Why is Facebook advertising so effective?

Since the early stages of Facebook’s existence nearly a decade ago, it has grown in leaps and bounds, becoming one of the top global social media platforms available today. Not only is Facebook the go-to platform for individuals, but it is also the powerhouse that impacts both members of the B2B and the B2C business models. Surpassing the 1 billion-user milestone in October of 2012. According to Facebook, they now have nearly 1.58 billion daily active users (DAU) and over 2.41 billion monthly users on a worldwide basis. What this means is that Facebook provides more exposure than any other platform, which is great for businesses. Why? Because of its ability to reach a much wider and highly targeted audience through targeted advertising.

If you have not taken advantage of the Facebook platform for your business, please continue reading. We will provide answers to some common questions about Facebook that we receive from business owners, such as “Why is Facebook advertising so effective?” or whether or not Facebook ads are effective for all types of businesses.

One of the reasons that Facebook is so effective is because both your current customers and your proposed customers are likely already using Facebook. Here’s why; 80% of all Internet users currently use Facebook. Of those, 65% of them are adults over the age of 65.

Because Facebook now has over a billion users, many users check their Facebook pages multiple times a day. That lends itself to ongoing exposure throughout the day. As a result, ads placed on Facebook are effective because Facebook provides an exceptional amount of exposure to an audience that is already there. And without making any additional efforts on the marketers part.

However, for those who want to enhance their ad’s effectiveness even further, then other optimizations can be done. When marketers take advantage of some of Facebook’s tools and features, they can experience some of the most laser-targeted ads available. Why? Because it is the most widely used social media platforms available today, Facebook advertising provides the best forms of targeted advertising. How are they able to do this? Because they have the ability to reach your exact target audience. More on this in the section below.

The Facebook ad platform allows marketers to advertise by various demographics and geographic regions. For example, if your audience is within a certain age bracket, have similar interests, similar behavior or live in the same geographical location, Facebook allows you to advertise to them by various segmented groups. What this means for you is that you can provide an audience with the opportunity to purchase a product or service that they’re already interested in.

Facebook stories and Instagram shopping has had a significant impact on the overall performance of Facebook. Since the adoption of story ads, 2 million advertisers now use story ads according to Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook‘s Chief Operating Officer.

Although there was no real indication as to whether or not the stories were attributed to Facebook stories or Instagram stories, Instagram stories currently have 500 million users, which is half of their platform’s total of 1 billion users. Despite the increase in ads from story ads, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO added that they still have quite a bit of work to do concerning Facebook stories to get it to the same level of effectiveness as the ads from the news feeds.

Not only is advertising on Facebook so effective due to its exceptionally large global audience, but it’s also the ad strategy that goes into implementing effective Facebook ads.

If your ad strategy also includes the use of Facebook‘s family of apps, then you will further increase the effectiveness of your ads that are placed on Facebook. Facebook has what they refer to as a breadth of formats, which lends itself to an extensive reach that most advertisers are seeking according to Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CEO of Socialbakers and Facebook marketing partner. Increasing the reach as it relates to becoming more engaged with your audience and placing ads in general, is also what many marketers are trying to achieve says Ben-Itzhak.

Additionally, video advertising on Facebook is also expected to obtain even more activity in the coming years. Video formats that include messenger, stories and WhatsApp along with the current stories that are associated with Instagram and Facebook will contribute to the overall video ads placed on Facebook.

Additional growth is expected to further increase ad effectiveness. This consist of the use of in-stream videos as long-form curated and original programming takes place through IGTV and Watch according to Aaron Goldman, another Facebook marketing partner and CMO of 4C.

If you need more answers to the common question asked by so many, “Why is Facebook advertising so effective?” then please refer to the information below. It provides some stats and facts about the effectiveness of advertising on Facebook.

Facebook ads are effective, but as a marketer, it’s important to know what these ads are doing to your overall marketing strategy. Being aware of this information will allow you to be more effective with your overall decision making concerning publishing ads on Facebook and managing the effects of those ads in general.

According to HootSuite, the following are some important Facebook advertising stats that you should be aware of.

1. On average, the engagement rate for a post is roughly 3.91%

One of the best ways to drive reach is through user engagement. Posts that have higher engagements are a lot cheaper to promote. So although reactions such as likes to various posts and ads are good, comments and shares are a lot better according to Facebook’s algorithm.

2. On average the organic reach for one Facebook post is roughly 6.4%

Since 2014, the organic reach that takes place on Facebook has been declining. There are ways to increase reach with the use of a post without paying for it, however, promoting content using paid ads is another option. Overall, reach that includes both paid and organic ads is currently 8.1%.

3. In the second quarter of 2018, the average price for each ad increased to 17%

One way that marketers can gauge their ad spending is by monitoring the ad price regularly. The growth of ad prices cannot continue to rise indefinitely according to information in an analysis performed by Forrester. Facebook has been providing a warning that there has been a deceleration of revenue since the early part of 2017. This is the number that marketers should watch to gauge their ad cost associated with their overall social spending. Having this knowledge will assist marketers to make more informed decisions and ultimately place even more effective ads.

4. During the second quarter of 2018, there was an increase in the number of ad impressions by 21%

The increase in the number of ad impressions was primarily due to the newsfeed that took place on both Instagram and Facebook.

It’s important to test and measure your ads to ensure they remain effective. Primarily because as organic reach continues to decline and ad prices continue to rise, Facebook ads must be both relevant and engaging to capture and maintain your audience’s attention.

5. Paid media accounts for 24.2% of Facebook’s pages

Although it’s great to receive organic posts, the use of paid advertisements has a greater advantage than organic post alone. Paid ads have features that are not included in organic posts, such as specific audience targeting. Targeting a specific audience can assist with helping those who are still on the fence with continuing down the sales funnel. In addition to that, paid ads have the ability to both identify and attract quality leads.

6. On average, Facebook users click on roughly eight ads each month

The number of average ads clicked on per month consists of 10 ads that are clicked on by women and seven ads that are clicked on by men. Nonetheless, overall it has been a decrease from the early part of 2018. During that time, Facebook reported a medium of 10 clicks per month for each Facebook user. However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all ads need to be clicked on to be effective.

7. Facebook showed an increase in ad revenue by 50% due to mobile ads year-over-year in June of 2018

Nearly all Facebook users access Facebook on one of their handheld mobile devices; this includes tablets and cellular phones. Marketers that target ad spends on mobile devices will be able to take advantage of the growing effects of mobile advertising.

To conclude, hopefully, the information above sheds some light on why Facebook ads are so effective. It allows business owners to post ads where they’re likely to find an audience that is a prime target for their product or service. However, it’s the development of a well-thought-out Facebook ad strategy that is what makes advertising on Facebook so effective. Being able to measure performance on Facebook is also a great way to improve your ROI and overall effectiveness.