Facebook advertising, does it work? Any experiences?

[Spirytus]

We are thinking of advertising our business on Facebook and I been wondering what experience other members of this forum had. I read somewhere that click thru rate (CTR) on Facebook is pretty low on average but what I like about it is that we can specify what groups of people we target and soon enough I think will give it a try. So if anyone can share their experiences and can give me any advice on what (not) to do that would be very much appreciated

[Peapod]

I had a Facebook ad floating around for a while. And although it was good at targeting your market, I found that it didn't get me any sales at all. It brought people to my page, but that was it. I did what they recommended: told people exactly what to DO and such, but nothing came of it. I'm not bothering with it anymore.

[AdvancedPetSitting]

Yeah, same here - I get "likes" but not actual clients.

[Oh My Geek]

Originally Posted by AdvancedPetSitting

Yeah, same here - I get "likes" but not actual clients.

Same, I felt the value wasn't there. I ended up ditching the paid FB ads; now I mostly focus on Google & affiliate marketing.

That said, my Facebook page is prominently mentioned on my site as many do sign up to it for news/offers in lieu of a newsletter thus ensuring some ongoing interest.

[MsLilyPonds]

I've had terrific results with them in the past, so have quite a few of my clients - I haven't used them since the last set of changes though, the new ticker means fewer ads show, which will make them more expensive.... There used to eb a way to force you CPC down and also with the hardcore specific targeting you can do, if you have the time and willingness to set up A LOT of ads, you can have them almost free - because their CPM is then divided between the same 50 people in a niche - so by the time you ahve to pay your $2.47, they've seen your ad enough times to convert anyone who is keen to convert - EXTREMELY cheap way to advertise and get good conversions but you have to know how to write a good ad, source a good pic and be willing to do it for dozens and dozens of campaigns.

MY CTR is usually on par with what I was getting on Adwords when I did it.....for CPC campaigns anyway

[gossipism]

i advertised to get likes which will lead to sales down the track.

it would help us to know exactly what you did to maybe point you in some other directions in case FB isnt for you.

[craiglongmuir.com]

same same - tried it a while ago but didnt feel i was getting much from it and gave it up...

[IronMaiden]

I personally haven't used it but think it would depend on your target market. Our business predominantly sells to the over 40's, many of whom are too busy or not IT savvy enough to really be interested in, or have a FB account. Some clients have 'liked' our page, but they tend to be the ones who have a FB account to keep track of kids accounts or keep in touch with the grandies, so don't use it often. I always ask our leads if they have a FB account and most don't.

[NickHumphries]

Originally Posted by MsLilyPonds

I've had terrific results with them in the past, so have quite a few of my clients - I haven't used them since the last set of changes though, the new ticker means fewer ads show, which will make them more expensive.... There used to eb a way to force you CPC down and also with the hardcore specific targeting you can do, if you have the time and willingness to set up A LOT of ads, you can have them almost free - because their CPM is then divided between the same 50 people in a niche - so by the time you ahve to pay your $2.47, they've seen your ad enough times to convert anyone who is keen to convert - EXTREMELY cheap way to advertise and get good conversions but you have to know how to write a good ad, source a good pic and be willing to do it for dozens and dozens of campaigns.

MY CTR is usually on par with what I was getting on Adwords when I did it.....for CPC campaigns anyway

Used it on and off for the last one or two years on various websites! Never seem to get any conversions!

But your CPM method sounds really effective when I think about it! Have to try it with Akitso. Same method I'll use for LinkedIn ads aswell!

Let you know how I go, but your saying I should:
1. Target an extreme niche <50 people?
2. Create 20+ campaigns all with different ads in each campaign?

thanks again!

[fonepaul]

I've never used it, and actually use an ad-blocker on all my web browsers. So I never see ads =S

Most people here seem to think it doesn't work. So I don't think I'll be giving it a go.
I guess the best thing to do is give it a go though, it may work for some industries better than others.


Cheers,
Paul