Is Facebook Advertising Right for My Business?

Are you still hesitant to invest in Facebook advertising? Maybe you think it’s only for big corporations with huge marketing budgets?

While Facebook can seem intimidating, advertising on this social media giant has proven to be a successful strategy for businesses of all sizes and industries.

With its wide-ranging user data, the potential of Facebook advertising is hard to deny. In fact, I’d wager to say investing in Facebook advertising should be a no-brainer for any business in 2023. If you’re still on the fence about Facebook advertising, let’s dive into why Facebook deserves your hard-earned marketing dollars.

Facebook advertising isn't what it used to be

In its nearly 20-year history, Facebook has grown into the largest social network in the world, with almost 3 billion monthly active users. What started as a Harvard student’s side project became one of the most valuable companies worldwide. 

Facebook’s biggest money-maker? Advertisers.

While so much of Facebook has changed, the constant has always been that people and businesses can join the platform for free. At one point, businesses could join Facebook, build a following, and grow their business through the platform for a fairly low cost. However, as the network grew and competition became fierce, it turned into more of a “pay-to-play” tool. 

This isn’t to say you can’t have a Facebook strategy without advertising (we’ll outline some free ways to utilize the platform below). But you’re going to see much better results in a shorter period of time if you set aside some budget for advertising.

Facebook’s growth has also led to a new business model. In 2021, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rebranded his company to “Meta,” which owns the Facebook platform in addition to other popular social media apps: Instagram, Whatsapp, and Messenger. 

As it has grown in popularity among advertisers, Facebook’s advertising tools have become much more sophisticated, with a variety of targeting, placements, ad objectives, and more.

why budget marketing dollars for social media advertising?

Social media has transformed the marketing landscape by providing an accessible way for businesses of all kinds to reach large audiences. A majority of the world’s population spends time on social media every single day, providing ample opportunities for advertisers to reach their ideal customers. 

Long gone are the days of plastering your message on a billboard or in a tv promo in hopes that someone in your target audience sees it, let alone acts on it.

Social media advertising allows your business to deliver personalized messaging to the right people in the right place at the right time.

Social media is a much more cost-effective way of marketing your business. From Walmart to your local coffee shop, businesses of all sizes have harnessed the power of social media advertising. In fact, according to Meta, more than 10 million businesses have advertised on their platforms, and a majority of those are small- to medium-sized businesses.

What can I do with facebook advertising? 

What sets Facebook advertising apart from other avenues is its affordability and targeting abilities. With such a huge user base, and with so many people willing to share their information on social media, Facebook has access to quite a bit of user data. 

Facebook ads can be targeted based on a variety of demographics, including: 

• Location
• Age
• Gender
• Interests 
• Behaviors

These targeting options can help you reach your ideal customer so you’re not wasting ad spend on the wrong people.

Source: Meta Blueprint

You also have various ad formats to choose from when building your ads, including single-image ads, video ads, carousel ads, story ads, and more. These ads can be shown in many different locations, such as on people’s news feed, in their stories, on Facebook Marketplace, in search results, and more. 

Your business goals should be the driving force behind your Facebook advertising strategy. Start with brand awareness ads to get your message in front of more people, or try driving traffic to your website, boosting engagement with your content, or increasing sales. With Facebook’s real-time reporting, you can quickly analyze and optimize your ads to make sure you’re getting the best return on investment.

How do facebook ads work?

There are a lot of different ways to approach Facebook advertising. The simplest way to get started is by “boosting” posts. After you’ve shared some organic content on your Facebook page, you can click the “boost” button on one of your top-performing posts. 

For a more sophisticated advertising strategy, it’s best to run consistent ads through Facebook’s Ads Manager.

There are multiple ad objectives available for consistent ads, including awareness, traffic, engagement, leads, app promotion, and sales. 

As with any advertising platform, there are some policies to be aware of, especially if your business plans to run ads around intellectual property, employment, credit cards, housing, and social or political issues. 

In general, your Facebook ads should not promote any of the following: 

• Illegal products, services, or activities
• Misinformation
• Discriminatory practices
• Inflammatory content
• Content that promotes militarized social movements or violence
• Vaccine discouragement

Any of this content will likely get flagged by Facebook and taken down. Learn more about Facebook’s advertising policies here. 

What's the cost of facebook advertising?

When it comes to budgeting, I suggest starting with a small budget to test the waters—around $3 to $5 per day—and scale from there. Facebook is cheaper than other platforms like LinkedIn or YouTube, with the minimum ad spend at $1 per day. 

In Facebook’s words:

“Some people spend more on coffee each day than they do on their ad campaigns.”

Facebook’s advertising platforms use an ad auction to deliver your ads. Ads are ranked based on their total value, which is determined by three factors: advertiser bid, estimated action rates, and user value. 

In simpler terms: The amount of money you spend, Facebook’s predicted results, and the quality of your ads decide if your ad wins an auction at any given time. 

Because Meta owns Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, you also have the option to deliver your ads on those platforms in addition to Facebook.

As an example for reference, Tribute Media recently ran a carousel brand awareness campaign on Facebook for just $100. We ended up reaching more than 100,000 Facebook users, costing about $1 per 1,000 people. That’s some great awareness!

What are the drawbacks of facebook advertising?

While Facebook advertising can be an effective tool for businesses, as with any advertising platform, there are always going to be some drawbacks.

As I’ve mentioned, Facebook isn’t what it used to be. The enormous growth on the platform has led millions of businesses to throw their marketing budgets toward ads. This means landing your ad in someone’s Facebook feed is much more competitive than it once was. This also means many Facebook users have become fatigued by the constant influx of ads on the app. 

Additionally, recent changes in privacy policies from large tech companies like Apple and Google have limited advertisers' ability to accurately target on platforms like Facebook. Meta has also faced a lot of criticism over its handling of user data, leading many people to be skeptical of the platform, or leave it altogether. 

Because of the high competition for ad space, increasing ad fatigue, and privacy changes, it’s crucial for your business to have a sound strategy, refined targeting, compelling copy, and engaging visuals.

how do I get started?

While it may seem daunting to invest in Facebook advertising, the potential benefits for your business are too great to ignore. With details targeting options, diverse ad formats, and real-time reporting capabilities, Facebook advertising offers businesses a cost-effective and efficient way to reach their marketing goals. 

So take the leap and see what Facebook advertising has to offer your business!

If you’re looking for an experienced professional to manage your Facebook advertising strategy, the Tribute Media team is here to help you. We can take your social advertising to the next level with expert guidance and management to ensure your ads are optimized for success!