How can I create effective Facebook ads for my Shopify store?

In 2024, Meta will capture about 20.4% of the U.S. digital ad market and rule with 75.6% of social media ad spending.

For Shopify store owners, the potential to leverage social ads is massive. Once you flip your Shopify store live, one thing is definite: you need to get traffic through the door-and Facebook ads can be an absolute powerhouse for that. Here, we shall walk you through how to set up Facebook ads for your Shopify store, display four top-notch examples, and give you tips on how to maximize the performance of your ad.

Let’s dive in!

Ultimate Shortcuts ✂️

• Setting Up Facebook Ads for Shopify
• 6 Tips for Successful Facebook Ads
• 4 Winning Facebook Ad Examples from Top Ecommerce Brands
• Boosting Your Facebook Ads ROI
• FAQ

Setting Up Facebook Ads for Shopify

To begin with, one needs to set everything up. Before you even get started on running Facebook ads for your Shopify store, you have to connect your Facebook Business Manager account to Shopify.

Step 1: Setting up your Meta Business Suite

First, ensure that you have a Facebook business page before placing ads on Facebook. If you haven’t created one yet, you’ll have to begin from there. Next, go to Meta Business Suite by clicking onto business.facebook.com

Log in via Facebook or Instagram. You can sign up for an account if you don’t already have one during the set-up process.

 

Once you’re logged into the Facebook account, you’ll find the “Create an Account” button. Here is where you will input the business details you need. These are some of the details concerning the business portfolio given in this section;

• Business Portfolio Name: Use the public name your organization or company uses. It will be visible across all Meta platforms.
• Your Name
• Business Email Address

 

Now, click on “Create” to create your business portfolio. Now, you will get a confirmation email that will need verification in your business email address.

Once you have created your business portfolio, you will proceed with making your Facebook ad account.

From the menu on the left-hand side, select “Accounts” » “Ad Accounts.” Click on “Add,” then “Create a New Ad Account.” Then, go through these steps:

Name Your Ad Account: Choose a name that will help you identify it quickly, such as your business name or something relevant.

Select Your Currency: Select the currency with which you would like your ad account to be displayed, preferably in the local business currency.

Add People: Add team members or collaborators who will manage your ad account or run the ads. You need to type in their email addresses and assign their roles accordingly.

Set Permissions: You will get to choose permissions for each person added according to the activities you want them to perform, be it creating ads, managing billing, or viewing performance data.

Now, when you complete the procedures, confirm by clicking on the option “Create Ad Account.”.

Step 2: Connect Shopify to Facebook

Now, let’s create a Facebook Pixel and set it up on your Shopify store.

Here’s how to do it:

Go to Meta Events Manager, select “Connect Data Sources,” choose a data source type of “Web.”

 

Once you click “Connect, fill in the name of your dataset, then click on “Create.”

On the next page, Select “Shopify,” and you’ll be ready to connect your Shopify store to Facebook.

Now connect the Shopify account by clicking on “Go to Shopify”

 

you will be redirected to the Shopify website, then Login with your credentials

 

Step 3: Set up events

Now, you need to tell Facebook what type of customer behavior you are looking to track.

Go to Events Manager; There, you can add to 8 events such as Purchase, Initiate checkout, Add to cart, View content, and so on.

Why is that important?

Because of this, you will further help to refine your Facebook ad campaigns and optimize them.

Step 4: Create a new ad campaign  

Now is the time to launch your Facebook ad campaigns.

Start by going to Ads Manager in your Meta Business Suite.

Under Account Overview, confirm that you’ve checked off all the checklist items to set up your account. That would mean confirming that you have added a payment method, connected your Facebook Page, verified your email address, and more.

Once you have set up everything, go through your campaigns once again and click the big green “Create” button. After that, you’ll be led to create each ad campaign step by step.

6 Tips for Running Facebook Ads

Now that you have a Facebook ad account set up waiting for you in Ads Manager, it is time to explore some strategies that will help you get the best results from every campaign.

1. Know Your Audience Inside and Out

However, when you are talking about practices such as campaign budget optimization, you really need to be totally in sync with your target audience. Understand what motivates them and take the time to analyze it.

Who are they? What do they like? What are their pain points? What are their priorities?

Use the Audience Insights tool from Facebook to collect the best data so you can craft the perfect ad for their needs.

The more you know about your audience, the better your ads will connect and resonate with them.

2. Write Compelling Ad Copy

If you have ever stopped mid-scroll to read an ad, then you have experienced the impact of a great piece of ad copy.

Effective Facebook ads require good copywriting.

Your messaging needs to be transparent, relational, and attention-grabbing-the moment it hits with your target audience.

Always focus on showing the value of your product or service. Use language that speaks directly to the needs and desires of your audience.

Test a few headlines, descriptions, and calls-to-action to find what most works for achieving your goals for the audience.

3. Visuals Matter

With people exposed to about 10,000 advertisements per day—across Facebook and beyond—your visuals need to stand out in a sea of content.

Humankind is naturally attracted to images and videos, so your pictures or videos must be both attention-grabbing and relevant.

Use high-quality images or videos that best represent your product or service.

A well-designed, visually appealing ad will probably make users stop scrolling and engage with your offer.

4. Establish Clear Objectives

What do you want to achieve with your Shopify Facebook ads? Whether the objective is to drive traffic, generate leads, or boost sales, you must have a clear and focused purpose.

Keep your objectives specific, measurable, and realistic.

Facebook has many ad objectives from which you can choose, so select the one that best aligns with your overall campaign goals.

5. Monitor and Optimize Continuously

Once you’ve run your ads, do not sit back and let them drip!

Create a schedule for checking on their performance at intervals throughout the day. Use this to make time-sensitive adjustments when necessary.

 Monitor click through rate, conversion rates, and cost per customer acquisition.

Refine your strategy if some ad formats, audiences, or targeting options aren’t yielding the expected results. Consistently tweaking and optimizing helps you find what works for your campaigns.

6. Testing, Testing, Testing

One of the most significant advantages of Facebook ads lies in testing and learning what works best for your audience.

Test different ad formats, targeting options, and messaging to see which gets the best response.

Compare variations directly using A/B testing, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your campaigns for maximum ROI. 

4 Winning Facebook Ad Examples from Top Ecommerce Brands

Now that you’ve got a solid grasp on running Facebook ads, let’s take a look at how major brands are successfully leveraging them.

1. Athletic Greens  

AG1 has shaken the wellness world, and their ad budget says that too—with a massive spend of $2.2 million per month on podcast advertisements only.

There are various types of ads, all those with unique value propositions. The creative above here focuses on an ad featuring a customer review. This will win over the trust of the consumer with the product and simultaneously display the product on the left side of the page.

Another successful strategy is for those individuals who have accessed the AG1 website before and require some encouragement to complete their purchase.

2. Stanley  

Over the past years, the Stanley Cup has witnessed significant rises in its female viewership, which results mainly from influences created by partnerships with influencers.

They have new series and limited offers that they advertise in perfect FB ads.

In this case, they show the All Day Slim Bottle and present their products with evident on-screen greatness.

The color palette that they used is really captivating because it really fits with their target audience, thus showing a marketing sense.

3. Loop

Loop Earplugs is a Belgian eCommerce brand, known for its functionality and style.

This advertisement is the embodiment of what they stand for.

Their copy is made in such a way that every kind of person can relate to it, and the message is that there is an earplug for every event.

The advertisement is pleasing to the eye, and the ad creative centers entirely on the earplugs. They are bold enough to declare their earplugs as the most modern while also promoting a 100-day money-back guarantee.

4. Gymshark  

Our next case comes from Gymshark, which has utilized quite a few influencer partnership collaborations successfully for this brand.

In most of the ads, they are wearing their products and use carousel ads where they can swipe through images or videos so that they can present a product from multiple angles within one ad unit.

Carousel ads are also outstanding opportunities for narration or highlights of a service or a product, really.

Boosting Your Facebook Ads ROI

You would most likely have observed a common trend among the ads above: they all are selling particular products.

The strategy is very typical for the eCommerce store, and there is a good reason for that. The promotion of individual products is the most efficient way to sell an eCommerce project, because it brings users directly to category or product pages.

In case you aim to enhance ROI for them, you will have to focus on the conversion of websites.

Here are three steps to execute this strategy effectively:

1. Transform Your Product Pages into High-Converting Sales Pages

Since most of your Facebook ad traffic lands directly on your product pages-avoiding the home page-these pages prove to be an essential part of your sales funnel.

You optimize them to get a much higher percentage of visitors turning into faithful customers.

This was the approach taken by Varnish & Vine, who enhanced their product pages with engaging headlines and benefit-driven lists.

The outcome? A 12% lift on conversion for their redesigned product pages and 43% more dollars coming in online, compared to earlier versions.

But what if you manage hundreds or even thousands of product pages?

In such a case, you would require a solution that allows the optimization of product pages on a large scale. Varnish & Vine achieved this by using the Smart Product Page Optimizer-an AI-driven tool for generating headlines and other copy for product pages, updating all pages, and carrying out A/B tests to figure out which yields the better performance.

2. Suggest Relevant Products Using Exit-Intent Popups

When visitors come to a product page but become intent on leaving, it will typically not be because of pricing. Offering discounts isn’t always the ideal solution, especially when trying to maintain long-term profitability.

Another strategic application of exit-intent popups in Craft Spirit Shop is to promote relevant products to their visitors based on their browsing history and preferences.

For example, if a visitor previously had viewed Buffalo Trace Bourbon, they would be presented with other award-winning bourbons in a popup that is customized. Using the Smart Recommender Popup, by leveraging AI to automatically present product recommendations personalized to individual visitors’ preferences while generating custom headlines, Craft Spirit Shop was able to make this level of personalization possible.

 

The impact was huge: visitors who had come under those targeted recommendations had the chances to actually buy 38.5% more likely than the ones that hadn’t, therefore it increased a lot the conversion rate at the store.

In addition, these shoppers spent on average 77.9% more money, which increases revenue per customer.

3. Display a Personalized Discount with a Sticky Bar

Another highly effective conversion-enhancing strategy is the offering of a personalized discount to visitors who come through Facebook ads. A customized discount will make the buyer feel valued and hence send them making that purchase.

Promoting the deal subtly, present the discount on a sticky bar that appears when visitors stay on your product pages for at least 10 seconds. That grabs subtle attention and not in the form of a pop-up.

Add a countdown timer to the sticky bar for a sense of urgency, motivating hesitant shoppers to take the action before it expires.

FAQ

Do Facebook Ads Work for Shopify?

Absolutely! Facebook ads would really work amazingly for Shopify stores. Advanced targeting options unlock possibilities for businesses to reach their ideal audience precisely. With interesting ad creatives and focusing on the right audience segments, Shopify merchants can successfully drive traffic, boost lead generation, and even sell more through Facebook advertising.

Are Facebook Ads Good for Ecommerce?

Absolutely! Facebook ads are super effective for ecommerce businesses. With its amazing targeting and visual appeal capabilities, Facebook ads enable ecommerce stores to show a large, relevant audience about their products, converting them into traffic and sales. Some features like dynamic product ads and carousel ads allow Shopify store owners to showcase their products compellingly to engaged prospects on the platform.

Are Facebook Ads Worth It in 2024?

Absolutely! Facebook ads are definitely worth an investment to businesses this year 2024. Despite the shifting of trends and increased competition, Facebook still stands tall among the largest and most impactful advertising platforms in the world. Because of its huge user base and developed targeting options, Facebook can give businesses powerful leverage to reach and engage their ideal audience, driving measurable results and ROI maximization.