The scarily accurate impact of Facebook Advertising

facebook advertising
Facebook advertising has made a big impact on business sales since it was introduced. Facebook is still the major social network with 1 in 7 people in the world using it. As the platform has evolved, the advertising and business manager options available to business owners has adapted to meet the user needs significantly. Facebook users now expect to be shown adverts within their news feed, which are tailored to them personally. Some of the adverts can be shocking as they are so accurate now.

It has become commonplace to see a sponsored post, which is clearly specific to their current location, their personal interests or purchasing behaviour, for example. It has got to a stage now, where Facebook advertising has becoming scarily real-time. I found this recently, as I dug out my Nectar card and went to Sainsbury’s to buy a couple of Cobra beers. On my return home, I logged into to Facebook, opened a beer and sure enough an advert for Cobra’s page came up, inviting me to like the page.

This can be gobsmacking for the consumer but in most cases, people who are enjoying the product already are also likely to follow the company, especially if discounts or offers may be available down the line. I discovered a recent article about Facebook having links to the technology and data with reward cards. This shows that your buying habits are being tracked, which is good for businesses to understand you better but also good for the consumer as they get reward points to spend on other things. Cobra are obviously utilising this to their advantage.

When first setting up a Facebook advert, it’s tempting to put your whole budget on the whole country or even globally to sell your product or service but it’s important to do a little A/B testing and work out which adverts are the most responsive in terms of engagement and conversions.

For example, if you have a Scottish craft beer that you want to promote, focus on advertising to the whole of Scotland to people over 18 who have shown an interest in beer or craft beers. They may have done this by liking a related page or attended a craft beer event. You can take this a stage further if you have an email list of people who enjoy craft beer and this can be added to your audience section, as well as remarketing to people who visit your website.

Keep your adverts filtered to your specific audience and tweak as you go.

For more information on getting the most out of Facebook advertising and reaching a larger audience, please contact me at jon@socialant.co.uk.

Jon

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