Solved: Facebook Ad Performance Issues for Art Exhibition

Hi there,

Really happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on your Facebook ads for the art gallery's new exhibition. It sounds like you're throwing darts a bit at the moment, which is a situation we see quite a lot, so hopefully I can help you improve before you waste any more money.

We'll need to look at the creative...

First things first, the creative is absolutely key with art. You've gotta use high-quality photos that really show off the artwork, you know? Low res images or badly lit photos just won't cut it, it needs to look professional and capture the details. Is the lighting right? Is the framing good? Is it really doing the art justice? Remember, you're selling the art, so the visuals have to be stunning, it's like a digital showroom so think of it that way.

I remember one campaign we ran for a luxury brand launch. We found that the creative was really important to get right. We helped them get 10 million views by focusing on high quality creative that captured the luxury feel of the brand. Something like that could be happening here!

I'd say you need to consider the ad copy...

Then comes the ad copy, which a lot of people forget. Is it just stating the obvious ("New Exhibition!") or does it actually draw people in? You want to think about giving some context, telling a story about the artist, or highlighting what makes this exhibition special. What's the story behind the art? What will people experience when they see it? Get creative and write something that resonates.

Consider targeting. Facebook's targeting can be powerful if you know how to use it. You could try targeting people based on their interests, like "art lovers", "local artists", "gallery visitors", or even fans of similar art galleries. You could also target people who live near your gallery or who have visited similar places recently. If you can use that demographic data to your advantage you might see good results.

You probably should experiment with video...

You might also want to play about with different ad formats. Maybe try a carousel ad to show off multiple pieces, or a collection ad to create a more immersive experience. For one art gallery client, we used videos and the engagement was way higher than with static images. It might be worth a try.

Looking at it from a B2C perspective, you'd usually want to reach people that are already looking for art or who are interested in it. However, I can see that you're already running Facebook ads, so I'll keep my advice relevant to what you're already doing. Just thought it'd be good to give a bit of context.

The most important thing is to get to know your audience to make sure your resonating with them, not just wasting money.

You'll need to optimise and look at the data...

Finally, I'd definitely optimise for conversions if conversions are the goal. The best ad platform is where the target audience can best be reached with the ad platform’s available targeting options. Wrong ad platform = wrong targeting = difficult to achieve results. And to optimise performance, I’d always split test creative and targeting within the same campaign.

Also, are you using location targeting properly? Make sure you're only showing ads to people in your service area. We're running a campaign for an HVAC company currently and the location targeting was all over the place when we started. We can make sure it's properly set up if you want?

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

Paid advertising can be tricky, and it sounds like you're doing a lot yourself. If you're feeling overwhelmed or just want a second opinion, we offer a free initial consultation where we can review your strategy and account together. It's usually super helpful and gives potential clients a taste of the expertise they'll see going into their project if they decide to work with us.

Anyways, hope this has helped!

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh