We’ve all read a lot of Facebook blog posts. We’ve all heard about the Cambridge Analytica scandal, seen videos of Mark Zuckerberg questioned by congress, and listened to copious class discussion on the topic.
So, please stick around, and let me offer a few different perspectives and critique.
What is Facebook doing now?
“Now you can include Facebook Stories as an additional placement to News Feed or Instagram Stories ad campaigns, delivering your message in a fullscreen, immersive environment. – Facebook
As said above; Facebook is bringing out advertisement in its News Feed function in addition to advertising in messenger. So, with the facebook side bar ads, messenger ads, and the new news feed advertisement Facebook has found multiple ways to encourage brands to promote on the network.
For businesses; is Facebook a good app to advertise on? Statistics has shown People Click on About One of Every 2,000 Facebook Ads They See. To me, this seems like a really bad ROI (Return on Investment) that brands only have a 1 in 2,000 chance of having their content clicked on.
The statistics above indicate that people do click on Facebook Ads, however, only 34% have enough interest to track down the item. Brands have a higher chance of increasing sales if they were to stick with traditional media marketing rather than using Facebook.
Keeping in mind, even though the click statistics for Facebook aren’t profitable for businesses, whenever Facebook gets itself into a scandal- brands that are advertising on the network are affected by association.
Where’s this going?
So, where does Facebook go from here? Personally, I would not advertise on Facebook. If brands want to use social media to advertise, then using instagram or youtube ads offer a much better ROI.
I open the floor to you guys reading this, would you purchase Facebook Ads? Or is Facebook cancelled?
Until next time
Lawra
Modern Marketing 
Hey Lawra! I feel like Facebook ads are hit and miss – but seems like the statistics you provided prove that they’re more often a flop rather than a success. The only ads that I tend to have pop up on my newsfeed are for sites or items I have searched for, so I guess it’s just Facebooks way of reminding me to buy them. I feel like paid advertising on Facebook could work depending on what business you talk about. A company like Sportsgirl will be better off advertising on Instagram as that’s where their target audience spend majority of their time, whilst a company that might have an older target audience would be better advertising on Facebook as that generation use the platform heavily. Great post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Sophie, completely agree with you. I think it needs to be done on a company by company basis to maximise the expenses associated with undertaking online marketing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Lawra, I feel like our generation doesn’t really pay attention to Facebook ads as much as we do on Instagram or Snapchat – to me Facebook is just a place where memes are shared and I definitely don’t regularly use Facebook as much as Insta. The stats are interesting, and I guess that makes me question what’s the point of advertising on Facebook if marketers aren’t getting the most out of it? Very thought provoking post!
LikeLike
Hey Juliana!! Thanks for the comment, I agree with you and I personally use snapchat and instagram more and receive more marketing content through these apps. I think each company needs to access the costs vs benefits
LikeLike
Another interesting post Lawra! I personally feel as if consumers are now looking for more personalised content and if that can be provided on Facebook via the various target specific add strategies out there then perhaps Facebook advertising may still be alive in years to come. I feel that facebook advertising has been adopted by organisations so that they can catch consumers while they fish. It is interesting to see that consumers are only clicking on one in every 2000 adds that they come across. Facebook may not be the most attractive bait after all. Great read!
LikeLike
Thanks for the comment!! I definitely think that fb started the online marketing trend, and gave companies a platform to do so. However their model hasn’t really changed in the last 5 years, and with apps such as Instagram and Snapchat now offering marketings options to companies I think fb needs to lift their game to stay competitive in this area
LikeLike