It’s no secret that social media can be powerful marketing tools for businesses and brands in the digital age. With high quality, relevant content and a strategic plan, companies can reach their audiences more personally and often more effectively than traditional methods. But for many companies, marketing on social media can feel overwhelming. With so many platforms to choose from, along with constant changes and updates to each, it’s hard for some businesses to know where to start.
These challenges are why Faheem Siddiqi founded SocialWithin, an Austin-based performance marketing agency focused solely on Facebook and Instagram advertising. According to Siddiqi, Facebook is by far the most important marketing platform in the world.
“Facebook does a terrific job of optimizing toward business objectives,” says Siddiqi. “Facebook is earning every dollar advertisers spend on the platform, so you’re not throwing money away. You’re actually seeing real results from it.”
A former Facebook employee, Siddiqi understands the challenges facing businesses on social media. As companies like Facebook continue their massive growth toward becoming full-fledged media companies, it’s becoming all the more important for businesses and brands to fully understand the nature and nuances of each site. As opposed to full-service agencies that may provide a surface-level understanding of social media, SocialWithin dives deep with Facebook and Instagram advertising to truly add value for its clients.
For brands and businesses, Siddiqi says, “If you’re not on Facebook, you’re missing out.” He believes this, not only because he’s an ex-Facebooker, but because the social site has become the 3rd most popular site in the world. Not only this, but according to a recent study by the Pew and American Life project, “nearly eight-in-ten online Americans (79%) now use Facebook.”
With his extensive Facebook expertise at hand, we asked Siddiqi to reveal some of his Facebook advertising secrets with us. He says effective Facebook advertising boils down to three major things:
1. Media-Buying
To provide the best user experience, Facebook does not automatically give precedent to the highest monetary bidder – it takes into account the bid amount, the quality and relevance of the ad, and the likelihood a user will actually click on the message. Basically, because thousands of other companies may be competing for the same words, topics and phrases, businesses must critically about their budget and the quality of the advertisement. According to Facebook, This means that an ad that’s high quality and very relevant can beat an ad that has a higher advertiser bid, but is lower quality and has less relevance.”
Siddiqi urges his clients to think hard about budgeting for bidding strategies, as opposed to simply guessing and throwing money at an advertisement. Factors such as automatic bidding, or having an average or maximum bid is different for everyone, and it’s important to think about a strategy you waste money on an ineffective campaign.
2. Targeting
As with any advertising, it’s important to consider your target market. Thankfully, Facebook offers many tools and options for reaching specific demographics and can take into account a user’s location, interests, “likes,” among many other factors. According to Siddiqi, a company’s target market depends on their advertising goals, so they will be different from ad to ad. For example, a local bar seeking to find new customers in town would not do well to spend money boosting a post. Instead, creating a relevant advertisement focused on people within a 5-mile radius could be much more effective.
3. Creative
Having a strong, creative message is a major key to successful advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. Ads should be relevant and eye-catching for users, and this requires strategic thought and sometimes considerable time into an ad. Siddiqi says, “As a business, you have to ask yourself: Is your message going to be short and sweet, or long and lengthy?” Understanding your voice and having strong visuals can really make or break an advertisement.
Of course, each of these three factors differ from company to company, and from ad to ad. This is why SocialWithin focuses on specialization and works closely with their clients to add true value to their customers.
“Facebook advertising isn’t just about ‘likes, comments and shares,’ it’s about driving meaningful impressions at the right frequency levels. Agnostic to vertical, every business can succeed on Facebook if they use the right techniques.” According to Siddiqi, when businesses can strategically think about their media-buying, targeting and creative strategy, they will really begin to see the social media magic happen.