Why You Should Be Running Facebook Ads Right Now - A Startup Founders Guide

We have all seen the news. Businesses are shutting down, either permanently or temporarily; Workers are being laid off; Customers are being told to stay home. How can you keep your business going in this tumultuous time?

An easy answer: Facebook ads.

As one of the longtime most popular social media channels, Facebook is one of the quickest ways to reach your customer base, especially when they are stuck in isolation at home with no way to experience the outside world. As you reassess your marketing strategies to survive this unprecedented time and draft plans for your business resuming after restrictions are lifted, there are many reasons Facebook ads should be one area you don’t pull back.

Why Should I Stick With Facebook Or Give It A Try?

Many businesses will make the knee-jerk decision to pull their funds away from things like Facebook ads. What does that mean? Your ads become cheaper, reach more people and your dollar goes further.

But, Read the Elephant In The Room.

However, this does not mean you should push your new COVID themed product. Don't be tone deaf! When retooling your Facebook ads try a Reach campaign. Often overlooked by many, in the current climate as strategies shift from conversions to awareness, a well-executed reach campaign will get people talking about your brand. Found under the “Awareness” campaign category, it optimizes an ad campaign for reach. This creates a wider net to bring in more customers you may not have interacted with otherwise. While it doesn’t guarantee a viewer will become a customer, it gives your campaign a better chance of catching more fish. What does this mean for you? More exposure and engagement with more people who could be your next biggest fan.

The amount of exposure and interaction you have using Facebook ads will also allow for a likely upswing in the traffic on your website and, if your marketing strategy works, more subscribers to that email list and future marketing campaigns, think retargeting through Custom Audiences and Look A Likes.

Making The Old New.

Better yet, now is also a great time to try something new. If you have a past campaign that you know was a winner, why not try out that new variant you had and compare it to the old one? You may never get such a present audience as you have on Facebook during these weeks of shelter-in-place orders and social distancing directives. Take advantage of a less crowded ad space and larger audience to see if you can create your next out-of-this-world marketing campaign.

Content Becomes More Important.

You can also use your Facebook ads to redirect your audience to content on your website. As people sit at home, scrolling endlessly through their feed looking for something to catch their attention, they could come across one of your well designed ads. Demand Metric says that “60 percent of consumers are inspired to seek out a product or service after consuming content about it.” Why not use this slower commercial time to beef up your collection of content for the bored home-bound customer?

Content SEO.

There are a few content projects you could consider adding to your portfolio. Cornerstone content, or content that is core to your business, will help users find you more easily through search engines, basically SEO specific and specialized content. This is where you can be more specific and informative about your product or service, and how your business tackles a problem the customer may be having.

Have you gotten that text form your friend yet asking for more show recommendations because they've "watched everything on Netflix?" Well, guess where they are going next? Youtube. Can you guess what we are recommending next? Try your hand at a video series. If you have a series of videos to show your value as a business, you will easily grab their attention and have a better chance of engaging with them. Quick easy ones: how to better work from home; how your business is using this time to reevaluate and fix problems to serve customers better; books to read to know more about your industry.

Take this time to customize and test your ads, whether it’s the first time a customer is exposed to your brand or a retargeting ad. We may never see another time when customers are so ready to pay attention as we see now. During your reworking of budgets, keep your Facebook ads budget strong and you will see continued revenue during this economic storm, as well as future revenue when we can all go outside again.

Stay safe.