Though it has traditional advertising elements, Facebook ads are a unique combination of artistic creativity and calculated science. Here are four core, deliberate steps to make your ads successful…creativity aside.

Newcastle Brown Ale. You’d think of them as just another beer company. At least until you see their Facebook page, that is. With a nice blend of hops, humor, and transparency, this ale’s got it down.

Facebook posts with pictures typically garner more engagement, which is the end-game in social media, right? It also helps break the monotony of the timeline structure. Here’s an example from Chick-Fil-A.

Sometimes you just need someone to lay down the law for you. Today, that’s what I’m gonna do. And the law I am laying down? Delete that ugly Facebook URL from your Facebook post! The effort to create a sleek and clean post only takes 2 seconds of your time.

This week I’m loving Sharpie’s Facebook page. Maybe I am just biased, considering there is little more that I love than a nice, fresh, inky black Sharpie. But that aside, here’s the positive and negative of what Sharpie’s social media team is doing.

I’m going to make a prediction: By this time next year, Spotify will have been acquired by Facebook.

May 18, 2012 marks the day that Facebook went public. Founder Mark Zuckerberg and team remotely ring the NASDAQ bell. The only logical next step? World domination, of course.