So, are ‘Social Ads’ worth using?
Well, at the time of writing, it is probably fair to say that the jury is still out, and that the matter is undecided. Whilst clearly a lot of the initial bugs and wrinkles will be ironed out of the system over time, only Facebook can know how many of these problems they actually want to fix.
For example, the ‘Social Ads’ moderators may decide that they do not want the Facebook site used for dating purposes, and continue to leave the word as a forbidden search term.
Whilst from the viewpoint of an internet marketer or online business owner such a decision would not appear to make much sense, they should bear in mind that both the site owners and members of the Facebook community do not want their site taking ‘down market’ as they see it. Perhaps they see online dating or weight loss programs as something that fits into that category? Who knows?
Another perhaps more serious accusation that is leveled at the idea of Facebook running PPC advertising is that many marketers do not believe that the people using Facebook are anything more than ‘a bunch of college kids goofing off’. In other words, the suggestion is that no-one using the Facebook site is ever going to be a really interested potential buyer.
Undoubtedly, over the past year or so, many serious business people have abandoned Google AdWords and begun to search for quality alternatives, but it is important to understand why before assuming that this means that these folks will start to use Social Ads, and that they will therefore ultimately be successful (as some seem to assume).
From the day that AdWords started operations right up until the present when someone goes to Google, they are in a genuine searching (and possibly buying) mode. They have set out to find something and, in general, they already know what that ‘something’ is. This is still true, and AdWords adverts are still very good at filling this market requirement. Their effectiveness is not therefore in question. Unfortunately, over the last twelve months or so, what has been questioned (and sometimes caused people to abandon Google) has been their poor marketing, their occasionally heavy handed attitude and the sharply increasing advertising costs.
The same line of thinking would suggest that people do not go to Facebook to search for products or services. If they are seeking anything at all, it is more likely to be a friend from whom they can seek information. They categorically do not visit any kind of community site (and especially not Facebook) with any intention of buying anything or (it may be argued) with any intention of engaging in anything that can even remotely be described as commercial activity. If this is true, then what we are effectively saying is that no matter what business related activity they are related to, ‘Social Ads’ are never likely to be successful!
Ask yourself this question. Given what we have already established about the somewhat ‘unique’ nature of the Facebook community and its members, do they seem like the kind of folks who will embrace unfettered commercial and business ventures and organisations in their community?
It is early days for ‘Social Ads’ and only time can effectively show just how successful they are going to be. All I would suggest is that, if you plan to spend money using ‘Social Ads’ to promote your products and services to the Facebook community, you do so with your eyes fully open. Nor is this to say that all methods of promotion that you can use to push your products and services to Facebook community members are going to be ineffective or a waste of time.
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[...] to sell a product or service on Facebook in a direct manner is unlikely to work, and until ‘Social Ads’ is better established, it is a little hard to know whether they will make a significant [...]