Your Facebook Strategy: When and Why to Utilize this Platform
April 17, 2018
It’s no secret that Facebook is one of the most popular social media outlets. US consumers spend 2 billion+ hours per month on social media sites, accounting for 20% of online time and 30% of smartphone time.1 That’s a lot of time browsing, scrolling, and liking, and a lot of time you could be using to influence potential travelers to choose your destination for their next vacation. Here are some of the reasons we find Facebook to be an invaluable marketing tool:
Micro-Targeting
According to Forbes, Facebook currently has over 1.2 billion monthly users. The Facebook platform allows advertisers to shuffle through this massive audience to find their best targets. Age, income, location, gender, education, and more can be filtered so that the money you spend on Facebook Ads are being seen by the people you want to see them. Some of the lesser known micro-targeting options include relationship status, ethnic affinity, and generation. Tap into these to get even more granular, but keep in mind, the more you layer in targeting, the more your clicks or actions may cost, as you compete in a smaller space.
Engagements—so much more than just a click
Clicks to website are great, but according to SalesForce, it takes a minimum of six to eight touches to make a user become a lead. So all of the added value of brand awareness that Facebook Ads provide through impressions, shares, comments, likes—those are valuable. Tap into Facebook Insights to measure your advertising effectiveness on a grander scale, beyond just the click.
All of the ads!
In 2016, Facebook organic traffic dropped 52% and is expected to fall more in 2017. So how can you continue to build your Facebook audience and get eyes on your content? Ads.
Facebook allows you to tailor your ads to your specifications. Want to gain a larger audience for your Facebook Page? Promoted Posts and Facebook Like Ads will help you achieve these goals. Looking for more people to see your website? Carousel Ads, Website Conversion Ads, and Click to Website Ads will send them there. Want to promote content, a video, or photo? Try Promoted Posts, Mobile News Feed Ads, or Carousel Ads here as well.
So how do you accomplish this? Keep reading.
Opportunities and objectives
There’s a type of ad available to accomplish each of your unique goals, but the first thing you need to know is what those goals are. Clicks on your ad drive traffic to your site and encourage engagement with your brand, but don’t forget about the value of your ad impressions. The more times travelers see and interact with your brand, the more likely they are to convert—ad impressions on Facebook are a cost-effective way to introduce yourself and stay top-of-mind. Finding the right balance between exposing new consumers to your destination and getting them to take the next step forward is key.
Let’s talk targeting
Facebook gives you the opportunity to narrow your parameters as much as you’d like to help you reach your target audience—and it’s an awesome feature! Have you thought about including a remarketing pixel within your ad? The pixel collects data from the travelers that see and click on your ad, which enables you to build look-alike or custom audiences. Optimization is even easier when you have more information about who checks out your ad or likes your page. Advanced targeting tactics like this help you utilize your budget efficiently and effectively.
Imaginative integration
Utilizing Facebook to build trust and show off your brand personality gets easier all the time—especially with the new ways to incorporate Instagram. Consider increasing the eye-catching content and variety of ads you use on both platforms. Ads that include video and stunning imagery perform better than text-heavy ads and create an emotional connection with audiences. Facebook even offers a new twist on the old-school lead generation campaign, and makes it easier for interested travelers to sign up for a newsletter, sweepstakes, or other offerings.
1Source: The Nielsen Company
