In June 2009, Facebook beat out Myspace as the website with the most active users in America.
A decade later, Facebook has changed the way that most people live their lives, as well as the way that most companies conduct online marketing. Like most other websites that grow in popularity, Facebook became the hottest billboard for companies to advertise their products, as it is seen by millions of users each day.
Advertisements have evolved from photos, to videos, to directly specified by cookies, to ads that are sponsored by the average user who is hoping to bring locals to their event or hoping to bring attention to causes or other events such as charities or even natural disasters.
The Growth of Facebook Ads
The growth of Facebook ads has been notable to all of those on the site, but the internal growth and the return on investment for companies who invest in Facebook ads have been more effective than the average user can imagine.
At the end of 2018, Facebook had over 2 billion active users around the world, meaning that over a quarter of the world’s population uses the site, and that same number of people see the ads that are directed to them based on their interests. As technology continues to advance and become more accessible in majority world countries, we can expect to see the number of users rise.
The sophistication of ads has increased throughout the years as more and more companies turn to social media trends to blend advertisements into users’ social media experiences.
Ads used to be shown as separate segments of a user’s feed; now, they simply look like the posts of any of your friends, distinguishable only by the small “sponsored post” disclaimer above the post. However, the infamous Facebook algorithm that is designed to prioritize content you are more likely to engage with is the same algorithm that distributes ads more frequently than ever before.
Advertisers use cookies, the information tracked by your internet searches, to select ads based on your recent search interests. Marketing companies create these ads to look like memes, posts by social media influencers, and entertaining videos starring celebrities to get your attention.
Depending on the company, these ads can be anything from five-second commercials before a viral video you clicked on, to 30-second videos right in the middle of a cute puppy video compilation. Although they vary greatly, ads always have one goal: to present you with a brand a sufficient number of times for you to recognize it either consciously or subconsciously.
Facebook Ads Success
Facebook gives companies the opportunity to control and direct their advertisements to highly specific audiences in any location around the world.
To do so effectively, it’s important that companies take the necessary steps to ensure they use ads and analytics to their fullest potential. Companies use Facebook Pixel to track conversions and collect retargeting data, which allows them to see how their marketing tactics are working.
By using Google tag applications, building remarketing audiences, and monitoring engagement on Facebook, companies have been able to get the most use of the marketing campaigns they create through Facebook, leading to huge growth in the use and effectiveness of ads.
Even small businesses with limited marketing funds can afford to advertise on Facebook because of the particularities and control Facebook has over their users’ feeds. Local businesses can advertise directly to people living in their city and to the specific demographics their business accommodates.
These businesses don’t need to invest thousands of dollars in the ads they run either; they can simply make a post with a photo or short video that will be shown on the feed of a few people they are hoping to target.
Technology has become easier to control than it was in the past, which means small businesses can create short commercials, so long as they create a coherent script and are capable of filming and cropping videos to be used as Facebook ads. This approach is not uncommon due to the relatively intuitive technology it uses.
Facebook is a social media site that connects the world, and because of its ability to do so, it has become one of the most effective marketing platforms in the world. Facebook ads are capable of going viral, just like any other content on the site, which means companies who create successful and engaging ads and marketing strategies can see their brand grow enormously through Facebook.
The effectiveness of marketing and the prime ad real estate Facebook offers cannot be ignored. Facebook offers a great platform for companies of all sizes to grow with them.
About the Author: Avery T. Phillips is a freelance human being with too much to say. She’s a marketing maven and a tech guru. Make a comment below or reach out to her on Twitter @a_taylorian with any questions or suggestions.