Gone are the days of a business strictly advertising through traditional media. Newspapers, radio, TV, and phonebooks often take a backseat in how the masses seek out content these days. We walk around with all those medias in our pocket, readily available for our next 10 seconds of boredom. It is hard to believe it has been 28 years since the first form of digital advertising appeared. In 1994, the first online banner ad by AT&T graced the internet. Little did anyone know what that small ad would become in the future.
Some businesses, however, still have a hard time judging whether to advertise online. But, there is a reason all those traditional media companies, such as radio, TV and the Yellow Pages, have turned some of their focus to digital…IT WORKS! In this article, we would like to give you an overview of when to use the two most common platforms, Google Ads and Facebook, and how they are different.
Google Ads
Google has won the popularity contest when it comes to promoting and advertising businesses online. This is due to how large the GSN (Google Search Network) and GDN (Google Display Network) currently are. The term “Google it!” has become almost an everyday saying in most people’s vocabulary. You can research things you are questioning (odds are that is how you found this article) or you can potentially win an argument you are having with someone. “If you don’t believe me, just Google it!”
Those searches are what you can capitalize on with Google Ads. People look up everything these days, and most buyers are far more informed on your product prior to your first contact. Why not put advertising dollars towards your product- or service-style keywords when people are looking up how to do something? These ads are PPC (Pay Per Click) and deliver the searcher directly to the page on your website you specify.
The next level is display ads or retargeting ads. These ads are displayed to people based on where they have been on the internet and can also be shown after an initial keyword search. Display ads tend to follow someone around long after a search and continue to keep your brand in front of those who have shown interest in what you have to offer. Google Ads are great for ANY style of business, whether that is B2B or B2C. Customers are searching for your product or services. Why not advertise and light the path to your front door?
Facebook Ads
Facebook has one big difference when it comes to how ads are shown to potential customers, and that is its targeting. Rather than keywords used by Google, Facebook utilizes its users’ personal info to build advertising profiles. Facebook knows everything about you, including your age, location, relationship status, home income, number of people/ages of those in your family, and personal interests based on things you follow and interact with. The targeting options are endless.
With that being said, B2C campaigns tend to work the best as most Facebook users join the platform for social/personal reasons rather than business. Now, that’s not saying that a B2B company cannot use Facebook. There are just more options to attract end users rather than companies.
Facebook is also a PPC-style platform with many different “advertising objectives” built in to help you determine which path you should take to reach your ultimate goals. As mentioned above, the targeting on Facebook is the true winner when it comes to getting granular with your audience. If you wanted to reach a male in his 20s who drinks Mountain Dew, drives a Ford, and has a three year old, you can target that person. We’re not sure what kind of product or service you are trying to sell, but you could do it!
The other nice option is the use of the Facebook Pixel. This line of code gets put on your website and allows your Facebook ads to show to people who have already been on your website. This is Facebook’s form of retargeting and helps you stay in front of your key customers to build brand awareness.
The Breakdown
These two platforms offer incredible targeting options at different stages of a customer’s buying timeline. Both offer a reporting database which will allow you to see where your ad budget is going with each click. Unlike billboards along the highway, you can see the demographics of who sees your ads as well as who clicks on them. These data points will help you refine your online campaigns over time, making them run even smoother when attracting the perfect customer.
Now that we provided a high-level overview of how these two platforms are different, our suggestion is if you can do both, do it! Google allows you to help people looking for you to find you, while Facebook allows you to find the people who fit within your target demographic.
If you still have questions or would like to go over your personal strategy, give Baer Performance Marketing a call and we can come up with the best solution for your company: 920-632-7648
