Facebook has become the biggest powerhouse in social media marketing in the past few years. No other social media website has offered anywhere close to as many options for businesses that want to reach new prospects, engage existing clientele and bolster their brand images. Although Twitter, Snapchat and others have attempted to roll out more progressive advertising options for their corporate users, they have simply not struck the right chords in this regard. One of the issues here might simply be the fact that Facebook, as a platform, is better-suited to advertising, especially because of the ways in which consumers use the site.
At the end of the day, your business – regardless of which industry you might compete in or if you run a brick-and-mortar or digital operation – needs to take full advantage of Facebook’s marketing capabilities. To do this, you will need to keep up with the trends taking shape in the social media advertising arena, as well as all of the new releases hitting the presses from Facebook.
Let’s take a look at some of the latest news regarding Facebook’s advertising options.
Enhanced Measurement
CNBC recently reported Facebook has developed and released two new marketing features, adding to an already vast arsenal that has fueled 63 percent growth in revenues from just the advertising wing of its company. According to the news provider, Facebook’s measurement tools are now far more powerful and diverse, as the firm partnered with five different firms to roll out analysis functionality that better assesses returns on investment.
The source pointed out Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, believes this latest advancement will go a long way toward helping retailers establish the best possible approaches to advertising, and that measurement has never been more important. In fact, he also stated roughly half of all in-store purchases are now at least partially impacted by digital experiences among customers.
In addition to helping marketers better understand their customers and the ways in which they interact with physical and digital ads, CNBC pointed out the social media giant also released several new tools that boost the ability to customize ads and drive foot traffic into the stores. These types of progressive advancements have bolstered foot traffic in the past, such as the one that was released in June that was estimated to have directly driven 1 million in-store visits.
You can find more information about these new tools, as well as guidance regarding how to best use them, through the marketing pages on Facebook’s business accounts.
Competing against Google
Recode reported Facebook has more obviously shown its intention to compete against Google in in the marketing arena. Although Google is not nearly the marketing giant that Facebook is, the company has indeed carved out a large portion of the digital advertising market, specifically in terms of branded content distribution that is specifically meant to drive in-store purchases.
According to the source, Facebook is adding information to its marketing templates that will essentially represent where the closest store is and if the products are in stock. For years now, studies have shown that consumers are very likely to research products online before heading into a store. For many types of purchases, especially clothing and apparel, the consumer will not want to finalize a purchase online.
Marketers should definitely look into these new features should they want to drive more in-store foot traffic and purchases. Facebook can help you to build a 360-degree brand image that keeps digital and physical ventures aligned with corporate goals. Consumers are going to be far more likely to patronize your business when they can find all of the information they need through social media, online stores, brick-and-mortar locations and virtually anywhere else they choose to search.
A strong social media marketing program that has Facebook as its foundation will be an exceptional driver of brand image in the modern marketplace.
