There is a reason that there is $32 billion spent on Facebook and $20 billion on Instagram advertising annually (according to most recent rates). It works. While some of that revenue comes from large corporations, much of it is small business ads. Social media advertising helps level the ad playing field for the ‘little guy’, because you don’t need tens of thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of dollars—you can run an ad for as little as $10/day. 

The great thing about Facebook ads is that you have a number of goals you can choose from, whether it be exposure, lead generation, building a social media following or more. On IG you can target things such as clicks/traffic, app installs, or engagement. 

So…which one? 

The great news there is that you can use Facebook’s Ad Manager to push ads through to both FB and IG with the same ad. This makes advertising on both easier since you can do both with one swipe (well, a few clicks technically). If you’re planning on running ads on both FB and IG ads—that’s your jam right there. 

But, will you run your small business ads to both FB and IG? For many businesses that’s a smart strategy—however there are differences between the platforms:

• Age

Facebook tends to skew a little older in ages, with their biggest demographic being older, in fact 65% of users are over 35. Conversely, over 65% of IG users are under 35. Both platforms have the ability to target age ranges, but it is still important to keep in mind. 

• Imagery and Story

Facebook is largely about content and a compelling offer, but IG is about visual imagery and storytelling.  

• Brand Engagement 

If you’re looking to build a brand with social media engagement—IG is your platform (although more likely done with a younger audience, as demonstrated above). While many people follow/like brands on FB, only about 32% of them engage with that brand. That number is 68% on IG. While the exact number of the stats varies study-to-study…IG comes out overwhelmingly on top. 

Those are a few examples of things to look for when choosing which platform to use, or why to use/try both. 

So…let’s get down to the nitty gritty—how do you promote your small business with FB and IG ads? 

The first thing you need to do is decide your goal. Creating social media ads without a goal is like opening up a bakery-slash-restaurant-slash-bar-slash-coffeeshop-slash-bowling alley. 

There are a number of social media goals to consider, however it depends on your business: 

1. Likes

‘Likes’ can be a bit like being the cool kid in high school, you look cool but it doesn’t exactly get you the job. They have their place but you need to realize if getting likes will help your business strategy.

2. Follows

Follows, now that’s more tangible, because these are people who will see your content on an on-going basis hopefully. We say hopefully because not every follower will see your content even if it shows up in their feed. Social follows however do build an audience, even if it isn’t every person who clicks the follow button. The great thing about follows is that it’s long term and not a once-off action. 

3. Clicks 

Click throughs to your website or landing page is an action item that can really go somewhere. If you have a high-converting website or landing page this can convert into clients or a contact list (if you capture their info). Unlike follows however, if you don’t capture their info it’s a one-off opportunity. For click ads you need a page that converts those clicks into contacts. 

4. Leads

Lead ads cut out the middle process of turning followers and clicks into leads. It is a one-time transaction however so you need to leverage that lead into becoming a client (or at least a follower). You’ll need to have a plan to convert that lead, whether it be by picking up the phone and calling them or putting them into an email sales funnel. 

5. Sales 

If you have an ad that leads to a direct sales page for your product of service, you have it made. That will convert your ad to sales immediately and give you immediate gratification. Don’t miss the opportunity however to do two things…first: upsell and cross sell, and second:  capture their contact information so you can keep them as a long-term client. 

Once you’ve established your goals you can start strategizing your ads. There are a number of elements to consider, including: 

• Media type 

The media you choose will largely affect the results of the ad. Video ads tend to perform the best, however not everyone has videos available to use in their ads. Videos are the perfect media if your small business is selling a demonstrable product though. For those selling a multitude of products an image carousel may work best. Single-image ads however are still quite effective and commonly used in ads. 

• Demographic Audience targeting 

Selecting the right audience for your ad is one of its most important elements. Who is buying your product or services? While you may have a product or service that could appeal to anyone—there’s likely one demographic buying it the most. For example, if your business is providing handyman services you would likely do well targeting local people between 30-40. We say this because those are typically homeowners (renters just call their landlord) however often have busy lives that include things like children and don’t have the hours in the day between work and kids (and may not have been raised to do home handyman work themselves). Know your audience and use that information wisely. 

• What you will do with the results

While this is part of choosing the goal for your ads (likes, followers, clicks, leads, sales), you need to know what you’re going to do with the results you get. Building a social media following is great for numbers—but how are you going to convert that? If you’re getting leads—what will you do with them; will it be sales call follow ups or an email marketing funnel? If you’re focusing on clicks, how well are your landing pages converting?  

Spending money on ads without a plan to turn that into dollars for your business can be a black hole of advertising dollars. Do it right however and you can use it to nail down your client acquisition cost— from there you put as much fuel on the fire as you want to get the amount of clients you need.