Facebook is Maturing for Users and for Advertisers
Several members of the Find and Convert team recently attended the Social Fresh EAST Conference here in Tampa. We all came away with a lot of food for thought but the key takeaway that is still ringing in my ears, something we heard from more than one speaker at Social Fresh, is that Facebook has matured. It’s true! Since the release of Graph Search in January, Facebook has released several powerful new tools that give marketers new and exciting ways to reach hyper-targeted audiences with relevant, effective content like never before.
Facebook’s Audience has Matured
According to SocialBakers, the age of the average Facebook user, 29.53 in 2010, is now 30.11. But anecdotally, we know that teenagers have moved on to channels like Instagram, Kik, and Vine while older adults are warming up to social media and discovering Facebook. So, in terms of audience, we can say Facebook has “matured” and there is clear evidence that older users may be more likely to click through to an ad.
Facebook has Matured
Many Facebook users feared changes that would come when the company went public. For a while, it seemed as though Facebook wasn’t entirely sure where it was going. For anyone paying attention recently, however, Facebook seems to have found some direction. There are still grumblings about changes to the user experience and new types of advertising but the still-active users don’t seem to be giving up on Facebook quite yet. They’re talking about the changes…but they’re staying on Facebook to do it!
Facebook Advertising has Matured
As Facebook itself has matured from the wild, young start up to a large corporate entity employing over 4,600 people and responsible to its shareholders, they’re almost tripping over themselves to improve the user experience for business users as well. While there is a real danger in relying too heavily on Facebook advertising, neglecting engagement and undervaluing the power of organic reach, the tremendous potential Facebook now presents for advertisers cannot be ignored.
There are really three ways to advertise on Facebook:
• On the page with promoted posts and offers;
• In the Ads Manager with ads, sponsored stories, and promoted page posts;
• In the Power Editor with mobile ads, advanced targeting, and testing options.
Crawling and Walking
On-page ad creation gives the page manager very few options. You can specify a budget to reach users who already like your page and their friends. Unless your target audience truly includes anyone in the world, I do not recommend promoting or “boosting” posts from your page.