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Navigating online advertising can often be troubling for small businesses, but it doesn’t have to be. There is an alternative that will save your company time, money, and many headaches, and chances are you’re probably already using it: Facebook.

With more than one billion active users, Facebook has revolutionized online advertising by allowing small businesses to reach highly targeted audiences in a cost-effective way.

While setting up a Facebook ad campaign is simple, creating a highly-effective advertising campaign requires a more detailed process. Below are five tips to help your small business grow using Facebook ads:

1. Know Your Brand

Great companies choose what their story will be and tell it.

Advertising, especially on social media, is not just about connecting a consumer with a product or service to fill a need. It’s about captivating the consumer’s attention and building a two-way relationship. Effective advertising campaigns start with a clear understanding of your brand. Before you promote your business online, make sure you know who you are, what you offer, how you are different from your competition, and why that matters to consumers.

2. Identify Your Audience

Blindly advertising on Facebook is like setting sail in the Pacific Ocean without a map and hoping you land in Hawaii. It’s unwise, wasteful, and dangerous.

Thankfully, Facebook has useful tools to direct your path. It allows advertisers to target beyond just demographic and geographic information by including a user’s interests and connections. Whether through first-party data or the use of customer personas, taking advantage of Facebook’s targeting features will make your campaign more cost-efficient and effective. So do your research, identify your audience, and create personas.

3. Set Goals

Facebook ads can be used to achieve any number of outcomes. The most common goals are increased brand awareness or engagement, brand influence, and website conversions. Whatever your goal is, decide what you want your outcome to be before you start your campaign. This not only strengthens your ads by giving them a specific purpose, but it also allows you to measure your success later.

4. Tell a Story

One of the most successful Facebook advertising strategies is to tell a story through a series of individual ads. Sharing your company’s values, beliefs, and impact will give life and personality to your brand, and help build a trusting relationship with consumers. Humorous and heartwarming stories are largely viewed as the most effective. Think of it as plowing the ground before planting your seed.

5. Be Creative

To truly engage your target audience, you need to stand out. It will not matter how great your service or innovative your product is, if your ad doesn’t captivate the attention of the consumer. Add another dimension to your campaign by using high-quality images and videos (preferably custom) to tell your story. But remember, keep it short and keep it simple.

While following these tips may take more time, the payoff will be worth it. If you feel lost at any of these steps, consider consulting a small business-friendly marketing and advertising firm, like 24 Communications. We’d like to help get your Facebook advertising campaign up and running.