Realizing Facebook for Advertising

We just spent some time talking about using Twitter to advertise and connect with a target audience. If you did not see it, you can read it here. Facebook offers the same opportunity to connect to an audience, however some options are limited due to user profile setup options. Facebook also has a few other tools that you can and should use to connect to your desired group.

First, there is the "pay per click" or "pay per impression" way of reaching your target demographic. This is a very unique way of advertising a product or service. You can design your advertising campaign to reach a very narrow audience defined by gender, occupation, location, and various other defining factors. If you have ever used Google advertisement you will find this works in a similar way but with a social media flavor. This type of advertising works outside your scope of friends and includes anyone who has an account of Facebook. In another post I expressed some trouble using Facebook for paid advertising that is not found using the same methods of other companies. You can read about it here.

Another way to advertise on Facebook is the Group Page. You can setup a Group Page and allow others to become member of the group. You can share ideas, product information, and anything else you want others in the group to know. Facebook Group Pages are also an excellent feedback resource of your audience as they can post against the group. Some organizations use this for offering product support. Group Pages are a more closely connected group of people and may not suit your goals.

Facebook also offers what is called the Fan Page. It is here that others can become "fans" of your product or organization. It is easy to use this method to create branding and advertise your products or services. As you post against your page, theoretically others should be able to see your posts. This option is more loosely defined and people usually connect to a Fan Page because they like your organization or products.

With Fan and Group Pages organizations are seeing great opportunities to share their messages. There is an element of concern. Many businesses and organizations are seeing a decline in how their posts are reaching their audiences. Facebook in its ever changing design scheme is attempting only show relevant information to their customer base. Through this process there has been concern over the diminishing effect of posting through Groups, Fan Pages, and even your Individual Page.

The concern is still very new, however it is something you need to keep an eye on. You don't want to spend a lot of effort trying to increase your traffic only to find that Facebook is not showing everything to those connected to your pages.

Have fun but monitor your results!