Facebook Ads is a powerful advertising platform that allows businesses to reach a large and targeted audience on the world’s largest social network, as well as Instagram. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at what Facebook Ads are, why they are important for New Zealand businesses, the different placements available, and the features, benefits, and potential risks of using Facebook Ads.
What are Facebook Ads?
Facebook Ads is a form of online advertising that allows businesses to place ads on the Facebook platform and Instagram. These ads can appear in various placements such as in the news feed, in the right column, in stories, in the Facebook Marketplace, and in the Instagram feed. The ads can be targeted to specific audiences based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and more.
Why are Facebook Ads important for New Zealand businesses?
Facebook Ads are important for New Zealand businesses because of the large and active user base on the platform. According to Social Media Today, as of 2021, there are around 4.9 million monthly active Facebook users in New Zealand, which represents around 80% of the total population. In addition, there are around 2.5 million monthly active Instagram users in New Zealand. This presents a large and engaged audience that New Zealand businesses can reach with their ads.
What are the different placements of Facebook Ads?
There are several different placements available for Facebook Ads, including:
- News Feed Ads: These ads appear in the news feed, the most prominent and visible space on the platform, and can be in the form of image, video, carousel, and more.
- Right Column Ads: These ads appear in the right column on desktop and can be used to drive website traffic and conversions.
- Story Ads: These ads appear on Stories and in the IGTV and can be used to drive engagement and drive website traffic.
- Marketplace Ads: These ads appear on the Facebook marketplace and can be used to drive sales and promote products.
- Instagram Feed Ads: These ads appear in the Instagram feed and can be in the form of image, video, carousel, and more.
What are the features and benefits of Facebook Ads for New Zealand businesses?
- Detailed targeting options: Facebook Ads allows businesses to target specific audiences based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and more, which can help businesses reach their ideal customers.
- Measurable results: Facebook Ads provides detailed analytics and metrics that businesses can use to track the performance of their ads and make data-driven decisions.
- Large and engaged audience: With a large user base on Facebook and Instagram in New Zealand, businesses can reach a large and engaged audience with their ads.
- Cost-effective: Facebook Ads can be a cost-effective way to reach a large audience and drive results, especially when compared to traditional advertising methods.
The power of Retargeting on Facebook
Retargeting is a powerful digital marketing technique that allows businesses to reach and engage with users who have previously interacted with their website or mobile app. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how retargeting works with Facebook and how New Zealand businesses can use it to reach and engage with their target audience.
What is Facebook retargeting?
Facebook retargeting, also known as Facebook remarketing, is a form of retargeting that allows businesses to target ads to users who have previously interacted with their website or mobile app, using Facebook’s ad platform. This is achieved by placing a tracking pixel or cookie on the user’s browser, which allows the business to collect data on the user’s browsing behaviour. The data is then used to serve ads to the user on Facebook or Instagram, which are part of Facebook’s retargeting network.
Why is Facebook retargeting important for New Zealand businesses?
Retargeting allows businesses to reach users who have previously shown an interest in their products or services by collecting data on users browsing behaviour and targeting them with ads. By focusing on users who have already shown an interest in their products or services, businesses increase the chances of conversion as these users are more likely to make a purchase or take some sort of desired action.
For instance, if a user visits a business’s website and views a product page but doesn’t make a purchase, retargeting allows the business to target that user with an ad for the specific product they were viewing, which can remind them to make the purchase. Similarly, if a user abandons a shopping cart, retargeting can be used to target them with an ad or discount code that could entice them to return and complete the purchase.
In addition to increasing conversion rates, retargeting also allows businesses to maximise their ROI by focusing their advertising efforts on users who have already shown an interest in their products or services. Because these users are more likely to make a purchase or take an action, businesses can get more out of their advertising budget by targeting them.
How can businesses start using Facebook retargeting?
NZ businesses can use Facebook retargeting in several ways:
- Website Retargeting: This involves placing a tracking pixel on the business’s website, which allows them to collect data on the user’s browsing behaviour. The data is then used to serve ads to the user on Facebook and Instagram which are part of Facebook’s retargeting network.
- Custom Audience Retargeting: This involves creating a custom audience of users who have previously interacted with the business, and then targeting ads to that audience.
- Event Retargeting: This involves targeting ads to users who have previously interacted with specific events or actions on the website, such as signing up for a newsletter, abandoning a shopping cart, or making a purchase.
To implement Facebook retargeting, businesses can use Facebook’s Ads Manager, to set up retargeting campaigns, track performance, and make data-driven decisions to optimise their campaigns.
Lookalike Audience: Creating new audiences that are similar to a custom audience
Lookalike Audiences are a type of ad targeting method in which businesses can target users who are similar to a “custom audience” that has been previously identified as having a high value. This is done by analysing data on the demographics and behaviours of the custom audience, and then using this information to identify users who have similar characteristics.
To create a Lookalike Audience, businesses can upload a list of customers or use Facebook pixel data to Facebook Ad Manager. By creating a new audience that is similar to the custom audience, businesses can reach users who may be more likely to be interested in their products or services. For example, if a business’s custom audience is made up of users who have previously made a purchase on their website, they can create a Lookalike Audience of users who have similar characteristics to those customers and target them with ads.
Businesses should also keep in mind that it’s important to have a large enough custom audience in order for the algorithm to identify similarities between users. The quality and accuracy of the data used also will affect the success of the Lookalike Audience.
What are the risks of Retargeting on Facebook?
Retargeting is a powerful digital marketing technique, but like any other marketing strategy, it does come with some potential risks. Here are a few potential risks of using retargeting:
- Ad fatigue: With so many ads being shown to users, ad fatigue can become an issue and make it difficult for businesses to get their ads seen. Over time, users may become desensitised to retargeting ads, and this can lead to a decrease in click-through rates and conversions.
- Privacy concerns: Retargeting relies on the use of tracking pixels and cookies to collect data on users’ browsing behaviour. Users may be uncomfortable with this data collection and have concerns about their privacy. Businesses must be transparent about their data collection practices and provide users with an option to opt-out of retargeting.
- Over-targeting: Retargeting allows businesses to reach users who have previously shown an interest in their products or services, but over-targeting can backfire. If users see the same retargeting ads too often, they may become annoyed or frustrated, which can lead to a negative impact on brand perception.
- Limited reach: Retargeting is effective for reaching users who have already shown an interest in a business’s products or services, but it does not necessarily reach new users. Therefore, businesses may want to consider other marketing strategies, such as search or display advertising, to reach a wider audience.
It’s important to weigh the potential risks and benefits of retargeting before implementing a campaign. Regularly monitoring and analysing data, as well as adjusting targeting methods can help mitigate any potential risks. To be effective, retargeting campaigns need to be well-planned, properly executed and constantly monitored for performance.
Summary
Overall, Facebook Ads is an effective and cost-efficient advertising platform that can help New Zealand businesses reach a large and engaged audience. With various placements and targeting options available, businesses can drive results. Facebook retargeting is a powerful digital marketing technique that allows New Zealand businesses to reach and engage with users who have previously interacted with their business.
