There has been quite a bit of chatter online lately about the decline in reach for page posts on Facebook. Some people are pretty upset that Facebook is reducing the reach and visibility of the posts from their Facebook page and many declare it’s just an effort to force businesses to use Facebook ads. And, there may be some truth to that. But, there are other considerations as well such as:
- Reach is not down for everyone.
- Engaging content and an active page community can still contribute to a sizeable reach for posts.
- There is more competition for space in the newsfeed than ever before.
- It just isn’t feasible to believe that a user is going to be on Facebook for such a period of time each day to be able to see every single post from every page they like. (The average user likes approximately 150 different pages.)
- Facebook page posts have a limited lifetime reach.
- Facebook did not trick you into buying ads for fans and then left you lurch.
Here are a few other articles on this topic if you want to read more about it:
- Facebook Reportedly Slashing Organic Reach for Pages Is social net trying to force bigger ad spends?
- Why Is Facebook Page Reach Decreasing? More Competition And Limited Attention
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get down to whether or not Facebooks ads can be helpful to your marketing efforts.
Yes and no.
Facebook ads, much like any other ads platform, are only going to be helpful or effective if you have a good idea of what you are doing, what the current best practices are and how the platform works. So, if you just go in and set up a simple ad without much thought to what your real goal is, how you’re going to track it and who you are going to target, then it’s quite likely that you won’t see results that you like.
And, that “Boost Post” button that is so easily found under each and every post on your Facebook page? That’s usually one of the least effective forms of Facebook advertising available. Sure, it can get you some good reach and visibility and possibly some additional engagement. So, if that is your goal for that particular post, then boosting a post may be worth your money. BUT, if you want real results such as new leads, clicks to your websites and conversions, then “Boost Post” is not your best option.
Facebook does offer some really good advertising options where you can very specifically target certain audiences, gain leads and get clicks to your website. (Then, it’s the work of your website to help do any actual sales conversion!) Facebook offers the Power Editor which can currently be used through the Chrome Browser and which gives you the most power and control over your ads and audience. You need to know how to effectively set up your ad, what kind of ad you want to do, where you want it to show, who you want to show it to and how much you’re willing to pay for it.
Forget about CPM (cost per 1000 impressions) or CPC (cost per click). What you really want to look at is: How much did it cost you to get the desired action that you wanted? I’ll cover this more in-depth in future posts.