Blog Post

Why Small Businesses are Using Facebook Ads (Everything You Need to Know)

Clive Clifford • Jan 11, 2018

Small businesses are expanding their advertising to social media

With the influential role social media plays today, many small businesses are adding social media advertising to their digital marketing strategy. Facebook in particular has grown to offer small businesses more than just an opportunity to socially connect with consumers.

In a recent blog post, we touched on the fact that many successful small businesses are expanding their online presence to include Facebook Ads. The popular social media outlet is now a top platform for paid advertising, allowing business owners to advertise to a highly specific audience. And while there are many benefits to using Facebook as one of your digital marketing strategies, there are certainly a few areas to be mindful of as well.

In this blog post, we’ll cover:

  • The many benefits to using Facebook Ads for your marketing strategy
  • How you’ll see a change in your social return on investment (ROI)
  • A few concerns we want small businesses to be wary of when doing your own Ad campaign
Here’s what you need to know to start a successful Facebook Ads campaign for your small business.

The Benefits

For small business owners who are already familiar with paid advertising on search engines like Google, you’ll find that Facebook is an easy adjustment. The social media platform’s advertising format is basically the same as that of Google and Bing, making it easy to adapt to if you have PPC experience.

One of the biggest benefits to Facebook Ads is that it allows you to create a highly targeted campaign, aiming ads at a specific audience. With over two billion monthly active users, Facebook reaches more people than any other social media platform. So even when you narrow down your target audience, you’re still reaching more people than on other mediums.

When you target a specific audience within Facebook Ads, you can choose detailed demographics and psychographics as a way to choose who sees your ads. Unlike traditional marketing that typically just targets an age range or people with a certain interest, Facebook allows you to make your campaign much more specific.

For example, a house cleaning company in Columbus, Ohio, could target its ads at people who:

  • Own a home
  • Have children and/or pets
  • Have graduated college
  • Are interested in travel, gardening and cooking
  • Have a household income above $90,000
That’s a much more targeted audience than TV commercials or print ads can reach. Plus, you’re not wasting money on ads that have a lower chance of turnover, making Facebook Ads more affordable than traditional advertising.

Social ROI

The key word in ‘social media’ is ‘social’; the point of all the social networks out there is to connect individuals around the world and get them talking, sharing and collaborating with each other. So, when it comes to advertising for your small business, Facebook Ads carry over many of those social aspects in a way that is more business-savvy.

Rather than seeing how many “friends” you can get, you’re putting your business’s name in front of consumers with the intent of increasing brand awareness.

Instead of posting photos to get likes, you’re displaying targeted ads to generate interest in your product or service.

Similarly, the more your Facebook Ads appear in front of relevant consumers, the more familiar you become to your audience. By increasing your social exposure, you’re getting people to recognize your brand name as one they can trust, which helps drive people to your website.

When you just post on your business’s Facebook page—not with Facebook Ads—you’re only being seen by people who have already liked your page, and are therefore probably customers already. By utilizing Facebook Ads to help you reach an entirely new audience, you will generate new lead sources and create the opportunity for increasing conversions from new clients.

Finally, Facebook Ads provides a real-time analysis of audience engagement with your Ads, so you can immediately see how many people have viewed your Ads, who is clicking on them and whether that person turned into a quality lead. With this information, you can instantly see what adjustments need to be made to your campaign.

The Concerns

So far, we’ve discussed the benefits of investing in Facebook Advertising for your small business. However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention some of the concerns most small business owners have about Facebook Ads.

We mentioned earlier that Facebook’s advertising format is similar to Google and Bing’s PPC programs, making it an easy transition from the search engines to social media. But for those without paid advertising experience, setting up a Facebook Ads Campaign will be incredibly difficult.

Unlike traditional advertising or simply posting updates on your company’s social media profile, Facebook Ads is not very DIY-friendly. That’s why many small businesses opt into hiring a professional to do the work for them.

As with any marketing strategy—especially one you’re investing money in—having an experienced professional manage it for you will allow you to get the highest ROI for your campaign.

Similarly, we’ve found that successful Facebook Ad campaigns are more dependent on strategy than budget. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can easily end up investing your money in a campaign that isn’t reaching the right audience or doesn’t target the best locations. And if your Ads aren’t seen by the right people, your money will go to waste.

Ultimately, your Facebook Ads campaign will have a much better chance of becoming a valuable marketing asset for your small business if you hire a professional to do the work for you. But if you still want to give Facebook Ads a try on your own, we recommend checking out this helpful step-by-step guidefrom Entrepreneur to get started.

Time to Get Social

Facebook Ads are a proven option for small businesses wanting to create highly targeted campaigns to reach target markets at an affordable price. If people are going to allow social media platforms to collect user data & track their every move, you might as well utilize that information to reach the right consumers and continue growing your small business.

Compared to other forms of marketing, this is one strategy worth implementing today.

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