Why are Facebook ads so effective?

You probably already know this, but I truly believe Facebook + Instagram ads are freakin’ awesome! (Need someone else to help convince you? Read this Entrepreneur article.)

So what makes them so effective compared to other types of digital advertising (and all advertising in general)?

1. They are a form of native advertising.
2. Their audience has to login in.
3. The size of audience.

Native Advertising:

“Native ads are defined by advertising formats that are consistent with the form, style and voice of the platform they appear on.” – Share Through

Facebook + Instagram ads are in the same format as organic posts, so they are consumed the same way people consume regular content. Native ads are more visually engaging so consumers look at them 50%+ more frequently than display ads.* Native ads also register a higher lift in purchase intent and a lift for brand affinity responses than banner ads*

Example of how a native ads looks outside of Facebook + Instagram:

Audience is logged in:

The most commonly used method for targeting people with digital ads is targeting based on cookies, but this makes it hard to target across devices because most people aren’t using only one. They have a mobile phone, tablet, work computer, home computer, etc. However, Facebook users are usually logged in across all of these devices, so you’re able to target and track their activity no matter whether they are using it on their phone or a computer.

Being logged in also allows Facebook to better optimize what content would be most relevant to each user and the type of actions each user is most likely to take based on past history. So if you’re wanting to drive traffic to your website, Facebook isn’t going to show your clicks to website/traffic ad to someone who has never clicked on an ad before.

Size of the audience:

The amount of people who use Facebook compared to other social platforms or websites is massive, which means you can most likely find your target audience on it.

Stats from Facebook:

• 1.23 billion daily active users on average for December 2016
• 1.15 billion mobile daily active users on average for December 2016
• 1.86 billion monthly active users as of December 31, 2016

How does that compare?*

• 79% of internet users (68% of all U.S. adults) use Facebook
• 32% of internet users (28% of all U.S. adults) use Instagram
• 24% of internet users (21% of all U.S. adults) use Twitter
• 29% of internet users (25% of all U.S. adults) use LinkedIn
• 31% of internet users (26% of all U.S. adults) use Pinterest
• 158 million people are using Snapchat every day

 

Sources:

*https://sharethrough.com/resources/in-feed-ads-vs-banner-ads/

*http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/

*http://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-people-use-snapchat-user-numbers-2017-2