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February 28, 2016

5 Reasons why you should use Facebook Ads for your business

As a marketer who’s been in the social media space since ‘social’ started, I have seen all sorts of tactics being used to entice potential clients. Now there are new social media platforms popping up all the time. Unless you have a dedicated social media manager, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with so many online advertising options … don’t despair as most business people are in the same boat.

My advice to you as a business owner is to assess which social media platforms best suit your business and focus on those. It’s ok to have a presence in multiple platforms … I would only pick a max of 3 to focus on.

Personally I spend most of my time on Facebook, Linked In and Twitter … I consider YouTube in a league of its own which I also use extensively.

When it comes to doing paid ads for lead generation, my absolute favourite is Facebook Ads. There are many reasons why I rate Facebook above the others.

  1. Biggest Social Media Platform

Facebook still wins hands down as the biggest social media platform with around 1.55 billion monthly active users. You can pretty much guarantee that a significant portion of your target market is on Facebook.

  1. Facebook Ads are affordable … relatively speaking

Facebook ads aren’t always the cheapest pay per click option but compared to Twitter and Adwords they can be. What makes them more affordable is that you can run campaigns with a budget as small as $5 per day.

  1. Precise targeting options

My favourite feature of Facebook ads is the precise targeting options. You can target all sorts of demographics and filters. This means that unlike traditional advertising, your ads are only seen by your ideal clients and not wasted on the rest. I call the advanced targeting features of Facebook ads ‘stealth marketing’. Features such as retargeting, lookalike audience and custom audience makes it easier to hit the mark with your target.

 

  1. Analytics and tracking

The analytics and tracking functions of Facebook ads means that you can test your market on different elements of your campaign. This helps you fine tune offers and determine the most profitable niches for your products and services. This kind of real live research is gold!

 

  1. Easy options

Although there are advanced functions, you can choose to just use the simple tools to create Facebook ads. You can literally have an ad campaign up and running, sending you leads and generating revenue in just a day.

If you’ve been using Facebook ads and you feel you’re not getting a good return, it could be that your targeting is off and you’re wasting your budget on the wrong audience. Or it could be that your call to action is not compelling enough. It could even be the image you’re using is not attention grabbing or appealing.

I once had someone complain that the Facebook ads they were running weren’t generating good leads … so I asked them what their offer and call to action was. Yep you guessed, it they didn’t have one!

If you want to make sure you’re getting the best Return on Investment from your ads, you may want to consider outsourcing to an expert who has experience in your industry… especially if you’re spending over $2.5k per month.