Social Media Marketing
Over the next few posts, we’re going to be exploring two popular types of Social Media Marketing – Facebook Ads and Google AdWords.
I’m willing to bet you’ve wondered this at some point in time: “I have a limited budget. Should I be investing in Google AdWords or Facebook Ads?”
The quick and easy answer is “Yes.” So let’s dig in. (note: click images for a larger view)
The Basics of Facebook Advertising
Facebook Ads, in a nutshell, are simple, compelling, and can reach thousands with a very small budget. By nature of existing on a social media platform, they are just that – social. Facebook Ads are typically a picture with text, multiple pictures, a video, or some combination of all of these elements.
But beyond just the obvious, they can also carry weight because users see who their friends are following and liking which gives your brand even more promotion.
Consider your sales funnel. Social media sites and advertising target the top of your funnel. For many, your Facebook page may be the first time they see you. If this is the case, it’s not because they were searching for you – it’s because Facebook has been gathering data on its users (such as interests based on other pages they follow) and is showing targeted ads.
In other words, those who see your ads on Facebook were not on Facebook to look for you – you simply showed up in their feed or side bar because you paid to.
Types of Facebook Advertising
There are two key options when putting a budget behind your Facebook marketing strategy, so let’s compare and understand those before we dig into the weeds.
Faceook Boosts
Boosting on Facebook works best for brand awareness. If you have a post on Facebook that is performing particularly well, this is the perfect time to boost.
Once a post is already getting more organic traffic than usual, adding a budget behind it will give your post the opportunity to be seen by more people. Since your post performed well organically, Facebook recognizes that its users like this post so it will allow your budget to go farther.
Even with a boosted post, you can set a preferred audience. While not quite as targeted as a Facebook Ad, these preferred audiences are a great general target.
Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads also work well for brand awareness, but in addition, they perform well for driving traffic to a link. This is because Facebook has preset calls to action that you can embed in your ad.
Herein lies a key difference between boosted posts and advertisements. While boosted posts tend to perform best on posts that don’t contain links, advertising performs well with posts that do contain links. This makes sense when you consider Facebook as a business model – anything linking away from Facebook’s platform should cost more to promote.
Unlike Facebook Boosts, Ads can show up in several locations – the Newsfeed, the right hand sidebar, within Messenger, and other spots all around the platform. With extremely detailed targeting, you can ensure that those who see your ad will be interested. You just don’t know that they’re looking for an auto repair shop (yet).
Intrigued by this breakdown of types of Facebook ads and want to learn more?
Check back on Monday for more details regarding Facebook Advertising.
