Facebook advertising is one of the most powerful tools available to small businesses today. In fact, a recent study found that small businesses that advertise on Facebook see a return of $2.20 for every dollar spent.
We think that’s great news! So many small business owners use Facebook as a place to connect with their customers, build their brand and drive traffic to their websites. However, if you’re new to advertising on Facebook, it can seem a little overwhelming at first.
There are so many different types of ads available, not to mention all the targeting options and ways you can measure your ROI. It’s easy to get confused and have no idea where to begin!
That’s why we’ve put together this guide with everything you need to know about advertising on Facebook as a small business owner.
What is Facebook Advertising?
When we use the term “Facebook advertising,” we’re actually referring to two different things: ads on Facebook, and the Facebook ad network. Let’s take a closer look at both of these terms:
- Ads on Facebook – This refers to the different types of advertisements you can create on Facebook. Whether you’re promoting your business, product or service, Facebook offers a wide range of ad types that can help you reach the right audience, at the right time.
- Facebook ad network – The ad network is the network of third-party websites and apps that Facebook uses to distribute your ad. For example, when you create a “link” ad that directs your audience to your website, Facebook will distribute your ad across other websites and apps where people are already browsing and clicking.
- The ad network plays a crucial role in helping Facebook users find businesses and products they might like. It also allows small businesses to promote their products to people who might not have seen them otherwise.
Why Should Small Businesses Use Facebook Ads?
Facebook ads are a crucial part of any effective marketing strategy. With Facebook ads, you’re able to target audiences based on their interests, location, demographics, and more.
This makes it easier for you to find the people most likely to buy your products or services. Now, Facebook ads aren’t a magic bullet for success, but they can help boost your sales and increase your profits if you know what you’re doing.
The thing is, many small businesses don’t realize the potential of Facebook advertising for their business. If you’re one of those small businesses that isn’t taking advantage of Facebook ads, it’s time to change that! Facebook ads allow you to connect with your existing customers and build your brand with new customers.
5 Core Types of Facebook Ads for Small Businesses
Now that you understand what Facebook advertising is and why it’s important, let’s take a look at the 5 core types of Facebook ads you can use to promote your business.
- Video Ads – Video ads have become an essential part of marketing strategies for small businesses in every industry. With video ads, you have the chance to make an emotional connection with your audience and tell them exactly what they need to know about your company and product. – What’s more, video ads have been shown to be up to 100x more effective than ads without video. That means video ads are especially powerful for small businesses. And with Facebook video ads, you can add sound or music to go even further.
- Link Ads – If you want to drive targeted traffic to your website, link ads are one of the most effective Facebook ad types for small businesses. With link ads, you can pay to have your ad appear at the top of search engine results. This makes it easy to direct potential customers directly to your site and showcase your products and services.
- Photo Ads – Photo ads are a great way to promote your products and services in a visual way. They’re perfect for Facebook since the platform is predominantly visual.
- Organic Sponsored Posts (OSPs) – OSPs are a type of Facebook ad you can use to promote your business organically. In other words, you don’t have to pay to have your ad appear on other people’s timelines. Instead, you can pay to have your ad appear above your competitors’ organic content. This helps you to stay at the top of your customers’ minds, even when they’re not actively looking for your products or services.
- Button Ads – Button ads are a relatively new type of Facebook ad that you can use to connect with your audience and drive traffic to your website. Once someone clicks on your button ad, they’re taken to your website where they can learn more about your company and what you have to offer.
3 Big Benefits of Facebook Advertisements for Small Businesses
Now that you know what Facebook advertising is and why it’s important, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of Facebook advertisements for small businesses. Facebook advertisements can help you achieve a variety of goals, including boosting your sales, increasing your profits, and growing your customer base. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest benefits of Facebook ads:
- Better Sales – As we’ve already discussed, Facebook advertising can help you boost your sales by connecting with potential customers and growing your customer base. Whether you’re advertising your product, service or brand, Facebook ads can be an effective tool for increasing your sales.
- More Customers – Growing your customer base is crucial for any business, and Facebook ads can help you do just that. Facebook ads can help you reach people who might not have heard about your business otherwise. Once you start advertising on Facebook, you can start connecting with more customers, bringing them into your sales funnel.
- Better Brand Recognition – Facebook is a great way to build your brand recognition among existing and potential customers. By advertising on Facebook, you have a chance to connect with your customers on a more personal level.
- Better Positioning in Google – Facebook ads are also a great way to position your business for more organic (unpaid) search engine traffic.
2 More Benefits of Facebook Advertising for SMBs
- Increased Visibility – When you advertise on Facebook, your ad appears in both the news feed and on the right side of the web. This makes it easy for your ad to appear above other content and gain even more attention. Once your ad gains enough attention, it will start to appear on the news feeds of people who don’t even use Facebook.
- More Customer Data – Growing your customer base is crucial for any business, and Facebook ads can help you do just that. Facebook ads can help you reach people who might not have heard about your business otherwise. Once you start advertising on Facebook, you can start connecting with more customers, bringing them into your sales funnel.
Button Ads
Button ads are a relatively new type of Facebook ad that you can use to connect with your audience and drive traffic to your website. Once someone clicks on your button ad, they’re taken to your website where they can learn more about your company and what you have to offer.
Button ads are helpful because they offer a direct line of communication between you and your customers. This can be especially helpful if you’re trying to sell a service or product that you’d rather not discuss on Facebook. It’s also a great way to connect with your existing customers and drive them back to your website.
Facebook Sponsored Posts
If you’re new to advertising on Facebook, you may want to start off with a Sponsored Post. A Sponsored Post is a type of Facebook advertisement that allows you to promote a post on your page. When someone clicks on the “Promote” button, you can pay to promote the post so that it will appear in their newsfeeds.
You can also choose which demographic will see the post, which will help you target the right people with the right message. A sponsored post is a great way to promote your page and get more people following you. It’s also a cheap way to get your first few likes and shares.
You can use it to drive traffic to your website, offer a discount or generate leads. Facebook Sponsored Posts are great for building engagement on your posts, especially if you have a new page. With a sponsored post, you can quickly get more likes, comments and shares, which helps people discover your page.
Sponsored posts are also a great way to get more fans if your page isn’t gaining traction quickly enough. You can boost the post to get more likes and fans, and then you can scale back the boost when the page has grown.
Facebook Lead Ads
If you’re looking to generate leads from your Facebook ads, you’ll want to try using Lead Ads. These are actually a part of Facebook’s Power Editor and not an actual ad type in the ad manager. However, Lead Ads are worth a special mention because they can help you grow your email list as quickly as possible.
With Lead Ads, you can collect email addresses right from the ad itself. You can also use retargeting to bring people back to sign up for your email list. Lead ads are triggered by the user’s browsing behavior.
The Facebook pixel is used to track user behavior and then trigger the ad at the right time. A lead ad consists of three main parts: the headline, the body text and the CTA. The headline is the first thing that people see. It should be short and snappy, as it will be displayed in a very small space.
The body text should be focused on a single idea. The CTA should be short and direct. It should focus on a single action, such as “subscribe”, “buy now”, etc. You can also use Lead Ads to offer something for free in exchange for an email address, such as a mini-course or lead magnet. You can also use Lead Ads to promote your webinar, online course, product or even physical location.
Facebook Retargeting Ads
Retargeting is one of the most powerful advertising techniques. It simply means showing ads to people who have visited your site or used your service in the past. You can use it to re-engage with people who have already shown interest in your business.
Using retargeting ads on Facebook, you can show ads to people who have visited your site or used your app but not made a purchase. You can also use it to re-engage with people who have engaged with your content, but not taken any action.
A retargeting ad is shown to people based on the cookies saved in their browser when they visit your site. It allows you to follow up with people who have shown interest in your business, but have not yet taken any action. Retargeting is one of the most effective advertising strategies because it allows you to stay in front of your target customers.
It’s a great way to get more people clicking your links, buying your products and recommending you to others. Retargeting ads can be set up in the Facebook ad manager. You can choose a simple “retargeting” audience to create an ad, or you can get more specific and create an ad that retargets people who have visited specific pages on your site.
Shopping Ads
If your business sells products, you can use Shopping Ads to promote your products on Facebook. It’s a great way to increase sales and drive more traffic to your store. With Shopping Ads, you can create ads that show in the “Shop” section of Facebook’s newsfeed.
To create a Shopping Ad, you’ll first choose the products you want to advertise. You can add up to 20 products at once, which is great if you sell a variety of products. Once you add the products, you’ll be asked how much you’re looking to spend and how many people you want to reach.
You’ll also be asked which days you want the ads to run and if you want the ads to only show certain times of the day. This is a great option if you only want to spend a certain amount each day, or if you want the ads to only show during certain times when people are more likely to shop.
Sponsored Posts
Sponsored Posts are a great way to promote your content and get more people following you on Facebook. You can choose from a variety of different types of posts, such as images, videos or text posts. When creating a sponsored post, you can select the audience you want to see the post.
Sponsored Posts are a great way to promote a new product or service, promote an upcoming event or generate more likes and followers for your page. You can also use sponsored posts to promote an existing product or service if you want to get more people to purchase it.
You can also use sponsored posts to boost your existing posts, which allows you to reach a new audience. This is great if you’ve posted something in the past that didn’t get as much attention as you wanted.
Facebook Ads for Product Ads
Product ads are one of the most powerful types of ads available. They allow you to target people who are likely to buy a specific product. Product ads are based on the same technology as retargeting ads.
They are triggered by cookies, so they only show people who have already visited your site. Product ads are great for generating more sales and closing more sales from your current traffic. They can also be used to increase your average order value.
By showing product ads to people who have already visited your site, you can re-engage with those customers, asking them to buy now. You can also use product ads to drive people back to your site, where they can purchase the product right away.
Product ads are a great way to target only the people who are likely to buy the product. You can select the people who fit your targeting criteria, such as people who are looking to buy a specific product, people who are within a certain income bracket or people who have visited a certain page on your site.
Facebook Ads for Lead Generation
If you’re looking to generate leads from your Facebook ads, you can create Lead Ads. Lead Ads let you collect email addresses right from the ad itself. They are triggered by the user’s browsing behavior.
The Facebook pixel is used to track user behavior and then trigger the ad at the right time. A lead ad consists of three main parts: the headline, the body text and the CTA. The headline is the first thing that people see. It should be short and snappy, as it will be displayed in a very small space. The body text should be focused on a single idea. The CTA should be short and direct.
It should focus on a single action, such as “subscribe”, “buy now”, etc. You can also use Lead Ads to offer something for free in exchange for an email address, such as a mini-course or lead magnet. You can also use Lead Ads to promote your webinar, online course, product or even physical location.