If you have a small business, chances are that your advertising budget is not enormous. Those without a marketing department (and that’s most of us!) might be at a loss for how to properly get the word out about their businesses when word-of-mouth isn’t keeping the appointment book filled to capacity. Newspaper ads can be pricey, and, let’s face it, with smartphones, tablets and laptops, how many people read the classified section of the newspaper, anyway? Trade magazines offer good advertising potential, but again, they tend to be expensive. Radio and television ads can be effective, along with being high in price. What’s a small business owner to do?
Did you know that for only a dollar, you can reach as many as 4,000 Facebook users? That means that over a month’s time, you have the possibility of showing over 100,000 people your ad, all for a mere $30. According to Brian Carter on The Moz Blog, if your company can’t justify spending $30 per month on advertising, knowing that you’ll reach a quarter-million readers in two months’ time, then you probably shouldn’t be in business.
So, what are some of the benefits of advertising on Facebook, in addition to the enormous potential you’ll have for reaching thousands of people for each dollar you spend? Here are some of them:
**You’ll be able to target your clients.** If you put a billboard on the side of the highway, you’ll be in prime view of lots of people. They’ll be old and young, male and female, working all types of jobs and on their way to all sorts of endeavors. Chances are, you’ll attract some of them, but the majority of the passersby will glance at your billboard and put their eyes back on the road. When you use Facebook ads, however, your ad will be in front of the type of people who are likely to use your service or buy your product. Do you tend to cater to men, women, teens, young adults, middle-agers, people in the Northeast or those on the west coast? Let Facebook know who you’re looking to target, and those are the very people who will see your ads.
**You’ll be in front of your fans’ friends.** Have you ever noticed those “sponsored stories” on the right side of your Facebook feed? It might say that your friend, Jane Smith, “liked” Target or Nikes or Mom and Pop’s Fish Fry. If you value Jane’s opinion, you might be likely to check out whatever it was that she liked. When you put up a Facebook ad, people who are in your target demographic will be looking at your page. If they like it, and indicate their pleasure by clicking the thumbs-up icon, suddenly those people’s friends will begin to read about it on their feeds. And on and on the cycle goes.
**It’s a small investment.** Spending $30 per month is a reasonable investment to make. If a few months go by and you’re not getting the results you want, then you’ve only spent a hundred bucks. If you’ve gotten some “likes” and can interact with your new fans, then the organic part of this particular marketing strategy will still be in effect, even after you stop paying for the paid ads. For just a dollar per day, it makes sense to give it a try for two, three or four months.
Marketing and making the best use of every advertising dollar is something that every business owner has to figure out, no matter what the size of the company. If you take advantage of the low rates and high visibility of a Facebook campaign, you may be well on your way to making your brand more well-known.
Do you use Facebook ads? If you have any hints or tips for our readers, please share them in the comments section below!