You've been working hard to introduce your business to as many potential target customers as possible – those who will find your products irresistible and eagerly spend money. You've done it through SEO, social networking, press releases, article marketing, and perhaps even a pay-per-click campaign like Google AdWords. In short, you've used all the traditional (and non-traditional) methods to help your internet business catch on like wildfire.

But have you considered Facebook advertising yet? If not, you might be missing out on a new source of targeted customers – ones you may not be able to reach through traditional means.

Exactly what is Facebook advertising, and why should you consider it?

You’ve probably seen them yourself… those ads running down the right-hand side of your Facebook pages, tailored to interests you particularly enjoy. You're not seeing the same ads as everyone else on Facebook at that moment. These are specifically targeted to data Facebook has gleaned from your preferences and other sources.

Facebook ads are simple yet powerful. Each one consists of a title, a text block, and a graphic or photo of your choice – all within a 110px X 80px “box” to fit that vertical, right-hand Facebook sidebar.

If you think of them as a cross between a Twitter tweet and a banner ad, you've got the picture!

And yes – they can absolutely advertise your:

• Product
• Services
• Contest
• Cause
• Links
• Photos
• Videos
• Business USP
• Business Event

As well as integrating:

• Your offline promotions with your online
• Real-time information for your “fansumers”

Facebook Advertising Benefits

SEO vs. Social Trends – Facebook's biggest benefit is its most obvious. It operates through social networking and trending rather than pure SEO – the hottest trend of this brand new decade. It allows readers to see your ads on their mobile phones – and mobile devices now outnumber personal computers, 4 to 1!

It is also cheaper than Google AdWords, and while the latter is still a wonderful way to kick-start a campaign, AdWords can be risky for newer marketers, as costs per click can skyrocket faster than your sales.

Will it replace AdWords completely? That shouldn't be your goal! Plan further down the line to do what the big boys and girls do: Kick-start each campaign with well-optimized and researched AdWords.

Facebook vs. Adwords Costs – But whether you use Adwords (SEO based) or Facebook ads (social networking based), Facebook ads nowadays are a “must” – particularly with the not-so-subtle switch over to mobile devices! But it’s great for beginning marketers because at the moment, it’s significantly less expensive to advertise on Facebook than with PPC!

Graphics Capability – Another significant benefit is that you can introduce a graphic element or photo into what is basically just a small text ad! Since Facebook is “tuned” to graphic elements, interest peaks when graphics are displayed. It wins hands-down over AdWords' tired, low-converting banner ads.

(You could simplify it like this: Want a text ad only? – Use AdWords. Plan to use a graphic? – Use Facebook Ads.)

Text Capability – You have 75 characters to say what you want to say in Google AdWords (that’s less than half a tweet!) Facebook ads not only allow you a 25-character headline but 135 characters of body text, too. (That’s over double Google AdWords’ capacity – but note; spaces count.)

Does SEO Still Apply?

You betcha! In fact, it's crucial to the success of your Facebook Ad!

Remember when we talked about Facebook Ads geared to your specific hobbies, tastes, preferences, and interests appearing down the right-hand side of your Facebook page? You’ll notice that:

• Some really don’t appeal to you
• A small percentage make you click on them right away
• … and a third group appeals to you, but it may take you days of repeated exposure, seeing the same ad many times before you finally give up and click through.

You want your ad to be in the latter two categories. You achieve this through solid, well-researched long-tail keywords combined with your irresistible, curiosity-arousing 25-character headline and 135-character body text.

Get those elements right, and you’ll have an ad that bypasses casual searchers and zeros in on a 75% pre-sold, pre-qualified market.

Who Is It For?

Some people will tell you that Facebook Ads don’t work for business purposes, but that's simply not so. It should give you a big clue about its potential when you realize that major companies are taking full advantage of Facebook Ads in creative ways.

For example, according to Facebook’s own Marketing Solutions page…

• Honda recently used Facebook Ads to keep consumers updated after its recent spate of shocking recalls.
• Budweiser encouraged social interactivity with its customers by inviting them to select which commercials to show during televised sports games.
• Guitar Hero became the first online video game to reach 1,000,000 fans on Facebook

Even Coca-Cola jumped on the bandwagon, selling “virtual bottles of coke” and promising to donate $1.00 for every virtual bottle sent to their favorite cause.

These examples alone show you the sort of creativity you can employ (and the flexibility you can take advantage of) when creating your Facebook Advertising campaign!

Fansumers

If you’ve been wondering what a “fansumer” is, it’s yet another social phenomenon you can use to your advantage.

According to Forrester Research, a “fansumer” is simply a consumer who has “become a fan” of a brand on Facebook.

This brings us back to Facebook Ads' third biggest advantage... interactivity.

It’s a proven maxim: Get people to engage as a participant rather than as a spectator, and they become personally invested in what they're engaging in. Use an app or a product and click the little “become a fan” text link on your Facebook page, and you are not only contributing to its statistical popularity but personally endorsing it!

This can help two particular types of “products” in particular…

• Apps (such as Zynga’s “Farmville” game)
• Brands

Allowing people to become Facebook fans should be a definite part of your branding campaign… and as for Farmville’s meteoric rise, it is legendary. One only has to take a glimpse at its U.S. Alexa rank of 370 to see how powerful this can be.

Alexa summarizes this popular app game thus: “… farmville.com is visited more frequently by females who are in the age range 18-24, received some college education, and browse this site from home.”

This aligns with Facebook’s “18-34 female” broad demographic – but the truth is, you can certainly reach other target customers in different demographics if you take a close look at Farmville’s stats from Quantcast.com:

Keeping in mind that a less broad and more specific demographic is likely to be yours, you can certainly play to small niche Facebook markets.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure the niche customer you wish to reach operates via social networking at least as much as – if not more than – through standard PC use and Google searches.

You can also target specific geographic areas using Facebook Ads (by country, state or province, town or city).

And remember, when someone brands themselves as your fan (or “fansumer”), they’re telling you they are ripe for your offerings.

Why Profile Pages are Your Friends!

The main reason you can target so specifically, despite Facebook having a broad, generic demographic, can be attributed to profile pages.

Think about it: When you filled out your profile page, you were prompted to share your:

• Hobbies and interests
• Career and work information
• School, college, or university
• Tastes in music, books, and movies
• Personal and contact information (date of birth, marital status, etc.)
• City and state

And as much extra information as you chose to share.

Among the things you share, you can bet people can find great long-tailed keywords! These are what you should use when creating your Facebook Ads – targeted specifically to your ideal customer, of course. Use your keyword in your headline at the very least – and again in the text (always providing it feels totally natural: Remember, Facebook puts “social” before “SEO”).

The Mechanics

In addition to the creative side of your Facebook Ads, there are other actions you can choose to take. You can:

• Pay per click (PPC)… or per impression (CPM)
• Track your Ad’s progress in “real time”
• Edit and tweak your ads for your best results

Best of all, Facebook Ads are easy to set up, with a step-by-step process that guides you clearly through creation and all your options.

Facebook is quietly becoming the newest trend in online advertising – especially for those on a budget – as of this writing. Even if you don’t think it’s right for your business, you are to be applauded for taking the time to at least learn more about it!