Facebook ads—why should they interest artists?
Because for several years Facebook has been one of the largest social networking sites in the world, and now it has something that really sets it apart: A brilliant way to advertise to its millions of users.
You see, Facebook’s new ad program offers incredibly focused ad targeting. And THAT means you won’t have to waste as much money advertising to the wrong people!
Ready for the details? Here’s how you’d set up a targeted ad on Facebook:
First, head on over to Facebook and click on the “Advertisers” link at the bottom of the log-in page. (If you’re already a member, feel free to log in.)
The next screen talks about the different advertising options through Facebook—what we’re interested in creating right now is a “Social Ad.”
Click on that button and type in a random website on the next screen.
If you were actually creating an ad to sell your art, you’d want to use the address of your art blog, or a current eBay auction, or wherever your artwork is listed for sale online. I typed in EmptyEasel.com just for kicks.
After clicking “Continue” you’ll be at the main options page for creating a Facebook ad. For those of you that logged in to your Facebook account, you’ll see a number up in the top right corner—that’s the total number of Facebook users in your country.
If you’re not a Facebook member, that section will probably be blank until you join.
Now at this point, nothing’s selected except your country. . . but believe me when I say within seconds you can create a highly targeted ad campaign.
If you’re wondering how it works EXACTLY, here it is in a nutshell: Facebook users all fill out their own profiles, including age, gender, likes and dislikes, education, political views, and so on. That information is stored by Facebook until they see an ad that fits those user’s profile.
So if you’d like to advertise to people JUST in your general area—you can!
I chose “Oregon” and found that there were 166,340 Facebook users who marked Oregon as their location. For artists who want to advertise locally, this could be an incredibly useful tool.
And to expand my reach farther across the Northwest? I simply added Washington and Idaho. Just like that, my advertising base jumped to more than 544,000 people.
But there’s much more to Facebook ads than just location. . . and the better you target your ad, the lower your costs will be.
The following screenshot is just one example of how an artist might set up a highly targeted campaign. I used keywords that related specifically to interior design professionals (or to people who like to decorate) and then plugged in “Portland” just to narrow things down even more.
What’d I get? About 160 people who might want (or need) to buy a lot of art.
Oh, and Facebook offers ideas for words as you type, too. . . so by typing in “Decorate” I found both “Decorating” and “Interior Decorating.” Facebook only suggests what people have written down in their profiles, so you won’t ever be advertising for something that doesn’t exist.
With just 160 individuals targeted, it’s easier to keep your costs low. And if you pick your keywords right, you’ll still get a good return for your money.
All right, so I’ll leave you with one more idea for advertising on Facebook—are there any wedding photographers out there looking for work? Well then you might try something like this in your own city:
Amazing, isn’t it? Place that kind of targeted ad during wedding season and you just might strike gold.
Now, I confess I haven’t run an ad yet, so I don’t know how well it works—but I AM planning on setting up my own campaign in the next month or so, and I’ll be sure to let you know how it all goes.
There’s a bit more to creating an ad on Facebook—if you’re interested, you can read all about it in my follow-up article which covers writing the ad and pricing your bid.
Also, you might as well just play around with Facebook’s ad targeting for yourself. All business aside. . . it’s actually quite fun. : )
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