Why Businesses Should Take ‘The Leap’ with Facebook Ads
If you’ve ever suggested something to someone, you’ve probably heard this at least once: “I’ve tried it, and it wasn’t for me.”
But most of the time, what that means is that they’ve kind-of, sort-of, not really tried it. Basically, they got their toes wet, and they decided that the water was too cold, or that they just wouldn’t have fun had they actually jumped in.
And that is, it seems, how a lot of businesses view Facebook, and especially Facebook ads. They may have had a few weeks to test it out, to try and familiarize themselves with it, but they didn’t necessarily go all-in — they didn’t really try to learn the ad platform. So, they figured that since it didn’t work immediately, it probably sucks. Or that maybe it’s just not right for their business.
But Facebook ads — and certainly Facebook, in general — aren’t generally something any business can just sort-of, kind-of try out and determine whether or not it is successful for that individual business. And here’s why.
1. You Can’t Know Exactly Who Your Target Demographic Is Right Away
There’s a difference between a business understanding its general customer base, and understanding who it should target market to on Facebook. Though there may be some similarities between the two — the people businesses target on Facebook are generally the ones that they want to become customers — they won’t be exactly the same.
For example, say a customer comes into a business interested in purchasing a mountain bike. Though they are avid fans of mountain biking, it’s just one of the many outdoors things they are involved in. On Facebook, they might indicate that with such interests as hiking, or maybe they like Mud Run races.
But basically, it’s difficult to find out exactly who you want to target through Facebook without first testing out several ads, and becoming familiar with how they work, and how customers might respond.
2. More Ads = More Opportunities for Success
You can do a lot with $50 on Facebook ads. In a highly-targeted, well thought out campaign, $50 can get you upwards of 100 clicks. And what that ultimately means is that for just $50, you could get upwards of 100 clicks. Or, say for example you’re a software company that is running beta-testing — $50 could get you at least a few beta entries.
But that most likely won’t be the result of one ad that is constantly the same. In fact, any good Facebook ad campaign might have as many as 3 or 4 different ads per campaign. Running 5 campaigns? That could be as many as 20 ads, if not more.
And beyond that, those ads should constantly be monitored. All 20 of them. Is an ad not working? Throw it out and try something new. Or just adjust the copy and/or picture. Is something working really, really well? Try to repeat it.
3. The More You Understand It, The Better You’ll Become
And finally, it’s about trusting in the capabilities of Facebook’s already very flexible and capable advertising platform. It works, absolutely, and the potential it has in converting Facebook users into paying customers is absolutely powerful.
Still, there’s no way to understand that capability — Facebook’s ability to drive users into a business — without first using it and without first being able to make sense of it and know how to exploit its advantages.
And though Facebook ads can be time-consuming to learn, any business owner that is looking to develop an approach and system towards using Facebook ads must first realize that becoming familiar with how they work is just the first step towards ultimate success.
Do you use Facebook ads? Have you found them to be successful in driving business?