Over the next couple of months, Facebook will be streamlining its paid ad offerings and some of its product features. Although the shift has not been fully worked out yet, the process will eliminate redundancies in their products as Facebook begins to take an objective oriented approach to providing paid ad products. Features that will be removed from the platform are “Questions” (this change will occur in July) as well as “Online offers”.
Facebook will remove the “Questions” feature in their platform. Instead, business owners can still ask their audience questions on their wall and receive feedback.
Small Business and the Facebook Ad Changes
So what does this mean for small business owners?
1. Simplified paid ads. Currently Facebook has a dizzying array of 27 different ad products. The process will reduce their paid ad products to less than half of that. Many of paid ads’ functionality will be retained but will merge into one type of ad as shown here.
Three ad types merged into one ad with all their combined features and functions without a price change.
2. Social context for all ads. According to Facebook, the added social context to all paid ad solutions will enhance and optimize the effect of your paid ad in your social network. In a press release, Facebook Product manger Fidji Simo explains, “We believe social enhances ad resonance; people are influenced by this type of word-of-mouth marketing. These changes will happen in the fall.”
Before, business owners had to purchase both sponsored stories and ads. Now, all ads will show your business’s targeted audiences which one of their friends have already “liked” your business page. Pricing on ads will not be effected, even with the added social context features.
3. Business objective oriented ads. Small business owners often question the return on investment when they paid for ads in Facebook. Now, Facebook states that the new ad offerings will be better suited to your business’s business or marketing objective. Whether your goal is to drive in-store conversions, or online sales, or even eBook downloads, the new and simplified ad solutions will match your objective with the ad that will deliver the best ROI for your business.
Although Facebook is still vague on the details of their paid ad products and the timing of when the new features will roll out, the move to reduce the confusing list of options and including the added social context to all ads will enhance the process for small business owners.
While you’re waiting for the new ad solutions rolling out over the next couple of months, check out our guide for free strategies that real business owners have used to grow your Facebook Fan audience and grow your engagement.
Image Credit: jscreationzs
