Are running ads on Facebook effective for small businesses?

The question on every new business owners mind – are running ads on Facebook an effective strategy? You don’t have the funds to run large-scale campaigns, so is it worth investing at all? Facebook may be the biggest social network with 2.7 billion active users per month, but trying to stand out against the competition may seem impossible.

In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Facebook ads are specifically designed to benefit small businesses. By targeting ads properly, it’s possible to spend a small amount of money for a huge increase in web traffic and (hopefully) sales. But you have to know your market before you can reach them.

The stats

Without wanting to scare you, the competition on Facebook is huge. There are around 65 million Facebook pages for businesses, 4 million of which are using Facebook ads. That’s a lot to compete with and you might feel like you’re throwing your money down the drain!

However, in truth, your competition is much less than this. If you’re clear on your niche, then you’re really only competing against the small pool of businesses within this sector. If all your competitors are running ads, then you’re losing out by not joining them. Study their Facebook ads and devise a strategy to do it better.

Most small businesses fail with paid advertising

Another stat which may alarm you is that 62% of businesses fail to achieve growth through Facebook advertising. However, this is roughly the same proportion of small businesses which fail every year. As with everything else in business, your success with Facebook ads will come down to strategy and tenacity. As long as you pay attention to your analytics and don’t give up, you’ll see results eventually.

There is no shame in asking for help. Getting consulting advice on Facebook ads may increase your overall spend, but will deliver more effective results and reduce the amount of trial and error.

Facebook ads can be cost-effective

If you’ve never run a Facebook ad before, you may be surprised at how little they cost. Because your business exists within a small niche, the ad doesn’t go out to every Tom, Dick, and Harry surfing the web. This isn’t like buying space in a TV ad break or purchasing a billboard by the motorway. You are in control of what group of people see your ads.

You can purchase advertising on Facebook for just $1 a day. This will hardly put a dent in your budget, but will help you to reach thousands of new customers over time. With the huge access to data Facebook has, the social network is able to better target ads, making them far more cost-effective than traditional advertising.

Know your market

If you’re going to succeed with Facebook ads, then you need to know your market. Firstly, are they on Facebook at all? This is the number one reason Facebook ads fail. Businesses try to create an audience to advertise to who aren’t very active on the social media platform.

Facebook is hugely popular with over 30s, but experiences a sharp drop in usage among under 20s. If your audience isn’t even on the network, then you’re wasting your time. If they are, you need to know their demographics and interests so that you can tell Facebook exactly who to show ads to. This is the only way to succeed with Facebook ads.

So, is running ads on Facebook effective for small businesses? That depends. Facebook ads are certainly incredibly cost-effective, but only if you know your market. So do the market research first and then carefully craft an ad to have the maximum impact.