So, why is Facebook the leading destination for web advertisers eventhough they have only average clickthroughs? And why do I believe that Facebook is a great place for small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to advertise? In a word, I think it's because of "friends." Research (and lots of it) shows that social media and peers influence purchasing decisions. This is a big difference between Facebook and say, Google for example. Granted, Google is a search engine, not a social media site, but therein lies the difference. And it's not just Google, the same can be said for AOL, Yahoo, or any of the others on the comScore Ad Matrix list. Yes, they have better clickthroughs, but if we're talking influence, then Facebook has the clear advantage.
Google has many positives. One that immediately comes to mind is that when people put in keywords to search for something, it's for something they want, and probably sooner rather than later. Google does a great job matching your ad with the users' search queries (of course you provide them with the info and must bid on placement order for your ad), and their tracking tool for conversions is excellent. Google Places is also a great tool for promoting your business.
But Facebook takes targeting to entirely different level. There are numerous targeting option available. You can target by geographical location (and even micro target this option), birthday, age (exact or broad), sex, workplace, likes and interest (the sky's the limit here), colleges, universities, college majors, education, friends of connections, you can build a community around your business, you can add images and do much more. Plus, there's the option for people to "like" your business which can be another influencer.
Small businesses spend approximately $12,000 on advertising, with $2,300 dedicated to online advertising according to the Borrell Associates survey, Outlook 2011: SMBs Everyody's New Best Friend. Without question, making Facebook a part of your online buy can be a great investment.
I want to be clear, I'm not here to promote Facebook or to be unnecesarily critical of any of the other web publishers. My purpose is to offer SMBs information that will help you accomplish your marketing and advertising goals, while maximizing your resources.
I've had this article, Social Network Marketing: What Works? on my website for sometime, it's a short read and very relevant to this post.
If you're using Facebook for advertising, what was your experience like?
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