Facebook is the world’s largest and most widely used social network, which makes it a powerhouse in the online advertising world. And whether you want to acquire new customers or build brand awareness, Facebook ads help many small businesses just like yours grow.

• Facebook is still the most used social platform, with nearly 2.45 billion monthly active users. (Facebook)
• 71% of American adults use Facebook. (Journalism.org)
• An average Facebook user clicks on 11 ads per month. (Hootsuite)
• Facebook use is prominent among high earners at 74%, and even surpasses LinkedIn, which reaches just 49% of users making more than $75,000. (Pew Research)
• 94% of Facebook Ad revenue is from mobile, with only 6% of Facebook’s advertising revenue comes from desktop-only users. (Facebook Q2 2019 Financials)
• The average price for Facebook Ads decreased by 6% in 2019. (Facebook Q3 2019 Earning Transcript)

Looking at the popularity of Facebook, we can assume a large cross-section of your customer base is using Facebook and Instagram every day.  To effectively market your business and increase awareness among an audience that matters to the growth of your business, Facebook Advertising needs to part of your digital marketing mix.

10 Quick Tips for Getting Started with Facebook Ads

Facebook ads should get top consideration when looking to diversify your digital marketing efforts. Facebook offers the ability to hyper-target your audience, monitor the effectiveness of your ads, and modify the ads to adjust to responses.

Here are 10 tips for getting started with Facebook ads:

1. Begin with a Clear Goal.

The two most common goals for Facebook ads are to generate sales directly from the advertisement or to increase awareness of your business and build a contact list for future marketing efforts. Everything about your ad should focus on your primary goal.

2. Choose Your Geographic Area.

Does your business only serve your local area? Don’t waste ad spend on people who would never visit your location or use your services. Tailor the regions where your ads will appear to match the area of your ideal customers.

3. Customize the Demographic You Want to Reach.

Facebook collects so much information about its users you can define your target market based on age, gender, location, interests, income, and even purchase history. Combine these criteria to match your target market when building your ad campaigns.

4. Show Your Ad to Existing Contacts.

Upload a customer or contact email lists into your Facebook ad manager. Any of the people on that list that are also Facebook members will receive your ad reminding people you are still around to service their needs.

5. Set and Control Your Budget.

You can choose to run ads continuously or for a particular period. You can also set how much you are willing to pay. Budgets are set as a maximum daily expenditure or total expenditure over the duration of the campaign, so you have full control over how much you spend on your Facebook ads.

6. Use Images in Your Ad Creatives.

Ad creatives are the part of the ad that Facebook users see. Images get far more interest and generate higher response rates than text-only ads. Consider creating multiple ads with different images to test how your audience responds. Then adjust your campaigns to focus on what works best.

7. Monitor Performance with the Facebook Ad Manager.

Ad Manager accumulates metrics on responses to your ads and presents them in comparison to goals established when the campaign was initiated. Monitor and use this information to alter and improve campaigns, change the budget or target market, or scrap an ad that is not working and start over.

8. Use Conversion Tracking to See What Works.

You can place JavaScript code on your website that tracks visitors’ actions – this is conversion tracking. That JavaScript sends info to Facebook, and then Facebook compares that list with a record of prospects that looked at or clicked on your ad. Now you know how many people viewed your website or made a purchase after seeing your Facebook ad.

9. Boost Your Facebook Posts.

Boosting a post is a different type of advertising and the easiest way to advertise on Facebook for beginners. Boosting a post makes it appear higher in the News Feed of the ad recipients, increasing the likelihood it will be seen. You can promote any post with a boost to raise its exposure.

10. Don’t Forget to Have a Call to Action – Every Time.

The purpose of any ad should be to get the viewer to do something. Don’t waste time or money by making people figure out what they should do next. Do you want them to buy something, click a link, subscribe, follow, like, click-through to a landing page to learn more? Whatever it is, you need to clearly and boldly tell them what to do in every ad.

Follow these ten tips when you get started with Facebook ads, and you’ll see a tremendous lift in how often and how much people engage with your ad campaigns.

Don't know where to start with your Facebook Ads?  Contact us today, at 318-219-5353 for a complimentary online strategy meeting.