The entire system of online advertising economy can be likened to a race to the finish line. A competition between tech companies, that steadily improve their solutions and keep adding more functions in order to come out on top. Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter are all constantly trying to earn our money. The more prospects that they can offer to reach for you, the more probable it is that you will purchase advertising space within their site.
Undoubtedly to the potential advertisers among us, this is a positive development, because we have more and more efficient ways to reach precise target groups at the right time and place with the messages we wish to send out.
Paradoxically, though, this abundance of options can also pose a problem. Facebook alone gives us over a dozen advertising goals to choose from. More confusing still, is that each of them can be further customized in plenty more ways, for instance, by segmenting target groups or testing various versions of an ad and its elements.
This may be particularly difficult for new advertisers trying to wrap their heads around all the features. Where do I start? What type of campaign should I select? Does this really work in my line of business? These are certainly some of the most frequent questions that small and medium business owners ask.
This article is a starter to a series of posts about the basics for Advertising on Facebook, that will help you launch your promotional operations on the said platform.
Advertising on Facebook Step 1: Start with determining your final goal
Ask yourself: What do I want to achieve thanks to this advertising? For new advertisers, I suggest you go with one of the two most crucial goals: increasing sales or educating customers. In practice, both these goals serve to generate new leads. However, in some industries, the sales process is longer and often requires building customer relations. Here’s where Facebook gains an upper hand over its competitors (Google AdWords, for example), because it’s a social networking site focused on relations. Educating customers is an especially important strategy if you’re running a knowledge-based business - such as if you’re an expert in your domain - a lawyer, doctor, personal coach, consultant, stylist, etc.Advertising on Facebook Step 2: Select the right campaign for your goal
One of the most emphasized promotional tools made available by Facebook is the Boost post feature. It literally takes 3 clicks, and your ad goes live! Unfortunately, in most cases, this isn’t the solution that will help you achieve your goal.Especially if you’re only dipping your toes in advertising and want to assess the return on investment. The Boost post feature may be misleading, because even though you’ll easily reach people who’ll like your promoted content, it doesn’t mean you’ll turn them into loyal readers in the future, people who will buy from you moving forward, or recommend your services to their friends/colleagues. I’ll get to the strategies for utilizing post boosting in one of the articles that will follow.Which campaign type should I select then?
Increasing sales In order to increase sales, you should select the Website Clicks campaign and direct traffic to your site. If Facebook users will show interest in your ad, that’s half the job done. The rest will be up to your website. It’s crucial that people who will visit the site are able to find more information about the offer you promote right away. It’s best to have a dedicated landing page, that makes it easy to place an order for the particular product or service. Educating customers In this scenario, start off by promoting your fan-page and select campaigns aimed at getting more likes for it. Don’t aim too high, though. 100-200 new fans will be enough to see if your posts enjoy any interest. Map out the aspect of your knowledge that you’d like to share with audience who are interested in your service and draw up a series of guides/tips.Advertising on Facebook Step 3: Provide value
Facebook is a bit like meeting with friends. People use it because they want to relax, learn what their friends have been up to or see something interesting. No one likes individuals who come together to sell stuff. It’s a whole different story though when someone helps you acquire useful knowledge, claim a discount or even get a free product. This is the way you should be thinking about your Facebook ads.What should I be offering?
Increasing sales- If you’re running a local business, offer a discount code for new customers.
- If you’re running an online store, offer free shipping or a small gift.
You might also like; 10 Reasons your PPC Ads might not be showing
In the upcoming articles you will read:
• How to find the right audience on Facebook • How to prepare your first ad? • Critical Facebook advertising metrics to measure • The most important element of each advertising campaign • How to utilize the Boost Post featureArticle written by Krzysztof Bycina, PPC Executive at YOMA
