Facebook advertising gives businesses a powerful way to reach a targeted audience. With 1.7 billion users, you can reach customers in any niche or industry. According to the latest statistics, people in the United States using mobile devices spend one out of every five minutes on Facebook or Instagram. However, to get the most out social media advertising it’s important to keep certain guidelines in mind.
Budget-Friendly Advertising
With Facebook advertising, you can set your own budget. There’s a certain learning curve as you figure out which ads work best for you. You can start with a small budget and scale up as your ads get more profitable. You can also choose whether to pay for cost per click (CPC) or cost per impression (CPM). CPM is cheaper as in this case you’re only paying for impressions. For example, if you might be paying one dollar for every 1,000 impressions. With CPC, you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad.
Choose Your Audience
One of the most powerful aspects of Facebook advertising is that there are very precise targeting options. With a potential audience of over a billion people, it’s almost certain that your customers are on Facebook. It’s just a question of knowing how to find them. You can target ads based on criteria such as gender, age, income, interests and location.
Placement of Ads
With Facebook advertising you have a lot of placement choices for your ads. Decide whether you want it to appear on the desktop or mobile news feed, audience network or right column. You can also choose to advertise on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. Think of who your customers are and where they’re most likely to see your ads. For example, are they more likely to be accessing the internet on PCs or on mobile devices?
Ad Formats
Decide if you want to place text, image or video ads. There are also options such as slideshows and carousel. You can combine formats as well, such as using both text and images. The best format depends on what you’re promoting. If it’s a product where visual presentation is important, it’s best to use images or video. For more abstract ideas, text ads may be more appropriate.
Scheduling Your Ads
The way you schedule ads can have a big impact on your results. You can schedule ads to run at certain times of the day or certain days of the week. For certain products and services, the time of year also matters. There’s no single right answer to the question of when to place your ads. It’s essential to know your customers’ habits and to determine when they’re most likely to see your ads. For example, business owners, students and seniors all have different schedules. You also have to keep time zones in mind.
There are just a few tips to get you started with a successful social media advertising campaign.
One thing to always keep in mind is to test your results and make changes based on your results. Conversion rate optimization includes testing all elements of your ads, including headlines, images, type of language, ad placement, format and scheduling. Sometimes making one small adjustment can increase your conversion rate optimization by 1%, which can turn into a large profit overall.
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