Social Media – Page 16 – IFTS, Inc. Blog

Facebook Ads vs. Google Ads – Is One Platform Better to Advertise on Than the Other?

A common question for many business owners when it comes to online advertising is where is my budget better spent?

Google, with over 85% of the search market share, is undoubtedly known as the most popular search engine on the internet as Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world. Both Google and Facebook are valuable places to advertise your business, but for different reasons depending on a few factors.

We all know that both time and money are limited, so where should you start with paid advertising to get the best bang for your buck?

No matter if you’re an expert in pay-per-click advertising (PPC) or if you’re just getting started, this article will help you understand the key differences between Google Ads and Facebook Ads and which is the best fit for you.

What is the Main Difference Between Facebook Ads and Google Ads?

Before we look at the factors that make each of these advertising platforms their own, let’s take a look at the main difference between Facebook ads and Google ads.

Google ads = paid search

As Google is the world’s largest, most popular search engine, it is also the largest PPC advertising platform.

Google ads is a paid search platform working on a pay-per-click model where ads show up in search results above organic results giving immense opportunity to advertisers.

Pay-per-click means exactly what it says – you do not pay until someone clicks on your ad.

Paid search primarily focuses on targeting specific keywords that advertisers bid on in hopes that their ads will be displayed on SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) when specific words and phrases (keywords) are searched by Google users.

Every time a user clicks on a Google ad, the advertiser is charged a certain amount of money.

Facebook ads = paid social

A great example of advertising on social networks, also known as “paid social”, is Facebook ads.

With more than 2 billion active monthly users, Facebook has become a highly competitive element across many businesses’ digital advertising strategies.

You may think that advertising on Facebook is similar to advertising on Google as advertisers use both platforms to promote their business online… but this is where the two become very different.

Unlike paid search advertising, where businesses can be found with keywords, paid social helps connect users to businesses based on their interests and behaviors online.

A common strategy used with facebook ads is retargeting. Facebook retargeting ads are one of the platform’s prime advertising features where these ads allow you to reach out to users who are already familiar with your brand. We’ll touch back on this advantage later in the article.

When Should You Use One Advertising Platform Over The Other?

Now that we’ve covered the primary difference between Google ads and Facebook ads, let’s take a look into the features of advertising on each platform and how they can be used effectively.

Targeting users

Google ads target users based on specific keywords pertaining to their search queries. By doing keyword research, you can find out exactly what users are searching for to target them accordingly.

Targeting through Facebook ads allows you to target users based on how they interact online. You can focus on demographics, interests, previous behaviors and more.

Although Facebook users don’t use the platform to search for products as they would with Google, with the many different targeting options available, you still have the opportunity to get yourself in front of your audience.

As we mentioned earlier in this article, Facebook retargeting allows you to reconnect with users who have previously interacted with your business in some way.

This could include users who have:

Interacted with your Instagram or Facebook page
Shared their email with you
Watched your videos (or a portion of them)
Interacted with your app
Viewed or taken actions on your website

As of late 2020, retargeting on Facebook has changed. With the Apple 14.3 IOS update, Apple will now require people to opt-in to having their data tracked…instead of requiring them to opt-out, which had been the standard. This update will affect your retargeting efforts if you do not take action.

For more information on this update and ways to mitigate the damage to your Facebook ads caused by the IOS 14.3 change, check out our article on How to Avoid Losing All of Your Retargeting Traffic.

Giving users what they want, where they want it

Since Google users see ads based on the keywords they search, it is more likely that they will click on an ad in Google since it is something that they intentionally searched for.

It is likely that those who are served ads while searching on Google are further along in the buyer journey, making them that much closer to purchasing.

When advertising on Facebook, you are most likely putting your product or service in front of an audience who has never heard of you before. You are reaching customers where they already are – social media.

Since social media users use the platform to “hangout” and socialize as opposed to using Google to look for answers, they might not be as far along in the buyer journey as they did not intentionally seek out your product/service.

When this occurs, you have to hope that you are offering the right ad at the right time, hoping that they move along in the buying process.

What is the goal of the ad?

Obviously the goal of every ad is to sell a product or service. But based on what the audience is seeking, these goals change ever so slightly.

The main goal of Facebook ads is to promote awareness of your company, product or service. Advertising to people based on their interests over time will lead to reaching more goals (website visits, new clients, and even purchases!) as users become more familiar with you.

When you advertise on Google, you are advertising with a goal to sell immediately since you are targeting specific keywords.

We know that when users search with specific keywords, they know what they’re looking for and they are more likely to purchase upon finding the product that they want. This is where you are able to make it easy for them to find exactly what they are looking for.

So… Facebook Ads or Google Ads? Is One Platform Really Better Than the Other?

In reality, one of these platforms isn’t necessarily better then the other because both platforms perform differently from one another, bringing unique benefits to the table.

Benefits of using Google:

Target ready-to-purchase users
Choose from a variety of ad formats
Analyze your ads with Google Analytics

Benefits of using Facebook:

Expansive audience (over 2.4 billion users!)
Granular targeting based on demographics
Visually appealing, fun ads

These two platforms should be seen as complementary to one another rather than being viewed in an adversarial way.

You will ultimately find the most success with advertising on both platforms as you will not only show up for popular keywords that users search for on Google, but you will also target users by their interests and behaviors through your ads on facebook.

Why not create the largest possible audience by advertising on both platforms to reach a multitude of new potential customers?

Not sure where to begin with advertising your business? Let us help you. Send me (Stacey Ivol) an email at si@iftsdesign.com or give IFTS, Inc. a call 412.715.6266 for a FREE consultation.

Are You Prepared For the Apple 14.3 iOS Update – How To Avoid Losing All of Your Retargeting Traffic

Are you prepared for the Apple iOS update that could drastically affect any Facebook advertising you may be doing?

Late last year, Apple announced that they would be implementing new privacy updates to iOS 14.3. One new feature is that users will now be able to see how each app uses their data. The most significant change is that Apple will now require people to opt-in to having their data tracked…instead of requiring them to opt-out, which had been the standard.

The message that will pop-up is below:

Facebook has been trying to fight Apple on this by stating that it will hurt small businesses. They took out newspaper ads, ran Facebook ads against it, and explored other options, but the rollout has already started. In fact, some people started receiving this pop-up in late December 2020.

What Happens When People Opt Out Of Being Tracked?

What does opting out mean for your Facebook ads?

You will not be able to track online conversions from users on mobile devices like you used to, and your retargeting audiences will change or will be missing iOS users.

One positive thing to note – when people interact with your ads in the Facebook app, that behavior is still able to be tracked. So, you can still see the stats for your videos, reactions, comments etc.

However, once a person clicks on an ad and is taken to another site, the Facebook Pixel will not be able to identify that person. This means that you can’t track if they convert and you cannot retarget them.

What Happens When People Opt In To Being Tracked?

Currently, Facebook is estimating that about 10 – 15 percent of people will opt-in to being tracked.

If a person has opted-in to being tracked, there are some changes to that ability as well according to Facebook:

You will only be able to track conversions that happen within 7 days after clicking your ad (instead of the standard 28 days)
All tracking and statistics may be delayed up to 3 days
Personalized ads on audience networks will be very difficult to serve and this functionality may be discontinued

Here is a quick summary of what this means for your Facebook Ads:

You will no longer be able to retarget iOS website visitors
You will not be able to exclude your current customers from seeing your ads using the “Audiences” feature
Your conversion tracking numbers will no longer be accurate

The question on everyone’s mind is “What can we do to limit the impact of this change?”

How To Tell If This Change Will Affect Your Facebook Campaigns

If you want to see how this change will affect you, you can see how many people are clicking on your ad or viewing your video broken down by device. Facebook has a view setting for you to check out.

Open your ads manager and click on “Breakdown” > “By Delivery” > “Impression Device”. This view will show you the results of your campaign, broken down by device.

In the example below, you can see that iPhones and iPads account for 50% of our video thruplays.

If your campaigns are targeting a large percentage of iOS users and you use retargeting, you’ll definitely need to take mitigating steps to account for this update.

How To Mitigate The Damage To Your Facebook Ads Caused By The iOS 14.3 Change

Facebook has outlined 2 quick steps to take right away to manage these changes.

Step 1 – Verify Your Domain Through Facebook

In order to track ANYTHING on your website with the Facebook Pixel, you need to go through the verification process. This will require access to your DNS records.

Open your Facebook Manager and go to “Business Settings”. Select the “Domains” option inside of “Brand Safety” on the menu, then click the blue “Add” button.

Enter your domain name and follow the instructions to verify your domain through adding a TXT entry to your DNS records.

Step 2 – Make Sure You Only Use 8 Tracking Events Going Forward

A tracking event on Facebook allows you to track the actions that people take on your site. For instance, you can keep tabs on how many people purchase a specific product.

Some examples of tracking events are:

PageViews
Leads
Purchases

And more.

To see how many events you are currently tracking, go to your “Events Manager” inside your Facebook Manager.

If you have 8 or less, you are fine to keep your tracking strategy the same. If you have 9 or more, you will need to choose the 8 that are the most important to you. Make sure that you have them in priority order.

How to Overcome the Main Issues That Result From Limited Tracking From the Facebook App

What are the alternative ways to create retargeting audiences?

Collect email addresses first in your funnel. Then, use these email addresses to create a custom audience in Facebook by uploading a csv file.
Create a retargeting audience by using an informational video that would be very helpful to your target audience as an ad. Then, retarget the people that watched more than 50% of the video.
Set up custom conversions through the Facebook API to allow you to collect the numbers that you need. There may be a manual step within this process, but it will allow you to collect the information to make informed decisions about your advertising budget.

In conclusion, iOS 14.3 has started to go live and will affect your Facebook retargeting efforts if you don’t take any action at all. Tracking your visitors and your conversions will not be an option from anyone using an Apple mobile device.

Be sure to verify your domain name and check if you are below 8 tracking events. Then, start implementing alternative plans to create audiences of your ideal client.

Need help creating a plan to account for these changes or do you want help putting it all into action? Give IFTS a call at 412.715.6266 or email me (si@iftdesign.com) to ask about our small business special for the iOS 14.3 change!

How To Get More Clients Using Facebook

The best social media platform by far that all small business owners should be on is Facebook. With over 2.6 billion monthly users, this social network absolutely dominates the online space. According to a study done by Pew Research Center, 74% of Facebook users visit the site every day, which is more than any other social network. Finding success with using Facebook to market your business isn’t hard, but it does take some time to figure out how to best utilize the platform to engage with your customers and drive more leads.

Running your own business can be very stressful on it’s own, but finding ways to get new clients and keep them coming in can be one of the greatest challenges. In this post, we will be sharing a few strategies that will help you get more clients through Facebook.

1. Create a Facebook page for your small business

It’s totally free to create a Facebook page for your business and it only takes a few minutes! Complete these 3 easy steps so you can begin to reel in leads and make sales!

2. What should I post on my business Facebook page?

Now that you have your page set up, what should you post about? Don’t be afraid to switch up your strategy and share different versions of written and visual content such as:

Tips and tricks
Blog posts you have written or from other relevant websites
Engage with other facebook pages and share their posts
Ask questions to engage in conversation
Share photos or videos that your audience would benefit from
People love to see what happens behind the scenes! Show them “a day in the life” or what it looks like when packing orders if that suits your business!

3. When should I post on my Facebook page?

Timing your posts depends on your audience and when they spend their time engaging on social media sites. You can post as many times a day as you want, but make sure to be consistent with posting at least one thing every day. The best way to figure out what the best time to post for your business is to test different times with similar content. Consistency with testing is going to accurately measure results so be sure to use the same or very similar content when it comes to testing so that your results are not skewed. If you want more information on specific times to post that may work for you, check out our Best Time to Post on Social Media blog. Here, we go into more detail on experimenting with your social channels to find the perfect time to engage with your audience and how to get started on the right foot!

4. I don’t have much time to post on Facebook!

I know what you’re thinking; posting on Facebook one to three times a day can sound overwhelming.. Especially if Facebook is not the only social platform you are active on! This is where a social media management tool comes in handy to take care of posting for you. With a tool like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to name a few, you can schedule all of your posts in advance, saving you time to spend on other areas of your business. Check out our previous post where we go into detail about the top 3 social media management tools to help manage all of your pages and profiles in one place!

5. Use Facebook Ads!!

Facebook offers paid placement ads on their website and mobile apps where your content, special offers, website and posts can get in front of customers with a few clicks. What’s even better is you can target your ads to a very specific demographic. Now you may be wondering how much it costs to run facebook ads. The answer to this question depends on your budget and your goals but you can allocate as little or as much as you want per day. Although Facebook ads can reach a mass group of users, don’t put your entire marketing budget behind Facebook ads. Test with a small budget and scale up from there as you find out what works best for your business.

6. Actively participate in Facebook groups

Join facebook groups where you feel that your ideal client might be present. For example, if you are a graphic designer, you might want to join groups that include bloggers or small business owners as these are people who could benefit from your services. Now, you don’t want to come off as spammy or self promoting right off the bat, so what you can do is just be outrageously helpful when people ask questions in the group. Group members will take note of your expertise and hopefully check out your profile that should be linked to your business’s Facebook page. This technique does require some time and effort, but is one of the best ways to get leads from Facebook.

These strategies will help you to increase your engagement on facebook and generate leads that will hopefully turn into loyal customers!