Last Updated on December 9, 2021
The advantages and disadvantages of Facebook free advertising.
Facebook is the biggest social media site around, with more than two billion people using it every month. That’s almost one third of the world’s population! Some 65 million businesses use a Facebook fan page to promote their services while others make use of their personal profiles. Hardcore marketers and medium sized businesses are willing to pay Facebook’s price for a selection of highly targeted adverts running simultaneously but what about small business owners?
After a rather bumpy landing, our Oleh (we’ll call him Benji – an electrician by trade but now willing to do all home repairs) is looking for ways to get the word out about his business cheaply and effectively. His friends tell him that he must have a social media campaign and most definitely a Facebook presence. Benji is filled with enthusiasm and he rushes off to open a Facebook page (Heb. slang – Fase) and an Instagram (Heb. slang – Instoosh) account, a YouTube channel and a Whatsapp group.
After having posted photos of himself fishing on lake Okeechobee in Florida, Benji is ready to get serious and start promoting his business. Benji is a proud man and offers his clients the ‘best customer service in Israel’. He thinks of himself as reliable, efficient and trustworthy and that becomes the tagline for his business: No fellow oleh could refuse such an offer.
He is very proud of his unique sales proposition: “Benji’s Electrical and Home Repairs. Reliable, Efficient and Trustworthy” and he’ll use this for his Facebook promotion. He finds a free stock image to use with his campaign and he is ready to go.
He proudly posts his first ad on his Facebook profile, shares it with 743 friends and sits back waiting in anticipation. Twenty three of his best school friends, like his post but aside from that nothing else happens. He scratches his head as he looks into Facebook paid advertising and soon realizes that it is way too complicated for him; bidding for keywords, targeting, click-thrus, impressions and analyzing data – things he knows nothing about. He concludes that at this stage, free advertising on Facebook is the best option for him. He joins 20 groups in his area each with hundreds of members; Secret Raanana, Secret, Secret Raanana, English speakers in Raanana, Americans in Raanana – you get the picture. Unfortunately his ad does not go viral and the phone does not ring. Hmmf! Benji joins another 50 groups. After some serious reflection he decides that he’s now prepared to work outside of Raanana too. It’s taken him almost the entire day to research all the Facebook groups, join them and wait for membership approval. Finally he is set to begin his campaign in earnest and he’ll start doing that tomorrow if he gets a chance.
He compares groups – some have a few thousand members; “Aah”, Benji says, “I’ll post in those groups to get the most exposure”. He is really excited and filled with enthusiasm. A few days go by and except for a WhatsApp message from someone who asks if he works in Beer Sheva, no work has come his way.
He decides to track back. He starts with the big groups. His message was appealing and the image was cute – he should have seen referrals coming through. He scrolls down the page on one of the groups and can’t find his ad. He continues scrolling and as he does so, he sees lots of other similar ads; an electrician in Kfar Saba, a plumber in Herzliya, a handyman in Rosh HaAyin and they too are proud of their “Clean, Efficient, Reliable and Trustworthy” service. He continues to scroll and scroll and he still can’t find his ad. He wonders if he actually posted there or in some other group. He moves on to another and another and another. Time passes quickly and he notices that he has been searching for three hours and still no luck! A little despondent, he comforts himself and says he’ll try again tomorrow and the day after as well, if need be. “I must persevere, it’s free”.
He wakes up in the morning and suddenly he has a light-bulb moment – If he couldn’t find his own ad, how could others find him?
Does this scenario sound familiar? Aside from the ‘free’ appeal, these are some of the downsides
- Researching and joining appropriate groups takes time
- Posting in these groups is very time consuming.
- Big groups attract lots of advertisers
- Adverts get pushed down the page very quickly. Out of sight is out of mind.
- Facebook advertising does nothing for your Google presence
Let’s change gear slightly and introduce Hadas who is looking for an electrician to handle her emergency and she is asking herself these questions..
- When did I see the ad – last week, the week before, one month ago?
- Who posted it? What’s the name of the electrician?. How can I find it?
- What was the name of the group, I saw the advert in? Was it a local group or a general group?
- Oh no! I now have to scroll through hundreds of posts to find the one I am looking for. I wish the ads were properly organized.
Hadas finally gives up. She goes back to Google and does a keyword search “English electrician Raanana”. She is delighted when a few trusted resources pop up with the information she has been trying to eke out of Facebook for days. Unfortunately for Benji, he did not show up in the results as beyond Facebook free ads, he does not have a marketing plan.
Remember – free advertising is free for a reason.
What should you really be looking for when you are trying to market your business?
- You should be looking for a solid resource that people know and trust.
- You need to be targeting resources that target your type of clientele
- Out of sight is out of mind – you don’t want that at all.
- Get found easily – a quick search should be all you need.
- More does not mean better. Having a choice of 200 electricians listed sounds incredible but Benji would do better by being one of a handful of electricians advertising his services.
- Your goal should be to increase your Google presence
What do you get when you pay for advertising? You are paying for someone else’s skills and knowledge and their proven ability to get results.
- Do you know anything about Google’s forever changing algorithms for ranking content? A professional does.
- Do you know anything about SEO – Search Engine Optimization? The professional does.
- Do you know how to interpret your analytical data? They do.
- Do you understand your target demographic and how best to reach and control them. They do.
- They’re solid, understand the market and the strategy – it’s not just hit and miss
We’re dedicated to growing your bottom line, Whether your goal is to reach relevant consumers, increase your brand awareness, online presence or generate leads let’s coordinate a no-obligation, introductory call. Contact us for details of our online advertising options and in the meantime download our list of 500 English speaking Facebook groups
