Its been a whirlwind of a 12 months for Facebook, with a complete look and advertising overhaul it is a wonder any of us can land on our feet when it comes to promoting our business and brand. Fear not, fellow Facebookers….we have put together the 5 main ways of on-page advertising on this savvy social network:
#1 The “Facebook Ad”.
The ‘Facebook Ad‘ are the ads that appear to the right of a users Facebook profile and Facebook news feed. This form of advertising does not include any sort of social interaction, and usually from one specific company. (To create a Facebook ad of any sort, check out further information/starting points here)
Once you are in the platform, you can create a new ad directed either to an external URL, or one internally on Facebook – be it your main company page, a particular event or app.
Once chosen, you can create your “attention grabbing” headline, text and image (note the headline can only be 25 characters, so use your imagination!)
When sending to a Facebook page, the creation of your ad is slightly different. Facebook Ads will give you three options (shown below).
When advertising your Facebook page, you are also able to see the “landing page view” to show what the user will see when they ‘click’. Be careful to be clear in your ad copy where the link will send clickers to avoid post-click desertion/increased bounce rate. Irrelevant links will not only waste customers time, but also affect your brand image on Facebook.
#2 The “Sponsored Story”.
A Sponsored Story is a great way of generating interest as a result of someone interacting with your page. The story appears in friend’s newsfeeds (as below) highlighting how many others ‘like’ your page and have interacted with you.
These types of advertising not only show up to those that aren’t necessarily on your radar or engaged with your brand, but they also hold high “social proof”, because their friends have already ‘liked’ you. These types of adverts hold a great click-through-rate for brands that otherwise have little coverage.
#3 The “Promoted Post”.
Promoted Posts are the new ‘big’ thing when it comes to Facebook Advertising, and has had a lot of press over the past few months. It is fantastic for getting a more visible specific offer, image, event or announcement, and it sends said person back to your page, increasing engagement and visibility across the board.
Note that you are not able to change the copy of the ad generated, so remember to make the copy of the post as engaging as possible to get people to click through on your ad. The ad can either lead to an external link, or another part of your Facebook page.
This ad can lead either to an external link, or another part of your Facebook page. Think your promotions through thoroughly; as for example if you promote a photo, clicking the ad will only lead a user to the photo album on your Facebook page.
#4. The “Sponsored App”.
If your business has an application on Facebook, you can also sponsor an app. Simply select ‘Application’ during ‘Step One’. You are then presented with three options, as shown below in the screenshot.
- Get New Users: With this option, your ad will be shown to people that do not already use your app, directing them through to your selected app/page. Facebook automatically generate an ad, but this can be edited to reflect the benefit of people using your specific app (USP etc).
- Increase App Engagement: Your advert will be shown to the current users of the app, and try and increase their engagement with the app on a more regular basis.
- See Advanced Options: These are for the more ‘advanced’ Facebook advertiser (as the title suggests) and gives a greater choice when it comes to bidding and cost-per-click optimisation.
- Sponsored Story Within an App: Did you know that you can also choose to have stories promoted about people using and sharing your app? Just like “Sponsored Stories” of wall posts, this type of advertising shows a higher click-through-rate and tend to need a lower volume, due to the influence of ‘social proof’ as mentioned earlier.
#5. The “Event Sponsorship”.
The last form of traditional on page advertising with Facebook is a Sponsored Event. Please note, you must have an event created to select this option in “Step One”.
By creating and then advertising said event, you can increase coverage and attendance of your event, by ensuring it appears in front of the users that are most likely to sign up for your event.
Final Reminder – Targeting.
Remember; all forms of Facebook advertising relies on Targeting, and knowing the audience that your brand attracts. Once you have decided on the most suitable style or mix of on-page ads that suit your company; narrow down all options based on age/sex/location/interests, either direct links or connections of friends and friends of friends – with Facebook providing you with an exact number for the reach you will achieve.
Leave a Reply