To quote popular Marketing Expert and “Facebook Queen” Mari Smith, “Facebook organic reach is so 2012”, and that sucks, but it’s true. Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement last week that Facebook would be prioritizing friends over businesses in the News Feed rocked the marketing world, promptly dubbed #FacebookZero, feeling like the final nail in the organic reach coffin. Here’s a direct quote from the announcement ICYMI:

“The first changes you'll see will be in News Feed, where you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups. As we roll this out, you'll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media.”

You can read his full post here: Business owners who were hip to Facebook Pages when they first launched in 2007 will remember a time when organic reach was near 100%. That means back in the day if you posted content to a business Page with 500 “Likes”, almost every one of your fans would see that content. What a time. That organic reach number has since declined to ~2% or less. When asked directly about how businesses can succeed on Facebook with decreased organic reach, Facebook has said “Like TV, search, newspapers, radio and virtually every other marketing platform, Facebook is far more effective when businesses use paid media to help meet their goals.” Translation: If you want to reach your customers via the Facebook platform, you’ve gotta pay up. This has upset many business owners who remember a time when they could reach customers for free, or who don’t understand why “paid social media” is a thing, but once you get past the nostalgia and your preconceived notions of how social media should work, you’ll realize paying to play on Facebook is not such a bad thing.

Facebook Ads Are Powerful

Facebook offers some of the most highly effective means of targeting online, without question. Businesses can target their perfect customer using the details we all provide Facebook with as users through our personal profile, which includes demographics, locations, behaviours, interests, life events and connections. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Facebook’s Custom and Lookalike audience options get so stalker-level detailed you’ll be disappointed that you missed out on this consumer data landmine all this time. How do you think we got this article in front of you? :) You can also set up specific ad objectives based on your goals: Want more foot traffic in your store? Target people in your business’s neighbourhood with a Local Awareness ad.Want to increase your online sales? Get people to buy from your store with Website Conversion ads. Want to build buzz around your new business? Grab the attention of your ideal customer and build your brand with Brand Awareness ads. The list goes on.

Facebook Ads Are Cheap

Facebook ads are very underpriced for what they’re worth, and not for long. Not only do they have the lowest cost per 1,000 impressions in advertising history, but when used correctly with the right targeting and strategy you will be amazed at how cost-efficient they are, and you can start with as little as $1 per day (though we’d recommend $5) to start reaching hundreds of people and make a noticeable impact.

Facebook Ads Are Evolving

The impact of Facebook advertising is monumental, and Mark Z is not stopping anytime soon. Facebook ads are becoming more sophisticated, robust and creative every day, from video to messenger and potentially VR if their $3 Billion purchase of Oculus is any indication of its potential. To remain competitive in the digital world, you have to keep pace, and the best way to do that is to get started, keep strategizing and stay informed. We now live in a world where expensive marketing methods like direct mail, obnoxious web banners, and TV Commercials (#Netflix) are virtually obsolete, and that is thanks in part to paid social advertising. Facebook advertising allows you to efficiently find the people you want and place your brand right in front of their eyes seamlessly, as they scroll their feeds. It's time to start taking advantage of this advanced marketing method that is allowing other businesses worldwide to thrive, you'd be crazy not to.

Ready to run your first Facebook ad campaign? We can help you get started, click here to get in touch.