With 2.4 Billion monthly users, there is no wonder advertisers need to be active with Facebook advertising. However, organic reach in Facebook’s News Feed for companies has shown to be declining for most businesses. This begs the ever-pressing question: How do you maximize your money while still gaining real results? Let’s take a look at 5 simple ways you can maximize your Facebook advertising buck.
1. Set Audience Parameters- While it is tempting to throw your net into the incredibly vast Facebook-user Ocean, taking the time to actually do some research on your target audience and their online habits will allow you to narrow your parameters and get your advertisement in front of the right people. It’s not about big numbers, it’s about big results. If you want to spend wisely, carefully set your audience parameters from the beginning.
2. Use Insights- Facebook is a great tool not only for reaching your target audience but for learning about your target audience. Facebook Insights is a useful tool that analyzes your audience and gives you hard statistics in a variety of demographic and user-habit fields. This means that you can analyze your advertisements to make sure you are reaching your true target audience and you can track the success rate of your call to action. Learning to use Insights is an invaluable skill when spending money wisely on Facebook.
3. Tell a Story- Marketing has changes a lot in the last 30 years, and now more than ever your audience will want to be engaged as a partner, not sold to and talked at as a consumer. By creating advertisements with a narrative, you are able to capture audience interest and are more likely to see results with your call to action. Don’t believe me? Try making two advertisements, one using traditional marketing tactics and the other with a narrative. Check the insights for the posts and let me know which did better.
4. Monitor and Adjust- One beautiful quality of social media marketing is the ability to gain instant feedback and make adjustments based on real-time data. If you want to spend your money wisely, make sure you are actively monitoring your advertisements and adjusting your call-to-action, target audience parameters, or entire framework when necessary.
5. Use Variety- Don’t get stuck in the mindset that every advertisement needs to lead to a sale. In truth, your Facebook advertisements should focus on a variety of goals, including increased engagement, building a strong customer base, expanding knowledge of your brand and values, and yes, getting sales. Giving your audience a variety of content, in a variety of formats, while keep your advertisements fresh, interesting, and more engaging for your audience.
As much as I’d love to tell you that there is a magic bullet for economical Facebook advertising, the truth is that learning to spend your advertising dollar wisely is a mixture of clever content, clear targeting, a bit of luck, and close monitoring.
Lindy Chaffin Start is principal and creative director at Unstoppable Start Studios based in Atlanta, Georgia. She contributes her knowing and talents as a marketer to small businesses across the country and listeners around the world.
To learn more about maximizing your Facebook advertising dollar, contact us.