About Facebook
Facebook probably doesn’t need much of an introduction – launched in
2004, the social network now is the largest social media platform with
more than 1.7 billion monthly active users worldwide. The company
today is more than just a social network – Facebook acquired messaging
app WhatsApp and started its own successful messenger. They also
bought photo-sharing platform Instagram and the virtual reality company Oculus VR.
Since most Facebook users log into the site every day and engage with other users,
brands and content, the platform knows a lot about their users. For advertisers Facebook
is one of the most attractive online channels, because it lets them utilize their rich user
data to target very specific audiences. And since most companies and brands are already
present on Facebook, ads are a great way to build a following and boost engagement for
the content they share.
What Facebook ads look like
Here you have four different choices – you can create an ad that features a single image,
a single video, or multiple images that are displayed either in a carousel format or as a
slideshow.
Facebook also offers a new, more immersive ad experience on
mobile. They call it Facebook Canvas. Canvas looks like a normal
mobile news feed ad, but once a user taps to open the ad, he or
she is taken to a full screen experience (videos, images, text,
products) that the advertiser can customize. To learn more about
Facebook Canvas, go to canvas.facebook.com .
Here is an example of how cruise company Holland America Line
used Facebook Canvas to advertise a Caribbean getaway:
What objectives can I meet with my Facebook ads?
You can optimize ads on Facebook based on what specific
objective your campaign has. Generally, Facebook distinguishes
three different kinds of objectives that follow the traditional user
journey from awareness to conversion:
1. Raising awareness : This includes campaigns to raise brand awareness, local
awareness and to maximize reach.
2. Consideration : These are ads that drive traffic to your website, boost the
engagement of your posts, increase app downloads or video views and help you
collect customer data (leads) to use in follow-up campaigns.
3. Conversion : These are ads that increase the conversion on your website or online
shop*, advertise specific products to users who have interacted with your shop
before*, or get people to visit your local store.
*These campaign objectives require you to add a few lines of code to your website, which
will then implement the Facebook pixel on your site. To learn how to create a Facebook
pixel and how to add it to the code of your website, have a look here . If you want to track
the actions that happen inside your mobile app as a result of your ads, your developer
should implement a piece of code called App Events. Point them to Facebook’s developer
site to learn more.
Based on past user behavior data, Facebook will show your ad to those people in your
target audience who are most likely to perform the action you want them to.
What targeting options does Facebook offer?
Facebook offers a variety of targeting options that you can combine to build a specific
audience:
Location
Target users by country, state, city, zip code, or the area around
your physical business.
Demographics
Target users by age, gender, education, and the languages they
speak.
Interests
Target users by interests, based on profile information, pages,
groups or content they engage with. You can choose from
hundreds of categories like sports, movies, music, games, or
shopping. You can also target users who like specific pages.
Behaviors
Target users based on what Facebook knows about user
behavior, such as the way they shop, the phone they use, or if
they plan to buy a house or a car.
Connections
Target users who like your page or app and their friends.
Custom
Target existing customers based on data (e.g., emails, phone
numbers) you provide. You can also create Lookalike Audiences
– people who are similar to your existing customers.
What is the minimum budget to advertise on Facebook?
When you set up your daily budget on Facebook, the minimum daily budget depends on
what your ad set gets charged for.
The ad set gets charged for…
Impressions
Clicks, likes, video views, post engagement
Offer claims, app installs and other low-frequency events
Min. daily budget
$1
$5
$40
If you want to set up a lifetime budget instead, i.e., a total budget for the duration of the
campaign, your minimum budget is calculated by multiplying the minimum daily budget
by the number of days the campaign lasts.
How to get started
Click here (and then click on “Create an Ad”) to start advertising on Facebook, and here to
access Facebook’s documentation that describes every single ad type.