Think Facebook Ads Don’t Work? (Think Again..)
How many times have you heard Facebook Ads Don’t Work?
Something along the lines of
They don’t work for my business..
They aren’t suitable for my industry..
Our customers aren’t on Facebook…
I hear this every day from Business Owners
They all have the same excuses…
– But I’m in B2B
– I don’t sell online
– I don’t sell a physical product
– My Audience is too old and isn’t on Facebook
– I don’t have thousands to spend
Sound familiar?
Well.
YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO…
And…
I’m going to show why…
We will admit.
Facebook ads may not work as they used to.
AND
That’s why it’s so important to go about them the right way.
The image below is the results from a recent campaign we managed
Client Facebook Ads Results
Time for a little perspective…
Facebook is the world’s largest social platform.
People all over the world use it.
And they use it for multiple reasons, while posting all kinds of content…
That is, it’s not specialised.
It’s not video only (like YT).
Short posts only (like Twitter).
Or photos mostly (like Instagram).
This makes Facebook unique – where it attracts all kinds of users.
Let’s hammer that in.
World’s largest social media platform.
Users can interact with videos, posts and photos.
Unique.
That means you can tell your business’ story in any way you want to slice and dice it.
Maybe the question you should ask yourself is.
Why wouldn’t you advertise on Facebook?
Growing “Active User” Base.
Facebook’ registrations are continuously growing.
With Facebooks tighter verification methods this means more of your legitimate customers to connect with.
Here’s a stat for you.
Statista monitored Facebooks daily active users over financial quarters.
Facebook increased their user base by 8%(source). Doesn’t sound like much right?
They added 20 million users. In a year.
That’s like everyone in Australia signing up to Facebook.
We don’t know of any other ADVERTISING platforms that are growing at that rate.
It’s Getting More Popular in Developed Countries.
A popular argument to bring down the value of Facebook ads is “Developed countries are using it less.”
Before we discuss why that’s wrong let’s try and understand it.
The argument requires a few assumptions.
First-world users are shifting to “Visual social platforms” like YouTube or Instagram.
And teens are abandoning Facebook for trendier platforms.
Resulting in businesses being encouraged to advertise on other platforms than Facebook.
Again. Let’s call our good friends at Statista to help us out.
Social media use in Western Europe is on the rise (source).
Specifically, FB has gained 4.3 million active users in Western Europe, from 2017-2018.
That’s roughly 70% of the population of Victoria.
[Image of Victoria here]
Why This Stat Matters.
Consumer trends in first world countries set the pace for the rest of the world – especially in tech.
And if Western Europe is continuing to use Facebook, then expect lesser developed countries to do the same. And that’s where many successful businesses will be. Thus, that’s where you should be too!
But – consumer numbers aren’t everything. There’s another important fact to note…
FB is a Hotspot for Mobile Users.
Around 53% of internet users access it through mobile. This is a commonly known fact.
Statista coming in with another important stat.
Of all Facebook users, 95% use their smartphones out of habit.
And 32% routinely use their laptop. (source)
Putting those numbers in context. Look at your friends, family or even yourself.
What do you do when you’re bored?
When you’re waiting at a cafe?
When an ADVERTISEMENT comes on TV?
Most likely, pull out your phone.
Basically, this means that Facebook is a mobile marketer’s dream come true. In fact, whatever mobile marketing you do, Facebook users must be a prime target.
Other Implications.
If you’re a business in the tech/software industry, you probably have a mobile app or two. And you need to find a market for it.
Facebook makes for the perfect market. With a 95% mobile use rate, you can quickly sell app downloads, just be designing ads for mobile compatibility!
Need More Stats?
The Facebook mobile stats are vital. Because the majority of your competition are already aware of it. And it’s showing in Facebook’s ad revenue.
Facebook’s income is “overwhelmingly” sourced from mobile ads (source). Specifically, in Q2 2018, FB made…
- $11.86 billion from mobile ads (but)…
- $1.17 billion from desktop ads (and) $0.19 billion from sales.
In essence, FB mobile advertising overshadows computer advertising by about 10 times.
FB is Actively Cracking Down on Fake Accounts.
We alluded to this fact before, but let’s give it a number. In Q1 of 2018, FB took down 583 million fake accounts (source). And with this measure, FB constantly ensures that its user-base only includes “active accounts.”
Why This Matters to You.
Because now, you waste less time targeting fake (and sometimes inactive) accounts.
Think about it. Who wants to spend marketing resources on bots and no-responders? Even worse, who wants to spend time on accounts that are only designed to feed others’ “follow counts”?
The answer is, no one. Including your business.
Facebook’s active clean up measures make this reality.
You can now get max ROI when deploying Facebook ads.
FB is Now a Senior Platform.
We can thank Pew Research for insight in this area (source).
If you want to market to older folk, feel free to do so.
For starters, FB has one of the highest user rates by adult age groups. It actually ranks second (at 68%) behind YouTube (at 73%). And of those adults that use it – 74% visit daily.
Add to that the reduced usage by teens. The previous source indicates that teenagers are less likely to use Facebook, opting for more visual platforms.
What This Means.
First, more seniors are using Facebook. It’s the reason why FB use is continuing to grow through the years, even though less teens use it.
But let’s look at a new source from AARP (source). There, you’ll see that in 2011, seniors made up 18% of FB users. Yet in 2018, that share rose to 32%. That’s a 14% increase.
As for those ages 30-49, there has been an 8% increase in their usage rates.
Thus, Facebook isn’t a young person’s platform anymore. It’s slowly turning into a website for mature individuals. And it works well for businesses that sell products aimed at those age groups!
Any Examples?
How about medical care services?
Many vie for senior citizens, especially those close to retirement. After all, seniors are a major market for healthcare specialists.
Or how about services that target “higher net worth individuals”? The market for those tends to be individuals past mid-life, who have enough savings to affords expensive projects (like buying real estate, stock market investing, etc.).
Basically, if you’re a business that targets a more mature audience – you need FB. That’s where your audience is flocking. And that’s where you should be!
Millions of Businesses Brand on FB.
The previous points discussed marketing from a “business to end consumer” perspective…
But what if you’re a business that sells to others? What if you’re a manufacturer/supplier of items used to make end products? If that’s your situation, Facebook can still help you.
How So?
First, your ads will target “business decision makers.” Those include managers, executives, marketing directors, etc.
You want to get their attention, then appeal to them with business offers, deals, and projects. And through FB, your likelihood of success in this domain increases.
Why? Because stats from FB show that business decision makers use FB 74% longer than normal users (source).
And do note that decision makers are busy people. Thus, the time they spend on FB isn’t for checking friends’ posts. They do so with the intention of networking with other businesses.
And this leads us to the next stat…
Active Advertisers.
On average – 6 million businesses on FB are actively advertising (source).
And by that, we mean heavy spending for self-promotion. So this stat excludes those who use FB for customer service. It also includes those who only use it to “keep track of followers.”
It also excludes businesses that haven’t established a “proper brand” yet.
But of those who have, 75% pay to promote their posts (source). So as you can see, FB is absolutely vital in business marketing efforts.
It explains why so many business decision makers are there. And that’s because they’re supervising the marketing, feedback of customers, and their brand reach.
So take this as an opportunity. If you’re not joining FB for end customers, then do it to find business partners!
FB Ads are Easy and Effective.
Let’s set aside statistics for now.
FBs ads are easy to make. Plus, you can customise them to accurately target your audience. So you don’t have to waste money marketing to disinterested clients.
FB lets you customise ads by location. You can make sure that only certain locations see your ads, so they’re effective for local businesses. You can also target by gender, and minimum/maximum age. So if your products are for a certain segment of the population, your ads only reach those.
You can also target by education, interests, gender, and relationship statuses.
It’s Sophisticated Targeting.
With FB, your pay-per-click. When you factor in targeting, you find that you get great ROI on every ad dollar you spend.
Add to that ad reach. You can send out ads to those “connected to your business,” thus gaining them as customers!
In a Nutshell.
Is Facebook changing? Yes it is.
Its demographics, approach, and consumer priorities are changing. But does it mean that it’s dead as an ad platform?
Absolutely not.
FB ads are necessary. They should be a staple in your marketing efforts!