If you’ve been thinking about using social media to promote your small business, but you’re not sure where to start, look no further. Facebook is a stand-out phenomenon even amongst the other crazy social media success stories of recent years, with upwards of 1.59bn monthly users. These users supply Facebook with detailed demographic and personal information which Facebook uses to ensure they see the content they want to see – including carefully targeted advertising. To get an idea how that power can be harnessed to publicize your product or business, continue reading.
Facebook’s ad creation process is simple. It exists right within your personal account, the implication being that anyone can use it. To get started, log in and click the arrow in the top right corner, and then click ‘Create Ads’. This will lead you to a short sequence of pages that enable you to set your personal details, define your audience, and design your advertisement.
Your audience can be narrowed down by age, gender, and language – but the fun part is trying to figure out the ‘Interests’ that potential customers will share. Try to imagine which other brands, artists, and media outlets your regular customers use, and add these all to the box. This will help you narrow down your total reach – so that your advertising dollar is strictly spent on reaching people who are likely to care about your business. If you’re in the States, you probably want to settle for a total of somewhere between 50-100,000 viewers.
You can set a daily budget or an overall investment, and then designing your ad is as simple as making a regular Facebook photo or video post. That’s all it takes – you’re now ready to publish.
For an all-in-one guide to creating your first Facebook Ad, check out this small business owner’s guide. It’s simple to get started, and now you know all you need to begin.
