How To Advertise On Facebook
Learning how to advertise on Facebook opens a whole world of possibilities for those looking to develop their business using this social networking giant. It is no secret that Facebook dominates the social media landscape, so it only makes sense that anyone building their business online use the tools available to them. Although there are no cost options for Facebook marketing, I want to spend time today walking showing you how to advertise on Facebook using their pay-per click (PPC) service.
Set A Budget Before You Advertise On Facebook
Since the Facebook PPC service is a paid form of advertising, it is critical that you know what type of budget you have to work with. When you advertise on Facebook, you have a great deal of flexibility with your advertising campaigns, so this will help you keep the costs in check. Campaigns can be run using two pricing options. You can either pay per click, meaning that you only incur a cost each time someone clicks through your ad or you can pay per thousand views. The pay per views options incurs a cost regardless of whether any clicks are received on the ad.
When setting up your advertising campaign, you will be given suggestions for bidding. It is best to disregard these suggestions as you can easily create an effective ad campaign at a much lower cost. In addition the the spending limits set by Facebook, they also allow you to set your own daily spending limits on your campaigns. This is especially helpfully when you are just starting to advertise on Facebook.
Create An Effective Campaign When You Advertise on Facebook
When you advertise on Facebook, it is critical that you put thought into your advertising campaign. The first point of consideration is the landing page that you will be sending prospects to after they click on your ad. There are two basic destinations that are commonly used: External pages and Facebook Fan Pages. I have known marketers who have used both landing pages effectively; however, my preference is towards the Fan Page. In my experience remaining in the working environment of the social network allows for lower per click costs and more importantly an increased “sticky” factor with greater exposure for the marketer. I personally use a landing page on my Fan Page that encourages the viewer to become a fan, which then exposes me to their network of friends, and opt-in for a training offer which places them on my subscriber opt-in list. When a viewer takes these two steps, I now have points of connection instead of one.
The next point of consideration for your advertisement is the ad itself. I find that creative graphics with an attention grabbing headline work best. To get your ads approved, it is important that your headline and ad copy reflect the content of the landing page. This will also create a higher level of trust with your viewer. If you are going to advertise on Facebook, you need to always be mindful of your credibility. One bad experience can quickly spread throughout the Facebook community.
The final consideration when you advertise on Facebook is your targeting. It is better to create multiple ads that are highly targeted, than to try and connect with great multitudes using one advertisement. Ideally, you will want to target those that have interests related to your topic. Don’t limit yourself to company names, but also think about prominent people, industry leaders and practical concepts. Beyond the interest targeting you will also be able to target based on age, sex, education and a few other demographic and geographic selectors. My best responses have come from targeting English speakers in North America, Europe and Oceania who are between the ages of 30 and 55. Bear in mind that targeting the U.S. and Canada will increase the cost, due to competition among advertisers. I also find the best response to any advertising comes between the hours of 4PM and 11PM EST.
These are just a few tips for anyone who is going to advertise on Facebook. Take the time to get familiar with the platform and start slowly.
