In 2019, Facebook had more than 2 billion monthly users and almost 75% check their page at least once a month. 65% of users check on their profile page daily. Average time spent per visit is about 20 minutes and doing the math this social media platform’s reach can go beyond anyone’s expectations at any given time.
Facebook, as of today, is the most popular and powerful social media platform that a marketer can use and master. However, to be effective in using this tool, one must invest time and effort to learn the twist and turns and navigate to all marketing streams it offers.
This platform offers markets a huge opportunity to engage people for products and services. In other words, Facebook is one marketing tool that can extremely assist marketers both as a paid and free platform.
A big success in Facebook marketing is the paid option to reach an audience and drive traffic to the website or landing page. If PPC advertising is utilized, there is a greater chance to increase the scope of potential customers.
Do not be easily discourage to know that the option is not free. When done right, the marketing effort will be paid off and the investment will reap its rewards. Let Guy Galboiz, an effective internet marketer, provide guidance in how to go about Facebook marketing and advertising.
Facebook Advertising
If a marketer is familiar with how pay-per-click or PPC works then Facebook PPC is quite similar. But for those new to this, here is a description on what PPC is all about:
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) simply means that an advertiser pays where the ad is only when there is an actual click on the advert. This connotes that an ad will appear on a page even if payment is not paid. However, when a viewer “clicks” or access the page through the ad then that is the only time marketer will pay the advertiser. PPC allows exposure of products and services.
Advantages of PPC Advertising
It is apparent that the exposure to product and services is made and that cost is only incurred when a “click” is made. Usually the cost will be from a few cents to three dollars for each click. Now how this is done is through bidding for a keyword or search term. What this means is that a marketer has a very minimal margin of cost and a greater amount of ROI. For example, a winning bid is $.75 and the expected profit from the sale is $4.00, the business has a potential $3.25 gain. Only a small percentage of profit is needed for PPC.
Another advantage of PPC is that there is no set cost for clicks and minimum spend is not so much. Facebook does give an option for marketer to set own parameters per day. The marketer is free choose how much will be the maximum bid for a search term.
Since this type of ad works on a bidding system. The marketer sets a cost-per-click or CPC and adjusts this value to match other bidders. The marketer willing to spend $2.00 can gain more exposure than one that is only bidding $0.50 for the search term.
The marketer can peg a maximum amount and Facebook advertising allows setting of cut-off points or caps. If someone clicks the ad for 100 times and each time the marketer wins the bid, this will cost a lot of money. The marketer can control the number of clicks to avoid overspending.
Targeting an Audience
A huge advantage of Facebook marketing is the ability to target specific audiences and this can be done with certain parameters. Users share details when sign-up is made. Facebook categories information as to age, gender, profession, location, hobbies and interests. With this information, a marketer can fill in the blanks for specific groups to see the adverts on the newsfeed.
The marketer can be sure that the message reaches relevant people who in turn are potential buyers of the product or service. In this manner, the ad is not exposed to those who do show any interest on what is advertised. A marketer selling a small kitchen appliance would not want the ad to be seen by teenagers but by women who are between the ages of 25-60.
Types of Ads
This section will explain the types of Facebook ads shown on the ad form that needs to be filled up.
For the “supported placements’ list” (This tells marketer where the ad will be placed on the user page.):
- Right column – pertains to the right-side bar of the page
- Newsfeed – this is the “homepage” of the user
- Mobile Newsfeed – refers to the one that can be seen in a mobile phone
Domain Ad – Can be placed at the right column. This ad points directly to the website or landing page. The ad consists of a simple heading and a block of text and of course, the website or landing page URL. This type is considered the simplest form of advertising on Facebook.
Page Post Link – Usually placed on the right column on both desktop and mobile newsfeeds. The idea of this ad is to link to an external source at the same time getting ‘likes’ for the Facebook page. This is ad is with a big image with a link and some text underneath the image.
Multi-Product Ad – For newsfeed on mobile devices. The ad is displaced as a slideshow type that users can browse and shop right on. A powerful strategy for e-commerce shops for exposing multiple products.
Page Like – Placed at the right side of page for desktop and mobile newsfeeds. This advert is for page exposure to get more followers and likes.
Page Post Picture and Videos – Effective in the right-hand side of a page. This lets the marketer post a video or image. This is good for exposure and getting page likes.
Desktop and Mobile Ads – Promotes apps developed for desktop and mobile.
Event and Offers – Facebook allows marketer to post events like launching of products as well as offerings for specific products.
Choosing the Right Ad Type
The challenge for every marketer is to choose which ones would be effective and gather clients or buyers. A good rule is that domain ads can generate direct conversations for the product. The page post links is ideal for publicity of the Facebook page and getting more followers. When a page has many followers, the reach for a post gets higher thus increasing the probability of people to get interested on the offers. For e-commerce sites, a multi-product ad would be an ideal one.
In Conclusion
Facebook is no doubt one platform that can benefit marketing efforts. Consider the user base with available basic user statistics that can be utilized. However, the ads may involve some cost but consider the advantages.
Facebook marketing is flexible and versatile. It is easy to use and there is no need to wait for a long time for publication. The marketer can adjust options and budget as well.
The main advantage of using Facebook as a marketing tool is its ability to target customers and clients. It is a credible platform to start with any digital marketing efforts.