Why Advertise with Facebook?

Facebook advertising is a complex landscape where even the most experienced users can get lost amidst the expansive data and constantly changing features. To simplify the process, we offer this article, which breaks down the benefits of the three main campaigns we like to run on Facebook. This will allow you to understand the “why” behind every dollar your business spends.

A Page “Like” Campaign

The concept behind this one is simple: the more followers you have, the larger the audience you can reach. This is the main premise all social networks are built upon, but let’s take a detailed look at why you would consider paying to gain more followers.

The average organic growth rate for a Facebook business page is 0.64% per week or 39.34% per year.  So, if you began with 100 followers and your goal was to get to 1000, it would take about seven years.

Now, let’s see how that growth rate changes when you spend some money. The following data is gathered from actual page “like” campaigns we have run for previous clients.

If you were to spend just $150 on a one-time page “like” campaign when you were at 100 followers, it would take about half the time for you to reach your goal of 1000! What’s even more impressive is the total your following should be at by the seven-year mark: about 6450! That’s just with $150, so imagine if you had a whole strategy!

If that sounds impressive, spending $150 per year on a page “like” campaign should get you around 13,480 after seven years!

The campaign works through the power of compounding. The sooner you can gain a follower, the sooner you can leverage their network and grow your own. These campaigns are most important for pages that have a small follower base, as the value of a new follower is more impactful to the overall growth rate. The concept is a bit like the old notion of starting to save when you are young; in this case, you start spending when your base is small.

The takeaway: a page “like” campaign can have an exponential effect when it comes to growth. It’s a must for companies with a new page or a relatively small follower base.

Engagement

Engagement campaigns gain value from their ability to promote original content on user’s news feeds. These campaigns “boost” posts, allowing you to cut through the millions of pieces of content on Facebook and get your company in front of the right eyes. When users engage, they become attached, interested, and invested in your brand, coming back time and time again for relevant material. This is the modern iteration of top-of-mind advertising.

How does engagement compare to traditional methods of advertising? We will break it down by each medium.

First, let’s start with the three main outlets: TV, Radio, and Print. Generally, they are quoted in cost per 1000 people reached, so we followed that metric throughout this comparison.

TV is the most expensive. It costs $34.75 for a 60-second spot, not including the production costs.

Radio is more cost effective. It averages around $12-$16.

Print is more difficult to calculate because you pay for ad size. A small ad in a local paper is around $24.50.

Using real data we have collected from our clients’ engagement campaigns, Facebook sits at about $3.00 per 1000 people reached.

In addition to running campaigns optimized for people reached (known as “impressions”), Facebook allows us to optimize ads for action. Instead of simply showing your post to as many people as possible, Facebook will show your ad to those most likely to engage. When running an ad based on this metric, Facebook sits at about $18.00 (per 1000 people reached). We prefer this style of campaign.

Now you might not be seeing specifically why a Facebook engagement campaign is a clear winner over ‘traditional’ methods. After all, as we saw, radio is cheaper, but consider the following:

• Facebook numbers are fact. You know with 100% certainty how many people saw your post and how many people acted. With ‘traditional’ methods, the numbers are very “wishy-” Think about how many times you’ve changed the station or picked up your phone when commercials are on. There may not be as many people seeing your ad as they claim, which makes their cost-per-view much higher.
• You can have very targeted audiences on Facebook. This will ensure that only people fitting your buyer persona see the post you are paying to promote. How many times have you seen a commercial where the product didn’t relate to you at all?
• There’s a lot more flexibility in what you can spend and that makes scaling easier. You can spend $25 and get results on Facebook. Try running a commercial for $25!

The takeaway: Facebook is a great and highly cost-effective way to achieve a more engaged form of top-of-mind advertising.

Click-to-Website

The last style of ad we like to run is known as click-to-website. This one is all about driving customers to your website and converting their clicks into sales. Generating sales is the main reason anyone runs advertising, so maximizing your leads while minimizing your costs in this area is key!

Click-to-website falls within the pay-per-click style of advertising.  Google AdWords is the largest player in this field, so let’s see how they compare.

Metric	Google AdWords	Facebook
Click-Through Rate	1.91%	0.9%
Cost-Per-Click	$2.32	$1.72
Conversion Rate	2.7%	9.21%
Cost Per Conversion	$85.93	$18.68

The only area where GAW has an advantage is the click-through rate. However, note that these numbers are industry averages. The average click-through rate that we get with our clients for click-to-website ads on Facebook is essentially the same at 1.90%.

In every other category, Facebook is a huge winner (especially if you consider TrafficSoda’s average cost per click of $0.42). There are a lot of reasons for why there is such a difference in cost, but essentially, Facebook is much more complex than AdWords, as it gives more possibilities for targeting, ad creative conception, and styles of campaigns.

The takeaway: Facebook should be a part of most pay-per-click campaigns because of its cost-effectiveness.

Summary

• Page “like” campaigns can have a dramatic effect on your online growth. It’s a must for companies with a new page or a relatively small follower base.
• Engagement campaigns are a great and cost-effective way to achieve a more engaged form of top-of-mind advertising
• Facebook needs to be part of most pay-per-click efforts due to its cost-effectiveness over Google AdWords

Sources: Wordstream, Fanpage Karma, FitSmallBusiness