Consumer shopping trends continue to drastically shift from brick-and-mortar stores to the e-commerce landscape year over year. In 2019, e-commerce sales made up 14.1% of all retail sales worldwide and are projected to climb to 22% by 2023. As the shift to online shopping continues to grow, new e-commerce brands pop up every day making the marketing more competitive than ever. Brands have to leverage themselves efficiently and effectively to maintain and grow their sales.
With over 2.7 billion average daily users, using Facebook ads for e-commerce offers the largest potential audience of any social media platform. Facebook Ads Manager also brings with it the most detailed ad targeting capabilities you’ll find anywhere. For brands looking to maximize revenue from the social media giant, the key is knowing how to create a sales funnel using Facebook ads for ecommerce that convert throughout the entire purchasing process.
What is a Facebook Sales Funnel?
While the end goal of every ecommerce brand is to increase sales, not every consumer is going to be ready to purchase your product right away. Even fewer are willing to immediately purchase from a brand they know nothing about. That’s where a Facebook sales funnel comes into play.
A Facebook sales funnel for ecommerce shuttles potential buyers from learning who you are and what you offer to getting them to want to purchase your products and become repeat customers.
Creating a Sales Funnel for Ecommerce Using Facebook Ads
Your Facebook sales funnel for ecommerce can be broken down into four stages. Each one defines where potential customers are in the buying process and commands its own approach to shuttle them to the next step towards finally converting into sales.
The stages of a Facebook sales funnel can broken broken down into the following four steps:
- Awareness
- Interest
- Decision
- Action
Knowing how to set up Facebook ecommerce ads for each step of the sales funnel will maximize your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Different types of content and ads will appeal to users at each stage.
Facebook Sales Funnel Stage 1: Generate Brand Awareness
When you’re creating a sales funnel using Facebook ads for ecommerce, the top of your funnel is going to be all about generating brand awareness. People aren’t going to buy from you if they don’t know who you are. Directly targeting sales at potential customers during this stage in the buying process is unlikely to yield an acceptable ROAS and may actually turn some people off. Instead, highlight a potential problem the customer may be experiencing and provide a concise statement on how your product addresses it.
For example, instead of pushing a specific pair of blue light blocking glasses in the ad headline, you can connect with users by exploring an issue they may have (blue light exposure) with a concise explanation of how your glasses effectively provide a solution. Another prime way to build brand awareness at this level is by providing social proof. Users are more likely to trust your brand if they can see it has been positively reviewed or experienced by others.
One of the most effective ways to generate brand awareness to cold leads who are more likely to engage is through Facebook Lookalike Audiences. These audiences are people who may show interest in your brand because they’re similar to those who have already previously interacted with it. You should have absolutely installed the Facebook Pixel to your site and can create a Custom Audience using data pulled in from the Pixel. Using this data, you can create ads targeting similar audiences to those who have already interacted with your brand. This is just another way the Facebook Pixel provides invaluable amounts of data when creating Facebook ads for ecommerce.
Facebook Sales Funnel Stage 2: Building Interest in Your Brand and Products
Now that you’ve set up steps to introduce your brand, you need to foster that relationship to build interest in your brand and products. Moving more towards the middle of your Facebook sales funnel, these ads are aimed at those who have already interacted with your brand before. This could be previously clicking on one of your Facebook ads, visiting your website, or checking your Facebook page.
The key to this stage of the sales funnel using Facebook ads for ecommerce is engaging with users. This can be creating ads that spark the conversation on why your product is important or providing something that helps your potential customers experience your product.
A perfect example of this is Warby Parker. The well-known glasses retailer has created an AR-based app that allows potential customers to try on a pair of glasses virtually. It engages users with active participation with their brand and lets them effectively try a product before they’ve chosen to purchase.
If your brand doesn’t have the same capabilities to create similar features, don’t worry! Having high quality video of your products in action is another great way to show their effectiveness and help potential buyers become more interested in your products. If you can leverage user-generated content, that’s even better. Ads based on user generated content have shown to receive four times higher click-through rates and cost-per-click reductions of up to 50% compared to other ads.
Facebook Sales Funnel Stage 3: Convince Customers They Need Your Product
The third stage of creating a sales funnel using Facebook ads for ecommerce is about providing that final nudge that makes interested users into users who have decided to purchase. This is all about convincing potential customers they need your product.
At this stage in the sales funnel they’re already familiar with your brand and you have a product that interests them. Make use of Facebook Custom Audiences to create carefully targeted ads that show users products they’ve viewed, shown interest in, or have a clear need for from collected data.
Sometimes users at this stage in the Facebook sales funnel will convert when given a little incentive to act immediately. This could be in the form of free shipping, a limited time offer or special discount. Messages that create a sense of urgency while offering an incentive to convert are extremely effective.
Facebook Sales Funnel Stage 4: Convert Customers into Sales
This is the bottom of the Facebook sales funnel. At this point, your Facebook e-commerce ads have convinced potential customers they need to purchase your product. They’ve clicked your ads, visited your site, or maybe even added an item to their cart but haven’t yet converted.
At this stage, continuing to retarget users with Facebook dynamic ads can greatly increase your chances for conversions into sales. While these ads can be effective at reaching people at all stages of the Facebook sales funnel, they’re particularly effective for warm leads on the cusp of converting.
In this final stage, simplicity for finalizing purchases can make all the difference. Be sure to focus on simplifying the process as much as possible.
Bonus Facebook Sales Funnel Stage: Remarketing to Existing Customers
The battle doesn’t end when a user has converted to their first sale. The goal to maximize ecommerce sales using Facebook ads is dependent upon creating return customers. The cost of acquisition for a new customer is much higher than returning ones. The key here is to keep newly converted customers engaged with your brand!
Consider running follow-up campaigns to increase repeat purchases or suggest new items they may be interested in based on their purchase history. While just 10% of ad spend is on remarketing, it accounts for almost 70% of all sales. The existing engaged customer is the easiest one to market to and can provide opportunities to gather user-generated content to bring in other new customers at earlier stages in your Facebook sales funnel.
Final Word on Creating a Sales Funnel Using Facebook Ads for eCommerce
Knowing how to create a sales funnel using Facebook ads for ecommerce is crucial to maximizing your ad spend and boosting sales. As the ecommerce field becomes more saturated, it’s important for your brand to stay competitive with engaging ecommerce Facebook ads that convert.
While managing Facebook ad campaigns we’ve increased revenue for businesses by 10x and maintained a strong ROAS of 400%-900% for our clients while reducing CPAs by 200%. We know we can help you grow your business on Facebook, are you ready to take the next step with us?
