Facebook marketing has transformed how business is conducted. With 50 million active small businesses on Facebook, you can’t afford to sit out. Odds are your competition is on there. At 1.71 billion active users (and growing at 5 new profiles every second) Facebook surpasses Twitter, Pinterest Instagram and LinkedIn combined when it comes to active users.
Many already well-known brands used Facebook to grow their fame. Taco Bell, Lowes, Carnival Cruise Line and Dos Equis to name a few. These are very popular brands, so why turn to Facebook for continued growth? Here are three reasons:
Ads
With Facebook ads, you can create targeted ads to reach different audiences. You choose the audience that you want to see it by location, demographics, interests, behaviors, and connections. Because Facebook ads are placed in the stream of information between posts of friends and family, the audience is more likely to see the ad and take action. These ads can give the viewers the option to go directly to your website or app. Finally, you can measure the results and success of your ads. Facebook uses “page insights” to show how many people clicked, liked, commented on or shared your page or post. A second measurement tool used is “Ads Reporting” which displays the type of ad your running, the amount you’ve spent, how many people saw and engaged, as well as tips on how to fine tune your ad.
Unlike a commercial or billboard, you can run an ad for as little as $5.00. You are in control of your budget.
Videos
Have you ever found yourself stuck in a trance watching “Tasty” videos posted by Buzzfeed? Tasty has grown to 71 million followers since August of 2015. Facebook videos are designed with a “sound off” approach. You can express your message visually with a video ad that will automatically play without sound until clicking the ad to hear the sound. Using captions, logos, and products, you can convey your message even without the sound. Using the colors, imagery, and themes of your company will create brand awareness and help create that connection. The first 3 seconds of your video are crucial. According to Facebook Business, 65% of people who watch the first 3 seconds of a video will continue to watch for 10 more seconds.
With a current attention span of 8 seconds, even a goldfish can hold a thought longer than most humans. With that being said, make those 3 seconds a great 3 seconds.
Targeting
When you create a Facebook ad or video, you can choose the audience that you want to see it. Your ad/video can target people who are in specific countries, states, cities and regions, age, gender, language, and more. You can add traits and interests to make the audience as broad or narrow as you would like. You can even be as specific as the level of education, marital status, have children, and even if they own a home. You can choose to target individuals who are primarily desktop users, mobile device users, or both.
The options are really endless. It really all depends on who you want to see your content.
Though people will argue that Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn are taking over, as mentioned earlier, Facebook still takes the lead with 72% of internet users. According to Pew Research, only 31% of internet users use Pinterest, 28% use Instagram, 25% use LinkedIn and only 23% who use Twitter. It obviously depends on the demographics of users, so let’s compare.
So yes, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter are growing, especially for Millennials. However, Facebook is still number one and will probably be for a while.
Though people will argue that Facebook is not the best platform to use for advertising, the numbers don’t lie. No matter what age group is your target market, Facebook will be the best platform to grab their attention.