Facebook ads

 

There is a seemingly endless influx of new apps and social networks every week, all claiming to be the “new Facebook” or the “anti-Facebook”. However, the original still stands firm as the king of social media. This is why it has been (and likely will be) the best medium for marketing your personal or business brand. As an owner of a small business, it is essential to know the basics of Facebook ads and how to use them effectively.

Here is a quick breakdown.

To begin, the same fundamentals apply when setting up ads for small businesses, large companies, or personal brands. Some terms that you should be familiar with are Impressions, Click-through Rates (CTR), Landing Pages, Cost-Per-Click (CPC), Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM), and Reach and Frequency.

• Impressions, in simpler terms, are opportunities. When an ad is posted, it means someone can potentially see it.
• The number of clicks on the ad divided by the number of impressions calculates the CTR.
• Landing pages are the destinations where users are brought to upon clicking the ad.
• Facebook charges you a set amount per click or impression, but allows you to set a maximum budget at which point to end a campaign.
• You may also choose to pay for your ad space whether or not anyone clicks on them – this is called CPM.
• The reach is the number of individuals who have seen your ad while the frequency is the number of times each user has seen it.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to create a Facebook page to set up an ad. But, you do need to have a personal account where you can create, manage, and finance the ads.

How to set up the Facebook ad:

1. Log on to your Facebook page. On the drop-down menu near the home button, click on “Create Ads.” This will bring you to the Create Ad Page.
2. Know what you want to advertise. Facebook will ask you to link a Facebook page or a website. You may link it to a product page or your company’s website. Facebook ads for small businesses may link to the respective Facebook pages or online shops. You can also choose to “boost” a specific post or status update.
3. Set an advertising goal. You will be given three options: “Get More Likes,” “Promote Page Posts,” and “See Advanced Options.” If you want to drive fans towards a Facebook page, click on the first option. If you want to promote specific Facebook content such as posts or a photo, click on the second option. If you want to lead users to a different website, select the last option.
4. Design your ad with a 25-character headline, a 90-character description, and a thumbnail. These can be edited in real time, even if the ad is already up and running.
5. Select the ad’s target audience.
6. Name your campaign, set its schedule, and set your ad budget. You may choose whether to go for CPCs or CPMs.
7. Input your payment information. This is for when you would need to pay for the ad. Options would be via credit card, PayPal, ad coupons, or direct debit.

By advertising on Facebook, you would easily be able to monitor and tweak your campaign through the Ads Manager tool. Some of its features include editing attributes such as the headline, description, and thumbnail, changing your audience, and increasing or decreasing your ad budget.

As always, make sure to record your results in order to test and tweak over time.

Any experience with Facebook ads? I’d love to know your thoughts.