Understanding the value of Facebook Ads for Small Businesses
If you are a small business owner who has been in operation for more than 10 years it may be hard to understand the power of Facebook Ads. Previously you relied on data from focus groups and Neilsen ratings (television audiences and viewerships) to better target your ads. These old school reports help you know what type of consumers were seeing ads, and what type of responses they were having. This could help you target better, but you always understood that you were not maximizing your marketing budget. Fast forward to today and the power of Facebook Ads for Small Businesses has helped refine your targeting and your message. Facebook ads help small business owners tailor their marketing strategies, create more compelling offers, and get more out of their investment. So how do you maximize Facebook Ads for Small Businesses? By simply knowing your audience.
Before you jump headfirst into Facebook Ads, the first thing you want to make sure is that you have successfully created a Facebook page for your business that is optimized. If you have not already done so, here is a how-to guide from the fine folks at Social Media Examiner. Now that you have created a Facebook Page that has been properly optimized, let’s take a closer look at the Facebook Advertising Process and how it can help you grow your business.
Facebook Ads for Small Businesses – Ads Manager vs Power Editor
The first decision you have to make when advertising on Facebook is figuring out what platform you would like to use. Facebook Ads Manager or Power Editor. The difference between the two is that Ads Manager is the more basic tool while the Power Editor is more complex. The Power Editor is also a more powerful tool. It will allow you to run multiple campaigns at once with little work. If you are a beginner though, we recommend using Ads Manager. It is a good place to get started and learn some of the basics to Facebook Advertising.
Facebook Ads for Small Businesses – Create Your Ad
Creating a campaign is fun and an exciting process! When you create a campaign you are choosing the type of objective you want out of your Facebook Campaign. This can range from creating brand awareness to generating traffic for your website. Think about what type of strategy you would like to employ and what ultimately is best for your business.
Once you have an idea of what type of goal you are looking to run, you need to select the type of audience you would like to target. Think of their age range, the type of behaviors they display, and where they are located geographically. All of these elements are important to running a successful Facebook Campaign.
Facebook Ads for Small Businesses – Optimizing
Once you have created your Facebook Ad you want to maximize the return on investment right? That is where a Facebook Pixel comes in handy. A Facebook pixel is a piece of code for your website that enables you to measure, optimize, and build audiences for your future ads campaigns. This tool helps you connect the dots between your website traffic and your social media presence.
Facebook Ads for Small Businesses – Budgeting
Facebook recommends a default daily spend of $20.00 for their ads. You should adjust this based on your overall marketing budget. It’s important to note that for a daily budget, the max you set will be for each individual day. For a lifetime budget, the amount you set will refer to the overall, “lifetime” spend of the ad.
Once you’ve done this, it’s time to set the schedule. Like most things in digital marketing, Facebook Ads aren’t a “set it and forget it” endeavor. You may have some initial assumptions about what time of day will work best, but it’s important to stay flexible and make decisions based on the data. There are helpful reports on social media usage trends, so these are a good starting place. Remember though, your audience is unique and autonomous. Once you start seeing your own results roll in, it’s important to adapt to any trends you may see.
At this point, you’re ready to set your ad(s) live!
Remember, the most important benefit of Facebook advertising is improved targeting: getting the right message in front of the right eyes. The more consistently you’re able to tweak and manage your ad campaigns, the more you’ll get out of them.
About MarketKeep
MarketKeep is a digital marketing agency for small businesses and start-ups based in Towson, Md. Our goal is to help small business owners plan, place, and optimize their digital marketing strategies. MarketKeep is proud to offer our clients the following services:
Website Design – As a website design company we build websites that represent you and your brand and instantly builds a connection with your customers online. To learn more about our website design capabilities please contact our website designers.
SEO Company – As a Maryland SEO Company, we partner with small businesses to help grow their organic presence online through on-page, off-page, and reputation management techniques. To learn more about our SEO services for small businesses please contact our SEO team.
Pay Per Click Experts – As your SEM Agency MarketKeep will plan, place, and optimize your SEM campaigns so that you are maximizing your SEM campaign. To learn more about our SEM Services please contact our SEM team.
Social Media Management – Tired of running your social media accounts on a daily basis? Not sure what to post? As your Social Media Marketing Assistants MarketKeep will plan, place, and optimize your social media strategies. To connect contact our Social Media Management Team today.
Local SEO – So many of us rely on our phones to find businesses and products that are close by. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to connect with customers in your backyard. As a Local SEO agency MarketKeep helps to position your business online to acquire Local SEO searches. Learn more by contacting our Local SEO Agency Team.