What are Facebook Ads and How do they Work?

Whether you’ve on it, off it, have never joined it, like it, or hate it, as a business owner, there’s one truth you need to accept about Facebook: Facebook is the biggest social media network in the world.

Here are just a few of the numbers they have to back it up:

• 2.85 billion active users
• 1.8 billion (66%) who log in every day
• $86 billion in advertising revenue last year alone
• Estimated to have won over 23.5% of US digital ad revenue in 2020 

So, when a company asks us if they should be advertising on Facebook, we typically have one very simple answer:

Um, yup. 

Sure, they’ve had their scandals and trouble in the press in recent years, but it hasn’t stopped users from interacting with the platform the way they always have. 

And even though you may not be the kind of person to click on Facebook ads, many do.

In short, Facebook Advertising is worth your investment.

There are many types of ad formats a business can choose from on Facebook, including static image posts, video posts, sidebar ads, carousels (multiple images), Instant Experiences (an immersive full-screen ad that combines moving pictures and video) and more. 

What makes Facebook a uniquely powerful marketing tool, however, is its ability to directly target users based on:

• Location
• Age
• Gender
• Interests
• Connections
• Relationship Status
• Languages
• Education
• Workplaces

Try doing that with a newspaper or radio ad. 

You can also employ what are called retargeting ads, which are ads that get served to users who have visited your website or your Facebook page, left items in their cart, or simply clicked on one of your previous ads. 

Retargeting ads give you the opportunity to further amp up the messaging to provide the user with more info about your product or service, bettering your chances of closing the deal. 

You’re right if you’re thinking not all businesses are a good fit for Facebook. 

In our experience, we’ve found it particularly effective for businesses that are trying to drive traffic to their website. 

Even if this doesn’t describe your business though – maybe you simply want to build brand awareness – it’s always good practice to test new marketing channels.

If you’re still unsure, ask your employees, your customers, your friends and your family members if they’re on Facebook. 

Oh, and don’t forget that one other little relevant detail…

…that almost one-third of the entire planet is actively using this platform. 

Still don’t think your ideal customer is among them?

In our experience, Facebook advertising is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Pressuring users to buy on their first visit to your website is the quickest way to have that lead go frigid. 

It’s all too easy for a prospective customer who’s clicked on your ad to get scared off if you go too big too soon (try to hard-sell them or ask for a big commitment on the first date) and simply click back to the scrolling safety of Facebook. 

Where we’ve seen great success is with Facebook ads that ease into the customer-brand relationship by encouraging users to sign up for a newsletter or email list, get a free quote, or fill out a short lead form. 

Once you have their email address, you can always romance them on your product or service with follow-up emails or Facebook retargeting ads to begin building the kind of trust in your brand that leads to brand loyalty and, eventually, a sale. 

Facebook advertising can be a profitable marketing channel for the right business using strategic targeting and well-designed ads to connect with customers looking for information on what you’re selling.

It all comes down to knowing how to best leveraging Facebook’s unparalleled targeting tools to get the right message in front of the right people.

That’s where we come in! Talk to the AdEasy team about making Facebook a part of your digital marketing plan and start generating fresh leads from the biggest social media platform on the planet.