Facebook advertising won’t suit every business
Facebook is the world’s most popular social media network and when used effectively, can be a valuable addition to any online marketing strategy. Advertising on Facebook, however, is not the best means of promoting a business for a number of reasons.
The primary reason is click-through rate – ads on Facebook are viewed as a nuisance by most social media users. They are not looking for products or services when interacting with friends, whereas when people make a search through search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, they are actively searching – they are either researching or preparing to buy a product.
Facebook also lacks a certain credibility in advertising in some industries – it’s seen as a social platform for youth. Although the stats demonstrate otherwise, there is a perception that amongst many B2B and B2C industries that their target market is not on Facebook.
Use Facebook to build your brand awareness
The advantage of Facebook advertising over search engines is the cost – it’s considerably cheaper to advertise, however, with such low click through rates don’t expect traffic to swarm through to your website.
Industries that should consider advertising on Facebook are those driven by social influences – fashion & beauty for example and the latest gadgets.
Rather than using Facebook as an advertising outlet for your business, consider using it as a brand reinforcement tool, for generating and rewarding loyalty amongst existing customers – ‘Like us on Facebook and receive a 5-10% discount’. That kind of incentive will drive more ‘natural’ recommendation of your business and probably generate more traffic than paying for ads on Facebook.
