Do you use Facebook ads?

 

Facebook advertising is now an essential part of many small business owners’ and marketers’ toolkits – and with good reason. In the UK, we know that 97% of all adults who use the internet have a Facebook account, so the coverage is huge!

Add to that the laser-targeting of your audience that Facebook allows and the fact that you can serve ads to your own website visitors and email lists, and you’d wonder why every business isn’t using them!

However, although Facebook advertising is a fantastic way to generate new leads and customers, most business owners don’t realise you can use it in many other ways to grow your business.

(NOTE: Want to get amazing results with Facebook ads, each and every time? You need to know the 10 Essential Elements to Facebook Ads Success. Get your copy of my free, essential checklist by clicking here NOW.)

Here are a few ideas to get you started – once you start asking how Facebook ads can support each part of your business. I’m sure you’ll find many more.

 

1. Market research

Want to find out whether your idea for a new product or service will generate interest? Why not write a blog or two outlining the key concepts or solutions behind your idea and use Facebook ads to get them in front of your target audience?  Alternatively, create a status update that asks 2 or 3 simple market research questions and use Facebook ads to get that shown to your new potential customers.
Or you could take this one step further and create a simple lead magnet that interested visitors would give you their email addresses to access. If people are willing to take this first step – happy days! – you’ve got potential!

 

2. Recruitment

 

Have you ever struggled to find superstars who can help you get your business to the level you want? How about using Facebook ads as a recruitment tool?

You can either share a few details with a website link for more details, or go one step further and produce  a video to generate interest from exactly the right people you’d love to have working for you! (One of my clients now gets 80% of her total enquiries for new positions from using Facebook ads!)

 

3. Positioning

 

Want to be known as the expert in your field? Want to effortlessly attract clients and customers to your high-ticket products and services?

Then you need to share your thoughts, theories, case studies and ideas with the audience you want to influence! And what better, cheap, cost-effective, highly-targeted means to choose than Facebook ads?

Once you have your videos, blogs and white papers written, use ads to get them in front of the right people on a regular and consistent basis and you will soon become known for your expertise and establish your authority.

(By the way, although a lot of noise is made about measuring return on investment in the way of clicks and conversions from Facebook ads, don’t forget the unmeasured additional benefit of just being visible in the news feed – of having your name and brand associated with high value, really useful content. As the credit card ad would say – “priceless”.)

 

 

 

4. Education

Do you have a big message to share? Is your business on a mission to change the world? Or is educating your prospects a key part of your marketing?
Similar to point 3. above – Facebook ads are a great way to get this message out to exactly the right audiences, in a very easy and cost –effective way (and one that is easily measured too.)

 

5. PR

 

Do you receive testimonials from happy customers?
Have you ever been featured in an article in a magazine, newspaper or blog? Or maybe you’ve appeared on radio or TV? Do you give talks or appear on expert panels?

Why not use Facebook ads to share these snippets of ‘social proof’ with the audience you want to get to know, like and trust you? Having someone else say how good you are carries about 1,000 more weight in the eyes of someone who’s interested in buying from you, than any piece of your own marketing!

This might make you feel a bit uncomfortable, like you’re boasting, but you can craft updates that say how delighted you are that ….

We know it takes at least 7 ‘touches’ from someone not knowing you to becoming your customer, and building trust along the way is a key factor. Facebook ads can help make this an easy step!

6. Events

Do you run free events as a part of your marketing, or outreach to prospects?
Or maybe you take stands at business events or fairs to attract interest and leads?

Once again, creative use of Facebook ads can help to amplify all your activity here. Make sure you get visitors to your stand that you’ve paid out for and taken time out of your business to attend, by targeting those who are likely to be at the event with ads about your special offer for the show, or the competition you’re running to attract leads.

 

Facebook ads are a very effective way to market your own events too (– but I don’t mean sending out an ad for a £200 workshop to a cold audience here.)
Either use the specific objective for promoting an event page created on Facebook, or run ads as usual.

(A client of mine generated so much interest in their wedding fair by using Facebook ads that they were taking enquiries even before the event – and their fair was the best-attended one they had run, generating the best quality leads they had ever had – after years of running the fair.)

(NOTE: Want to get amazing results with Facebook ads, each and every time? You need to know the 10 Essential Elements to Facebook Ads Success. Get your copy of my free, essential checklist by clicking here NOW.)

So, how about you?
Has this inspired you to use Facebook ads to support all sides of your business growth, not just marketing?
What creative ways of using Facebook ads will you be putting into place?

I’d love to know – please leave a comment below!