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With over 2.2 billion active monthly users on Facebook and 800 million on Instagram, these platforms are among the easiest ways to increase visibility and generate leads for your business. However, it can be difficult to know what the most effective advertisement is. Here are the variables to consider before launching a campaign on either platform:
Know your goals
The type of advertisement you need is dependent on what your goals are. Instead of choosing the type of ad you think you should run and then determining your goal, establish what the purpose of the advertisement is first. Are you trying to attract more customers to your local business? Do you want to drive up conversions on your website? Are you promoting an upcoming event and want to boost attendance? Each of these goals requires a different approach, so first determine what you want to accomplish and then build your ads around that.
If you aren’t quite sure where to start, Facebook can help you govern your goals. Then, it provides an array of services to help you achieve them. On the other hand, Instagram is an excellent place to build brand recognition and brand voice, which makes it a great platform for most business goals. You can also market products, find customers, and promote services to a highly engaged audience on both platforms.
Know your options
Once you’ve established t your business needs, determine which ad types are most relevant. Facebook and Instagram offer the following:
–Post engagement
–App engagement
–App installation
–Brand awareness
–Website conversions
–Store awareness
–Local awareness
–Event ads
–Offer Claims
–Clicks to website
–Lead generation
–Post likes
Within this spectrum are many subtypes of ads: videos, pictures, text, etc. Knowing your goal helps you narrow down which to use. From there, it is simply a matter of deciding what type of campaign you want to run.
Facebook offers services to help if you’re unsure of where to run your ads. The company then tracks those ads and shows you which deliver more engagement at a lower price. Since Facebook owns Instagram, you can run similar ads on both and benefit from the same tracking software.
Know your audience
The key to a successful campaign is knowing your audience. Baby boomers and millennials have different tastes when it comes to their ads, so target accordingly. A boomer is more likely to engage with ads that help them feel connected to their community, whereas a millennial prefers ads that accentuate their lifestyles and experiences.
Knowing your audience also helps you develop your voice as a brand,which in turn helps determine the type of ad to use. If your target audience is hip and casual, a long-form lead generation ad in formal language is not going to create the engagement you want.
Social media marketing can be complicated. These tips will help determine which type of ad to run, but there are still decisions to make when it comes to a campaign. Establishing the specifics of each ad campaign can detract from actually running a business, so hiring a team to market for you can give you the freedom to focus on what’s most important: building your business. Contact us to learn more.