If you have not considered advertising on Facebook – there truly is no time like the present to get started.  I know in the past that I have been against Facebook advertising, and I am happy to admit it.  At the time, it was not as advanced, and as crucial, as it is now.

The proof is in the pudding folks.  How many people are your posts reaching?  Just 1%?  If you have ever been presented by this number – here are the facts.  Facebook has changed its algorithm greatly, which is a high level way of saying that it has really reduced the number of people that will be exposed to your posts.

I’ve spoken with peers in the social media industry and we have agreed that organic engagement has dropped across the board.  They have reported drops to 4-6% all the way down to 1-2% in terms of organic reach.

Cue Facebook Advertising.

While I am loathe to shove people towards advertising (as I believe in the online public relations aspect of social media), in this case I think it should be added as a crucial aspect of your overall Facebook marketing strategy.

But there are two pieces of good news – Facebook has made it easier than ever to understand their advertising model and your can get a lot of bang for your buck (currently).

My advice is that before you start ANY advertising initiative on Facebook or any other social media site, that you set forth clear objectives for why you want to advertise.  In this case, Facebook has your best interests at heart and once you click “Create Ad” in your Facebook advertising section (yes, we all have them attached to our personal accounts), they will present you with a wonderful list of objectives to help you make the right choice.

I thought I would go through all of these here so that you can think critically about what your objective is before you even log into your account.  Let’s go!

Possible Objectives for Your Facebook Advertising Campaign:

1. Boost Your Posts: Want to get more engagement on a certain post that you have on your Facebook Business Page?  This option will allow you to create a sponsored post that would be seen by the audience of your choice to increase engagement.

2. Promote Your Page: Want more visibility and LIKES?  Then this is the choice for you.  It is a great way to get started with building your network on Facebook.

3. Send People to Your Website: Want hits to your website, blog, or online store?  This allows you to create a sponsored ad that will be presented to the audience of your choice…right in the newsfeed!

4. Increase Conversions on Your Website: Do you want to promote conversions on your website?  Want more email signups, ebook downloads, free consultation appointments?  Use this objective to get more conversions on your offer.

5. Get Installs of Your App: Are you a developer with a new application that you would like to promote?  What better way to promote this than to share your app via an add with a one-click download?

6. Increase Engagement in Your App: Is your application just not getting the user engagement that you want?  Use this objective to get more people active using your app!

7. Reach People Near Your Business: Are you a local business that relies on your community for success?  This objective allows you to hit your marketing with laser precision!

8. Raise Attendance at Your Event: You may have noticed that the number of people viewing your event invitations has decreased.  Promote your event more aggressively with advertising and watch your numbers grow with targeted members outside of your network.

9. Get People to Claim Your Offer: Are you having a sale or special offer?  Then this objective is the number one choice!

10. Get Video Views: Spend lots of money creating a promotional video or just have a video that you would like to see more people engage with?  Use this to promote your video to a laser targeted market!

As you can see these 10 different objectives are a good starting point to better understanding where you need to start when it comes to Facebook Advertising.  Now go onto your account and check these out in more detail.  Facebook offers lots of flexibility, so click around and learn more about these objectives and what they entail!