Facebook & Instagram Advertising 101

Facebook & Instagram Advertising 101

It’s no surprise that 80% of Australians have an active social media account. That’s more than the percentage of households with TV’s (gasp!). Therefore, it goes without saying, no business should ignore Facebook as a powerful advertising channel. Affordable and dynamic, Facebook ads can be a game changer for small-to-medium-sized businesses. The best bit, you’re in control of your budget, deciding exactly how much you want to spend and when.

Why We Love Facebook Ads (and you should too!)

Facebook Ad Manager’s most impressive feature is its ability to target users based on a combination of characteristics and behaviour. From age, to location, interests and hobbies, professions and relationship status (and more!), you can create an incredibly targeted audience who will receive and hopefully respond to your communications. By doing so, you’re maximising budget, spending your precious dollars on those who really want your product or service.

But targeting doesn’t stop there. Facebook has so much data on each user, it can target people based on how they’re predicted to act when they see your ad. If you want more website traffic, optimise your ad for landing page views. If you want more sales, optimise for purchases. In addition to purchasing, there are other things you may want users to do such as download an app, send an enquiry, click to call, subscribe to the newsletter etc. You can create Facebook ads to prompt of any of these actions. Top tip; keep the Sales Funnel top of mind.

Be Responsive

The beauty of an ad that can be created and edited with the click of a button allows you to be responsive to current events and trends. With no lead time, you can experiment with little to no risk, helping you to really hone in on what makes your customer tick. Have a bit of fun and jump on a trending meme, make a cheeky ad in response to a footy game or respond to a social movement to show your brand values. The flexibility of Facebook advertising means you can advertise whenever you choose to.

An Integrated Approach is Always Best

Digital advertising is great, but it’s even better when you integrate your campaign across both online and offline channels (we’re talking print ads in the Lennox Wave, radio, billboards etc). You’ll reach more people with more frequency in different areas of their life, reminding them of your brand.

Don’t forget the power of complementing your campaign with organic social content. Post about it on your Facebook and Instagram feed, your stories, reels and IGTV. Write blogs and send eDMs. Not only does this reinforce your messaging, but you may be able to authentically connect with your following. Branch out to other platforms like LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube and TikTok (hint: If you’re targeting young mums, download TikTok now).

One last word: use reports in Ads Manager to understand how your ads are performing and what you could change to better them next time. Contact us for Instagram & Facebook ads in Australia.