Mastering Paid Advertising on Facebook
Over the last few months, you may have noticed your Facebook organic reach steadily declined. Posts, pictures, hashtags, videos—you’ve tried them all, yet the numbers stay within the same range consistently or don’t budge at all. Then one day, you notice the “Boost Post” button and everything changes.
There are differences between simply boosting a post and creating an advertisement, though both create similar effects. While you may be weary to start shelling out bucks, Facebook advertising does have its benefits and as of now, it’s being adopted by millions of users and marketing companies. Facebook has a hugely diverse audience, allowing you to reach as many people as with radio or TV advertising. However, with Facebook advertising, you can target precisely to users with interests that pertain to your business and detailed demographics on a relatively low budget.
There are a few things you can do to make your Facebook advertisements stand out. Firstly, write copy as you would for a print advertisement. Make it compelling, eye-catching, and clickable. Always include a graphic of some kind whether it’s hand-crafted by a graphic designer or a stock photo. Secondly, always use ads that are placed within a newsfeed. According to the Marine Software Social Index report from Q2-Q3 2013 as reported by Social Media Today, newsfeed ads attained a 44 times higher click through rate (CTR) than right hand side placed ads. As an added bonus, newsfeed ads achieve 67% lower costs per click than right hand side ads.
Always be sure to make your ads mobile-friendly, as many people scroll through Facebook almost exclusively on their smartphones. Facebook recently introduced a custom audience feature that allows you to target advertising by uploading email lists, phone number lists, Google+ circles, and more. If your email marketing is suffering, moving your email list contacts over to Facebook can be an effective strategy to recapture the attention of silent consumers.
Don’t fear Facebook’s advertising model. A small budget can work wonders, and as of now, Facebook isn’t totally paid or pigeon-holed—you have a variety of options. In the long run, investing in social media means investing in the inevitable future of your customer base. Play around with your audience to see what strategies work best for you. If you’re interested in starting the journey to effectively marketing your business with us on social media and beyond, contact us today. Be sure to connect with us, McCauley Marketing Services, on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.