In this section we’ll cover the most popular ad types used for selling Teespring products on Facebook. We’ll share general tips and recommendations for each ad type, but keep in mind there are tons of tutorials and guides available online and everyone has their own opinion on the effectiveness of each ad. Generally, sellers start with a $5 – $10 budget and then make a data based decision after 24 – 48 hours of running their ads. Opinions vary based on ideal target audience sizes and the ad type you select, but narrowing your target audience to 50,000 – 400,000 people is a good range to start with. Before launching your first ad, be sure to read up on Ad Placements to ensure you’re getting the most conversions for your ad spend.
Keep in mind Facebook structures its ads as such:
Campaign: This is the parent group. We recommend one Facebook ad campaign per Teespring listing. For example you will create a PPE campaign and all ads/ad sets under this campaign will have “engagement” as their main goal.
Ad Set: You can have many ad sets within a campaign, each with its own budget. We recommend using multiple ad sets to separate your various targeting strategies. For example, one ad set might use interest targeting, while another might target based on field of study.
Ads: You can have multiple ads within a single ad set. We recommend keeping your targeting the same for all of the ads within a set, but varying the creatives to test effectiveness. Facebook will automatically try to determine which ad image or copy is the most effective.
TIP: Check out this video on setting up your first Facebook ad!
There are three types of Facebook ads sellers commonly use to sell, we’ll discuss these in more detail below.
Page Post Engagement (PPE)
PPE ads could be considered the easiest ads to set up. You can either promote a photo or a link within the post – keep in mind visual posts (with photos) are more eye-catching and will be more effective for generating engagement. The aim of this ad is to encourage engagement (i.e. shares, likes, clicks, comments), page likes to generate organic traffic to your listing page through this engagement.
Pro’s
- PPE ads are relatively easy to set up
- Facebook tends to serve this ad type to people who regularly engage with posts (i.e. who like, share and comment frequently).
- These ads are a good way to gain followers for your Facebook page (who you can advertise to later for a lower cost)
- High engagement can generate free/organic traffic (when someone shares your ad or tags a friend for example) to your ad and fan page
Con’s
- PPE ads involve an extra step for potential buyers because clicking a PPE ads does not send a person directly to your listing page. If someone clicks on this ad, they will be taken to an enlarged image of the ad within Facebook. This means there is an extra step for potential buyer because they need to specifically click on the campaign URL (which you can include in the ad text or in the comment section of the post).
Click to Website Ad (CTW)
The aim of CTW ad is to generate URL clicks and send as many people as possible to your listing page.
Pro’s
- Requires smaller budget for testing; usually you can tell if the ad will be successful in a shorter amount of time (either it works or it doesn’t; engagement isn’t a big factor like with PPE ads)
- Less steps for buyers; if a potential buyer clicks on the ad, she/he will be taken directly to your Teespring listing page.
- This ad type works better for people who don’t engage as much with Facebook content
Con’s
- CTW ads rarely go viral or are shared as much as PPE ads so you won’t generate as much organic traffic or page likes
Website Conversion Ad (CW)
This is the most “advanced” of the three ad types. CW ads require the use of a tracking pixel and aim to create and target your ideal buyer audience based on the people who convert on your ad, i.e. purchase from your campaign. Facebook uses the insight it gains from your buyers and adapts your target audience as the ad runs.
Pro’s
- This ad can become more effective over time as you have more conversions (Facebook learns from your buyers and optimizes targeting)
- Less steps for buyers; if a potential buyer clicks on the ad, she/he will be taken directly to your Teespring listing page
- This ad type works better for people who don’t engage as much with Facebook content
Con’s
- Testing can be a bit more costly because you need conversions (sales) to determine if the ad will become more effective over time; $30 – $50 testing budget
- You will also need to use a tracking pixel in order to verify if the ad is working or not
- CW ads rarely go viral or are shared as much as PPE ads so you won’t generate as much organic traffic or page likes
