Do Facebook Ads work for SMEs?

[Textlocal]

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've posted on here, so I thought I'd pick your brains on a hot topic in marketing.

Recently, I discovered some interesting stats on Facebook Ads, stating that 62% of small business owners believe boosted Ads miss their targets.

The question is: are they? It would be great to hear your thoughts and experiences on the topic.

 

[garyk]

B2C yes, B2B much trickier.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Self promotion? Link is to a Text Local blog, which basically advertises their own service over using Facebook, so OP has made up their mind on whether FB works for SMEs it seems.

 

[Textlocal]

B2C yes, B2B much trickier.

Thanks for the insight. I recently found that only 9% of Facebook users view the medium as a marketing channel, which could explain why cracking a B2B audience is so tricky.

 

[Textlocal]

Self promotion? Link is to a Text Local blog, which basically advertises their own service over using Facebook, so OP has made up their mind on whether FB works for SMEs it seems.

Hi Ashley, thanks for the comment. The purpose of the post was more of an exercise to gather feedback and info on whether other businesses shared the same attitudes. Of course, we encourage businesses to try SMS with us, but we're not shunning Facebook Ads to completely self-promote ourselves. It's all part of a healthy marketing mix. In fact, that would be a massive contradiction, as we use them ourselves.

 

[fisicx]

It's only going to work if businesses use FB to look for goods and services. As most don't I suspect the adverts will miss most of their targets.

 

[webgeek]

Twitter outperforms FB and LinkedIn 9 to 1 for B2B:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcom...9-to-1-times-more-than-facebook-and-linkedin/

 

[Brick by brick design]

I agree. You also have to think of the reasons people log into these social media platforms. We've seen FB advertising work within more niche B2C markets as opposed to B2B markets. But like @fisicx said unless businesses are logging into FB to look for services it is likely that the advert would generate as much interest as it would on other social media platforms.

For B2B marketing we've found Twitter relatively successful as there are lots of SMEs out there looking for quick and cost effective ways to connect and network.

 

[Smart Business Lab]

Facebook ads do work, but only in some industries.

Example - there is little to no point in a plumber advertising with Facebook ads. They'd be better served with Google Ads. The rationale behind that is that you don't need a plumber until an emergency happens and usually your first dive (if you don't have a phone book listed or a regular plumber you use all the time) would be to google for a plumber. By spending on Google Ads, the plumber is always catching people who are in need and searching for a plumber.

For other services, such as business coaching, social media services, copywriters, freelancers etc it makes sense to use Facebook ads because their audience will be using Facebook to do their research.

 

[garyk]

For other services, such as business coaching, social media services, copywriters, freelancers etc it makes sense to use Facebook ads because their audience will be using Facebook to do their research.

Why would someone be researching business coaches or copywriters on FB? I don't get it.

 

[fisicx]

For other services, such as business coaching, social media services, copywriters, freelancers etc it makes sense to use Facebook ads because their audience will be using Facebook to do their research.

Really?

Last time I needed a freelancer I used google to find a suitable freelancer site.

 

[Dan Izzard]

Would only bother with Facebook ads if you had a tracking pixel on your site creating a custom audience for retargeting. You could then serve ads at people who had perhaps visited conversion pages of your site but then dropped out.

It's not a B2B platform though in my opinion so you'd have to be careful how you positioned the ad. A bit more 1-2-1 rather than B2C.

Not surprised that only 9% users view as a marketing channel. That's exactly what facebook want. It is 100% giant ad and data collection platform really.

 

[Kevinize_FB]

I am adding to the conversation a bit late but here is my 2 cents

You are correct @fisicx - when you have an intent, chances are most people will type that intent on google. That is why most digital marketers use google for intent targeting.

However, using "business coaches" as an example, sometimes people are not looking for coaching now. They may see a "like my page" campaign of FB from a top coach and leave it there. Now that person has entered Coach X's ecosystem of FB retargeting. (using pixels is the best way like @Dan Izzard said)

Retargeting applies to page likes, website visits, email opt-ins etc. Until your target leaves that ecosystem they will be retargeted. Considering it takes 7-13 touch points to induce action, this is an ideal and powerful way to market.