As millions of millions of people from all ages and backgrounds around the world choose to spend their time on Facebook, it is becoming a very attractive advertising option for businesses.
By tapping into Facebook technology, businesses can launch well targeted ad campaigns with even the most limited budgets. From recruiting more “likes” for business groups to offering special Facebook promotions, Facebook business advertising is becoming a niche marketing strategy that businesses are adopting quickly.
Targeted Marketing with a Facebook Advertising Campaign
When people sign up for Facebook, important personal demographics are gathered through the service based on the person’s age, location and general interests noted during the sign-up process. In fact, Facebook encourages people to fully complete their profile with as much information as possible on their interests, education and favorite things. Each day when users log onto Facebook, information shared through “likes” and interactions is being also compiled.
The demographic information gathered through Facebook technology is a powerful targeted marketing tool for business advertisers. Businesses can choose to target customers in a variety of ways to pinpoint relevant customers and maximize their advertising dollars.
Some of the demographics and customer trends that can be used in a Facebook ad campaign strategy include:
- Age or age group
- Sex or marital status
- Location or geographic region
- Education (schools, level of education or expertise/degree)
- Personal interests (based on profile information provided)
- Keywords (associated with groups or pages “liked”)
Costs of Facebook Ads and How to Develop Targeted “Like” Campaigns
In general, a Facebook advertising campaign can be a very low-cost marketing tool for businesses to consider. The cost per impression can be as low as pennies per customer impression. If your Facebook business page acquires a new “like” through the campaign, the ad can be credited toward a new relevant contact on your business page on Facebook for future free marketing efforts.
With any targeted advertising, cost per impression or click tends to be more expensive with increased target levels or attributes. Advertisers will need to place a bid for their targeted demographics, which may or may not be a competitive niche. However, businesses can completely control how much money is spent on a Facebook advertising campaign by setting daily limits or budget amounts. They can also decide if they want to pay per impression or per click.
When developing targeted “like” campaigns for Facebook ads, consider these creative strategies to increase the chances of a “like” response:
- Provide incentives for users/customers to “like” by offering special discount promotions only available on Facebook
- Launch a Facebook contest for best photos, story or other contribution to your business page
- Appeal to personal interests with ad copy that emphasizes like-minded individuals in group
- Use friendly faces in ads to complement the site’s appeal to make more friends
Benefits of Marketing with Facebook Ad Campaigns
The low cost and ability to target geographically makes Facebook ad campaigns a great local online advertising option for businesses. With a small ad budget, local businesses can launch an advertising campaign that complements their current marketing plans for branding, customer retention or sales generation.
Facebook ads have an added benefit of a viral marketing impact. By indicating friends that have already clicked on ads, Facebook users see that friends like ads or business pages and are more likely to click on the ad too. Business seeking to launch Facebook ads should also focus on the overall marketing plan and strategy before, during and after the campaign to maximize the impact.
Source: Facebook Ads
Diane Seltzer - Diane is a branding, pr and social media marketer with experience ranging from advertising to corporate marketing and consulting.
