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When it comes to marketing and advertising, nothing seems to work better these days than social media. People love social channels, and the latest numbers give solid proof to the concept. There are over 2 billion monthly active users on Facebook and most of them spend more hours a day on the platform than on any other website whatsoever. As of consequence, it’s only obvious to use Facebook as solid marketing and advertising platform.
Facebook is the most popular social media platform with over 79% of the Americans using it. More than half of the US residents check with their Facebook accounts several times a day.
Are these numbers, combined with the fact that almost half of the users follow at least one brand page giving proof that you should use the platform? Sure they are. And, since Facebook offers an advertising channel as well, one that is easy to use and target the right audience, you can also focus on this if you have a budget for such expenditures.
A Facebook ad is nothing without a Facebook landing page. You need to attract people to click on your message, but at the same time, you’ll need to keep them interested once they do it.
How?
Well, with this article, I will try to show you how to create that landing page for a successful Facebook ad campaign.
But first, let’s start with the basics.
What is a Facebook landing page?
A Facebook landing page is a dedicated page designed to convert visitors from a specific pay-per-click (PPC) Facebook ad. These landing pages differ from other pages (product pages on your website etc.) because they’re specifically made to complement your Facebook ad.
Facebook landing pages can be used as a standalone page or a custom tab within a Facebook Business Page. Today, we’re going to focus on creating Facebook Landing Pages for the tabs that are created within a Facebook page to drive in the traffic generated by an advertising campaign.
Here’s an example from Disney’s Facebook Shop landing page::
Editor’s note: Speaking of running ads on Facebook, did you know that you can now run your ad campaigns directly from GetResponse? Check out the new GetResponse Facebook Ads tool, which lets you easily grow your email list, retarget your website visitors, and much more – all without leaving your favorite dashboard.
Why you should make a Facebook landing page
Well, we know or at least we should already know that every ad campaign should have a personalized landing page that meets the user intent.
Why create such a page on Facebook and not on a standalone website?
Well, there are a lot of people using Facebook as their main gateway to the world and who don’t wish to leave the platform whatsoever. They might not like to be guided to an external website but they’d most certainly read a page that seems in many ways familiar to them. I am talking about a page hosted on Facebook itself, the platform they’ve seen the ad on.
On the other hand, this one may not be your only campaign. Maybe there are many other campaigns to follow. Leading your audience on a free and easy to set up platform such as Facebook, will allow you to save precious time and money by not having to pay for domain names, hosting and of course, website development.
In other words, it’s easier to set up a landing page on Facebook.
Easier than doing it on your own platform, of course.
Pro tip: But if you’ve already got a website that’s using WordPress, there’s an easy way to add landing pages to it.
How to make an effective Facebook landing page
There are, of course, many ways in which you can make a Facebook landing page. And, there are many landing page types that can prove to be effective for an advertising campaign. Your success may depend, however, on several factors such as the visuals of choice and of course, the professionality of the design and your target audience.
Also, there are a couple of steps that might help you deal with these factors. Let’s try and list them:
1. Choose the landing page that better suits your campaign.
In other words, make sure your landing page properly suits the aim of the advertisement. Ask yourself: What do you want to get from the visitors? What would you want them to do upon landing on that page?
Do you want them to sign up for a newsletter? Then it should be your main focus and the main objective to build the page around. Do you want them to contact you and ask for a price offer? Then this should be your main focus. Whatever your goal is, it needs to be clearly stated on the landing page and at the same time, convincing for the visitor.
The advertisement may have convinced them to click and follow up on your offer but the landing page will convince them to take the next step.
Here’s an example of a great Facebook landing page that invites the audience to subscribe to Gary Vaynerchuk’s calendar of future events:
It’s a great example of building a personal brand. Also, it gives you enough incentive to start doing it yourself.
Why is it a good example and why did I choose it?
Well, regardless of the popularity Gary has nowadays, it wasn’t always like this. He built his personal brand piece by piece, and got to the point that most of today’s Internet users know him.
The example, however, is a great one to follow, regardless of the person it advertises. It shows a landing page with precisely thought-out elements.
The elements I’m referring to are:
- The text is readable and easy to understand. It occupies the central part of the page and cannot be missed.
- The visuals of the main page are visible and occupy the center of the view. In this case, we’re able to see the main account image and colors.
- There are a bunch of buttons that give easy access to the calendars available on Google and Apple. Since this is the main goal of the advertisement, they are quite welcome and well placed within the landing page.
2. Create/Design your visuals
This step actually starts with the main advertising banner and expands to the creation of the landing page as well. All the specific visual elements of a campaign should be found in all parts of the marketing strategy.
And, the most important elements, in this case, are the banners and the promotional pages.
Here’s an example from Fox news:
As you can see, the visuals are the same on the landing page and the Facebook ad.
The logo is present in both, the ad and the landing page ad, and so are the brand colors.
1. The Facebook Ad. It’ll be the first thing the audience sees, coming into contact with your campaign. You can design your banners right from the Facebook ad manager or, you can include some third-party visuals. Regardless of this choice, here are some of your best options:
- You can choose to work with professional designers that you can either hire via recruiting platforms or via Dribble or Behance.
- You can hire freelance professional designers and marketers on Facebook or via dedicated platforms such as GetResponse Marketplace, Upwork or Fiverr.
- Nevertheless, you can choose to hire a professional agency specialized in this kind of banner advertising, like Smartketer, Mint or Voy Media.
- Depending on your working habits, your professional and technical skills, and of course, on your money and time, you can design your own banners with Photoshop, Creatopy, or Snappa.
2. The visual elements of the landing page. As you probably imagine, there are a bunch of visual elements you can include on your landing page. They depend on the type of your campaign but keep in mind they should be in line with the banner. Some of the most important elements that should be found on all landing pages are:
- The logo. This is the most important one. You need to make sure it’s on the banner and the landing page. It doesn’t matter how small the logo is. What’s important is its presence.
- The visual style of the copy on the landing page.
- The colors.
- Other branded visuals/images. You may choose to include specific images in your campaign. If they are included in the Facebook banner ads, you can consider including them on your landing page as well.
In general, your landing pages should be created with your ideal customers in mind.
You can get inspired by the latest landing page design trends, but make sure that your design choice isn’t just based on your own preferences but on what’s most likely going to have a positive effect on your customers’ behavior.
3. Choose the right tools to build your landing page
There are, of course, several ways in which you can design your landing page. There’s one harder, direct way, and there’s one where you get the option to use tools that could make it all easier.
Let’s start with the hard way:
1. Create the tab via Facebook developer
As you may already know, Facebook landing pages can be created as tabs within you already existing page. Tabs are available under the profile picture and they act similarly to a website navigation menu.
Step 1: The first thing you need to do is to create the content to be displayed on your landing page. In many ways, the tab is similar to an iFrame, which loads inside the Facebook page. Create a web page outside of Facebook. Later, you’ll tell Facebook to display the contents of this page within the newly created tab.
TIP: If you already have a domain name and a hosting platform, you’re almost ready to start designing your page. But, make sure that you have a secure URL as Facebook requires it to let you create your custom tab. A secure URL will usually start with https:// instead of HTTP://. If you’re still using a regular connection, consider acquiring an SSL certificate first.
(Learn how to track your Facebook campaign and landing pages.)
Step 2: Log in to Facebook developer page to get started. Use your own Facebook credentials for this step.
Click the green button to add a “new app”
There are some options to choose from. But, to complete the setup, you’ll need a basic understanding of web development, CSS, and Facebook API. Or, you can hire a developer who knows this environment and who’ll be able to help you create the right landing page for your ad campaign.
2. Use GetResponse’s professional tool to create your landing page
The easy way, and when I say “easy” I don’t mean unprofessional, is to use a dedicated tool to build your landing page.
GetResponse provides you with such a tool and lets you create responsive landing pages with ease and professionalism. It features all the elements and side tools you need and a complete list of free templates to get you started. You can also register for their essential landing page course, which will teach you how to design high-converting landing pages.
The above image depicts some of the templates available via the GetResponse landing page creator.
Here’s a demonstrative video that shows the app at work:
Other key elements to consider
Building an effective landing page is a task that takes more than a professional tool or the right coding skills. You’ll also need to take care of issues your success may depend on, such as:
1. Responsive design
We all know how important the mobile community is. At least half of your potential audience will follow through your Facebook ad on mobile devices. This means that you need to take care of this aspect and make sure you’re able to deliver a mobile responsive landing page.
While third-party tools and apps will take care of this issue for you, if you choose to build the page by yourself, it’s a thing you need to consider.
2. An enticing offer
Usually, a banner ad carries a deal. An offer that should entice the audience and convince them to follow up on your link. The landing page should meet this expectation and give your audience exactly what they were searching for when clicking on the banner ad. Here’s an example from Jeep with a beautifully constructed landing page and a clear offer:
3. A sub-headline
When it comes to content marketing in general and advertising in particular, clearly stated headlines are one of the best ways to score a deal and convince your audience that you can deliver as promised. Headlines break the text in specific pieces and make your offer more noticeable on a first look.
4. A powerful call to action
Nothing speaks louder in advertising than a CTA. But only if you know how to choose your CTA copy and how to make it visible, readable and understandable in as few words as possible and on the right part of your page.
Here’s an example from Nutella that has many different calls to action, but all of them are clear and visible:
Related: Squeeze pages for beginners
5. Trustworthiness
According to this report, the online environment is considered to be the least trustworthy among consumers. What does this mean?
Well, it means that you should make sure every tiny piece of information on the banner and the landing page is valid and true. Don’t lie, don’t make promises you can’t keep, make sure your offers are legit and trustworthy. Don’t make them seem too good to be true.
6. Other details
Apart from the above advice, consider this as well: try to keep up with what your audience may need or want based on your offer. Make sure your contact details are available, readable and easy to spot, if you need them to follow up on your offer with an email or a phone call. Also, keep distractions at a minimum and don’t overuse your visuals. Finally, you can offer social proof on your trustworthiness or your overall success rate/fan base.
As you can see, an effective landing page follows a clear structure.
Conclusion
Advertising is an important part of a marketing strategy and Facebook is one of the best channels to run such a campaign. However, apart from the banner itself, the most important thing you can think of is the landing page. This is the page that your audience will get to see after clicking on your ad. But there’s no need to worry, now you know several ways in which you can design and publish your landing page on Facebook.
Are you aware of other means to create and publish landing pages? If so, please share your wisdom with us and our audience here, in the comments section available below.