Keyword Targets on Facebook Ads for Authors
Did you survive the latest Metapocalypse? I say this jokingly because every few months, someone shouts that the sky is falling over on Facebook or Tiktok or Amazon. But that’s rarely true. What’s happening is the clouds are shifting and if you want to keep up, you need to shift too!
Navigating Facebook advertising can be a game-changer for promoting your books and reaching a wider audience. One of the most powerful tools at your disposal within the platform is keyword targeting. Understanding how to effectively find and select keyword targets can significantly enhance your ad campaigns, making them more relevant and engaging to your ideal readers.
At the time of this posting, I do not recommend Advantage Targeting. As Romance Authors, we have a lot of keyword targets that readers self-selected into that we can still use.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to pinpoint the best keyword targets based on the genre of your book.
1. Understanding Facebook Keyword Targeting
Facebook allows advertisers to target users based on their interests, which are often deduced from their activities, liked pages, and interactions on the platform. But readers can also click on interests. For authors, this means you can reach potential readers who have shown interest in similar books, genres, authors, or related content like movies and TV shows.
2. Start with Genre Basics
Begin by targeting broad genre keywords related to your book. For example, if you write contemporary romance, start with keywords like "Romance novels," "Contemporary Romance," and even broader categories like "Romantic books." This sets a baseline audience interested in your genre.
3. Research Popular Authors and Titles
Dive deeper by identifying popular authors and specific book titles within your genre. If you write paranormal romance, look for successful authors in that niche, such as Nalini Singh or JR Ward. You can target fans of these authors, as they are likely to enjoy similar themes and styles found in your books.
4. Explore Related Interests
Think beyond direct genre matches. For instance, if your book has a strong comedic element, consider targeting fans of popular comedy authors or comedic television shows and movies. This can help you tap into audiences that are primed for the humor aspect of your stories, even if they're primarily marketed as romance or fantasy.
5. Use Facebook’s Audience Insights
Facebook offers a tool called Audience Insights where you can explore various interests and see how they overlap with other keywords. For example, entering "Nalini Singh" might show overlaps with "Urban Fantasy Books" or "Paranormal Romance." This tool can help you refine your targeting strategy and discover new, relevant keywords.
6. Analyze Competitors
Check out the Facebook pages of authors who write similar books. Observe the kind of interests their followers have by looking at other pages those followers like. This indirect research can unveil additional keywords that might be relevant for your targeting.
7. Test and Refine
Keyword targeting is not a set-it-and-forget-it process. Run small test campaigns with different keywords to see which ones yield the best engagement and conversion rates. Use Facebook’s detailed ad performance metrics to analyze the effectiveness of each keyword.
Selecting the right keyword targets on Facebook involves a mix of broad and specific strategies. By combining genre-based targeting with specific interests related to popular authors, titles, and related themes, you can craft Facebook ad campaigns that are finely tuned to attract readers who are most likely to enjoy your books. Remember, the key to success in Facebook advertising lies in continual learning, testing, and adapting based on data and trends.
Be sure to look up every once in a while. I promise you, the sky isn’t falling. It just might be time to move into the shade.