Facebook has 1.79 billion monthly active users; more than 968 million people use Facebook every day. That is an enormous amount of potential customers that could be interested in your business — you only have to find them!
Statistics show that:
- 4 in 10 social media users have bought a product after ‘liking’ it on Facebook or other social media platforms.
- 30.8% of consumers say that Facebook influences their purchasing decisions more than any other social media channel.
- 71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals.
Consumers usually follow brands or retailers on social media for different reasons but mostly to keep up to date with their activities and learn about products and services. Statistics show that after ‘liking’ an item, 50% of the social media purchases take place within a week and 80% within 3 weeks.
Social media targeting
Social media targeting is a form of online advertising that focuses on social media. Retailers can use this type of advertising and take advantage of the users’ demographics, location, interests, and so forth and target their ads accordingly.
Some of the available targeting options include:
- Location
- Education
- Work
- Financial status
- Generation
- Parental status
- Ethnicity
- Languages
- Connections to specific Facebook pages
- Behaviours
Components of a Facebook ad
A Facebook ad includes the following components:
- Text: short description about the product or service that is advertised.
- Image: a picture that should be eye-catching and captures the reader’s attention.
- Headline: the main title of the ad. It should grab the attention of the reader. The length can be up to 250 characters.
- Description: a longer description of the product/service. There is a 250-character limit.
- Caption: the URL of the advertised website so that the audience will know where they are going to be redirected. A slogan, separated by a pipe, can be added as well.
- Call to Action (CTA): a clickable button. Make it easy for the reader to know what you want him or her to do. It is best to use specific CTAs such as ‘Buy now’, ‘Sign up’, ‘Subscribe’ and ‘Contact Us’.
The most popular type of ads are Page Post Link ads and these are ideal for promoting products or services.
The importance of design and audience targeting
Two very important elements that can make a Facebook ad successful are great design and targeting the right audience.
Design
According to statistics, the image of the ad is responsible for 75%-90% of the ad performance. The image needs to grab the attention of the reader. If this is not happening, nobody will read the ad text or click the CTA button.
Research shows that people make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interaction with products and about 62%-90% of the assessment is based on colour alone. Colour can convey emotions and it should match the tone of the ad. The image used should spark emotions. Campaigns with a purely emotional content perform twice as well.
Targeting the right audience
Facebook gives you the option to target the people that subscribed to your newsletter or you can create a lookalike audience that is similar to those subscribers.
You can target customers that have already purchased from your website, customers that are not reading your emails, regain lost customers, target people with very similar characteristics to your customer base or target shopping cart abandonment.
Precise targeting of customers offers endless potential and it is very effective for increasing brand awareness, reaching a wider audience and improving conversion.
