Online Advertising

Using paid online advertising through a social media outlet seems to me like it could be a beneficial practice for my business, especially since you can focus in on your target audience. Until now, word of mouth advertising and flyers were the only marketing happening with this business. The practice of satisfied clients bringing in their friends and family has contributed to slight growth in sales from year to year, but the prospect of bringing new faces into the office (or at least getting the business’s name out there) without much work is one that my wife is actually liking, after initially harboring some hesitation to create a social media presence. I think once she sees an influx of calls or visits, she will see the value.

I like that Facebook makes it easy to determine the type of advertising that Is right for you. Your purpose for the advertising determines the kind of ad Facebook creates for you. You can choose to boost a particular post, increase your page likes, increase website conversions or clicks to your website, encourage app installs or engagement, increase event responses, or create offers for people to redeem in your place of business. Since my company has neither an app nor a website, those types of advertising are right for my business. Because there are multiple services that we offer, we can do two different types ads targeting two very different demographics. Focusing specifically on Facebook, I could see myself using two different types of advertising:

·        offers

·        right column and news feed ads

Offers:

Below is an example of an offer I might advertise on Facebook. It would go out exactly one week before the tax deadline and would offer free extension filing for those all too common procrastinating taxpayers. I would choose an audience of working age Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Vista residents. According to Facebook, this has a potential reach of 36,000 to 95,000 people.

 

Right Column and News feed ads:

The ads below (targeted at adult English or Spanish speakers living within a 10 mile radius of Oceanside) would reach approximately 186,000 people. It would be aimed at the other side of the business- Immigration Consulting. I included a picture featuring both the American and Mexican flags with the hopes of enticing the Hispanic population, our biggest demographic. I added the precise interest of “Immigration” and the number decreased to 2,600. At first, this was disheartening, but after further consideration, I figured that would create a more targeted campaign and would be a very beneficial choice. That means that for the same $10 per day, my ad would be reaching more people aready interested in the service we are providing.

Of all the forms of advertising, I think facebook ads are by far the most effective. The possibilities are endless when your ads are focused in on your target audience. You do not waste time or money on those individuals who are not interested in or do not need your services. Although I did not post any of these particular ads, I definitely will in the future.