Facebook advertising can be a logical place to start with paid advertising, especially for the small business. Facebook allows you to place funds into ads, targeted to your ideal audience, without a large investment, and using a multitude of campaigns and styles.
As with most pay-per-click campaigns, businesses can set their budget, time period and target market for which they want to run their advertisement. These ads are simpler to monitor and require less tinkering than search engine marketing. When done correctly, ads on this social media platform can drive followers to your page, generate more website views and create new customers.
Setting up your ad with Ads Manager
This interface has seen some changes in the past few years, taking over the Facebook Power Editor tool, with the best functionality added now to the Ads Manager. When you create an ad you walked through the process step-by-step, but be sure to take advantage of these features that will help you run more powerful ads.
- Run ads on specific schedules and time zones. If you know your audience is only on Facebook at certain times of day, or you’re trying to target a specific time zone, the interface will allow you to schedule exactly which times you want your ad to run.
- Control the placement of your ad. Having control of your ads allows you to directly target those using a computer or mobile device, or even as specifically as to those whose mobile is connected by Wi-Fi. You can also choose to place your ad on sister channel Instagram, or to exclude the Audience Network or Messenger.
- Save your work with drafts. This feature (finally!) lets you create, save, and come back later. You'll get a friendly reminder that you have active drafts to consider publishing before you proceed.
- Split Testing. If you have time to let your campaign run more than 2 weeks, testing different graphics, messaging, and targeting using the Split Tests feature can give you great feedback on the ads that will perform the best for you with your target audience -- and also which audience will have the most payoff.
- Exclusion Targeting. When creating a campaign or ad, you have an ideal customer or persona in mind, and Facebook continues to add more precise targeting options to ensure you’re getting your ads in front of right people. It is also beneficial to exclude certain segments to avoid targeting the same people twice. With Facebook’s Exclusion Targeting tool you can exclude your existing customers or exclude those who’ve already converted from a promotion designed to generate new leads or target website visitors. This will help to lower your cost per action or click and enable you to better reach people who are more likely to convert or buy.
Monitor & Tweak on the Ads Dashboard
Since you are paying for each and every click generated from your ad, you’ll want to be sure you’re getting the most for that investment. Don’t settle for an underperforming ad -- change it. From the Ads Manager you can edit the text, increase or decrease your ad spend, and even adjust your target audience.
Manage on-the-go with Ads Manager App
Getting your ad set up is only half of the process. You must manage your ads throughout the campaign period to ensure you’re getting the most for your investment. While you can manage your ads through the ad campaign dashboard, the stand-alone Facebook Ads Manager app for iOS and Android simplifies the process.
The app allows you to track ad performance, edit existing ads, revise ad budgets and schedules, receive push notifications and even create ads from the app. Designed for small- to medium-sized advertisers, the app allows you to create ads from images and photos on your mobile device, as well as from existing page posts. Its one of the easiest ways to manage your existing ads -- even when we have access to a desktop, we still like to use the app ;)
Facebook ads can be a very successful and cost-effective means of tapping into the large Facebook user network. But don't just set it and forget it! When you routinely monitor your ads, you push your dollar further, and your leads!
Happy Advertising!
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