Facebook (whose parent company is now Meta) can be very confusing and frustrating to use. It changes often, tends to be buggy, and has an overwhelming number of features that intersect. Even people whose job it is to master (like me) have regular headaches with it. On the positive side, though, it is used often by almost half of the people in the world. And when it comes to business exposure, it’s inclusive – as opposed to Google, which is more exclusive (if you’re not on page one of Google search results, you’re basically nowhere).
Here are some common questions and answers related to Meta/Facebook marketing and advertising.
Should you have a different Facebook login for your business?
No! In fact, that is strictly against company policies and could cause suspension of an account. Only one login for you – always. You might think you need a different account/login for your business(es), but that is definitely not true. One login is all you’ll ever need and all Facebook ever wants you to have. As for the separation between your personal information and your business on Facebook, there is all the separation you need. Nobody who sees your business page(s) or advertisements can see the person/profile who created them. This simplifies things in that you only need a single login to administer all types of personal or business functions.
What is Meta Business Suite?
Meta Business Suite is a user interface for managing aspects of your business on the various platforms owned by Meta, such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Through Business Suite, you can manage your Inbox and messaging for all platforms, view notifications, create posts and stories, schedule posts and stories to be published at a later date, create ads, and see insights (meaning data on past activity, results, the makeup of your audience, and feedback). Besides being accessible with a desktop computer on the web, Business Suite is also an app available on IOS and Android. (This app replaced the Facebook Pages app that was formerly available.)
Need a proposal or consultation for marketing services? Click Here
Where do people see ads from Meta/Facebook?
Ads placed through Meta Ads Manager (formerly called Facebook Ads Manager) can be seen on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network (a network of mobile apps that partner with Meta for showing advertisements). These platforms offer 20+ placement options for ads, which means the ads can show in different formats and locations. For example, an Instagram Reels ad is quite different than a Facebook Marketplace ad. As an advertiser, you can choose to include or exclude whole platforms (like Instagram or Audience Network), but you can also choose to include or exclude specific placements within a platform. Facebook offers the largest array of placement options, which include the Facebook Feed, Facebook Right Column, Facebook Stories, Facebook search results, and more.
What’s the difference between Ad Center and Ads Manager?
Facebook offers two different hubs/tools for creating and managing ads. The simpler one is called Ad Center, which is a built-in component of Facebook Pages. The more full-featured and complex one is called Ads Manager, which is a standalone tool that can associate with more than one Facebook Page. While they both can be used for successful advertising, there is a tradeoff. Ad Center doesn’t have nearly as many options for customization as Ads Manager, but it’s easier to use. Conversely, Ads Manager has many more options than Ad Center but is more difficult to understand and use.
What is the Pixel?
Meta/Facebook ads allow you to tailor your advertising for events and activity that happens on your website. Installing the pixel on your website enables the necessary communication between Meta/Facebook ads and your website. When someone visits a web page that has the pixel code installed on it, a signal is sent to Meta/Facebook to let it know. Here are two examples of this working in a productive way:
(1) Someone submits a quote request form on a website – In this case, a visitor will add information to the form on the website, click submit, and then be routed to a page that says, “Thank you for your request.” You can run ads with the targeted conversion goal of having visitors reach that “Thank You” page. The pixel is necessary to inform Meta/Facebook of this occurrence.
(2) A “custom audience” is created by website traffic for remarketing – In this case, you want to run advertisements only to people who have visited your website (or perhaps particular pages of your website) within a defined window of time. Maybe you want to advertise a 15% off promotion to site visitors from the previous ten days. The pixel is how Meta/Facebook ads can build the custom audience to use for ad targeting.
Google vs. Meta Webinar on June 14th, 7 pm
Day(s)
:
Hour(s)
:
Minute(s)
:
Second(s)
Wednesday, June 14th, 7 pm
Webinar on Zoom -- free
Subject: Google vs. Meta for Marketing
What are the three types of audiences you can target through Meta Ads Manager?
The three types of audiences are:
Core audiences – audiences build from demographic details, interests, and behaviors (such as purchase behavior)
Custom audiences — audiences that have had engagement with a business in the past, such as website visitors, people who have interacted with a Facebook page, or a customer email list that has been uploaded
Lookalike audiences – audiences that can be created by Meta based on common qualities of a custom audiences
Custom Audiences are usually the most effective type of audience to target with Meta/Facebook Ads. The difference between targeting custom audiences and the other types of audiences is the difference between advertising to a “warm” audience vs. a “cold” audience. Custom audiences have had engagement with a business in the past. So, there’s a higher chance of familiarity. Staying familiar and top of mind with people who’ve interacted with a business can be tremendously important. They are the ones who are most likely to call on that business again and refer their friends.
How can ad costs be controlled with Meta advertising?
You can set either a daily budget or lifetime budget for every ad set in Meta Ads Manager, which is the most common way to control costs. Another option is that you can set a budget at the campaign level that applies to all ad sets in the campaign. This is called Advantage Campaign Budget +. It’s a good feature when you want to ensure your budget gets spent. If one ad set doesn’t spend much, another can compensate for it. You can also help control costs by setting a spending limit on your ad account. Your ads will pause when you reach the limit you specified and won’t run again until you increase, reset or remove that limit.