Facebook is the new media driving small business sales, marketing experts say.
According to Content Marketing Institute, a full 97 percent of all business-to-consumer marketers that use social media are using Facebook ads as part of their advertising strategy and 88 percent of those using it feel as though it is their most effective platform for reaching customers and converting sales. With 1.37 billion daily active users and 2 billion monthly users, Facebook has a massive audience, but it is the targeted nature of their ads that make them so useful, according to USA Today.
A local restaurant, for instance, could decide on Tuesday morning that they want to advertise a special on oysters that night and turn to a Facebook ad to drive traffic to the promotion. With a few clicks, the owner can target an advertisement to users in their zip code that like oysters and eating out and are over 21 so they can buy drinks. The cost of such an ad could easily be under $100.
Meanwhile, traditional ad campaigns in print or radio would require significantly more planning time and cost.
Another feature, lookalike audiences, allow a business owner to automatically find people with traits similar to those who are already following their Facebook pages, according to Inc. Magazine. This approach generated $5 for every dollar spent on this type of ad.
The ability for small businesses to create inexpensive, targeted ads whenever they want creates a fantastic opportunity to market-test new promotions, sales, and other initiatives. They even have a Lead Ads service that lets companies without a website gather email addresses from potential customers that have shown interest in their ads.
