Everyone seems to be talking about Facebook these days, and rightfully so. With over 500,000,000 users and some pretty outrageous data about how many hours the average user spends on the site, it’s truly an amazing phenomenon.
Of course, where there’s traffic there’s money, lots of it. So naturally all the internet marketing gurus out there are constantly telling us that they are better than Google for paid advertising. Claims of highly targeted demographics and cheap costs per click are the usual line to get our attention. So should you jump on the band wagon, throw up some Facebook ads and retire early?
Well, the best answer is maybe, but probably not! Advertising on Facebook really boils down to the mindset of the user. They aren’t there to buy things, they just want to waste some time! 😆
You see, when you use Google paid ads, they are displayed to people who are actually searching for what you want to sell them. Demographics are nice, but nothing compared to a buyer who has their credit card out ready to make a purchase.
A good question to ask at this point is how do I know this? The answer is I tested it. I run sites that sell stuff, and I use paid traffic to generate some of my sales. Facebook ads were a disaster, I tried several different ads, different demographics, you name it. The result was I lost all my money, no sales at all, zippo!
Does that mean you should forget about Facebook for your business? Nope, not at all. Just don’t give them any of your hard earned money. Their clicks are MORE expensive than Google. Just set up an account for your business, create a groups page and put some useful content up there as often as you can. You can link to your business web site and you’ll get some free traffic. Free is good!
If you want to know more about paid advertising on the internet, what works and what doesn’t, drop me a line. It’s my business to know this stuff so you don’t have to waste your time and money learning it.