BUSINESS BUILDERS

Social Media Advertising for Painting Contractors: Facebook Ads

3 min read

In this article, we asked the marketing experts at Sherwin-Williams for tips on how to reach more customers with Facebook Ads.

Why Facebook Ads?

Facebook Advertising is one of the most effective ways to get your painting company in front of customers in your local area. You can:

  • Easily create ads
  • Fit almost any budget
  • Reach customers where they’re already active

Now we’ll go over how to create and manage Facebook ad campaigns to grow your business and boost your brand.

Getting started

Facebook Ads Manager is the best place to start your campaign. It’s a powerful tool that includes everything you need to launch successful ads, all in one place.

Getting started is simple:

  • Step 1: From the left sidebar, select See More.
  • Step 2: From the new menu, select Ads Manager.
  • Step 3: From the new menu, click +Create and you’re ready to go.

Ads Manager structure

  • Level 1: Campaign – Where you set the overall objective of your campaign.
  • Level 2: Ad Set – Where you set up the campaign details like targeting, budget and schedule.
  • Level 3: Ad – Where you build out the actual creative for your campaign.

Choosing your objective

The first thing Ads Manager does when you start a campaign is prompt you to select an objective from three main categories. Ask yourself which action you would like your audience to take.

  • Awareness: Choose if you are just trying to get your business’s name out into the community or reach as many customers as possible.
  • Consideration: Choose if you want your audience to take an action to learn more about your business, like watching a video or messaging you on Facebook. (This is the option you will generally select for lead generation.)
  • Conversions: Choose if you are going directly after sales. (You can edit this choice in the Campaign tab.)

Defining your audience

Move on to the Ad Set tab to start narrowing your target audience.

First, set the basics based on location, age and gender. Then, refine your audience based on interests, behaviors and connections.

Here are some refinements to consider:

  • Home type and home size: set for the type of jobs you’re trying to land.
  • Homeownership status: exclude renters who probably won’t need your services.
  • Business ownership: target these users for commercial jobs.
  • Purchasing behavior: target users who purchase home improvement services or recently purchased a new home.

Setting budget and placement

A budget for a Facebook ad campaign can be set as a daily budget or a lifetime budget.

Choosing a daily budget means you set a daily spending limit. Once you hit that cap, your ads will stop being shown until the next day.
With a lifetime budget, you set a spending limit for the full campaign. Your ads will be shown throughout the campaign timeframe you set until they reach the cap you put in place.

Creating an effective ad

With the campaign details set, it’s time to lay out your actual ad.

First, choose the style of ad you want to run from these four options:

  • Image ads: A great option for someone just getting started. You can pair a high-quality photo with a compelling offer, for example.
  • Video ads: An effective way to connect with customers. Consider showing your painting crew in action.
  • Carousel ads: Ideal if you have a variety of painting services to highlight. Each image can link to the corresponding service page on your website.
  • Slideshow ads: More attention- grabbing than a standard image ad. Slideshows let you compile a collection of still photos and text into a video clip.

Now it’s time to get creative.

Use content from a proven piece of marketing or create something brand new for this campaign.

Best practices

Here are some general guidelines to follow when creating content for your ads:

  • Images and videos: Keep it simple and uncluttered. Make it colorful to grab attention, and always use
    high-quality visuals.
  • Copy: Always provide a benefit to the customer and focus on a single theme. And, it’s a good idea to include a high-value offer, if applicable.

A note on Instagram ads

Because Instagram is owned by Meta (the Facebook company), Instagram ads are also run through Facebook Ads Manager. You can set your budget, define your target audience, and publish your ads to Instagram the same way you do for Facebook.

This article is adapted from the Sherwin-Williams PRO+ Social Media Guide, Part 2: Reach More Customers with Facebook Ads. ©2022 Northbrook Publishing/Sherwin-Williams. For more tips and links to info on how to get started on Facebook and other social platforms, visit s-w.com/socialmedia101.