Although Facebook advertising has been around for awhile many people are discovering it for the first time. With over 400 million users and growing, this social media phenomenon could become the next big thing in direct marketing. According to Facebook’s Press Room, 50% or 200 million of their active users log in to their account on any given day. So, is it possible for Facebook Internet advertising to become a marketing rival for a cyber-giant like Google?
Facebook Advertising vs. Google Adwords
One of the most desirable features of Facebook advertising is the ability to laser target the audience. The kind of targeting provided can be a particular advantage for the niche advertiser. With the capability to target prospects by age, sex, location, groups, interests, languages, and keywords, an advertiser can refine his target audience down to the optimal demographic.
A possible drawback to Facebook’s targeting is the method by which the matching criteria are determined. Their method is mainly based on two factors – the Profile Page information and geo-tracking – both based on user-submitted information. When the number of inactive accounts is factored in, Google’s user base (anyone with a computer and Internet access) still probably dwarfs that of Facebook.
Google Adwords also allows for drawing a highly-targeted audience to pay-per-click ads, perhaps with a little less refinement but focused just the same. It is possible to select specific regions which allows for local advertising opportunities. With Google, an advertiser can target personal computer users alone or include those who use mobile phones, iPhones, and PDAs to access the Internet.
Comparisons of Other Platform Features
- Keywords – With Google this is another way to refine audience targeting and allows an advertiser to pick keywords based on the cost per click and a daily budget. Keywords with Facebook are limited to the interests, groups, and other user-submitted information of the targeted demographic.
- Bidding – With traditional pay-per-click advertising, the bid is based on the popularity of and competition for the chosen keywords. Google’s Adwords works in just such a way. The more competition exists for a keyword the higher the bid price will have to be in order for an advertisement to appear higher in the search results list. Whereas Google is more concerned with the overall quality score of an advertisement, based on several factors, Facebook is mainly concerned with an ad’s click-through rate. What this means for the advertiser is a greatly reduced bid price if the click-through rate stays high.
- Conversions – For those who have incorporated both of these pay-per-click platforms into their Internet business marketing strategy, the bottom line thus far seems to be that Google still outperforms Facebook on conversion rates. At the end of the day, conversion rates are what it is all about when advertising a business via Internet marketing.
The Future of Facebook Advertising
One of the current issues confronting Facebook advertisers is a phenomenon known as “Facebook fatigue.” This is when the number of impressions for an ad begins to decline due to the fact that the advertisement is being shown to the same demographic. Another issue is the slow response time for feedback on ad performance. This type of information allows an advertiser to make adjustments to increase an advertisement’s performance.
One suggested cure for Facebook fatigue is to let an advertisement run for one month and then remove it for a month. It is best to always test various ads and provide attention-grabbing copy with an attractive promise, then deliver on that promise as soon as the prospect clicks the ad. An important principle to remember when advertising on Facebook is to always provide some shiny new object that will stand out to users.
Despite growing pains now, Facebook Internet advertising could potentially become a marketing rival for Google and the other major search engines some day. With Facebook being ranked as one of the top ten most innovative companies, there is not much doubt about their ability to continually improve upon their advertising platform.
Debbie Donner - Debbie Donner is currently a freelance writer, part-time teacher, and network marketer. Debbie graduated with her B.A. in Liberal Arts in ...
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