Facebook last reported having 1.1 billion active users a month and since its inception in February 2004, it can unanimously be agreed upon that it is one of the most successful social networking sites ever created. It isn’t just successful in the sense that it can connect old friends, lovers, and family – but it can also connect businesses to consumers. Facebook Marketing was dimly understood when the opportunity to place advertisements on the site was first implemented. In recent years, they have developed an interface that is much easier to navigate and much easier to assess.
It may seem intimidating at first, but here are a few things you might want to look out for before you post your first Facebook Marketing activation:
1. Demographic and more:
You will notice as you choose a certain age range, countries, gender, marital status, etc. that the number of possible reach will increase/decrease. Be specific about exactly who you’re targeting: you don’t want to pay for impressions that are not in your target market. Niche marketing is where it is at, so if you want to speak to a certain segment of your primary target, you can do that too. Facebook enables you to target Women, who are interested in food and dining, and who are parents….etc… It’s not only demographics but psychographics as well.
2. Bids:
This is how much you’re willing to pay per click, impression, or like. You can customize your Facebook Marketing campaign so that you only pay when a user clicks on the advertisement (or simply sees it). You can also choose the option to only pay if the user ends up liking the page that the advertisement was made to promote. Your choice should depend on the purpose of your campaign.
3. Tracking:
You can easily manage your ads in the “Ads Manager” button on your Facebook page. The data will be sorted by impressions (organic and paid) as well as the demographics that the advertisement is really appealing to. Like any project, it isn’t effective if you aren’t going to learn from it – figure out what worked, what didn’t, and how you can make it even better next time.
Unlike renting space to place an ad, without real quantifiable statistics on how well the advertisement has done, placing an advertisement on Facebook can be measured accurately and in real-time. It can also be customized based on how much you want to spend and who you want to reach, specifically. Facebook Marketing is an effective and affordable way to maximize reach for your brand or campaign.
What has been your experience when using Facebook marketing? Share them here.