by Amelia Krahe | June 19, 2015
It is with much geekery that I begin our 3 part exploration of Facebook ads. First up, the important, fundamental question: why use ‘em?
If you’re not using Facebook ads by now, it’s seriously time to consider it. As the second most-visited website in the world (second to our beloved multi-colored search engine), Facebook is an avenue not only for your personal page, company page, and occasional pictures of the office dog; it is (or can be) a tool for reaching new audiences and getting new customers. It has proven to be a success at gaining customer traction, and not just online. Facebook ads, when done right, have the potential not only to amass a following and bolster online presence, but also generate real-life discussions needed to grow your business.
Facebook’s “Throttling” of Organic Reach
As you’ve probably realized, Facebook has been limiting the reach of your posts. We’re finding that a typical post, if you don’t boost it, only reaches between 10 and 15% of the people who “like” your page. This, however unfair-sounding, seems to be the new reality. So if you really want to reach a larger audience, paid ads have become mandatory.
Increased Brand Awareness
More than anything else, Facebook ads get your name out in the social sphere to a highly targeted audience of your choosing. Users taken from a stunningly relevant audience will see your ads.
You have the option of displaying your ads in the news feed, the sidebar, on mobile, and to the audience network. If those ads are good (a topic I will address in a later part of this series), people will click, and people will get to your site. Voila! Now, assuming your page is optimized for conversion, we’ve snagged a visitor who is on the road to customerhood.
Lead Conversions
No, Facebook is not an online shopping site…However, targeting the right visitor at the right time creates superb opportunities for turning browsers into conversions. It is a viable channel for getting customers to schedule a service online, fill out a contact form, etc. Plus, they just released a new feature that allows you to include a button (that drives to your selected web page) on the ad itself.
(Very) Affordable
You can run a successful series of ad campaigns for low costs, budgeting as specifically as maximum cost per day or as generally as setting a budget and letting it run out. For our home performance and HVAC clients, we recommend a beginning spend of around $300 in clicks per month, an amount that allows us to run about 5 separate ad campaigns and see great numbers in impressions, visits, and conversions.
Super-Customizable Configuration & Auto-Optimization
I usually create a few variations of the same ad to see which performs better. I like to think I know what a good Facebook ad is, but Facebook knows better. The platform will optimize the ads that perform well for you, 
automatically allocating more budget to the ones that outperform the not-so-clickable ones.
Also, pretty much everything relating Facebook ads is customizable. Audiences, ad style, display time, and spend are all factors that can be tailored to your needs and budget. For example:
I can display a specific ad to a farmer in Holden, Maine between the hours of 3-5am. This farmer likes couponing and cats, is usually an offline buyer, has recently opened up a new line of credit, is a huge cricket fan, just got back from a trip to Egypt, and is engaged. Probably not a particularly large audience, but if that farmer exists, you better be darn sure he’s seeing my ad.
Steady Stream of New, Cool Features
They’re constantly updating the platform. Recently added features, like specific radius targeting for audiences, new interest groups, video display, and multiple images and links demonstrate the ever-shifting landscape of social media advertising. Done correctly, it’s a viable option for your company’s advertising, and it’s constantly improving.
Convinced?
...Next time, I’ll talk about advanced audience targeting with your ads. Fascinating and oft-creepy, this is going to be a topic you won’t want to miss.