Tips for Small Businesses Using Facebook Ads

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Earlier this year, Facebook reported having 30 million active small to midsize (SMB) accounts, which it followed up by sponsoring Facebook Fit events to help those small businesses more efficiently use its tools for marketing. And the ongoing LCM 18 study by BIA/Kelsey has shown that 20 percent of those SMBs surveyed pay for Facebook ads or promoted posts.

 So what is the appeal of using Facebook for advertising?

A new infographic from Hostpapa and Gryffin Media offers insight into the latest version of the Facebook Ads platform and why it is an attractive option for SMBs.

According to this graphic, Facebook ads have the capacity to reach 1.26 billion users of the social media platform. And since its ads cost nearly 35 percent less than typical Internet ads, that might make an SMB consider the ad platform as part of its marketing campaign.

The infographic also explains the ins and outs of the Premier Facebook Ad platform and its variety of ad formats, which is often confusing for small business marketers. The ads each come in various sizes, and the types of ads available include:

• Page Like Ads: Consumers can Like the company page directly from the ad.
• Page Post Ads: Allow the business to increase traffic to their own sites via links back to the company website. Other options here include posting images and videos.
• Desktop App Ads: Drive customers to install apps.
• Mobile App Ads: Direct users to download and install a mobile app.
• Domain Ads: Provide direct access to the company’s external website.
• Event Ads: Entice customers to join and/or like an upcoming event.
• Offer Ads: Present a deal to drive potential clients to buy products in-store or online.

Once you’ve decided on the types of ads to use, how do you manage to create an effective campaign? Another infographic from RapidAdvance on InfographicsCreator.com presents a few tips for SMBs using Facebook Ads.

According to the graphic, knowing the time of day when clicks are highest is important to get your ad started on the right track. Also, swapping out ads every few days helps your campaign seem fresh and not tired to potential customers. Using colorful images and photos will definitely attract the eyes of consumers and draw them toward your message.

Lastly, try “launching two campaigns together and perform split tests to see which strategy works best.” To make sure the ads get equal consideration, use consistent timing between the campaigns, but vary the text and images. Then, compare the ad impressions, click-throughs and landing page views.

Kim Mays has been editing and writing about IT since 1999. She currently tackles the topics of small to midsize business technology and introducing new tools for IT. Follow Kim on Google+ or Twitter.