Hi, I'm Evan Ernst, and you want to know...Are Facebook ads worth it?
It's a question I get all the time from small business owners who understand the rising importance of social media and want to make every marketing dollar count.
And I always like to start by throwing some numbers...According to Statista:
The number of Facebook users in the U.S. will increase by 5% between 2026 and 2026. In other words, it would go from 250 to almost 263 million, marking a new peak.
That's a massive audience just waiting for your Facebook ads.
Of course, you want to know how Mr. Zuckerberg's advertising platform can benefit you. We'll talk about that as well as why many small businesses fail with Facebook advertising.
By the end, you'll know what it takes to make Facebook ads work for your biz.
How Do Facebook Ads Help a Small Business?
Facebook is one of the top 3 social media platforms for SMBs, but as you probably know, the organic reach isn't impressive. Thus, to reach the most of your target audience, you must spend most of your time in the Facebook ads manager.
Let me show you how this will benefit your small business.
Facebook Ads Offer Precise Targeting
One of the biggest perks of Facebook ad campaigns has always been the ability to target your audience with laser precision...and still is!
Despite Meta doing multiple changes over the last few years and recently disabling the ability to use detailed targeting exclusions...at Ernst Media, we still succeed in helping small businesses find their ideal clients with FB ads.
You can target people based on age, location, interests, behaviors, connections, recent online activity, etc., and even your competitors' followers.
This means reaching a much wider audience from all stages of your marketing funnel and getting a much higher return on your ad spend.
And if you're looking for a real-life example...see what the VP of SilverTrac Sofware had to say about our marketing strategy based on custom audiences.
Facebook Advertising Costs Are Inexpensive
Another major benefit for small businesses is that Facebook ads can be incredibly cost-effective. That's also one of the YouTube advertising advantages I discuss in this article.
I can't be specific about Facebook ads cost because it depends on different factors like your industry, target audiences and locations, seasonality, etc.
My point is that you don't need a big budget to get started.
In fact, you can start with as little as 5 bucks per day, try different ad formats and targeting strategies, and see how it goes. The main advantage is that you can watch and control your spending.
As one of the former product marketers at Buffer once said:
"The best approach with Facebook Ads is thinking about how to make your budget deliver the best results for your small business"
Here is a quick example from a few years ago:
A friend who owns a Yoga studio here in Spokane knew we offer affordable PPC management and asked me to help her run some digital ads.
She had a very tight budget and thought all she could do was get some extra exposure.
It turned out they had a new membership deal, so I suggested setting up a basic ad campaign to promote it on Facebook. A month later, they had a 25% increase in sign-ups, and we only spent $200.
So yes, when you know how to get the best bang for your buck, Facebook ads are worth it.
Detailed Analytics to Measure Your Results
In contrast with many dinosaur advertising platforms, Facebook's analytics are pure gold.
To deliver measurable results for our clients, we track impressions, clicks, conversions, and everything in between of all ad placements...Then, we optimize for revenue!
Analyzing all the data Facebook provides allows you to see what's working and what's not so you can tweak your campaigns for better results...and accomplish your small business social media goals.
Let's say you're utilizing Facebook's diverse ad formats.
By tracking the performance of each campaign, you may discover that carousel ads showcasing multiple products get more clicks than single-image ads.
It's a very simple way to analyze PPC data that allows you to improve ROI by taking two actions:
- Allocating less budget to the poor performer (single-image ads)
- Increasing the budget for carousel ads as they deliver results
More Sophisticated Retargeting Options
Similar to Google ads, Meta also offers retargeting options. However, the Facebook Pixel (now called Meta Dataset) is one of the coolest features in digital advertising.
In simple terms, retargeting allows you to show ads to folks who have already interacted with your brand, like visiting your website.
For example, if you run an e-commerce biz and have a lot of abandoned carts, you can retarget those potential customers with ads and remind them they left items behind.
But here is where things get interesting for Facebook advertisers:
With Datasets, you can capture audiences from apps, events, and other business websites. You can show ads in Messenger...and Meta is even introducing ads in Facebook App notifications.
Plus, from the Ads Manager, you get access to Meta's audience network, which allows you to show ads across their other platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp.
Are you still wondering if it's worth paying for Facebook ads?
I hope not...but before I wrap this up...I'll address another query.
Why Do Most Facebook Ads Fail?
With so many settings and options, creating successful Facebook ad campaigns from the get-go isn't an easy task. Poor performance can be caused by several reasons, including:
- Not using catchy headlines or images
- Targeting an audience that is too broad
- Not setting your ad bid values properly
- Relying on irrelevant analytics data
- Not optimizing your landing pages
However, based on my experience running a boutique digital marketing agency and working with small business owners daily...Many fail with Facebook advertising because they make one of the most common digital marketing mistakes:
Trying to Manage Everything In-House!
I'm not saying that's impossible. If you have a marketing team or at least one person who has the time, skills, and tools...Facebook ad campaigns can be handled internally.
But if you give marketing tasks to inexperienced employees, you'll throw money in the bin.
Ernst Media is a small business that has been helping small businesses for 15+ years!
We can collaborate with your team or become your team!
Let's Wrap It Up with Some FAQs
You probably have a few more questions regarding Facebook advertising, so let me answer the most common ones.
What Makes Facebook Ads Effective?
Facebook ads can be very effective due to the multiple targeting and retargeting options. The Meta platform's detailed analytics enable you to monitor and optimize campaigns and show ads across their audience network. These features allow you to reach the right people and find your ideal customers. Facebook ads are one of the best-performing options when doing PPC for eCommerce.
When to Scale Facebook Ads?
You should scale Facebook ads after they become profitable and you have reached your current goals. Do not make the mistake of increasing the budget on ads just because they are not performing well. Try to optimize those first, and once they start delivering results, consider scaling.
What Are the Disadvantages of Facebook Ads?
There are two disadvantages of advertising on Facebook. First is the big competition due to the platform's large user base compared to other social networks. The other is the challenging process of creating, monitoring, and optimizing ads for optimal results.
Founder of Ernst Media. Fifteen years running paid search and paid social for small and mid-size businesses, and still the person who builds the audits by hand. Writes here about what actually moves accounts.