OK, because I notice the ads on my Facebook page a bit more than regular folk, I sometimes find myself wondering “why is this ad targeted to me?”

If the ad seems too on the mark, I wonder how much about me the advertiser/facebook really knows. And if the ad is way off the mark, I wonder if maybe they know something I don’t!

But occasionally I notice that it’s not just me — some brands advertise on Facebook a lot, so their ads pop up on mine and most of my friends and colleages pages.

And one of those companies is Fab.com.

Which brings up the question of “why are they so successful advertising on Facebook?”

And to answer that, just take a look at this ad:

bearded beanie

The product sort of sells itself, doesn’t it?

But even if the ad doesn’t sell the prospect a Bearded Beanie, it still sells them on clicking-through to see and read a bit more about the bearded beanie, not to mention to check out some of the other whacky, entertaining products on offer.

And that’s sort of the point:

The products are entertaining in the same way that spending time of facebook is entertaining.  They offer the perfect kind of distraction that people on Facebook are already seeking when they log on.

Also, the cool-factor to the products is easily demonstrable from a Facebook Ad-sized image. You just have to see a picture of the product to understand it’s appeal and to want to know just a bit more about it.

So how can this help your ads?

Well, it brings to mind a few questions you might ask yourself:

1)  What’s a visually interesting aspect of my product or service that I might feature in my Facebook ads. Is there an image I can use that would grab attention the way a Bearded Beanie does?

2)  How can I feature an ad that plays upon Facebook’s strengths?  How can I make my ad more inherently social and/or entertaining?

3)  Since Facebook is about identity, how can I make my ad more tribal or identity driven? How can I prospects express their identities to their Facebook friends?

You might not have a storehouse full of fun whacky products, but I guarantee that there are aspects of your company that are interesting, social, and tribal if you look for them. And the more of them you bake into your Facebook ads, the better your ads will perform for you.