In an age when digital marketing is essential for businesses, it is tough to know where to spend advertising dollars. Two favorites are Facebook and Google. Both offer phenomenal results when used correctly, but my aim is to offer some insight into which to choose for specific needs.
Google AdWords is the older of the two and is widely used in a variety of industries. Essentially it allows businesses to display ads to users who search specific keywords. For example, if someone were to type in “fence repair” there may be a number of ads at the top of the search results for companies specializing in repairing fences.
1) Google AdWords has many benefits, not the least of which being the ability to target ads only to the people who have already expressed interest in the service.
2) Google AdWords is done on a pay-per-click system. This means that if your ad is shown to 100 people and only one of them click on it, you will only pay for that one click. Most other systems are done on a pay-per-impression basis, which gives google ads an advantage in this regard.
3) Google AdWords can be used for sales much more than other advertising mediums. When people are on Google searching for things like “electricians near me” they are very likely to be looking to hire an electrician. This just means that when people view your ads, you have a great chance of being able to make a sale.
1) While AdWords has its benefits, there are several key issues that must be considered. The first of these is without a doubt the use of an auction system to pay for ad placement. This means that keywords that are very sought after will have a much higher price than those that are not. High-priced keywords are admittedly more common in high ticket businesses such as home improvement and less so in restaurants but nonetheless, you will pay more per click in a highly competitive business.
2) The second drawback to consider is that the audience of Google AdWords is largely limited to people who were already potentially going to buy your product. This issue isn’t quite as serious as the first, but it is worth mentioning. A high-quality search engine optimization strategy and claiming your google business listing may be enough for your company and may make AdWords unnecessary for you (If your business already appears near the top in search engine results then is it really necessary to pay to move up a couple of spots?).
Facebook launched its advertising platform in 2007, and since its launch, advertisements have been the largest source of revenue for Facebook and have provided many companies with an invaluable addition to their marketing efforts. Facebook allows anybody to create advertisements for a variety of industries and with a variety of purposes, target them towards people based on many criterion, and pay to have Facebook place those ads on users’ feeds.
1) Facebook is a phenomenal advertising platform for businesses and has many important benefits. The most glaringly obvious of these is their specific targeting. Facebook allows advertisers to target based on things like location, gender, age, interests, languages, and more. This allows advertisers to target more specifically than ever before and ensure that their ad is reaching exactly the type of person that they want.
2) Facebook advertising is very cheap. The average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is less than $10. And it is not done through an auction, you just set your budget and Facebook will place your ad in front of as many people as possible with that money. No increasing costs for highly competitive industries.
3) Facebook ads allow businesses to introduce themselves to people who otherwise would never have heard of them. Facebook users don’t have to be searching for your company in order to see ads from you, and this allows companies to greatly increase the amount of exposure they have.
1) Facebook in many cases is not a place to make sales. People generally don’t scroll through their newsfeeds to make purchases. They are just trying to see what is going on in the world around them. This means that any sales generated directly through Facebook are going to be impulse buys, and those are few and far between. For most businesses it is best to utilize Facebook ads as a way to introduce themselves to customers and give some useful information. This often makes results much less tangible at times but certainly does not mean that Facebook ads are not useful.
2) Our second issue is that many “impressions” are not even noticed by Facebook users. Many people only stop scrolling to look at things that are interesting to them, so it is vitally important to have engaging content on your ads. While it is possible to put your ad in front of thousands of people, it is vital to grab their attention with a cool picture or video and an engaging caption with a reasonable (not too large) amount of emojis to add color. If the ad just looks like any other post and it doesn’t interest users, it will be scrolled past very frequently. That’s not to say that Facebook ads aren’t ever noticed, but it is definitely something to keep in mind.
Ultimately, the best answer I can give is… it depends. Despite what you may hear there is no magic formula to automatically have successful marketing. Every business has different needs. If you are mostly focused on gaining exposure for your business and reaching as many people as possible for as little money as possible, Facebook ads are likely the best option for you. If you would like your advertisements to directly generate sales or would like to start your leads off farther down the sales funnel, then I would recommend Google. At Seven1 Media we realize that it can be immensely frustrating deciding where to spend your marketing dollars. That is why we offer a FREE evaluation of your current marketing. At our meeting, we will discuss your needs and how they relate to your goals for the business, as well as discuss how Seven1 Media can fit your needs. To take the first step in improving your marketing, click the link below and schedule your free marketing evaluation.