As a small business owner, the thought of spending a lot of cash on advertising probably doesn’t do it for you. But don’t worry, there are plenty of free or low-cost tools that you can use to effectively brand your business. The biggest of those being social media, more specifically, Facebook. Facebook advertising is pretty straightforward and easy to use, as 95% of social media marketers say that Facebook gave them the best return on investment out of all the social platforms. If you’re interested in advertising on Facebook but aren’t sure where to start, here are a few helpful tips.
Breaking Down the Facts
We’ll start with the big numbers. Twenty-two percent of the world’s population are active Facebook users, including 68% of adults in the United States. While some have said that Facebook usage has started to dwindle, the opposite is true, as the website’s user base grows by eight people per second, or 7,246 people every 15 minutes! And speaking of minutes, the average Facebook user spends just over 58 minutes a day on Facebook.
Calculating the Costs
Even though you know the users are there, you’re still a little weary on the costs and if you’ll ever see any return on your investment. To easy your mind, we’ll start with how little Facebook ads cost compared to other traditional marketing strategies. Spending just one dollar per day has the potential to get your brand in front of 4,000 people that wouldn’t have otherwise seen it. This breaks down to just a quarter per ad to reach 1,000 people and potential customers!
How to Get Started
We understand that these numbers can be very overwhelming and might have you scratching your heading thinking, “Where do I start?” Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. The first step is to select your marketing objective. What do you want people to do when when they see your ads? Do you want your ad to create interest in your product or service, get people talking about your business or encourage them to purchase something right away? Beginning with this step will help guide you in the right direction in your Facebook advertising path. In creating your objective, it’s also a good idea to start with Facebook Pixel. By installing this snippet of code on your website, it will allow you to specifically target any visitors to your site based on their engagement with your brand. Facebook Pixel allows you to keep track of people who have made a purchase on your site or even fill out a contact form.
Targeting Your Audience
The phrase “Big Brother is watching you” can be seen to be extremely true when it comes to targeting your Facebook audience. Facebook allows you to target potential consumers with remarkable precision. You can create custom audiences grouped by age, gender, location, interests, occupation, income and many more. Targeting your audience can go even further than these generic searches, as your business can target based on past behaviors. Facebook gives you the ability to condense your audience with ‘detailed targeting.’ Do you want an audience that are newlyweds, people who love reading Harry Potter books, or even taking medication for heartburn? No matter what you’re promoting or selling, you can create a custom audience or audiences that will deliver your ads directly to the people you need to see them.
What Kind of Ads are Effective
First and foremost, always use an image! While a plain text update can get your message across, potential customers are more likely to engage with something that has some form of media attached to it. Facebook advertising like photo ads allows you to include 125 characters of text plus a headline and link description, as well as a call-to-action button like ‘Shop Now’ or ‘Send Message.’ Carousel ads are a good way to feature different products or explain a step-by-step process. With this ad, Facebook lets you include up to 10 images or videos, each with their own link, all in one ad. Your business can use different elements in your carousel ad to present a compelling, effective story or message. Another way to reach customers, and maybe one of the more effective ways, is through video. Facebook video lets you reach people that would otherwise be difficult or expensive to reach on TV, such as young adults. Compared to TV, Facebook video reaches 37% more Americans aged 18-24. A quick 10-15 second video has the ability to catch the attention of potential customers in a fun, fast-paced way.
Let Us Help
Plenty of business owners are still figuring out the world of Facebook advertising, so it’s okay to ask for help! Here at Endless Revenue Marketing, we are determined to help businesses grow and add new customers by leveraging the power of Facebook ads and follow up marketing techniques. We can help you promote your brand through Facebook Ads, Email Marketing and raise your overall brand awareness. If you’re interested in how we can help your business, please feel free to reach out!
