You’ve probably noticed we write quite a bit about Facebook. Despite all the gripes people have about fake news, annoying trolls, random friend requests, and silly status updates (‘Cap’n Crunch for breakfast, YOLO!’), Facebook now has nearly 1.8 billion active users.
Facebook continues to skyrocket as an advertising platform as well. They claim to have somewhere north of 3 million active advertisers worldwide, raking in revenues that exceed the budgets of several small countries.
Their advertising options and capabilities are a marketer’s dream. It’s relatively cheap (especially compared to LinkedIn), easy to get started, and results-based. You get to set your own budget and choose whether you want to pay based on impressions or conversions.
Facebook now uses 98 personal data points to ensure the delivery of relevant, hyper-specific ads. Targeting by demographics, location, device, interests, and behaviors are only the tip of this personalization advertising iceberg bonanza.
Needless to say, you can reach a very narrow audience on Facebook with your messaging. You just need to figure out exactly who it is you want to reach, clarify what your objectives are (sales? lead gen? Getting more applications? etc.), set your budget, then determine what advertising techniques you want to try out.
Let’s have a look at just a few of the Facebook ad techniques we’ve seen work for our clients lately, just to give you a flavor of what’s possible.
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Facebook’s lead ads make it easy to fill out forms. When people click on your lead ad, they’re directed to your customized form that is already pre-filled with their information (pulled from Facebook).
These forms are super mobile friendly and require very little typing. It’s a great way to get more applications, newsletter sign-ups, or qualified leads interested in doing business. You can also incorporate video into your lead ads, which is a great way to drive more clicks.
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You have customers. They’re great aren’t they? If only you could introduce yourself to a bunch of people who share their characteristics or interests…
Facebook’s Lookalike Audiences feature lets you do just that. You just upload a list of your customers, contacts, or leads, and Facebook will point you in the direction of folks who share similarities.
Lookalike audience, courtesy of Tecmo Bowl.
Facebook has partnerships with data companies like Datalogix, Acxicom, and Epsilon, which provide purchase information to the social giant. If you’re wondering why you keep seeing ads for Cheez-its and beer, there you go (no judgment here).
Facebook lets you sort, filter, and search based on the following purchase categories:
Drill down into, say, ‘Business Purchases,’ and you can get even more granular to see who has purchased items related to:
Pretty specific, huh?
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A few takeaways before you go:
