Beginners Guide to Facebook Advertising

Most companies know that advertising on Facebook and other social media platforms can be lucrative. With so many people spending time on social media, you can reach a wide audience if you know how to target them properly. Marketing your products and services on Facebook could generate more revenue, brand recognition, and overall growth for your company.

If you have never advertised on Facebook before, though, you may be unsure of how the process works. We’ve put together this guide to help you understand the elements needed to help your business initiate Facebook Ads.

Advertising on Facebook for Beginners

Although Facebook Ads may seem complicated and overwhelming for those just starting out, don’t let these feelings deter you from taking advantage of this advertising opportunity. With Facebook Ads, you can target your ads to an audience that is most likely to convert on your ads. This will help you grow your business. Facebook Ads can be a better way to market your business than other advertising methods with a high return on investment if you set up your ad campaigns correctly. Using the experts at Digital Division to strategically design a campaign that meets your overall objectives is critical to Facebook Ad ROI.

Did you know that you could target your ads using specific categories? You can target customers based on:

  • Age
  • Location
  • Gender
  • Interests
  • Life events
  • Behaviors
  • And more...

Types of Ads

Facebook has more than one type of ad, the first step in developing a strategic campaign is to figure out which type of ad is best suited for your objective. Digital Division will help analyze and determine the best ad type for your goals. Of course, multiple campaigns can be run and tested out to see which one works best for the products or services you are trying to sell. Facebook offers:

  • Video ads
  • Image ads
  • Collection ads (a collection of products you sell)
  • Carousel ads
  • Lead generation ads
  • Instant experience ads
  • Offers (can be displayed as an image, video, or carousel)

Things to Consider When Choosing an Ad Type

  • While Facebook offers several different options for advertising on its platform, don’t let these choices overwhelm you. Digital Division starts by thinking carefully about your products or services and how to best advertise them. Some products are best advertised using an image, while other products may sell using a video that allows the product to be demonstrated. If you are in a service industry, you may want to advertise using an instant experience ad that gives customers a tiny experience taste of what your service industry has to offer.
  • You also need to think about your budget to determine how much money you can spend on advertising.

Finding Your Audience and Objectives

How do you figure out who to advertise your products to? Digital Division uses research to determine who is most likely to purchase your goods or services. For instance, if you sell makeup, you are most likely going to be targeting women. But if your company sells coffee, who should you target? With coffee, interests based targeting may work the best. Facebook tracks users’ interests, so if a user has expressed an interest in coffee before, you can advertise to that person.

You will also need to figure out your advertising objectives. Some forms of advertising are not product ads. For instance, you may be trying to grow your brand recognition, and so that objective will require a different type of ad. Your ad may be geared toward developing an image of your company. For instance, maybe you have an insurance company, and you want people to see your company as one people can trust. Perhaps your ad can show how your company donates time and money to helping others. No matter the objective, Digital Division is an expert at creating strategies that work best for all types of businesses.

Testing and Tracking

Facebook Ads are not difficult to get started once you put in the time and effort to get them up and running, but ensuring that they do their job is the hard part. That's why Digital Division has in-depth strategies to test targeting, creative and copy to make sure our clients are getting the most bang for their buck. No one wants to throw away money on advertising that is not working, so make sure you take the time to track results. If some types of ads are performing well, put your money into those ads.

Ready to jump into Facebook ads, but still not sure where to start? Our social media advertising experts at Digital Divison can help you manage advertising campaigns across all social media channels to reach your business goals.