Facebook advertising for local businesses – 5 tips

Advertising on Facebook – how to get started?

Usually the beginning of the adventure with Facebook ads is a big, distinctive “Promote post” button. However, this is not the optimal solution. However, it is also not a cardinal mistake. Ot, it is there and can be used well. Well – not the best use, however.

This is primarily due to the limited possibilities of ad configuration and lack of control over where your ad will be displayed in the near future. At the same time, it works best for an interesting, catchy, catchy ad. And what it’s like to create sponsored posts is what most of us know – click a click, take a picture, add a link to a page and wait for reactions.

However, this is quite a limitation given the basic premise – local reach.

Does this mean not to use sponsored posts? Not really. It is also a form of promotion – it’s just that Facebook provides much better opportunities. Possibilities that are available when you enter the Ads Manager m

Let’s start with formats. The ad manager allows you to create videos, animations and other formats, such as a collection or carousel. It allows you to make a potential user curious about the format itself, let alone when you meaningfully enrich it with ad creatives.

What does a sensible Facebook ad creative look like?

First of all, it must be tailored to the target group, well thought out in terms of what we want to show and how. A banner ad is not the best solution here – of course, a banner is not equal to a banner and even in this format you can create something interesting, although this does not yet determine a high conversion. Conversion is usually the ratio between the number of viewers and those performing actions.

The second aspect is an interesting message that makes you want to watch it. It is estimated that every day we watch between a few hundred and a few thousand ads… so why should we choose this one?

For example, bet on a short video of creating the most daring hairstyle, if you run a hair salon. Or show someone eating your best burger if you run a restaurant. Or create a slideshow of creating an offbeat kitchen or bathroom, if you’re in the interior design business. Way to go.

Look for a creative message that will stimulate emotions. That’s the only way you’ll captivate hearts.

Ads Manager – how to master it?

The main reason why you should at least get at least a basic familiarity with the Ads Manager is the possibilities. Assuming that most small businesses can only spend a few hundred zlotys on advertising, it allows you to optimize your budget and, most importantly, choose your target!

The target is the aspect that distinguishes a sponsored post from a campaign in the Ads Manager.

On Facebook we can choose from, such goals as:

Recognition:

• Brand recognition
• Reach

Purchase consideration:

• Traffic
• App installations
• Activity
• Video views
• Messages
• Contact acquisition

Conversion:

• Conversions
• Catalog sales
• Company visits

Depending on its definition, the cost of an advertising campaign changes. We will focus primarily on two objectives: Brand Reach and Brand Recognition. This is because these are the aspects that, for a small business, are in most cases the most important – sending information about your existence into the ether. What’s also important – the costs for this goal are much lower than at least the goal: Conversion, which is geared towards performing an action (e.g., going to a page).

After selecting the target, we still have to determine the target group (the so-called ad set) and create the ad itself.

Why is the choice of target group important?

It’s all about effectiveness. Even the best, most extravagant, eye-catching and celebratory ad will not have the desired effect if we address it to the wrong people.

It’s like sending an ad for a beauty salon to men.

Of course – some men use the services of salons, if only to take care of their feet, but statistics are inexorable and say that 90% of customers are actually female.

How to target ads?

There are 4 basic ways to target potential customers: location, sociodemographic characteristics, interests and behavior.

For local businesses, location will obviously be the most important, but we will lean more into each of the ways listed.

LOCATION

Facebook is such a tool that allows us to target almost to the point. So if we have a gym in Warsaw, we are able to target advertising to people who are within a 20, 50, or 70km radius of it. This is an excellent solution for any local business.

SOCIODEMOGRAPHICS

Sociodemographics allows linking the characteristics of a location to the actions taken in life. This includes, for example, young couples who are expecting a child, or people who have just moved. In this form, we can choose from categories such as:

• Relationship (e.g., after marriage)
• Education (e.g., higher education, pedagogical)
• Work (e.g., trainer)
• Ethnic affiliation (e.g., minority)
• Generation (e.g., millenials)
• Parents (e.g., toddlers)
• Events (e.g., moving house)

INTERESTS

This is also an effective form of reaching out to potential customers. In this aspect, we can look for people who, for example, are interested in bodybuilding, fitness, healthy lifestyle and direct them to a local gym in Warsaw.

In addition, we have a choice of:

• Hobbies and interests (e.g., skydiving)
• Food and beverages (e.g., Coca-Cola)
• Fashion (e.g., men’s shirts)
• Entertainment (e.g., literature)
• Sports (e.g., basketball)
• Health (e.g., dietetics)

RESPONSIBILITIES

This is the last way to target ads. This involves behaviors that users indicate, such as moving, getting married, or returning to work.

Where will Facebook ads be displayed?

It’s up to you and the location you choose. Remember that different places have different rates per action (e.g., click).

Facebook advertising displays in, among other places:

• news on your computer,
• in news on your phone,
• in the right column of Facebook.

The most popular, of course, are ads in the News Feed, or news feed. They also have the highest rates per click due to the fact that they convert best.

Facebook advertising can also be placed in the right column of the site. This is a place that converts less well than news. At the same time, it is cheaper. In order for it to convert it requires the creation of an interesting ad that will draw attention.

How to put all this information together?

The full power of Facebook can only be used by combining all the aspects included above.

One component of success not mentioned above is experience, which in most cases requires launching multiple campaigns to know what works best in a given industry.

We have that experience, so feel free to contact us. We will be happy to advise you on what you can do better.