Why Facebook Paid Ads are Beneficial and Essential

So you've set up a Facebook business page and now all you need to do is sit back, make some posts and watch the fans roll in, right? Wrong! This might have worked in the past, but since 2013 Facebook has tweaked its EdgeRank algorithm to the point where it is almost impossible for new Facebook pages to earn fans organically. Even if you have a built-in audience, your posts will reach less than 7 percent of your audience due to these changes. If you want to increase your reach, the best way to do so is through Facebook ads.

Why Ads?

If you're a small business, ads have a negative connotation, especially when it comes to cost. The average cost of a traditional ad can set you back several thousand dollars. Fortunately, this is not the case with Facebook ads. In fact, these ads offer the lowest cost per 1,000 impressions at around $0.25. More importantly, Facebook ads offer excellent targeting options so you can reach exactly who you want. A well-targeted ad can increase your fans and engagement significantly. For example, Appleton Rum's Facebook ad increased their e-newsletter subscribers by 40 percent and their fans by 285 percent.

How to Advertise

There are many businesses that have used Facebook ads and have not seen the numbers they expect. Often, the problem lies with their strategy. Unlike digital and traditional ads, Facebook ads are not meant to sell a product but to generate interest and grow your community. The businesses that succeed are the ones that focus on creating leads by asking for low commitment actions such as signing up for a newsletter or filling out a form. Some other helpful tips to improve your ROI include:

  • Setting goals – Before you create your ad, you need to figure out what you want it to accomplish. Is it to build awareness, drive traffic to your site or generate sales? Facebook offers different ad options to help you achieve these different goals. Options such as Sponsored Stories can help increase word-of-mouth recommendations while a Sponsored Post will take a specific update and advertise it within the News Feed.
  • Choosing appropriate image and texts – Designing the ad can be the most difficult part as you only have 135 characters. With that said, you don't need to use all of the characters if you don't need to. Often, the most powerful ads are the ones that evoke some kind of reaction and/or emotion from the audience. Keep it as simple as you can and don't forget to add a call-to-action so viewers know exactly what they need to do. For better results, add relevant images. People often say a picture is worth a thousand words so ensure that your image aligns with the message you want to advertise.
  • Testing multiple ads – Don’t put all of your hopes on a single ad. Instead, create several similar ads with slight text and even image tweaks and track which one generates the most engagement and traffic. Sometimes the smallest changes can have a huge impact.
  • Tracking metrics – If you have a clear goal, you should easily be able to keep track of key performance indicators to track the success of your campaign. Many businesses focus on CTR, but it isn't necessarily the most important metric to track. In fact, things such as likes, comments and impressions often are more relevant to gauge the effectiveness of your ads. 

Start Advertising with Facebook

Facebook has over 1 billion active monthly users and using their ad service can help you capture a huge portion of them. Not only will these ads increase brand awareness, they also will improve brand engagement thanks to its honed targeting abilities.

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