[Laketahoedan]

FYI - I am not talking about fan pages etc. This is about FB paid advertising.

I decided to do some paid advertising through facebook. You can supposedly target your market really well.

I designated my market as a 50 mile radius around a few close cities.

I watched the traffic to my website with site meters.

day 1 I had 5 visits coming from the ad according to the meters Facebook said 12 visits. A few were from out of the country and way outside my target I established. Day 2 same thing but more false clicks. Day 3 worse.

I wrote to Facebook (you cannot call them) and did not hear back for a week. I researched it and seems a lot of people experience the same problem. So I closed the account. It is not worth fighting them.

It is ridiculous that they do not have a staff to take calls when it is a paid for product. I call Google.

 

[buddy110]

Interesting. I was considering doing some. I'll rethink it now.. Anyone else any FB ads?

 

[Laketahoedan]

Try Google Adwords. I wasted a lot of money at first by not knowing how to set up the keywords "match". But I have it down now and using "exact" match you can have your add show up on whatever google searches you want so you are not wasting money on people far away looking for something you do not do.

 

[jason.]

I'm surprised a major website like Facebook would have these kinds of problems, but you will likely have more luck with Google.

 

[Laketahoedan]

I'm surprised a major website like Facebook would have these kinds of problems, but you will likely have more luck with Google.

On the contrary. It is run by a bunch of kids that change stuff daily. Not that change is a bad thing but sometimes it is to much. They are tryingto automate everything and i think when it comes to $ they should have a # you can call. They make bazillions, they should invest in customer service. IMHO

FYI for those with "fan"pages the suggest a friend link does not work cept for the first time you use it. So if you are wondering why friends have not joined it is most likely because they never got the invite.
here is a long thread on it and it has made the news as well. Of course Facebook has not even acknowledged it.

 

[cork-guy]

I would use Google Adwords over Facebook, until Facebook is an actual traded on the public stock market you won't get any sweeping changes or reform. However, Adwords can also be a waste if you don't do it properly, make sure to read up on proper keyword and geo-graphically targeting to get a proper ROI.

 

[flinstones]

Well unfortunately what you are experiencing is not the only faulty thing with FB.

There have been numerous reports about incidents where FB accounts data has been compromised.

I would think twice before even trusting them or any other social networking website with any piece of my personal or business info.

 

[AlanJackson]

i didnt know that... but i dont use it anyways.. i think facebook users dont pay attention to those adds anyways and they cost too much... what i do is make some internet listings for every city i work and put it on the local sites...

 

[jason.]

i didnt know that... but i dont use it anyways.. i think facebook users dont pay attention to those adds anyways and they cost too much... what i do is make some internet listings for every city i work and put it on the local sites...

Good point Alan, Facebook users are unlikely to acknowledge the advertisements, I realize it's better to advertise on sites where customers are searching for you such as locals and classifieds.

 

[Laketahoedan]

Good point Alan, Facebook users are unlikely to acknowledge the advertisements, I realize it's better to advertise on sites where customers are searching for you such as locals and classifieds.

It sounded good to me.

My ad supposedly would only show up on pages of people in my market. And I was able to specify a demographic so that I could eliminate all teenagers etc. I also specified people with certain interests such as "home improvement", realestate" etc.

 

[ApgarNJ]

I spent about 200 bucks over the last several weeks on FB ads. From what I have read, it's more of a BRANDING than a major lead generator. I have about 30 new fans of my page because of it. I am not running any ads right now until my new site is up. I'll use it to get more traffic to the site that isn't coming from google.
I don't think it's a scam though.

 

[Greg]

I spent about 200 bucks over the last several weeks on FB ads. From what I have read, it's more of a BRANDING than a major lead generator. I have about 30 new fans of my page because of it. I am not running any ads right now until my new site is up. I'll use it to get more traffic to the site that isn't coming from google.
I don't think it's a scam though.

I have been doing some homework about the FB ads and was thinking about trying them in about another month. This is all great advice, I appreciate hearing it.
Just a question ApgarNJ, In you ad did your direct them to your FB page or your website?

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Centennial-Custom-Decks/123728497669522

 

[ApgarNJ]

the ads I did, directed them to my FB company page because my existing website is bad and the new one is almost ready to launch, just working on content.

I made 6 ads all together, ran three for several days, changed them and did 3 new ones. The bathroom remodeling ad did the best of all. I believe the CTR was almost .10%

 

[ApgarNJ]

I don't think changing your demographics for interests is the best idea. It can really cut down on your target audience. I chose certain towns that I like to work in, or want to work in, and then chose 10 mile radius around that as an option, you can go up to 50 but to me you are getting into bad areas at that point you may not want to drive that far for work.
I then chose age 35 and older, and played around with choosing only married or people in a relationship. and eventually added single people to the mix

I don't think most people fill out their interests on FB, so it's not really worth choosing them.

 

[kcremodeling]

I did the facebook ads for a couple of months. Actually did a bid for a homeowner that found me on facebook. I really liked it because almost all of my clients are married, college educated, kids, and live in a particular city. It seems great in theory but i would not doubt they still have some kinks to work out.

 

[CronenBuilding]

We just started an ad campaign this week. I think we set the limit at $3 per day? Anyway, nothing yet. I figured it was worth a try.

 

[EricTheHandyman]

We just started an ad campaign this week. I think we set the limit at $3 per day? Anyway, nothing yet. I figured it was worth a try.

$3 a day will only get you a couple of clicks, you'll need to ramp it up in order for it to be successful.

I ran a FB ad last month and had decent results with it. The key is to picture your target customer in your mind and then think about what their interests would be. For us it's upper white class folks. Rather than targeting people who are interested in home improvement (who are most likely to do their own work), we targeted people who are interested in cooking, theatre, art, etc.

Plan to spend at least $20 per day for a couple of weeks. Make a few different ads and you'll quickly see which ones are producing and which aren't.