As a new business owner, ad marketing will probably be the best way to attract new customers, make sales and raise your website traffic.

Facebook/Instagram have great tools to utilize to help with creating ads that are targeted toward specific audiences, demographics and even interests.

Here, we mapped out the best ways to navigate Facebook/Instagram ads to gain maximum exposure for your business. 

Pick Your Target Audience

When creating ads it’s super important to identify your target audience. To put this in simpler terms, this means your ideal customer who would be most inclined to use your services, buy your product or visit your website. 

Facebook/Instagram have a surplus of information on its users which allows business owners, like yourself, to use this information to benefit them.

When creating ads it’s important to specify your target demographics and their lifestyle interest like:

• Location
• Gender
• Age
• Income
• Relationship status
• Language
• Shopping behaviors
• Brand awareness

Factors like these will determine who Facebook/Instagram will show your ad to based on your selected audience. This is crucial for the success of your campaign. You want to market to people who are interested in what your business has to offer. 

Once all this information is selected, Facebook/Instagram will give you an estimated reach of how many people who will potentially see and respond to your ads.

Determine Your Ad Run Time

Your ad run time will determine how long your ad will run on the social networks. The range can be anywhere from 1 day to 1 full year. The choice is yours to figure out which works best for your business. 

While it’s recommended to do an ad that will run 1-2 weeks, it’s also a great idea to start small and learn from possible mistakes. This is the best way to track your targeted audience through your analytics to see which age group, gender, location, etc… is responding best to your ads.

Once you get the hang of it, you can opt for longer ad run times as this will assist you in the success of targeting the right people.

It’s also important to note that people respond to different ads – even if these ads have the same messaging. Testing out different formats, pictures and copy will make a huge difference in your ad journey. It also helps you learn your audience and what resonates with them the most. 

 

Select Your Campaign Budget

Your campaign budget determines how much money you plan to spend on your ad. This amount will vary depending on your ad run-time length. An example of how the amounts range can be seen below:

Facebook/Instagram recommend the minimum you spend on an ad daily should be at least $3 to see results. Anything below this number is not guaranteed to have the exposure it needs to gain the amount of traffic and sales for your business.

You have the option to mix and match your ad length and budget to reach your needs. For instance, if your budget is $20 you can use that full amount on one day’s worth of an ad or you can stretch that $20 out over the span of a few days to gain exposure that way. It all boils down to what you think will work the best for your business.

Where Your Ad Will Show Up

Your ads have the potential to show up on the feeds of your targeted audience through their Facebook/Instagram feed, Facebook messenger, Instagram and Facebook stories, Instagram Reels, and any other place you choose during this option.

 

Facebook and Instagram ads are pivotal in gaining exposure for new and growing businesses. Utilizing these tools will allow you to reach (and create) your target audience which in turn will result in higher website traffic, higher sales and most importantly, brand recognition.