to carts. So if you want sales, set up a conversion/sales campaign.

The same can be said with awareness and traffic campaigns. Don't set up an awareness campaign and expect traffic. Intentionality is key.

4) 7 - Day Click

A Attribution settings in e-comm is vastly different than with lead gen. While one day or visit is enough for a lead, e-commerce requires a little bit more time for the user to make the purchase. Leaning into a seven-day click is generally recommended and adopted by most in their search for sales.

This longer period helps accommodate the full purchase journey as sometimes when a user clicks they may not be ready to make a purchase. Just be sure to use URL parameters to track them.

5) Expand your creatives

When it comes to creative in online marketing, testing is key. You can experiment with various formats like image ads, video ads, carousel ads and dynamic sets.

Within each type, there are multiple approaches at your disposal. 

• Image ads: You can try product shots, lifestyle images, comparison visuals, or showcase media mentions and customer reviews. You can also apply UGC (with permission of course).

• Videos ads: These offer versatility, ranging from high-production to user-generated content (UGC), testimonials and different lengths. 

• Carousels Ads: Carousels allow for dynamic catalog ads, providing a range of options.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here, so it’s important to test different creative elements to discover what resonates best with your brand and audience. What works for one brand may not necessarily work for another. Thats why it's crucial to not put all your eggs in one basket or to assume what your market wants in terms of communication.

6) Match spend with creative cycling

When it comes to testing new creative assets, the focus should be on the traffic flow through a specific ad rather than a specific time or budget. Ideally, you want a significant amount of traffic in the hundreds or even a couple of thousand clicks, to establish statistical significance. 

This ensures that the data collected is reliable and can be trusted for making informed decisions. With only a few clicks or orders, it’s challenging to gauge whether the creative will work at a larger scale. Emphasizing the amount of traffic passing through an ad allows for a more robust evaluation of its effectiveness.

7) Organization is key

Maintaining consistent ad naming conventions is crucial for effectively tracking the performance of your creative assets. By effectively naming your ads (including details like asset type, destination, call-to-action, and more), you can easily filter and report on their effectiveness. This approach allows you to compare the performance of different ad types, such as image ads versus video ads or influencer campaigns versus others. 

Consistent ad naming ensures that you can quickly and accurately analyze your data to make informed decisions about your advertising strategy.

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

Business email address

Hope this helps on your journey to success - if you need additional help please feel free to reach out or checkout some of our past case studies.