Overview of Facebook advertising
Facebook advertising, now known as Meta advertising, allows you to reach your audience through social media campaigns. The platform prompts you to choose an objective, select an audience, set a budget, and manage your ad as you track its performance over time. One company generated a nine-fold return on its investment using this digital advertising tool, spending more than $300K to earn more than $3.5 million in revenue Facebook ads helped them generate [1].
How ads work
Facebook ads meet your specific business goals and reach accounts that fit the audience of your product or business. To get the most out of your ads, Meta requires you to set an objective and select an audience when you set up and purchase your ad.
To be effective, it’s essential that your business is a good match for Meta ads. For example, businesses that are inexpensive to start—including SaaS and e-commerce—or those interested in capturing immediate sales may not have as much success as businesses looking for low-friction conversions and those with long sales cycles. If you’re unsure, it’s helpful to start small to test these strategies.
Ads offered
Meta allows you to choose from different ad formats, including photo, video, carousel, slideshow, store, Marketplace, Messenger, collection, or playable. Each works differently to meet individual business and budget goals. The format you select will determine where your ads appear and which audience sees them.
Cost
Ad costs differ depending on how much you want to spend. Meta offers pricing options to fit your needs and budget. You have the option to turn off your ad campaign at any time, as well as the opportunity to increase or decrease the amount you spend. Other factors that may affect the pricing of your Facebook ads include what kind of ad format you’re using, the day of the week you’re advertising, and the time the ad goes live.
Meta offers two budgeting options:
- Daily budget: This is the amount you spend on ads each day. Meta has the option to increase the budget for any given day based on the performance of your ads.
- Lifetime budget: Your lifetime budget is the total amount of money you allot Meta to spend on your ad campaign. While the amount spent on ads daily may change based on ad performance, your spending will always stay within your lifetime budget.
Who uses Facebook advertising?
Anyone can advertise on Facebook, even if you are a small business with a limited advertising budget. Facebook ads are useful for companies that want to promote their business and form better relationships with potential customers through different ad formats.
Benefits for businesses
Facebook ads are simple to use, with a step-by-step guide for users to navigate. You can advertise on Meta and on Meta-owned Instagram using Facebook ads. Meta allows you to tailor ads to specific audiences, set business objectives, and track the performance of ad campaigns. You can also change your budget depending on your ads’ performance and determine which format is best for your business and products.
Pros and cons of using Facebook advertising (Meta ads)
Like many marketing solutions, Facebook advertising has benefits—potential reach and guidance—and disadvantages—audience limitations and cost—that come with using the platform. The following chart highlights common pros and cons.