What are Facebook Ads?

You've heard of Facebook ads. I can guarantee you can see some right now on the right side of this page.

Did you know that Facebook Ads are targeted to you? Every ad you see is because you belong to a group, page or have something in your profile that the creators of the ad are targeting.

As an example:

Here are three ads that I see right now.

This ad shows because I have "massage" in my "Likes" on my profile.

This ad shows because I belong to the "Massage Warehouse" page.

This ad shows because I belong to the Group "Groupon".

How do Facebook Ads work?

First, you design your ad. Remember to keep it simple, as shown below.

Next, choose your target audience.

Facebook offers examples and suggestions. You can also ask other people who have ads. Or, just mess with it and see what works best.

How much will it cost me?

The neat thing about Facebook Ads is that you only pay for them when someone clicks on them.

You can choose the maximum amount you are willing to pay per day. Right now I have my ads set to $2.00. Then you choose how much per click you are willing to bid. I have mine set at $.50 per click. That means when someone clicks on my ad and is directed to my website it costs me $.50. However, if four people click on my ad in one day it will stop showing for that day because it has reached my $2.00 limit.

How do I know if my ad is working?

Ads I have out right now:

As you can see they are simple. I used two different ads with two different campaigns to see which one gets better feedback.

After your ad is approved (this can take hours) you can look at the analytics reports.

These graphs will tell you how many impressions (views) your ad has received and how many clicks.
It will also tell you who is clicking so you can go in and change you ad to pinpoint your targeting to people who click more. As you can see by the images, after only being out for an hour or so, my ads have been exposed to over 100 people. And it didn't even cost me a thing!

In conclusion:

Keep your ads simple and use a colorful image to stand out against Facebook's white background. Use a RELEVANT image. If it costs you $.50 to get a client, it is WELL worth it! Don't waste time and money advertising to people who aren't interested. Use Facebook Ads.

Remember:
It's not all about selling. Create a page or group for your business and send out updates to your fans! Get yourself out there. Get people excited about what you have to offer! Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertisement.

It's also not just about ads. Put a Fan Box on your webpage so people who find you on the internet can connect with you on Facebook. Make yourself a business Facebook Page and invite everyone you know to become fans of the page. When you update, it will show on their news feeds. When their friends see that they are a fan, they might just be inclined to check you out! Don't limit yourself to just one thing on Facebook. It's all about word of mouth and networking.

Edit:

This new image shows new developments and my thoughts on my ads campaign. This ad will run hopefully for a month before I decide to change it by tweaking the targeting settings based on people who click.

Edit 2:

It has now been a few weeks and out of the ten or so clicks on both ads I have received calls on about half of them, which continues to climb daily because I added a phone number to them, which makes the ads seem more legit among the countless spam ads.

Everyone, please feel free to ask questions or post your thoughts!

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