Are Facebook Ads Worth It?
Caid Christiansen•Facebook brand page reach is in decline. Over the last few years, there’s been a steady down-and-to-the-right pattern for the number of people brand pages’ posts reach organically.
This is understandably frustrating for a lot of people. If I have 1,000 fans, why aren’t all 1,000 of them seeing my content?
Part of this is a natural side effect of what Facebook (and similarly Google) are after: delivering people exactly the content they want, when they want it, and nothing more. The cynic in all of us also probably thinks that this is just Facebook’s effort to squeeze more marketing dollars out of advertisers. In reality, both are probably true to some degree.
Despite these frustrations, there are signs that Facebook ads are still effective. For one, just in how they’re constructed, they’re incredibly specific. Gone are the days of targeting to large groups and uncertain demographics. If you want to market your content to left-handed CFOs who golf on Tuesdays, you can probably make that happen. (OK, I’m exaggerating a bit here.) You can be ultra-specific in who you’re targeting, and in what content they’ll see and when.
What’s more, a report from Adobe just released today shows that Facebook is better than Google and YouTube at getting people to click on ads. While Facebook’s cost-per-click has remained mostly flat in the past year, its clickthrough rate has increased 99% in that same time frame. Impressions are also down (47% year-over-year); clicks are up 12%. Facebook ads are getting more targeted and, apparently, more effective.
It’s awfully hard not to be conflicted about all of this. On the one hand, reach is down and it’s easy to be frustrated with Facebook. On the other, ads are clearly effective in most cases for those using them. So are Facebook ads worth it?
If you were to ask us flat-out, “are Facebook ads worth it?” our answer would be a simple yes. Facebook ads as part of an overall online strategy are a great way to promote specials and new content. They’re also very good for getting in front of the right eyeballs.
If you were to ask us “are Facebook ads worth it?” and then tell us you wanted to spend 90% of your marketing budget on advertising on Facebook, we’d probably tell you to slow down. Facebook ads are an important piece of the puzzle, but they aren’t a silver bullet and they should absolutely be augmented by other paid options like AdWords.
Facebook ads–or really, any form of advertisements, anywhere–must also be backed up by quality content and a sound strategy. If you have a bad product or the content you’re promoting isn’t interesting or helpful, you’re wasting your money trying to advertise it. It’s like trying to put lipstick on a pig. At the end of the day, bad product or bad content or a bad strategy are all just that: bad.
With a sound strategy and great content on your side, Facebook ads can be a valuable part of your arsenal. But as with any form of advertising, it’s important to have reasonable expectations. If you go in expecting Facebook ads to be the answer to all of your social media problems, you’re setting yourself up to be sorely disappointed.
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