What Has Changed?
With all the recent attention being given to Facebook’s failure to protect consumer data through third parties, some of my clients are asking me whether or not Facebook is still the place to be for advertising their business. The easy, short answer is…yes. A longer answer, still one word….absolutely! Facebook has been forced to make changes where third party applications are concerned, but the viability of their ad platform is unchallenged in the industry.
The Audience Is There
If your client base is over the age of 21, you need to be advertising on Facebook Whether or not you want or need to be there with a personal page is entirely up to you. Let’s face it…this is the largest potential audience on the planet. With the ability to hyper-target both demographically and geographically, reaching your potential audience is absolutely possible.
How Much Should You Spend?
The functionality of the Facebook ad platform is easy to manage and even easier to analyze. Too often I hear folks say, they tried it and it didn’t work. Well, I tried it and it didn’t work, also. But, I kept trying until I figured out how to get results. It is without a doubt the best “buy” in the industry right now. One can afford a trial and error approach. I personally think we’re all under-spending on Facebook. Here, at Zeus Digital, we run test ads and measure the results. We may do a dozen tests before “dropping the hammer” with a considerable spend. How much should you spend? That depends on your total ad budget. What percentage of your total budget should you spend on Facebook? Every business is different, but I’m guessing you’re under-spending on Facebook.
What Works Best?
There’s no question that video ads work best. As a matter of fact, we’ve found they work many times better than anything else. But, not just any video works. Short (30 seconds or less) videos perform much better than longer videos. We’ve also discovered that entertaining content works better than just pushing a deal message. Use engaging and entertaining content to get viewers to convert to your website. Make sure you land them on a page specific to the ad. There should be zero confusion and a maximum of two options on the landing page….buy now…..or learn more. If they take the “learn more” route….the “buy now” option should reside there as well.
How Often Should You Advertise?
This is another easy question that deserves a short answer….every day. There’s nothing wrong with running multiple ads daily. You’ll need to use a variety of ads and pay close attention to the results. If an ads begins to lose ground, give it a rest. Put it on the shelf for a while and bring it back later if it is still relative. Here’s a tip….spend some dollars to promote your page. Get more followers to give your ad base more leverage.
Conclusion
Don’t shy away from Facebook advertising just yet. We subscribe the ‘marketing in the now” approach to everything digital, and it is our opinion that NOW is the time to hammer down on Facebook marketing. Do plenty of trial and error, but learn from your errors. Don’t quit. Your results may be one ad away.