When it comes to Facebook Advertising – where do you stand?
In the past (not so very long ago), businesses easily survived without advertising online. Companies didn’t have departments set up for online customer relationship management. And they didn’t need an online footprint. However, things don’t work that way anymore. Consumers now actively search the Internet for everything they need these days. Even if they need to go to a store to pick it up after they’ve completed their search. For most people, (especially the younger generation; millennials and the generation Z), the rule is: “If you’re not online, then you don’t exist”.
One of the online networks that have remained dominant for years is Facebook. For businesses, both big and small, it’s been a recommended platform for advertising because of its worldwide membership. Facebook has often been a viable option for advertising too. If you want to choose it over its rivals and the other forms of advertising, here are the pros and cons you should first consider.
The Pros and Cons of Using Facebook Advertising
Pros
1. Facebook Lookalike Audiences
The Facebook lookalike audiences help you mirror several lists your email list. Use the pattern of your subscribers to advertise to them with extremely targeted ads. You can send ads to people who have made purchases from your competitors, using their own lists available on the platform.
2. Microtargeting
The Microtargeting ability of Facebook ads makes it a very efficient and precise tool to use. You can target the smallest geolocation, like a country, state, city, village, mall, etc. This helps you target and reach the intended audience, reducing waste in resources, and increasing ROI.
3. Facebook Re-Targeting
By placing the code supplied by Facebook on your site, you can retarget previous visitors on your website. This feature can be used to target people who visit certain sections of your site, who abandoned their shopping cart or even first-time visitors.
4. Facebook Advertising Units
Of the major advertising networks, Facebook has the most variety of advert units. It has the Right-side rail ads, Newsfeed promoted posts, Carousel ads, Canvas ads, Video ads, Instagram-specific ads, Event ads, Lead generation form ads, and Location-targeted ads. There are enough options to choose from, to suit your advertising strategy.
5. It’s the Biggest Social Platform
Facebook has over one billion users; over 70% of internet users are on Facebook. Twitter is only half the user base of Facebook, and Facebook is still growing, this means Facebook is going to deliver your content to more and more people. Your reach will be very wide if you intend to advertise globally.
- Related: Where is Your Next Customer Hiding
6. It Boosts Your Page Likes
People trust brands with social authority which is why some brands see a need to buy fake likes and followers (on Twitter and other platforms). By advertising on Facebook, you get more page likes from real people who are interested in your brand and its offerings.
7. It’s a Trusted Advertising Platform
Facebook is constantly improving on its advertising features. What this means is that it uses trusted algorithms and methods to approve and run ads submitted.
8. You Technically Don’t Need Another Website
Did you know, you can use your Facebook page to set up a Facebook store? This allows you to sell directly to customers from the affiliate website of your choice. You technically don’t need a website of your own. But you really should have your own website too – Facebook could disappear at any time!
9. Your Content Could Go Viral
Nobody shares your adverts on Ad Words. If your content is interesting, people will want to share it with their friends once it pops up on their feed. This means it is possible to go viral with a great ad, at no extra cost.
10. Shares Help Google Make a Better Decision
Social presence is a huge factor in search engine ranking, so with Facebook advertising, search engine ranking of both your site and Facebook page (using your brand name) will be improved.
As much as we love the benefits of using Facebook for advertising, here are some cons you should consider (see what we did there 😉 ) before making a final decision.
Cons to Facebook Advertising
1. Diminishing Organic Reach
Unless you are paying Facebook for ads, no one sees your content and this is a big con to Facebook advertising. Many marketers who are not interested in paying to share their content on Facebook will not be able to benefit from the platform.
2. Some Metrics Are Misreported
Facebook has been criticized over the years for reporting metrics that aren’t always correct. There have been issues of overreporting or inflating simple metrics which only favors Facebook. A few of the metrics commonly misreported include:
- Over-reporting the Video play metric
- Instant articles metrics are sometimes misreported
- Miscalculated metrics for apps referrals
- Because repeat visits aren’t removed, the organic reach isn’t reported correctly
To this accusations, Facebook published that it has taken the following measures to correct the issues:
- It has gone into partnership with third-party verification organizations
- Involved in clearer metrics definition and description
- Launch a measurement council
- It has also launched a metrics FYI blog
Will these work? Only time will tell.
3. It’s All About Money (Who Pays The Most)
You want to get your content before the very eyes of your audience, but who is going to pay for it? Facebook is now a race for the richest only. If you want your content to be seen, you need a sizeable budget to get your desired results.
4. Users Have to View Their Feed
Only those who are logged in have the luxury of seeing your ads. This is a con. When you advertise on AdWords for instance, your ads are served to everyone who uses the internet, where AdSense ads are served. But on Facebook, everything happens behind a login. If there are less than 2 billion Facebook users, what happens to the other users of the internet?
5. It’s Not the Most Preferred Social Platform Anymore
Features of other social networks such as Snapchat and Instagram have shifted the focus from Facebook. They might still have the highest number of users, but they are not the majority’s top choice anymore.
There are other Cons which include but are not limited to the following:
- It is a social network, not a business network.
- You might be advertising to fake or dormant profiles.
- Returns might be slow with little to no interaction with the users viewing your ads.
- The conversion rate might be low.
- Many fake ads have put the credibility of small businesses using Facebook ads to question.
In conclusion, Facebook is a great option for advertising your brand’s offerings. However, both the risks and returns must be considered evenly. If you have questions about using Facebook for advertising, please leave them below or contact us.
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