Facebook ads are very popular with online marketers, online business owners, and regular business owners as well. You have people who swear by them, others who have mixed results, and others who think they are useless. And they may all be right. The efficacy of Facebook ads depends on many factors. You need to look at the nature of your operation, your objectives, your target demographic, and your budget. You also have to consider things like competition and how fast you need results. Once you have all of this, you’ll have a better idea of whether they’re a good option for you. So, is investing in Facebook ads worth it?
Laser Targeted Marketing
The biggest benefit of Facebook ads is how targeted they are. You can target people based on their interests, profession, income, age and sex, education, and more. You can already see how powerful that could be. You can target people in one or multiple countries, a city, area code, or advertise within a certain radius. Not only that, but you can also target people based on previous purchases or relationships they have with your brand. For instance, you could send ads to people who are subscribed to your brand’s page and the people who follow them, or you could target people based on device usage. Facebook ads allow you to display ads only on mobiles or tablets, for example. You can even decide which models you want your ads to appear on, or even to not appear on.
Facebook ads could also work for you if you have a lot of third-party data. If you have a long list of contacts or previous clients, for instance, then you can upload them to create what are called custom audiences. From there, you can target people depending on certain behaviors or where they are in your sales funnel. You could send ads to people who have been to your store once but have never made a second purchase, for instance. Or you could go after people who’ve made big purchases and send them ads you believe would be relevant to them.
So, if you have a very niche product with a particular audience, Facebook ads could be one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. They’re also a no-brainer if you already have a lot of engagement on the platform.
Great Analytics
Another thing that makes Facebook ads so efficient is the quality of the analytics. There are so many variables at play when you run online ads of any kind and Facebook does a great job of allowing you to see all of your metrics clearly through one interface. Facebook’s ad manager is very user-friendly and will allow you to see things like ad engagement, click-through, conversions, etc., very fast. Split testing is incredibly important when it comes to Facebook ads and having all of this information will allow you to continue refining your campaigns until you find something that works.
They Can Get Expensive
With that being said, you have to know that Facebook ads can get expensive in the end and lots of people end up burning their budget by making mistakes. One of them is not testing properly or going all-in with one big campaign. You will have to learn how to set up miniature campaigns using different ad types and formats and targeting different audiences. You might find out at the end that none of the audiences or formats that you are using are working, however, and then you have to deal with the possibility that you might lose money.
You should also know that competition has shot up significantly on the platform. Facebook ads are much more popular than they used to be, and costs have increased as a result. They are still relatively cheap when you compare them with other methods, but you will need to keep a very close eye on your analytics and work on creating highly targeted and high-quality ads that will address your audience’s specific pain points.
Low Buying Intent
Another thing you have to understand about Facebook and Facebook ads is that people don’t necessarily come to Facebook to shop. Most of them go there to connect with their friends, catch up on news, and watch content. You also have to know that some of them literally have a hostile view of ads. So, you can’t expect traffic coming from Facebook ads to convert at as high a rate as other PPC options. Someone running a search on Google or even YouTube for a product has a much higher buyer intent than someone who is just interested in this type of product and randomly sees your ad. Have realistic expectations about your campaigns and don’t overestimate potential conversions.
Steep Learning Curve
Facebook ads are not easy to master. While the platform itself is very user-friendly, understanding which metrics matter and which ones don’t can be tough. Understanding why a campaign worked or didn’t work can also be difficult. You might have a campaign that worked great for a few days or even weeks and have it go completely dead out of the blue, which can be very perplexing.
Don’t expect to understand the ins and outs of Facebook advertising after seeing a few YouTube videos. There’s a chance that you’ll never be able to truly understand how to build efficient campaigns and you’ll have to resort to working with a third party to manage them. This could be a good solution for you depending on the kind of return you get, but it won’t be an option for anyone, so think about this before you start.
Facebook ads can be a great option for some people, but they’re not for everybody. It really depends on how much you are willing to learn and risk, and the kind of business you’re in. This is why we suggest that you ask for second opinions on the platform, and if you decide to use it, spend as much time and money on testing as you possibly can.