Facebook Ads Soar in Demand as a Digital Marketing Channel
Amidst the digital transformation brought on by the disruption of last year and the global pandemic, Facebook ads continue to surge in popularity as a marketing platform.
How do we know this?
Well for starters, according to their quarterly earnings report, advertising revenue on Facebook is up a whopping 46% compared to this time last year.
At the same time, the number of ads delivered over the platform increased by 16% and the average price paid per ad shown on the platform is up 30%.
As digital marketers, this is naturally exciting, but also scary.
We’ll briefly go over why below.
Pros and Cons of More Demand for Facebook Ads
The more businesses engage on a platform as a marketing tool, the more accustomed consumers become to engaging with businesses on the platform.
This is a good thing, to a point, and it’s definitely something we’ve seen on Facebook over the years.
Whilst it does increase conversion rates among many demographics, there is a point where a platform reaches “ad saturation” and users become fatigued by the number of ads they’re exposed to (and conversion rates tank).
Think of how intolerable watching a live broadcast with ten-minute ad breaks feels, compared to streaming ad-free video online.
Thankfully Facebook seems to be skirting around that point, for now, largely due to the fact they have measures in place to restrict the number and frequency of ads each user is exposed to on the platform.
The bad news for us marketers, though, is that this means you’re paying more for the exact same service.
Why Facebook Ad Costs Are Rising
This ties into a larger discussion. If we’re not getting increased ad frequency or new placement options, why are we paying more for Facebook ads?
The answer is simple, like most digital channels Facebook uses a bidding model to determine ad costs.
This means each time an ad would be shown, there’s an invisible bidding war run by their algorithm to see which business’ ads get shown.
The bids take into account the quality and relevance of the ad, but most notable also the amount each business is willing to bid.
So, more competition means higher prices.
This is the main downside of Facebook ads increasing in popularity.
The prices go up, but the service stays the same, as long as people are willing to continue upping their bids to edge out the competition.
How to Combat Rising Facebook Ad Costs
In order to stay a viable advertising platform, you need to maintain your overall ROI for Facebook ads.
This is easier said than done, but there are a few ways to combat it.
Firstly, look at your targeting.
If you’re going after groups of people many other businesses are bidding on, your costs will always be higher. A better solution is to try and find “blue ocean” target markets nobody else is going after and target them.
Secondly, look at your message.
The content of your ads is something you can always control. Modifying the message or imagery in your ad to be more compelling can combat or even negate the rising costs of Facebook ads by helping push up conversion rates.
Lastly, diversify your ad platforms.
Not every platform is going to be ideal for every business. Sometimes your best option is to diversify to other ad platforms and see what performs best for you.
This is largely a matter of trial and error, but someone with experience in the field can significantly speed up the process.
Conclusion
As demand for Facebook ads continues to soar, so too will prices.
This means marketers will need to get more and more creative with the ways we maintain overall ROI on the platform.
However, in our opinion, Facebook is still a viable ad platform capable of creating amazing returns for the right industry and business.
If you enjoyed this article or found it helpful, check out more e-commerce marketing content on the inSyte blog or listen to the inSyte Podcast.
This article was brought to you by Syte.
We’re a specialist e-commerce digital marketing agency dedicated to driving up your bottom line.
If you need any help running your business’ Facebook Ads, feel free to reach out with the form below or check out our case studies page to see what we’ve been able to do for our clients.
