Facebook is the largest social network on the planet with over 1 billion active users. If you don't have a Facebook presence by now, you might as well wave a white flag of surrender. For small businesses, especially those in the B2C space, there are many opportunities to drive offers to a targeted audience here. But Facebook has made advertising for the small business crowd more difficult in terms of placement of ads and reach because they are more supportive of larger advertisers.
This is why I am sharing my 4 Facebook Ad Hacks for Small Businesses. If your media budget is limited, here is how you can make the most out of Facebook's advertising options.
1.Use Facebook Offers - Facebook Offers is a great vehicle to promote one-off sales windows. An offer will draw the attention of your existing followers thus making it a great opportunity to create an exclusive discount code or sale just for them showing that you value their commitment to your brand. You could also invest in promoting the offer across the rest of Facebook to your followers' friends and related audiences. Before you can proceed with a boosted Offer, it is critical that you comply with their ad specs. They have a strict review process and they will reject your ad if the creative has too much text for example.
2.Find a sweet spot of targeting parameters - You might get giddy scrolling through the plethora of targeting options Facebook can offer, but don't get carried away. Your campaign needs to be focused on your objective, whether it's driving visitors to your site, getting app installs, etc. For example, if you own a jewelry brand and you want to promote your newest anniversary bracelet, your targeting barometer might look like this:
It goes without saying, but you want your definition to stay in the green zone. If your criteria are too specific, your campaign won't reach many people at all. On the other hand, if you barely specify any parameters, your campaign will go largely ignored.
3.Test, test, test - Think of your campaign as an investment portfolio. All good investment managers mitigating risk by diversifying their portfolio and investing in varied assets. You can stave off failure by investing in split testing. If a campaign isn't performing well, always change it one variable at a time. Maybe the creative isn't alluring enough, or maybe the call to action isn't as clear as it should be. If possible, split your budget multiple ways to run different campaigns to test these variables one at a time; keep everything constant in the campaign except for the test variable. Once you've discovered the winning combination of content, creative, and call-to-action, invest heavily in your campaign!
4.Likes do not translate to sales - This is absolutely important to keep in mind before you select "Boost your posts" or "Promote your Page" in the ad creator. You can pour all of your money into getting likes for your Facebook Page, but the people that like your page won't necessarily become customers right away or at all. That being said, it is essential to maintain your Facebook community by investing in its growth from time to time, but don't spend a lot of money on likes and expect sales to follow.
These are just a few Facebook advertising hacks you can use to take your small business to the next level of growth. Facebook Advertising is just one component of a solid Social Media Marketing Strategy, If you are struggling with making social media resonate into sales, Book a Free Social Media Marketing 15 minute phone consultation.