I’m a PR/marketing guy. Sure, I’ve dabbled in some advertising for various clients, but I’m certainly not handling media buying or million dollar ad budgets. That’s why I’ve found good value in utilizing Facebook ads.

Now, I fully realize that Facebook ads remain a work in progress and that the high degree of targeting can get a bit scary. That being said, for companies, organizations or clients operating with small budgets, Facebook ads are a great opportunity to connect directly with your target audience. No other social networking platform provides such a wealth of insight about its users and makes this information available to any user.

Facebook ads currently allow you to target your ads according to the final criteria:

– Location
– Age
– Birthday
– Sex
– Keywords
– Education
– Workplaces
– Relationship
– Male/Female Interest
– Language
– Existing Connections (a method of connecting with or excluding existing fans of a page, existing group members, event attendees, etc.)

*Note, Multiple Location, Connection and Birthday targeting are all new features that were added the other week.

This is powerful stuff.

Here’s a few tips for maximizing use of Facebook ads:

Research: At the very least, you can use the Facebook ad service as a research tool to figure out whether your target audience exists on Facebook (chances are good as they’ve now crossed over 250 million users). Facebook pulls their data from a variety of places so be flexible and think about keywords and phrases relative to your goals that a user would likely list in their profile interests.

Pay-Per-Click v. Impressions: In terms of ads, a Facebook rep won’t even begin to talk to you unless you’re planning to spend $35k. Don’t worry! The setup for ads is as easy as pie and a excellent resource for promoting events, hosting giveaways and generally calling attention to your cause. I recommend utilizing the pay-per-click option and setting your bid above the suggested average.

Facebook is only going to charge you when someone clicks on your ad (an obvious goal). That being said, it makes sense to try a few different creative and to track/trend user response to see what gels and gathers attention. The best part is that even if your ad isn’t getting a lot of clicks, you’re still likely to get tons of brand impressions…measurable brand impressions.

The other key is that Facebook is going to charge each click relative to the average cost of your competing advertisers. Thus, if other advertisers are bidding fairly low, you’re likely to be charged far less than your price point, but still getting more placements and impressions.

Sample Ad

Get Creative: You’ve only got 25 characters for your ad’s title and 135 characters for the body text. Better than a Google ad but not by much. Keep your copy and call to action simple and attention-grabbing.

Keep ‘Em on Facebook: Sure, in some cases it will make sense to simply drive traffic to a landing page off of your site but why not try killing two birds with one stone? You can easily use the Static FBML application to set up a custom tab for your Facebook page. This tab will then have it’s own unique URL which you can use as the landing page for your ad, while also incorporating a graphic that encourages visitors to
“Become a Fan” of your page.

Feel free to add your own Facebook ad tips below. Now, give it a shot! Facebook ads are a great, cheap option for outreach.

-Scott