the dummies guide to facebook advertising

The Pros and Cons of Facebook Advertising

A dummies guide is supposed to give you a “non-intimidating” overview of a certain subject. That is what this article is aiming to do- give you a quick, simple pro and con list about Facebook advertising!

In the world of traditional advertising, online advertising, social media and more – it can get complicated! How do you know your ads are being effective? What is the best outlet to allocate your ad expense? Facebook is a very useful tool, but its good to be aware of a few main features before getting started!

WHAT ARE THE PROS?

+ With Facebook you can specify your campaign to a specific purpose, depending on what your ad is aimed to do. Such as driving website traffic or increase brand awareness. This helps start of the process on the right track.

+ You can also create “Ad Sets” within that campaign that can be differentiated by photos and content. Then, after the ad has been running, you can evaluate which content works best going forward!

+ With Facebook, you can control your cost and make it most effective for your campaign. There is a minimum spend of just $1.00 a day, and can be managed easily with a limited budget. It has proven to be more cost effective than traditional methods such as Print or TV.

+ Facebook will automatically optimize the “ad set” that is performing the best. This gives advertisers the assurance that the best ad set will be ran, and gives a lot of information about what is working best with a specified market.

+It allows you to set up “custom audiences” based on who visits your site or previously created databases. You can even reach out to “Lookalike Audiences” for those who follow certain patterns similar to your current customers.

+Most of all, you can Measure the performance. Facebook will give you a detailed overview on how your ad preformed and give you a few pointers on how to improve. They will even give you suggestions on how to edit an ad even after it’s published, so you don’t waste your dollars.

WHAT ARE THE CONS:

• Well, It’s a new system to learn. Facebook’s new structure may work “more effectively”, but if you don’t know how to use it, it can be tricky and complicated. There may be elements you are missing in order to create the best outcome for your campaign.

• Facebook ads offer very small copy space. So, with only 90 characters to work with, you may not be able to get your point across to those you are trying to reach. Especially if your product requires explanation.

• It can be costly. Yes, you can give an advertising budget of $1.00 a day, but to ideally see results, you’ll most likely have to invest a little bit more. Which is unfortunate in this day and age of social media (what happened to all those people who liked your page for free?).

• It can be too specific. It is great to be able to be super specific about which demographic will get to see your ads. However, with too much choice and availability to target, you can quickly become TOO specific.

• Facebook ads won’t benefit you long-term. Although they can be a great use for a quick product introduction or to draw a bit more traffic, they can’t be used for a long-term solution to getting your brand established.

There are many other factors to consider when choosing your advertising path and if Facebook advertising will work for you. If you want more information, or advice contact us!