Facebook Advertising: A Beginners guide
These days you would be hard-pressed to find somebody who does not have Facebook. It seems that more people get their news and information from Facebook than any other source. This is why Facebook advertising has become a powerful medium. Extremely low budget compared to other forms of advertising, businesses with a Facebook page has a powerful resource if utilised correctly. Not sure how to get started with Facebook advertising? It is easier than it looks.
Why Take Advantage of Facebook Advertising?
From check-ins to reviews, if your business does not have a Facebook page, then you could be missing out on some valuable exposure. If you do have a Facebook page and have not yet taken advantage of the advertising campaigns, then you are also missing out on an opportunity to reach potential customers. From skincare to restaurants to plumbing services- every business can gain from advertising on Facebook. Compared to more traditional advertising mediums, you can tailor-make a campaign to suit your business’s budget. From as little as a few dollars to invest with a substantial amount, there is incredible potential for exposure ad return on every campaign. The great thing about Facebook advertising too is you can take advantage of targeted audiences. Whether your audience is broad or niche, you can customise campaigns for users that fit your business criteria, meaning a higher chance that your campaign will reach the intended audience of potential customers. Even if your knowledge is limited, your content is not of the highest quality or your budget is not huge- Facebook advertising can still pay some dividends.
How to Create the Best Facebook Advertising Campaign
The key to any successful marketing campaign is understanding what exactly you want to gain from said advertisement, and that is no different when it comes to creating Facebook advertisements. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness? Having a sale on products or services? Launching a new product? To know what you need to create, you have to know what you want the outcome to be because that is one of the first things Facebook will ask you when setting up the campaign. This is necessary to select because Facebook will optimise the ad placements based on your selection, so to achieve the outcome that aligns with your business goals, select the campaign-style that is right for you. As mentioned previously, the perks of Facebook advertising is that you can select your target audience;
whether it is location, gender, interests, demographic- you can select anything as broad as mothers on Facebook, to 18-year-old males in Melbourne with an interest in snowboarding. The next step is to decide which platforms you want your ad to be shown on, either desktop, mobile or both as well as what apps, in-stream videos and other locations available for advertising. The biggest part of Facebook advertising though is setting your budget- the more you spend, the longer or more saturated your campaign will be. You can decide on as
little as a couple of dollars a day to a lifetime budget of a few thousand dollars. Facebook does outline what you get for each budget, so it is up to you to decide what you are willing to invest. The best campaigns are typically high budget advertisements,
optimised for various platforms and depending on what your objectives are, a broader or more niche search format may be the way to go. Ultimately, experimentation is a great way to decide what works for your business but following these simple steps to get started is
an excellent way to dip your toe in.
A Few Extras When It Comes to Facebook Advertising
One thing to ensure that you are doing when starting any advertising campaign on Facebook is to keep a close eye on the results. As the campaigns are customizable, you can change or run new campaigns. If you are not seeing the results that you want, it could be as simple as just adding a few extra dollars to the budget or you may not have picked the right objective for your campaign. The best way to learn and understand Facebook ads is to get involved and follow the steps they tell you. Keep your content simple and straight to the point and try not to overcomplicate the advertising with too many parameters and adding in a multitude of hashtags. While you are starting, it may be wise to not invest too much money until you have a better understanding of what gives you the most optimal results. Either way, like any form of advertising, there is no guaranteed number of conversions- only a way to encourage more down the track. Facebook advertising does not need to be complicated. If you decide to create a campaign or boost a post on your page, Facebook can walk you through the steps. The best way is to approach the platform with a vision and a desired outcome and tweak until you gain the outcome you want. The more campaigns you create, the more you will understand what suits your business and the more success you will have down the track- so get in there and start creating.