Ideas & Opportunities
Make Facebook work for your business (Part 2)
Jan 20, 2012
To say that Facebook has gone a long way from its 2004 launch is quite an understatement. More than 800 million active users access the social networking service through both desktop browsers and mobile apps (by its own estimation), which makes Facebook an indispensable promotional and engagement tool for businesses of all types. Novices in self-promotion and entrepreneurs in need of new promotion and marketing tactics would do well to leverage Facebook, particularly four of its business-friendly features that work in tandem (Pages, Ads, Sponsored Stories and Platform). Read Part 1 of the series here.
Ads and Sponsored Stories
Some businesses rely solely on Pages, but Ads and Sponsored Stories will let even more consumers know about what you have to offer --- and bolster your promotional efforts on your Page.
Besides publicizing your brand as a whole, garnering more Likes for your Page and Wall Posts, and getting more attendees for your Events, Facebook Ads can also be made based on your ongoing promos and discounts, and go after specific consumer markets. The other positive aspects? You get to design your ad, tweak it according to your target demographics and budget, and dictate its duration.
When making a Facebook ad, you should have the following things in mind:
The demographic you want to target --- Young, middle-aged or elderly? What gender? Students, yuppies, executives? Single or married?
Your ad's desired reach --- Do you want your ad to be seen by just the people who've already Liked your Page, or do you want it to be visible to those users' connections as well? In which countries do your desired customers live? What topics get their attention, and what hobbies do they have? What industry do they work in, and what language do they speak?
Your budget --- Do you want to have an ad campaign running on cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM)? How much are you willing to spend on your campaign per day?
Your statistics --- Has your Facebook Ad reached your intended audience? Did you get more views and Likes? At what dates did your ad get the most views?
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