Whether we like it or not, organic posting on Facebook is slipping away; paid adverts are becoming customary and it is getting increasingly difficult for businesses to get their organic posts seen. As an online marketing company in Surrey, this affects not only Thunderbolt Digital as a business, but also our clients! So, the important question is: how will Facebook’s regular updates affect your business?
Social Media Giants
Facebook is host to 1.37 billion daily active users on average, with a 16% increase over 2017. This vast market makes it easy to see why advertising with social media giants such as Facebook is increasingly popular – indeed, Facebook hit 5 million advertisers as of June 2017. The ease of use has increased the number of adverts we see dramatically, but although the advertising process is seemingly straightforward, those who are inexperienced with the platform could end up wasting marketing spend on irrelevant viewers.
What’s Going Wrong?
Comparing Facebook advertising to traditional media is a no-brainer; you can track results and target demographics to make your potential audiences incredibly specific. After a short period of advertising, you can accurately track the ROI of your efforts and make amends with the click of a button. The difficulty that most businesses have is a lack of experience with the platform, and consequent difficulties in refining their audience. Moreover, it can be difficult to put yourself in the mind of a potential customer, and consider how your advert is going to capture their attention enough to have them click or tap to give your brand their valuable time. That’s why you must always put the user first when advertising (while also making sure to comply with the Facebook Ads Guide to make sure that your adverts have the best chance of being shown!). A successful campaign is based on many other factors too, as our recent blog on how to grow your business with Facebook Advertising explains.
Who, What, Why?
But why advertise when you can post for free? Research suggests that organic posts may only reach 6.5% of your followers on Facebook, which potentially means that your time writing content might be put to better use elsewhere – or, if not, it could be beneficial to support the organic content with paid advertising! As a leading online marketing company in Surrey, we weigh up the pros and cons of all online marketing options, to make sure that our clients receive maximum exposure and ROI from their digital campaigns.