Whether you’re a B2C or B2b business, you should be capitalising on Facebook Ads

If you aren’t already using Facebook to advertise your business, you’re probably wondering what all the hype is about. It seems like everyone is promoting their Facebook pages/posts from local restaurants to live performers. There are over 1 million advertisers who are spending a combined 8 billion dollars a year, and Facebook advertising has grown more than 680% since 2010.

Businesses are continuously increasing their ad spend, while diverting greater proportions of their budgets away from more traditional forms of advertising over to Facebook ads.

The question is: why?

Advertising has evolved immensely since the 20th century

Before the widespread use of the internet, the majority of individuals and small businesses advertised through magazines, the Yellow Pages and/or the radio, with other advertising mediums capable of greater reach being far too costly. Even with the turn of the 21st century, and the introduction of paid search advertising, many businesses found that pay-per-click was expensive and did not generate them an adequate return on their investment.

Facebook by comparison allows advertisers to reach a larger proportion of their target market for relatively small price, and thus has become the preferred method of promotion and growing brand awareness.

People from every demographic are increasingly turning to Facebook to find out what’s happening in the world around them, and thus Facebook is becoming the most effective place to advertise to almost every market.

Facebook advertising is cost effective

Hasn’t become such a popular advertising platform just because it enables advertisers to reach a large proportion of the world’s population – it is also one of the cheapest forms of advertising. Let’s look at a comparison of the cost of reaching 1000 people between Facebook, other paid search platforms, and some of the more traditional forms of marketing:

Facebook Ads Vs Adwords

Google’s Adwords has traditionally been the go-to platform for online paid advertising, but how does it compare to Facebook Ads? Let’s look at a few key differences:

• No Keywords: When using Adwords for paid search, there are a limited number of keywords which you can bid on, and when coupled with a large number of advertisers, competition can build quickly and cause higher cost-per-clicks. Facebook on the other hand targets people based on their interests, hobbies, relationship status, school, education level, friends, age, gender, and occupation, and thus advertisers are not limited by keywords and do not encounter nearly as much competition.
• CPM: Facebook is one of the cheapest paid search platforms with the average CPM (cost per 1000 impressions) being roughly £0.15, compared with Adwords average CPM of £0.90.
• Budget: While on Adwords it is difficult to set up a campaign on less than £10 a day, the minimum spend on Facebook is £1 with no obligation to spend more. This enables advertisers to quickly set up an advertising campaign with little commitment.

It is far easier and cheaper to set up an advertising campaign on Facebook than on Adwords, and there is the potential to reach a much larger number of people. Adwords of course has its own advantages, and will remain the biggest player in the paid search world for the foreseeable future, but Facebook Ads are quickly becoming the most user friendly and cost effective method of promotion and advertising.

If you haven’t already, get started on building your first Facebook Ads campaign. Even with a meagre investment of as little as £1 a day, you can reach over a thousand people!

Think there’s a better way of promoting your business? Let us know in the comments section below!