Facebook Ads are the best thing since sliced bread. If you run an online business and you haven’t run a Facebook ad yet, then you’ve come to the right place.
Here’s what we’re about to cover in this article:
- The benefits of Facebook ads
- How to get started with your first campaign
- Why some businesses keep failing.
What Are the Benefits of Using Facebook Ads?
We’re huge fans of Facebook ads, and there’s a good reason for that. Actually, there are at least five good reasons we can think of right now.
Everyone uses Facebook, they use it a lot, and you can target all of them.
On top of that, it’s very cheap to use, and you can measure exactly how well they work. See below for money information on each of these benefits of Facebook ads.
1. Everyone Uses It and They Use It a Lot
Facebook has well over 2 billion users. So no matter who your target audience is, you can be sure they’re on Facebook.
On top of that, the average user spends two and a half hours on Facebook every day. That means your ad will definitely be seen.
2. You Can Target People Based on Anything You Want
Although Google AdWords is very powerful when it comes to search intent, it doesn’t compare to Facebook. That is because Facebook users are happy to hand over all their personal data.
That includes their gender, age, occupation, interests, and much more. You’re able to target every single one of these attributes when you set up a Facebook campaign.
3. It’s the Most Cost-Effective Form of Advertising
The target capabilities of Facebook is also one of the reasons they’re so cheap. You’re always in complete control of your budget, and you decide when you’re charged.
For example, you can choose to pay based on the number of impressions your ads make, or the number of people who click on your ad.
A single dollar can easily get your ad seen by hundreds of people.
4. You Can Get Free Referrals From Your Facebook Ads
Not only can you reach your target audience for very little money with Facebook ads, but you can also get a lot of referrals. Since Facebook ads can appear like posts, users can like, comment, and share them with their friends — just like with regular posts.
That means you can get additional word of mouth advertising on top of your initial ad spend — for free!
5. Facebook advertising is measurable
As with most PPC advertising, you can measure the efficiency of your Facebook ads. You can, for example, look at engagement, reach, impressions, clicks click-through rate, cost per action, and cost per click.
Facebook gives you all the data you could possibly need to measure how well your campaign works. Then it just up to you how you choose to act on that data.
How Do You Get Started With Facebook Ads?
At this point, you’re probably eager to get started with Facebook ads. We get it, they’re amazing. But if you haven’t done it before, then you need to learn the ropes.
Fortunately, it’s not rocket science, although some would probably make you believe that it is. But it does take a bit of patience and practice to get good at using them.
So here are five steps to start you off.
1. Start With an Objective for Your Campaign
The first thing you should do when you set up a Facebook ad campaign is to choose your objective. What that depends on the aims of your business.
Do you want more people to know about you? Do you want them to visit your website? Or maybe you want them to download a lead magnet so they become part of your sales funnels?
2. Choose Your Target Audience Wisely
Once you know your main objective, it’s time to choose your audience.
As mentioned, you’re spoiled for choice here. You can filter audiences based on where they live, what they do or any other attribute you choose.
Once you’ve played around with basic audiences, you’ll also be able to create custom and lookalike audiences. And that’s where Facebook ads become really fun.
3. Pick the Right Format for Your Ads
Facebook also gives you several options when it comes to ad format.
You can choose the format that suits your specific campaign, such as a newsfeed post or a video intermission. It’s also possible to mix and match these ad formats so you get the widest possible reach.
It’s worth experimenting a bit with different ad formats to see which one gives you the best results.
4. Set the Budget for Your Ads
How much should you budget for your Facebook ad campaign? It’s not an easy question to answer. It depends on how wide of a net you want to cast.
Large audiences mean you’ll spend your ad budget quickly because it targets a lot of people.
The best way to understand how much to budget is to run a test ad and note down the results, then tweak your ad and test it again.
5. Keep an Eye on How Your Ads Are Doing
Once you’ve run a few Facebook ad campaigns, you can look at how well they’ve done. Which data to look at will depend on your ad objective.
But the important part is to make a note of your performance so you know what to change the next time you run the ads. If you’re spending a lot of money and don’t see a significant return on investment, then go back to the drawing board.
Why Do Some Businesses Fail at Facebook Ads?
Facebook ads are not for everyone. You can find countless angry entrepreneurs and marketing managers who are raging on forums about how inefficient Facebook ads are.
Don’t listen to them because they just haven’t done their homework.
Instead, here are some of the main reasons why people fail to get the most out of Facebook ads. Don’t make the same mistakes.
1. They Don’t Have a Strategy in Place
The first reason businesses fail at Facebook ads is that they go in blind.
If you haven’t created a strategy, no matter how simple, then you don’t know when you’ve succeeded or not. And that means you don’t know what to adjust so you get closer to success.
So start by making a plan and determine your criteria for success and failure.
2. They’re Too Impatient to Invest Time
They say it takes 10,000 hours to become good at something. That might not be literally true for Facebook ads, but it definitely takes time and practice.
Remember that Facebook ads are complex, so you need to invest the right amount of time into research before you dive in headfirst.
If you don’t have the time, then consult an expert or an agency who can do it on your behalf.
3. They’re Not Willing to Invest Their Marketing Budget
As with all marketing, Facebook ads cost money. Yes, we just said earlier that they’re cheap and cost-effective, but that doesn’t mean its free to use.
Facebook is a business, and they make money from other businesses that use their marketing tools. So be prepared to invest at least a good portion of your marketing budget if you’re serious about succeeding with Facebook ads.
4. They Don’t Target the Right Audience
Another reason many businesses fail is that they don’t know their target audience. If you don’t know who would be interested in your product or service, then you’re throwing money out the window.
Make sure you know exactly who they are, where they live, what their interests are and why they want what you have to offer.
Know your customer — otherwise, Facebook ads won’t work.
5. They Don’t Understand Content Marketing
You will have a hard time with Facebook ads if you don’t understand the first thing about content marketing. Facebook ads require you have at least a basic understanding of what makes a good photo, video, CTA, or piece of copy.
It’s also important to not go for the cold sale. No one likes being sold to, so you have to win them over little by little.
Start by building trust first.
Ready to create your Facebook ad campaign?
Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of why online businesses should start using Facebook ads. In fact, you’ll be able to benefit massively from Facebook ads even if you’re a brick and mortar business.
We should know because we work with a lot of both online and offline businesses. And they all love the work we’ve done for them using Facebook ads.
If you want to find out more about what we can do for your business, then head over to our page on Facebook ads and download our FREE Guide on how to run your first Facebook ad.
You won’t be disappointed.
Leave A Comment