Rachel
Facebook is a social media giant. It has perfected the algorithm in which you can search for an item or service on Google and then see an ad for that same product or brand while casually scrolling Facebook. This is genius for both the business owner as well as the customers. How convenient is it for a consumer to purchase a product simply by perusing Facebook, and how convenient is it for a business owner to capitalize on this marketing strategy?!
To take advantage of this, you need to know when to start, how to start, and the basic strategies for making this work. Keep in mind that in order to advertise on Facebook, you will need to pay for a marketing campaign, but we will get to that in a minute.
Step 1 – Create a Facebook Page for Your Business
First, you won’t get anywhere without a Facebook page. Seriously. You have to have a Facebook page for your business to be able to run an advertisement campaign. This platform allows potential customers to peruse your company while scrolling through their social media. Don’t worry, creating a Facebook page for your business is easy, and you can control it from an app on your Smartphone, tablet, or computer. There is also a separate application to use for your Facebook page called the Page Manager, so if you are controlling your Facebook page on your phone, this application makes it even easier to do so.
Step 2 – Start an Advertisement Campaign
Facebook allows advertisers to choose the type of advertisement promotion you want to run. Do you want to drive Facebook users to your page only, or do you need them to visit your website directly? Facebook advertising allows you to pick and choose the type of advertising campaign you want to do and the ads you want to run. A properly run Facebook advertising campaign will allow your business to reach more people and potential customers.
- Choose Your Target Audience – Facebook advertising allows you to choose the specific audience you want the advertising campaign to reach. You can begin by targeting men, women, or both. You can choose an audience located within your country or outside. You can choose Facebook users with an age range between 13 and 65+. You can even include Facebook users who have certain interests related to your business. (For example, if your Facebook page is about healthy living, you can choose to target audiences who are interested in exercising, bodybuilding, and nutrition.) Ads for your business will begin to appear in the news feed of your custom audience.
- Select Your Duration and Budget – Once you have chosen your target audience (age range, interests, and gender), you can choose how long to run the advertisement campaign. The duration can be determined by your budget, and vice versa. We will discuss this in detail below.
Step 3 – Decide Which Content to Promote
Now that you have selected your target audience and the duration and budget of the advertisement, what are you going to promote? Are you going to promote your entire website? What will your ad look like? Is there a specific post or landing page you want readers to visit? What type of engagement do you want your customers to have with your Facebook page or website? With Facebook advertising, you can choose the exact URL path you want to direct users to visit. With this many options it is important to be aware of the content you create and the audience network you attract.
Things to Remember When Creating a Facebook Advertisement
As we mentioned before, you can set a budget and duration for the promotion you are running using Facebook advertising campaigns. The combination of duration, budget, and audience can vary drastically, so it is important to know your options to decide which is the best campaign to choose.
You have two options of duration to choose from: continuously or a set time.
Running a continuous advertising campaign means the campaign is ran (and paid) daily until you turn it off. For example, if you choose to run an advertising campaign continuously for $5.00/day, you will be billed $5.00 each day until you turn the advertising promotion off. Facebook advertising estimates you will obtain anywhere from 13 to 48 new likes each day the advertisement is active.
A set time to run your advertisement campaign is your other option. You can choose to pay a set amount each day for as long as you choose. You can choose a small daily amount, as low as $1.00 per day, to run as long as you want. Alternatively, you can choose to run a large daily amount, as large as you want to run as short as you want.
Pro Tip: Facebook will offer a free promotion periodically to all Facebook page users. These promotions are typically a $10.00 credit that can be used to create a Facebook advertising campaign. If you are unsure the budget to choose for your Facebook advertising campaign, use this promotion as a guide to see how the advertisement campaign is effecting your website.
When to Start Your Facebook Advertising Campaign
As soon as possible. Really. As long as you have a functional working website and content that is relevant, of course. Users do not want to be directed to a website that is still under construction, so you need to make sure the URL direct path is complete and ready for traffic. In the meantime, if you are still working on your website but your Facebook page is up and running, you can run an advertising campaign solely for your Facebook page to generate likes. This means that when you are ready to roll out the completed website, your Facebook fans will be the first to see it!
Switch it Up
Facebook advertising is a useful resource that will allow you to reach specific target audiences for a specific amount of time at a specific budget, but you will also want to keep a check on it periodically.
You may notice that your target audience has grown outside the originally chosen parameters. You may need to change your audience age, gender, or interests. Additionally, you may want to “up the ante,” so to speak, when it comes to your budget or duration of the advertising campaign. Finally, you may want to change the URL pathway for your Facebook advertisement to send visitors to another portion of your website.
The more your social media following and website grows, the more you will want to keep a check on your advertising campaign to make sure you are reaching as many people as possible.
