Why You Should Love Facebook Advertising

Simply, Facebook Advertising is amazing. I’m not writing this article as a secret undercover agent for Facebook, just an avid strategist that has a lot of love for the advertising capabilities available on the platform. And I have seen it work. If you’re not achieving the results you hoped for with “organic” Facebook promotions, or if you just completely fell off the wagon and don’t even have a social media presence yet, this is for you – everything you need to know about advertising on Facebook.

Facebook Advertising Basics

Facebook advertising is an effective, flexible and budget-friendly way to start a two-way conversation with your target audience. It’s not one of those “hey look at me” tactics, such as displaying an irrelevant pop-up ad to some random person online. It’s delicately waving “hello” to your target audience when they have a free second, which they admit by just being on Facebook. Such strategy increases the chance your message will be positively received and produce greater results. Additionally, the flexibility that Facebook advertising provides is unmatched, particularly in terms of budget and targeting options.

Facebook Advertising Budgeting Options
As opposed to most traditional forms of advertising, Facebook allows you to completely customize your advertising spend, so you could invest $5 or $5,000 – whatever works within your company’s budget. Additionally, you can set a daily or a lifetime cap on how much you wish to spend, as well as bid on cost per thousand impressions (CPM) or cost per click (CPM) so you only pay for the clicks or impressions gained based on your set budget. It’s important to note that the amount you spend is directly related to the reach of your ad and the number of impressions it makes, which often correlates with ad performance and impact.

Audience Targeting Options

I have to admit, when I first learned about all the targeting options available with Facebook advertising, I got excited. Facebook advertising allows you to target users by location, age, gender, interests, connections, relationship status, languages, education and workplaces, just to name a few. The opportunities are nearly endless. If you’re a local business, you can set your ad to display only to individuals in the geographic area(s) in which you have establishments. If you’re a company that offers wedding solutions, you can choose to show your ad only to individuals with a relationship status of “engaged.” If you’re a financial institution offering a student loan special, you can set your ad to display only to individuals in their senior year of high school within 20 miles of the locations you have branches. It’s that granular. And it’s this kind of specificity that will enable you as a business to get the attention of your target audience and truly connect with them on a level that many other forms of advertising do not allow.

Facebook Advertising Options

At the most basic level, Facebook advertising gets you prime real estate on your target audience’s newsfeed, providing opportunities to increase brand awareness, generate new leads and acquire new business. However, there are a variety of ways in which you can promote your business, products, services and special offers.

• Page Likes: If you simply want to increase your following on Facebook, this option is for you. Facebook allows you create ads that solely read “Like [Company Name]” along with a captivating, branded image and enticing text. Such strategy not only increases brand awareness among your target audience, but makes it easy for your target audience to connect with you, and stay connected with you.

• Clicks to Website: If there is a specific product or service page that you want to promote, or if you want to drive traffic to your website in general, you should definitely take advantage of this advertising option. Similar to the ad for page likes, this ad consists of a strong image and supporting text that links out to the destination URL you have specified. This is particularly beneficial for timely campaigns, as you can immediately begin to increase awareness and generate results.

• App Installations: Have an app? Want people to download it? You can create an ad on Facebook that features your app and links directly to the app store, making it easy for your target audience to download your application directly to their specific mobile or tablet device.


• Offer Claims: If your business regularly extends special offers, this is a great way to promote them while simultaneously increasing brand awareness among your target audience. You can create an ad on Facebook that features an offer and links directly to where individuals can claim it. An added perk is that if your target audience finds interest in your offer, it may serve as motivation to “like” your company page in order to continue receiving information about your company, solutions and specials.


• Sponsored Stories: On Facebook’s newsfeed, this type of ad almost looks like a post from a friend announcing they “like” a particular company or product, claimed an offer, downloaded an app or something of that nature. Essentially, sponsored stories connect you with the friends and family of individuals that you have already established a positive relationship with. Playing on existing relationships like this is an incredibly effective strategy, as the individuals you’re targeting will feel a sense of comfort with your brand knowing that others have had a positive experience with your solutions.

The world of advertising has changed, and so our strategies to attract our target audience must adapt. Today’s digital world puts emphasis on two-way communication, engagement, convenience and trust, which Facebook advertising allows you to embrace while attempting to connect with your target audience.

It’s important to note that while paid Facebook advertising has proven to be successful, so have traditional organic strategies. And when used in unison, the impact of both tactics is significantly enhanced. Paid advertising helps you initially connect with your target audience, and organic activities such as interactive posts and contests provide opportunities to engage and convert your audience.

To learn more about Facebook advertising and strategy for your company, contact ZAG Interactive.

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