Marketers always hear from social media users that people hate ads, but Facebook ads can still provide immense value to brands in any industry. Any business that utilizes Facebook is well aware that organic reach is nowhere near the level it has been in years previous — but reach alone doesn’t tell the full story of Facebook advertising.
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Although the sheer amount of hours spent on Facebook has gone down over the last few years, Facebook ads still do provide unique value, and should still be considered as part of any business’s digital marketing strategy.
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Benefits of Facebook ads for business
There are at least three ways a robust Facebook advertising strategy can help your business meet its goals. When creating campaigns in the Facebook ads manager, you’ll be able to select a goal for your ad. Your ad goals can include:
1. Brand awareness
One way to grow your consumer base is to build familiarity among your customers as more people see and recognize your brand through Facebook ads. According to Hubspot, research has shown that it takes about eight instances of someone seeing something related to your brand before they take any action, so persistence is key in the fight for awareness. Although repeatedly seeing your ads can help, diversifying your images or videos so that your audience won’t experience creative fatigue is key to long-term success.
2. Lead generation
Have something to offer someone in exchange for their buy-in? Make sure what you’re offering matches the level of information for which you’re asking. As privacy becomes more important to the average consumer, having them willingly share their information with your brand is highly valuable.
3. Web traffic
These ads are great for targeting an audience that is more likely to click. Make sure that your ad’s destination allows you to collect leads, and encourages visitors to explore your site or take further action. You’ll also be able to retarget them using specific pages to serve visitors relevant ads (and drive conversions). If you’re working with a website development company, you have the ability to reinforce your paid Facebook advertising strategy by making sure that your ads land on excellent content.
Advantages of having a Facebook advertising strategy
Many marketers like to say that Facebook has become pervasively “pay-to-play,” and there is truth to that; having some monthly budget set aside is better than relying on a strictly organic strategy to reach customers. The truth is that organic reach is just not the same as it once was, given that Meta’s bread and butter is advertising, but that doesn’t nullify the benefits of having a sound paid Facebook advertising strategy.
1. Highly specific targeting
Earlier this year, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, removed several detailed targeting options that weren’t widely used or that overlapped with other terms. Some options have been removed because they are related to topics perceived as sensitive such as terms referencing causes, organizations, or public figures that related to health, race or ethnicity, political affiliation, religion, or sexual orientation. Facebook is still capable of highly specific targeting, if you know how to use it.
The solution? Use broader targeting options, but let the creative speak to your target audience. Facebook’s algorithm is able to show your ad to a broad audience and then serve it to a more relevant audience once it learns who is more likely to click or take action. It takes some trial-and-error, but becomes incredibly effective once you’ve nailed the formula.
2. Apple’s Privacy Policy
When Apple released their iOS 14.5 update, apps had to explicitly ask for user permission to track. To no one’s surprise, data shows that most users would rather not be tracked when given the choice — which accounted for a $10 billion blow to Facebook’s revenue in 2022. Ask to track? Apparently, the answer is almost always no. According to Flurry Analytics, from Verizon Media, only 4% of iOS users in the U.S. let apps track them.
How do advertisers get around the ATT? The answer itself is simple. Run better ads and use stronger targeting tactics. Things like lookalike audiences and retargeting features available in Facebook Conversions API and the Meta Pixel can help you reach relevant users on Facebook and Instagram. Set up your pixel and events manager as these can help optimize your ads and create your custom audiences — both of which will help you create better, more relevant ads.
Are Facebook ads effective in 2022?
Yes, Facebook ads still work! While Apple’s privacy policy makes it harder to serve relevant ads to iPhone users, organizations can still use first-party data they own to match and build lookalike audiences, and data from consumers who use an Android device is still available with their IDFA(Identity for advertisers).
Measuring KPIs and creating benchmarks for success, like decreasing cost-per-click and improving click-through rate, is essential for advertisers who want to know how well their ad campaigns are performing. Keep ads relevant and successful by using these benchmarks to continuously test ad creative, messaging and audience parameters.
Need to revisit your Facebook advertising strategy? Baal & Spots has the expertise you need to get started.
At Baal & Spots, we work closely alongside our partners to develop custom solutions to your digital marketing challenges. Our team of content strategists is dedicated to helping brands understand Facebook advertising, create an effective ad strategy, and start seeing results. Whether you’re looking for social media strategy or a website design company to make sure your site reflects just how special your business is, you’re looking for Baal & Spots.
Learn more about the advantages of Facebook advertising If you’re looking to develop your ad strategy, Baal & Spots is here to help. If you’re interested in taking the next step in growing your business, let’s connect. As well as social media strategy, Baal & Spots offers design, development, and SEO auditing.