With creative options for targeting your audience, new ad formats, and more people joining the ranks of more-than-1 billion users, Facebook ads are going to be a powerhouse lead generator in 2017.
Facebook is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds, and along with it are growing advertising opportunities and payoffs that extend far beyond 2017. So if you haven’t jumped on board the Facebook advertising train yet, this is the year to do it.
If you’re not getting excited yet, here are some numbers to get you pumped:
- Users spend close to an hour a day on Facebook, on average. For a total of 50 minutes every day, the average Facebook user is scrolling through their feed, messaging friends, watching videos – and seeing ads.
So how do you leverage this huge audience into real-world lead opportunities? Facebook has a number of ways of targeting your ideal audience and is continually adding more ad options so you can target your perfect people. A great example of this is Facebook’s Lookalike Audience.
Lookalike Audience
With Facebook’s Lookalike Audience, you can find and target potential customers who are similar to the customers you already have. This audience expansion tool allows you to upload a list of your current client base so Facebook can zero in on who else might be a prime audience to learn about your latest widget or service.
You don’t need to figure out keywords or interests with the Lookalike Audiences. You just need the emails or phone numbers of your current customer base – or those types of customers you’d like to see more of – and you’re ready to start generating leads.
But it’s not just targeting your perfect customers that makes Facebook such a powerful lead generator – it’s also the number of different ad options that make it easier to create ads with your specific goals in mind.
Lead Ads
I’ve written before about how Lead Ads are a smart solution for lead-based businesses.
Lead Ads are designed to streamline the process of collecting contact information from potential customers. Instead of sending users off-site, a pop-up form appears when the user clicks the ad’s call-to-action button. The form then auto-populates with the Facebook user’s contact information, so they can open and complete the form in just two clicks.
The easier it is to submit a form, the more conversions you’ll get.
With Lead Ads, the barrier to entry is incredibly low, and there’s no second step where you might lose people.
Get Mobile
Facebook ads aren’t just for B2C. B2B buyers are now spending more time on mobile, doing research, work, and using the Facebook app.
This ongoing trend will grow stronger in 2017, so brands need make mobile Facebook ads part of their ad strategy for the new year.
What’s in Store for Facebook Ads: 2017 and Beyond
With ads peppered throughout Facebook and more brands jumping on board to advertise with this channel, Facebook is running out of space to put your ads. The good news is that the space limitations are prompting Facebook to get even more creative with the ad formats they offer.
Here’s what’s coming down the pipeline for Facebook ads:
Paid Search
There are about 2 billion searches every day on Facebook, with users looking for events, people, groups, and businesses. Facebook has been getting busy creating new avenues to enter the paid search arena. That means offering users new ways to interact with companies and giving companies more tools to reach more users.
Video Ads
Facebook already has video solutions, but we can expect to see even more as they make plans to get users to navigate away from T.V. and movies as their prime video-viewing vehicles.
Facebook reports that there has been over 50% growth in video viewing on Facebook, making Facebook video ads a great way to build brand awareness and drive sales.
In 2016, Facebook users spent 100 million hours a day watching videos. More people watching videos means more ad revenue for Facebook and more advertising opportunities for companies.
It’s likely Facebook will soon be opening another area of advertising with mid-roll ads on Facebook videos.
The plan appears to be to start showing ads in the middle of its videos after people have watched them for at least 20 seconds.
Mid-roll ads would mean that you could buy ads inside unbranded video content that’s relevant to your target audience.
Messenger Ads
Recently Facebook reported it began testing integrating ads into its mobile messaging app’s user interface that will appear below user’s recent conversations.
Facebook already provides other ways for businesses to reach customers via Messenger, including News Feed ads that take users into a chat session and sponsored messages.
Users can click a link in the messenger ad that would prompt them to take different actions, like clicking to learn more about the business or signing up for a service.
Messenger today has over a billion monthly users which could be reached through advertisements like this. Facebook reports that people are sending over 1 billion messages to brands per month.
An Investment That Pays Off
Facebook is the social media marketing tool of choice for advertisers, and upcoming rollouts of new forms of ads in 2017 coupled with the ability to zero in on your demographic make Facebook ads a powerful way to grow your business like crazy this year.
We Want to Hear From You
Are you planning to invest in Facebook ads this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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