How To Use Facebook Ads

This post is part of a series written by Shane Powers and Don Clark. Our goal is to help an average small business owner understand how to use Facebook ads effectively.

Why Facebook Ads?

They’re easy to use. They’re inexpensive. And you can start and stop Facebook ads any time you want.

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

– John Wanamaker, department store merchant (1838 – 1922)

If finding new customers is like finding needles in a haystack, then traditional advertising mediums are a pitchfork. You place an ad in the local paper, or a spot on the radio station. The paper or station will make promises about how big a scoop of hay they can deliver you, with the assumption that there are bound to be a few needles in the scoop. They’re probably right. But when you want needles, why are you paying for all that hay?

Targeted

Facebook advertising is like using a magnet instead. You set your ad campaign to only target likely customers – based on whatever factors you believe set your customers apart – and the ads only show to those people. Targeting fans of the brands you carry within 25 miles of your store is just the tip of the iceberg, and we’ll show you how to do it. Turn the magnet on and start pulling those needles right out of the stack.

Affordable

You can set a budget as low as you want and start and stop campaigns with the click of a mouse. You set the total budget for your campaign, or set a daily budget for an ongoing campaign. Furthermore, you only pay when a customer interacts with your ad. You can set the price your willing to pay for a click, and based on the competition for that target audience, you might pay as little as 15 cents for a highly qualified customer clicking through to your website, or whatever your desired outcome may be.

Measurable

What if Wanamaker had the ability to measure exactly how many people were seeing and responding do his advertising, and then refine his campaigns based on the results? If less than 1% of the people seeing his ads were coming down to Wanamakers for their dried goods and sideburn paste, he might want to go back to the drawing board. If, however, one $50 ad was producing 100 new purchases of Wanamaker’s washboards at $5 a piece, he would be well served to double down on that campaign.

Easy to Use

This might be the single reason you haven’t stepped up to the plate yet. Don’t be intimidated. Facebook created this self-service advertising platform with businesses like yours in mind. We’ll give you the tools to navigate the system and create powerful and effective messages.

As marketers working in the gift, retail, and hospitality industry over the last decade, we’ve seen the struggle for successful marketing from every perspective. We’ve helped national brands present a unified brand identity and we’ve designed ads for the smallest retailer to place in their state’s smallest newspaper.

Facebook is by no means the only way to advertise. It is our belief though, that it is the most effective, cost-efficient and user friendly method available to small business today. We can’t promise you’ll never waste another advertising dollar. With a measurable goal, an effective message and the right target audience, however, we promise you’ll know what’s working and how to get there.

What You’ll Learn

A quick glimpse at the topics we’ll be covering here.

When you’ve completed this series of posts, you’ll be able to create a Facebook advertising campaign that targets an ideal audience with a compelling message. Here’s a list of topics we’ll cover:

Setting Goals for Your Facebook Campaigns
Establish a specific, measurable campaign goal that’s aligned with overall business goals

Facebook Custom Audience Targeting & Buyer Personas
Determine ideal audiences for your campaigns by creating buyer personas

Creating Good Facebook Posts
Craft a message that engages, educates or entertains your audience

Writing Compelling Facebook Ad Copy
How to start a conversation with your audience using your own voice

Using Images To Create Successful Facebook Ads
Cut through the clutter and distraction with unique and compelling graphics

Using the Facebook Ad Platform
Step-by-step walkthrough of the Facebook advertising interface

Geographic Targeting and Demographic Targeting
Using geographic area, gender, occupation, education and other info to refine your audience

Understanding Facebook Interest Targeting
Determining your audience’s interests using affinities and targeting exactly the right audience based on their interests.

Facebook Ads Pricing, Budgeting and Bidding
Determine the right amount to spend to accomplish your campaign goals

Tips to Manage Facebook Ads and Measure Success
Reviewing the metrics that matter most for your campaign

Walk-Through: Facebook Ads Tips For Building A Successful Campaign
Worksheet to help turn what you learned into a successful campaign