If you’ve paid any attention to the news over the past few years, you’re probably aware that Facebook has faced its share of potential PR nightmares. Politics and privacy concerns aside, the most recent Pew Research Center study shows that 69% of Americans are still using Facebook. This puts Facebook slightly behind YouTube as the second most used social media platform in the US. Instagram is showing a healthy growth trend in its third-place spot; however, Facebook owns Instagram, and their advertising platforms are somewhat intertwined.
Think Before You Spend
With over 210 million active Facebook users in America, it’s obvious why so many businesses choose to spend hefty portions of their marketing budgets on Facebook advertising. Unfortunately, many of these businesses are spending money without seeing any results other than increasing Facebook’s ad revenue. You’re not likely to increase sales and/or gain new customers by haphazardly clicking “boost” on your business’ latest Facebook post.
If you’ve ever run a Facebook ad campaign, there’s a good chance that you’ve also been bombarded by notifications urging you to boost a post to reach X amount of people. By boosting that post, you will reach X amount of people. But are those the people you actually want to reach? Are they going to buy your product or pay for your service?
Finding Your Target Audience on Facebook
Nobody knows your business or its customers better than you. That knowledge is a useful tool when choosing an audience for a Facebook ad campaign. Facebook’s Ad Manager enables you to delve deep into a variety of targeting options and create niche audiences that you can advertise to. When used properly, you have the ability to expand your current customer base and begin reaching new markets.
Main Targeting Options
- Demographics
- Interests
- Behaviors
- Connections
- Remarketing
There are around 40 subcategories correlating to the main targeting options. And these subcategories include thousands of their own subcategories. Don’t let the numbers scare you; usually you’ll only need to pick from a select few. For instance, 18 to 31-year-old males interested in mini golf who live within a 10-mile radius of Albany. (Please note that this example is only beneficial if you own a mini golf course in Albany with a customer base of 18 to 31-year-old males.)
Defining Your Facebook Advertising Objective
The end goal is almost always gaining new business and increasing revenue. But what’s the best way for your business to achieve this by advertising on Facebook? Facebook Ad Manager provides you with three primary objectives to choose from including awareness, consideration, and conversions. We’re going to give you a brief rundown of when to consider using each one.
Awareness
Your business has a great product, but not enough people know about it. You want to get your name out there and increase overall brand awareness by effectively reaching as many people in your target market as possible.
Consideration
People may have heard of your business, but they don’t necessarily know what it is that you’re offering. You want to create a successful call to action leading potential customers to learn more about your business or its products. You may want to create a landing page or video for your Facebook audience to interact with. You might also consider creating an ad leading people to engage with your Facebook page (i.e. commenting on your posts or messaging your business).
Conversion
You’ve built up a sizable amount of interest in your business and the products or services it offers. Now you want to turn your potential customers into paying customers. If you have an eCommerce website, then you’ll want people clicking through your ad to purchase something on it. If you have a brick-and-mortar business, then you want to drive new traffic into your storefront.
Ready to Create Your Facebook Ad Campaign?
Now that you’re familiar with the basics of Facebook marketing, you may be considering putting that knowledge to use. At Electric Bricks, our team of social media experts can help you manage your budget efficiently while making sense of the numbers by compiling monthly personalized reports. We will work with you directly to create and implement Facebook advertising campaigns that get results that can grow your business.