Do Facebook Ads Work?

As business turns increasingly digital, it’s never been more critical to consider digital advertising methods. If you’re a business owner who has relied on traditional advertising channels, you may be apprehensive about investing in digital marketing campaigns. If you don’t have any experience using social media marketing, you may find yourself asking, “Do Facebook ads work?” The short answer is yes. Facebook ads are one of the most effective digital marketing tools that you can use. Facebook has over 2.4 billion users across the globe. It allows you to tap into a variety of market segments with pinpoint precision. The platform’s data will enable you to target consumers that are primed to purchase your goods and services.  Traditional advertising campaigns target a broad range of people. By contrast, Facebook ads are tailor-made to target your market segments using a custom audience. Understand the type of customer or reader you’re attempting to target is key. Once you know your target audience, it’s easy to send advertisements straight to their Facebook feeds. Best of all, you can track the performance of your Facebook ads to gauge their success.  Let’s take a closer look at the Facebook ad’s platform. We look at why it works, and how you can use it to improve your advertising efforts.   

The Proof Is in the Pudding 

Facebook ads are the primary revenue force behind Facebook. Many people consider Facebook to be the internet’s most recognizable social media channel. But it’s also one of the most powerful advertising platforms in the world. Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow Facebook executives have been collecting user data. This data is used to build highly-effective advertising tools to hit your target audience.  With over 60% of internet users interacting with Facebook, you’ll have access to one of the largest groups of individuals on earth. Your ads can be disseminated anywhere in the world. You don’t have to build relationships with local radio stations, print outlets, or television channels. Facebooks Ad Manager is open to anyone, and is accessible 24/7. Data suggests that over 75% of Facebook users have purchased retail products found on Facebook’s platform. The company’s ability to tap into custom audiences gives business owners access to customers that are ready to buy. Previously, companies would do this to build organic platforms and release posts and content to users. But there has been a shift away from this trend in recent years. Organic reach now accounts for less than 7% of a page’s followers. If you want to tap into your followers or customers on Facebook, you need to pay for its advertising services.  The reality is that Facebook ads are “worth it” if you run an effective campaign. With such a large and accessible marketplace at your fingertips, there’s no reason that you can’t use Facebook advertising to your advantage.   

Why Is Facebook So Different?

Targeting

If you don’t use Facebook advertising, you may be wondering how it’s so different from other forms of marketing. The core difference available through the Facebook ad’s platform is its ability to segment your market and focus on individuals in your target audience who have legitimate interest in what you sell. Radio and television ad campaign metrics cannot distinguish traits, desires, or interests on an individual basis — traditional marketing is much less versatile.  Your ability to target individual consumers is extremely profitable when done correctly. Facebook allows you to specifically target consumers based on interests, location, age, gender, and a variety of other core traits through by creating a targeted ad set. If you already know the type of customer that typically purchases your product or service, you can pinpoint them directly within the ad manager with the custom audience feature.  Facebook’s algorithms can access buyers who have recently searched for similar products and services. You can make contact with consumers when they’ve already considered purchasing a similar product. It’s hard to find another platform that’s so effective at targeting consumers who are relevant to your business. 

CPC

With Facebook advertising, you pay a specific price based on the number of clicks or impressions your advertisement receives. This system is called a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) or Cost-Per-Impression (CPM). If a Facebook user clicks your ad and redirects to your landing page, you will be charged. The amount you pay will depend on the industry and its competitiveness.  While this may seem complicated, this is an advertising method employed by other top digital platforms, such as Google and Twitter. What makes this advertising model unique is that you only pay for exposure. If your advertisement isn’t clicked or engaged with, you won’t be charged. 

Metrics

If you advertise on Facebook, you’ll gain access to in-depth metrics which can help you accurately calculate return on investment (ROI). Facebook users benefit from access to ad set performance data and ad spending figures. It makes it easy to see how much of an impact your ad investment is having on your business’s performance.   

Facebook Lead Ads

If you’re focusing on lead generation, Facebook’s lead ads offer business owners the ability to gather contact information from interested consumers. When a Facebook user clicks on a lead, their pre-set data is submitted to your business. Users don’t have to manually type their name or email address into a contact form. This process streamlines the process of generating leads that are interested in your product or service.  For example, if you are running a real estate business selling homes in a particular area, you could advertise to people who are interested in buying a new home. Your lead ad could be formatted to ask for an email address in exchange for access to your “newly listed” property newsletter.  By making it convenient for consumers to input their contact information, Facebook allows you to build a database of strong leads without doing any of the legwork. While lead ads don’t include a call to action, they do provide you with quality leads for future use.    

The Difference Between Facebook Ads and Facebook Promotion

If you’re new to Facebook advertising, you may be confused about what channels yield the best results. The best platform for advertising your products and services is “Facebook Ads.” This feature is the core business component of the Facebook platform. But users can also “Promote” individual posts or pages to increase exposure.  You can typically find this “Promote” button without entering into the Facebook ads portal. This method is a quick way to increase the traffic that your posts generate, but it doesn’t have the same depth or specificity as a standard Facebook advertising campaign.  In many ways, it’s unfair that Facebook offers this promotion feature on its posts. Page owners that are inexperienced with the Facebook platform probably believe that it will generate relevant traffic for their page. In reality, it provides a scattershot approach that offers no intrinsic value for your advertising efforts. You won’t be pinpointing the consumers that you need to target.  While it is often tempting to hit that “Promote” button on your page or post, this is a surefire way to drain your advertising budget without yielding results. You may see that your post has reached thousands of viewers, but with no specific call to action. It’s unlikely that any of your viewers will be relevant to your company or its objectives.   

Improving Performance 

If you’ve already been using Facebook ads, but you’re not receiving the amount of exposure you were hoping for, it may be due to an optimization problem. There are a few key ways you can improve your current ad performance on the Facebook ads platform.  

Split Testing

Split testing is the process of testing different ads across different market segments different ad sets. This method is an excellent way to start any advertising campaign. Because of the amount of data available on digital marketing platforms, it’s easy for business owners to narrow in on market segments that are likely to respond to specific types of advertisements.  To perform a split-test, you should generate multiple ad sets (typically two or three) for the same products. You can then run a small campaign targeting the same group of people. Once you generate information on clicks, conversions, and other key metrics, you’ll be able to gauge which type of ad is responding well in the market you’re targeting. As you find what works you can channel your ad spend to the ad sets which are most profitable. Businesses can perform this type of test across a broad range of market segments. You can then use certain ad set data for different market segments. Split testing helps you increase precision when you develop a new campaign. It also helps you avoid wasting money on ads that aren’t optimized for certain types of consumers. If you’re interested in increasing conversion rates within your campaigns, split testing your ad sets is a simple and cost-effective technique.   

Follow-Up Ads

If you want to “drip-feed” content and advertisements to potential customers, Facebook allows you to continue offering follow-up ads to users. For example, if someone has clicked your ad and read a blog post, you can then choose to send them an advertisement about your new post or e-book. This process creates an unofficial sales funnel that allows you to continue gaining exposure to Facebook users that are interested in your brand.   

Other Facebook Benefits 

As you build your Facebook ads campaign, you’ll also benefit from other aspects of Facebook. These additional features and tools do not require any money. They’re effectively a free bonus for working with the Facebook platform. Let’s take a look at some of the other core benefits that you’ll receive when you start using Facebook for your business:  

Customer Interaction

Customers are increasingly likely to turn to social media platforms to converse with brands. If you want to interact with customers, Facebook provides an excellent platform. Many companies use it as a customer service tool. You can chat with clients using the Facebook Messenger portal.   

Brand Awareness

Most successful brands have a presence on all major social media channels. You can use your profile as a source for information and updates. For example, if you run a local business, users in your area may look at your Facebook page to find your address or phone number.  If you don’t have a Facebook profile, you won’t benefit from the legitimacy that it brings. It’s essential to use social networking to your advantage.   

Event Advertising and Hosting

Facebook makes it extremely easy to set up events and invitations. If you have an open house, branding party, or any other event for your company or website, Facebook’s events platform is a critical tool. It allows you to invite Facebook users, track RSVPs, and more.   

Using a Social Media Marketing Firm

Facebook’s ad platform offers some of the most extensive ad targeting in the industry. But it might be hard to crack the formula on your own. If you’re not running a large advertising budget, it can be tempting to manage your personal Facebook business account. But business owners can save money by using an expert to improve the efficiency of their ad campaigns.  Social media marketing firms like True North Social can manage every aspect of your campaign, from writing ad copy to split-testing target audiences. A successful campaign manager will reduce your ad spending and increase your return on investment.  Facebook ad manager interface is built for a wide variety of business needs. While it is very robust and flexible, it can be correspondingly complex. The landscape of the internet (not to mention government regulations) is constantly evolving. As a result, the company is known for changing its methodology and features frequently. As a business owner, it can be hard to stay on the cutting edge of the Facebook advertising platform. Using a social media expert with industry insight can help you stay ahead of the curve.   

Contact True North Social for Full-Service Facebook Advertising 

True North Social is a full-service digital marketing firm that focuses on social media marketing, SEO, web design, and photography. Our team of digital marketing whizzes have extensive experience managing business Facebook accounts and running massive Facebook ad campaigns.  If you’re not currently using Facebook or social media advertising to connect with customers, you’re missing out on one of the most lucrative marketplaces in the world. Our team at True North Social can help you begin your journey into social media marketing.  Contact our team today if you’d like more information on Facebook’s ad platform and how it can improve your business. If you’re still not sure about do Facebook ads work, our team of social media experts is always available to answer your questions.