Social media marketing is a step that many companies pursue, and it can be incredibly effective in promoting products and improving business-customer relations. It can’t be denied just how effective websites such as Facebook and Twitter are when it comes to advertising, and the medium of social marketing has transformed the very ways in which businesses approach their customers.
Social media is an ever changing technological landscape, rife with software updates and new algorithms, which means that companies need to keep their fingers on the pulse in order to keep their approach as effective as possible. One of the newest developments occurred a few weeks ago, with Facebook unveiling a new feature called Product Ads.
Product Ads allows multiple products to be advertised, or even entire catalogues. Campaigns are created either by businesses themselves to specifically target a customer base, or Facebook’s ad tools can be used so that products are targeted automatically at consumer bases. Customised for various touch points, they can be targeted for different audiences, such as by locality or depending on whether or not people have previously visited your website. It is designed for use across various platforms, such as desktop and mobile.
Product Ads allows for a business to target advertisements efficiently, hitting their customer bases accurately. It tailors advertising based on website views, likes and the user’s activities and interests. It ensures that the chances of a customer being attracted by a product, and subsequently purchasing it, are as high as possible.
The move appears to be one that places Facebook in competition with Google in concerns to marketing. Google’s own Shopping ads have seen a lot of growth, with growth of up to 47% within the last quarter of 2014 alone. Facebook’s Products Ads are designed to assist them with taking a portion of that market share, as businesses can take product feeds they’ve taken out with Google Shopping and adapt them for Facebook’s Product Ads with no additional work required. Recently released, it could very well be a smart move on behalf of Facebook and may very well change how companies adapt to online marketing.