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How to Target Local Customers Using Geolocation Marketing

Local businesses have special marketing challenges. Namely, it’s your job as a business owner to make sure that the people who are most likely to patronize your business – the people who live in your service area – know what you have to offer and where to find you.

One way to accomplish that goal is to use geolocation marketing. Here’s what you need to know.

What is Geolocation Marketing?

Let’s start with the basics. Geolocation marketing is a type of marketing that’s location specific. By that, I mean that you can connect with potential customers who are near your business and target them directly with offers and ads.

The benefits of geolocation marketing are clear:

You’ll have access to a highly targeted audience of people who are likely to frequent your business
You can attract new customers by reaching out to them with offers that appeal directly to them
You can learn about the shopping habits and preferences of your existing customers and use what you learn to grow your business
You can reward your most loyal customers with special content and offers designed to turn them into brand ambassadors

In other words, geolocation marketing can help you to tap into a resource base of your existing customers and potential customers in your area, allowing you to connect with them and market your business in a way that’s likely to yield a high return on your investment.

Tools to Use for Geolocation Marketing for Your Business

There are three kinds of geolocation marketing that you can use depending upon your needs. They are:

Geotargeting is the broadest form of geolocation marketing. It uses the IP addresses of your customers’ web browsers. In practical terms, you can’t use geotargeting for precise target audiences because it can’t pinpoint your audience’s location exactly. It’s best suited for marketing to general regions, cities, or states.
Geofencing is more precise than geotargeting, allowing you to target specific neighborhoods and even streets. Don’t think that limits you, though – it can also be used for entire towns or cities. Geofencing uses mobile devices’ GPS locations instead of IP addresses. That means you can track your customers’ locations even if they move. It’s ideal for attracting foot traffic but not as effective for tailoring specific marketing campaigns to your target audience.
Beacons are by far the most specific option for geolocation marketing. A beacon is a small device that you’ll put inside or near your business. It collects data from Bluetooth signals in smartphones. They’re ideal for use in places with poor Wi-Fi reception because they’re used for close communication. The Bluetooth technology allows you to send messages and offers directly to customers who are in range.

The type of geolocation marketing you choose depends on what you hope to accomplish with it. If your business is highly dependent upon foot traffic, you may decide that geofencing is the most cost-effective and useful form of geolocation marketing.

Tips for Using Geolocation Marketing

Now, let’s talk about some specific tips to help you make the most of geolocation marketing and grow your business. There are lots of ways you can use this technology. Here are some suggestions.

Target people in a venue or at an event. If yours is the type of business that relies on foot traffic and you’re near a popular event venue, such as a stadium or theater, you can set up a geofence to target people who are at the place you specify. For example, a bar could target concertgoers at a nearby theater. You can also use this option to target office complexes and neighborhoods.
Set up a geofence in your delivery area. If you own a business that delivers – whether you’re delivering Thai food or furniture – you can easily use geofencing to target the people who live in the area you service. Those people are the most likely to buy from you and they may not know about your business – until you use geolocation marketing to tell them what you have to offer.
Use geotargeting to map out your audience based on where they are. While geotargeting is a more “big picture” type of geolocation marketing, it can be extremely useful to help you find people who are nearby. For example, if you sell a luxury product, you can use geotargeting to get your message to people who live in upscale neighborhoods.
Use a beacon to attract foot traffic to your store. What if you own a retail store or restaurant that relies heavily on foot traffic? You can set up a beacon to ping your customers when they’re in range and then target them with specific offers. For example, if you own a restaurant near a busy downtown area or office park, you can send out an offer about your happy hour, including information about special deals on appetizers and drinks.
Speaking of beacons, you can also use them to send you an alert when a repeat or loyal customer is in your store. Imagine how flattered and grateful your customers will be when you show up at the door to greet them by name and show them what you’ve got to offer! This is a terrific tool for personalized marketing that can turn loyal customers into brand ambassadors.
Use geolocation marketing to learn about your target audience’s buying habits. For example, you might have a nearby competitor and use geotargeting to provide potential customers with an incentive to visit your business.

The bottom line here is that geolocation marketing allows local businesses to use GPS technology to connect directly with the customers – and potential customers – who are most likely to frequent their stores.

The key with geolocation marketing is to determine which method will deliver the returns you want. That means defining your marketing goals and choosing the tech that’ll allow you to achieve them, whether it’s a beacon or a geofence.

How to Get the Most Out of your Facebook Business Page

Social Media Marketing

You probably already have a Facebook Business Page. If you don’t, you should – in fact, setting one up should be the very next thing you do after reading this article.

Why? Facebook has more than 2 billion active monthly users. Regardless of where your business is located or what you sell, the chances are excellent that a solid majority of your customers and potential customers have Facebook accounts.

The issue that keeps coming up is that many of the local businesses that have Facebook pages aren’t making the most of them. They might look okay on the surface but, in short, they’re not getting the job done.

Fortunately, there are some easy fixes you can make to turn your Facebook page into a powerhouse. Here’s what you need to know.

Choose a Recognizable Profile Picture

Your profile pic is the first thing most people will see when they visit your page or see your content. That means it’s got to be clear and easy to recognize.

The most obvious option is to use either your company logo or your picture for your profile. The former makes sense if you have a business with a recognizable logo or one where people don’t automatically associate you with your business.

Use a photograph if you’re a freelancer or the kind of business owner who’s front and center of every transaction.
Either way, make sure your profile pic is the right size. You can find the details in Facebook’s guide, here.

Add a Compelling Cover Photo

Your cover photo takes up more space on your Facebook Business Page than anything else. For that reason, it’s got to be compelling and professional.

A lot of local businesses use an image of their storefront or the interior of their business as a cover photo. Others use a group photo of their staff – something that makes sense for a service-oriented business.

Make sure to use the proper dimensions for your photographs. Facebook changes the dimensions frequently – you can double check here.

Minimize Admin Access to Your Page

You’re busy and it might be tempting to give an employee access to your Facebook page, so they can post content while you handle other aspects of your business. There’s nothing wrong with that – until there is.

If you decide to delegate social media responsibilities to employees, make sure that you:

Provide proper training about the type of content to be posted, your social media strategy, and the “voice” you want to use in your posts.
Make the parameters of their responsibilities clear.
Lay out the process for dealing with negative comments and complaints.
Limit access to one or two trusted employees at most.

You can change your Page Access settings by clicking Settings > Page Roles.

Add a Call to Action Button

You know that your social media posts and emails all need a call to action at the end that tells people what to do next. The same is true of your Facebook Business Page.

In recent years, Facebook has added Call to Action Buttons for Business Pages. The button appears on the right side of your Facebook Business Page just underneath your cover photo. Some of the options available include:

Call Now
Book Now
Learn More
Watch Video
Sign Up

Choose the CTA button that is most suited to your Facebook marketing goals. You can add it by clicking the “Add Button” button on your Facebook Business Page. If you already have a CTA button and want to change it, you can do it by hovering over the button until the “Edit Button” option appears. Click it and you’ll be able to select a new button for your page.

Don’t Neglect Your “About” Section

The “About” section of your Facebook Business Page is vital to your page’s success. People will click “About” to learn more about your business. If you don’t provide them with the information they need, they may decide not to follow you.

You should make sure to at least include your full business name, address, telephone number, hours, and the URL of your website. You should also consider optimizing the section that’s most likely to sell people on your business. For example, you might:

Provide a detailed company history
Explain your key product’s genesis and uses
Share your mission statement and company values

It’s also a good idea to add some company milestones to your profile, including your founding date, the launch of a new location or product, and key anniversaries.

Check Your Metrics

One of the most common Facebook marketing mistakes is failing to use the free tools that you get when you sign up for a Facebook Business Page. You might not know it, but Facebook Insights provides a ton of useful information about the people who follow your page and what they want to see.

The best way to use Facebook Insights is to track your engagement. I recommend focusing on:

The times of day most people see your posts
The kinds of content that get the most engagement

For example, you might look at Facebook Insights and discover that more people read your posts between 9 AM and noon on weekdays than at any other time. You might also discover that your video content is leaving other content types in the dust.

Using that information, you can then create a content strategy that will allow you to get the maximum organic reach for your content.

Promote Your Content

Increasingly, Facebook has tweaked its algorithm to prioritize personal content and minimize the reach of businesses. They say it’s because it’s what users want, but it’s also a way for them to maximize their ad revenue.

Either way, the only way to be sure that your content is seen by your followers is to promote it. I don’t recommend doing that with everything you post. But, if you’re sharing something important – like an event or a new product launch – it makes sense to drop a bit of money and promote your content.

Facebook marketing is like anything else – you get out of it what you put into it. Your Facebook Business Page is where it all starts. Use the tips here to get the most from your page and turn your Facebook marketing into the powerhouse it should be.

How to Use Social Media to Drive More Foot Traffic

Social Media Marketing

For many local businesses, online marketing is only part of the game. And, if you don’t have an online store, then it might seem like marketing on the web is an afterthought – something that has no relation to your sales and foot traffic.

Think again.

The truth is that a growing number of consumers rely on social media to find recommendations for local businesses. And those recommendations and reviews have a huge impact on which businesses they decide to patronize.

In other words, your social media accounts should be helping you to get more foot traffic in your store or office – and if they’re not, here are some things that can help.

Advertise an Inexpensive Item or Freebie

A lot of times, people just need an incentive to come visit your business in person. One way to entice them to do it is to advertise a special sale item or a giveaway item to get them to come in.

For example, you might:

Run a buy one, get one free special (BOGO) on a popular product
Giving a “behind the scenes” look at your business
Streaming events as they happen
Unboxing or demoing products

Giving people something for a reduced price or for free triggers something called reciprocity – a cognitive bias that makes people want to reciprocate when you do a favor for them. It’s responsible for that feeling of guilt you get when someone gives you a gift at the holidays and you don’t have one for them.

Incentivize Your Existing Customers to Make Referrals (and Incentivize New Customers, Too!)

It can be difficult for your existing customers to refer their friends and family members to your business unless there’s something in it for them. And, the people they talk to will be more likely to check out your business if they’ll get something too.

The solution? Offer a two-way deal where both your existing customer and the person they refer get something in return. An example might be a 15% off coupon or a free item. That way, your existing customers will feel that they’re offering their friends something valuable – and vice versa!

Partner with Other Local Businesses on Social Media

One of the best ways to connect with new customers in your area is to partner with other local businesses – particularly those whose audiences overlap with your own.

For example, if you own a clothing store, you might partner with a local shoe store or jewelry store. Or, if you own a nursery or floral shop, you could partner with a wedding boutique or bakery. From there, you have options, including:

Running a social media contest where you and your partner(s) post content and run ads to promote the contest. (Each contest sponsor should contribute part of the prize.)
Offering special promotions and package deals for people who are willing to patronize both businesses.
Cross-posting content that’s relevant to both audiences.

You get the idea. The key is to make sure that the businesses you partner with are ones whose audience is likely to buy from you.

Share Coupons

Print-at-home coupons are a great way to incentivize people to come into your store. Everybody likes to save money and get a bargain.

If you decide to create a coupon, make it a significant one. A lot of local business offer one of these options:

A buy one, get one free (or get one half price) coupon
A coupon for a significant percentage off an item or total purchase (10% is the minimum)
A coupon for a free item with a purchase

A well-thought-out coupon can accomplish several things at once. First, it can incentivize your existing customers to come into your store and make a purchase. Second, if you encourage them to share the coupon, it can help attract new customers to your store.

Create a Social Media Code Word or Hashtag for Your Business insert hashtag

Social media is a great place to work on your word-of-mouth advertising. Think about what you can do to get people talking about your business – and how you can use that online chatter to encourage people to come see you in person.

One option is to create a “secret” code word or a special hashtag for your business. You can spread the word by asking people to share it – and by letting them know if they come into your business and mention the code word or hashtag, they’ll get a discount or a freebie.

This option is essentially a word-of-mouth coupon. There’s nothing to print. Instead, people simply need to know the code word and mention it when they check out.

Share Images of Your Customers

Social media marketing is an ideal way to forge personal connections with your customers and get to know them. One way to do that is to get in the habit of taking photographs (with permission, of course) of your customers while they’re shopping. If you get their okay, you can then share them (and tag your customers) on social media.

What this tactic does is show people how much fun they can have shopping at your store or patronizing your business. And, when you tag customers, you’ll also be putting your content in front of their friends! That’s a win-win.

Run Targeted Local Ads

While there are lots of ways to leverage organic social media marketing to get more foot traffic in your business, the fact is that paid advertising is still the best option if you want to make sure your content is seen by local people – the ones who are most likely to buy from you.

The good news is that social media advertising makes targeting easy. You should choose an audience that is specific to your geographical area. By narrowing it down further – with demographic information and interests – you can minimize your costs and maximize your reach.

Foot traffic doesn’t materialize out of nowhere. But careful leverage of your social media following can help you encourage your existing customers to make additional purchases from you – and incentivize their friends and other new customers to buy from you, too.

Get Ready to Improve Your Social Media Engagement

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a must – but getting organic engagement is becoming increasingly difficult. With sites like Facebook and Twitter tweaking their algorithms constantly, local businesses need proven strategies to ensure that their customers see and engage with their posts.

Engagement isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition, but it’s undeniable that some strategies to increase engagement work better than others.

So, instead of wasting your time with a bunch of ideas that may not work, let’s focus on the ones that do. Here are some of the most reliable ways to get the social media engagement your business deserves.

Live Video

The thing about static social media posts is that they’re, well… static. People may engage with them or they may not – but there’s no real incentive to jump in and get involved.

The same cannot be said of live video. Live video is of the moment – and it requires audience participation.
Instead of filming a video, editing it, and then sharing it, try using live video instead. Live video is ideal for:

Answering questions from your followers
Giving a “behind the scenes” look at your business
Streaming events as they happen
Unboxing or demoing products

One of the biggest benefits of live video is that it doesn’t need the same production value as a professional video. All you need are a good microphone and decent lighting – and you’re good to go!

Ask Questions

If you’re posting content that doesn’t specifically ask for your followers’ opinions and responses, then you’re missing an opportunity to engage with them in a meaningful way. The best questions to ask are often open-ended questions because longer, more detailed responses are more likely to positively impact your visibility on social media.

Here are a few suggestions of the kinds of questions you can ask:

What do you think about X, and why?
What’s one thing you would change about X?
What are the qualities you look for in a [product or service]?
What’s your daily [fill in the blank] routine?
How do you use our product?

What these questions have in common is that they encourage detailed responses. And because they also stimulate curiosity, they may encourage your followers to reply to each other’s responses and check back in to read responses later.

Go for Laughs

Whatever kind of business you own, there’s some humor to be found in promoting it. And social media is the perfect place to share frustrations and odd events. Let’s face it, people love to laugh!

The things you post can be lists, images, or even questions. The key is to find the humor and make it irresistible for your audience to chime in. Here are some ideas:

Post a picture of a wardrobe malfunction (a G-rated one, of course) and ask your followers to tell you about their most embarrassing wardrobe mishap.
Post a list of bad advice related to your business and ask people to tell you about the worst advice they ever received.
Tell a story about a humorous but frustrating event you experienced at work.

Keep in mind that posts with images get more engagement than text-only posts – and have fun!

Stop Them in Their Tracks

One of the trickiest things in social media marketing is finding ways to make your content stand out. After all, you’re competing with your followers’ friends and family (whose posts are prioritized on Facebook and other sites) and with our ever-dwindling attention spans.

An option that works is to find eye-catching, surprising, and irresistible images to include in your social media posts. The kind of thing that will grab your audience’s attention and hold it – making it impossible for them to resist clicking, reading, and watching.

Some ideas include:

Surprising or funny images
Unique graphics and illustrations
Infographics
Intriguing video thumbnails

The thing to remember is that standard stock photos and images aren’t going to do the trick. You need something that’ll take your audience by surprise and give them a reason to stop scrolling. Think original images, candid photographs, and creative designs.

Take a Poll

A well-designed social media poll can get the people in your target audience to engage with you in a whole new way. Polls on Facebook and Twitter – and other sites – are easy to design and post. They take very little effort and no money.

You can use a social media poll to:

Learn about the kind of content your followers want to see
Collect demographic information about your followers
Find out which offers your followers are likely to take advantage of

Polling options are somewhat limited so you may need to give responders the option of expanding on their answers in the comments.

Add a Messenger Chatbot to Make Connections

Chatbots are here to stay and you can use a Messenger chatbot to make new connections and increase your engagement.

One option is to run a promotion (with a lead magnet, for example) on Facebook and let people know that if they comment, they’ll get a freebie via Messenger. It’s a good way to open a dialogue without spending a ton of money.

If you’re looking to attract new leads or build a list, this is a good option to try.

Put Your Emoji Game to Work

There’s plenty of evidence that adding emojis to your social media posts can increase your engagement on social media. That being the case, why not experiment with including them and see what it does for your engagement?

Here are some pointers for adding emojis to boost engagement:

According to HubSpot, novelty emojis tend to get more engagement than faces
Choose emojis that are easy to understand and relevant to your post
Stay away from emojis that don’t fit in with your brand’s message and personality
Ask your followers to answer a question using only emojis

You should use emojis sparingly in your posts. You don’t need to do it every time or replace every other word with an emoji. If you try this method, make sure to track your results and adjust according to what your analytics tell you.

Increasing your social engagement may be a bit of a crap shoot, but it’s possible to do it without spending a ton of money promoting posts and running ads. The ideas here are proven to help companies get the attention they deserve on social media.

How to Use Facebook to Connect with Local Followers

Local Marketing, Social Media Marketing

You probably already know that Facebook has more than two billion active monthly users. Obviously, not all of them are in your target audience – but many of them are. For that reason, it’s important to understand how to use Facebook to encourage your existing customers to talk about your business and recommend it to their friends.

Facebook offers a variety of tools – some old, some new – that enable small business owners to connect with their customers. I It’s time for all small business owners to make full use of it to increase their visibility on social media and attract new customers. Here’s what you need to know.

Pinpoint Your Location on Facebook

Your customers can’t buy from you if they don’t know where you are. When you log in to Facebook, you’ve probably noticed that you have options when you post a status update. They include tools to tag your friends, post photos or videos, or express emotions. One of them is the Check In, which allows you to say where you are.

When Facebook users click the “Check In” pin, they get a list of nearby places. They can choose where they are or even add a new location if they don’t see their precise location on the list. People even add their homes to Facebook for fun.

When this option was first introduced back in 2010, Facebook called it Places. You’ll still see a Places tab when you do a search on Facebook. It’s a geolocational tool that pinpoints a user’s location and broadcasts it to their Facebook friends and followers.

Updates to Facebook for Small Businesses

In the early days of Facebook advertising, it was easy for local businesses to grab their share of organic reach on Facebook. The algorithm was simple and posts that got a lot of engagement got pushed to the top of the feed.

That’s no longer the case. Facebook’s algorithm now prioritizes contact from people, not businesses. It’s become increasingly difficult to get any kind of organic reach – which is, of course, part of the reason Facebook earned $16.6 billion from advertising in the fourth quarter of 2018.

In August of 2018, Facebook announced several key updates specifically designed to help local businesses increase their visibility and connect with customers. They included:

Redesigning mobile Pages so users can view Facebook Stories, make appointments, view recent content, and more.
Changing “Reviews” to “Recommendations” and making them more prominent on business pages.
Expanding their ‘Job Finder” tool to make it easier for Facebook users to find jobs with local businesses.
Expanding the “Events” feature to make it easy for local businesses to plan and sell tickets to events on Facebook.
Creating a standalone “Facebook Local” app to help users find and connect with local businesses on Facebook.

As you can see, Facebook has recognized that their algorithm changes, which have made it increasingly difficult for local business to get their share of organic traffic, had made Facebook a less attractive marketing option for local businesses. These updates alleviate those concerns by making it easy for your customers to find you on Facebook.

Facebook to Connect with Your Local Followers

That covers creating a Place, but you’ll also need to verify that you’re the owner. To do that:

Search for your business in the Facebook search bar and click the result in the Places tab.
Click the “Is this your business?” link on the left side of the page.
Follow the instructions to verify your business via phone.

If you try to add your business and discover that there is already a Places page for it – users can create them if they want to check in someplace – then you can simply click the “Is this your business?” link and follow the instructions to claim your business.

How to Make Your Business More Visible on Facebook

Once you’ve set up Facebook Places for your business, there are some cool features you can take advantage of.

Let’s start with the obvious. It’s great to encourage people to check in at your business when they visit. You can accomplish that with a sign in your store or by having employees ask people if they’ve checked in on Facebook.

You can also update your Places page with relevant information about your business. The main things to add are your address, phone number, business hours, a profile picture and a cover image.
You can also share photographs and general information about your business.

Facebook will create a map with your business pinpointed on it. It will show up on your “About” tab along with the “Get Directions” button.

Customer Recommendations on Facebook

When Facebook Places first launched in 2010, customers could leave reviews and star ratings on business pages. As of 2018, Facebook renamed this feature “Recommendations.”

Recommendations show up at the top of your page. Facebook displays customer recommendations, including brief written reviews. Your customers can also:

Upload photographs
Choose which things they recommend (for example, a specific service or product)
Write reviews within a set character limit

Facebook also displays a question underneath the Recommendations:

Would you recommend Business Name?

There are Yes and No buttons right there, making it easy for your customers to recommend your business to their friends.

To turn on Recommendations, you’ll need to go to Settings, Edit Page, and then go to the section called Tabs. From there, you’ll simply choose the option to “Choose Default Tabs” and then add the Reviews tab to your page.

Going forward you can increase your visibility on Facebook by:

Asking customers to check in when they arrive at your business
Encouraging them to leave recommendations and upload photos
Include a Review button in your marketing emails and on your websites

Why Facebook Messenger Ads are AWESOME

Small Business, Social Media Marketing

Advertising on Facebook has been around for a while. It’s practically a granddaddy in the world of online marketing.

And, like a lot of small business owners, you know that it’s getting harder to get the ROI you want on Facebook ads. It’s a numbers game, after all, and as of the third quarter of 2018, they had approximately 2.27 billion active monthly users.

It’s no wonder you’re having a difficult time connecting with your audience. You’re competing with millions of other advertisers! It’s a crowded space.

That said, Facebook ads can still be useful – with a twist. Instead of sticking to the same traditional ads you’ve been using, it might be time to check out Facebook’s newest ad option – Facebook Messenger Ads.

What Are Facebook Messenger Ads?

Facebook Messenger ads are ads that appear either on the newsfeed or directly in people’s Messenger inboxes.

The newsfeed ads have a call to action that directs people who click it to Messenger, where they can send you a message and get more information about your business.

53% of people say they’re willing to buy from a company they can message directly on Facebook Messenger ads. And, customer service is increasingly moving toward instant and direct messaging. Customers expect instantaneous responses and favor brands that provide it.

Facebook Messenger ads allow small businesses to connect directly with potential leads. They eliminate the need for a hard selling ad and instead, open a dialogue. They provide an opportunity for you to personalize your marketing in a way that encourages people instead of putting them off.

Let’s break it down, starting with destination ads. These are ads that appear in your target audience’s newsfeed, very much like traditional Facebook ads. The main difference? The call to action is always going to be “Send a Message.” When a user clicks it, a Messenger window opens, and your automated message will appear. (We’ll talk more about how to use that feature later.)

Sponsored messages allow you to deliver special offers and communications directly to the user’s Messenger inbox. A key feature of sponsored messages is that you may send them only to people who have messaged you previously. They’re a form of remarketing with a personal touch.

Finally, home screen ads are ads that appear in Messenger. The difference between these ads and sponsored messages is that their intent is not to start a conversation. It’s to drive sales by encouraging users to click on the ad.

How Can Facebook Messenger Ads Benefit Your Business?

Facebook Messenger ads are a great option for small, local businesses. They allow you to personalize ads and connect directly with the people who are most likely to buy from you.

Want some examples? Here are a few ways that you can use Facebook Messenger ads to boost your profits:

Personalize your messages. Too much personalization can seem downright creepy, but Facebook Messenger ads allow companies to straddle the line without crossing it. Because you can only send direct messages to people who’ve already connected with you on Messenger, it doesn’t feel as intrusive as LinkedIn direct ads. And, it lets you tailor your offers in a way that’s highly likely to result in a sale.
Give customers the response time they want. With Messenger ads, you can automate your replies to ensure that potential customers aren’t stuck waiting for a response from you. And, in case you don’t know, people prefer messaging to any other form of customer service. Research shows that 73% of consumers prefer live chat to email, and 56% prefer it to a phone call.
Start a conversation. Lead nurturing is something that you can do one on one with Facebook Messenger ads. You can even customize your newsfeed ads to encourage people to chat with you about your product or service. This option allows for one-on-one contact – even if it’s largely automated – that makes potential customers feel valued.
Increase local awareness of your business. One of the best things about Facebook Messenger ads is that you can select “increase local awareness” as your ad objective. This is a particularly effective option for businesses that want to reconnect with existing customers. You can use Messenger to send them an offer that’s tailored to them.

Another way of looking at Facebook Messenger ads is that they’re the modern-day equivalent of going door to door. They don’t require any more effort than traditional Facebook ads, but they offer a degree of personalization and one-on-one contact that will allow your business to connect with potential leads in a meaningful way.

How to Get Started with Facebook Messenger Ads

If you’re itching to get started with Facebook Messenger ads, here are 7 easy steps to help you get going.

Open Facebook Business Manager.
Choose conversion as your marketing objective.
Scroll down and select Messenger. (This ensures that a click will start a conversation instead of redirecting the person to your landing page.)
Scroll to Edit Placements and select Messenger again. You’ll notice that with your first ad, Sponsored Messages aren’t an option – that’s because they’re only for remarketing.)
Fill in the content you want to appear in your ad.
Choose Send Message as your call to action. (This one’s a must because it lets the people who see your ad know that they’re starting a conversation with you.)
Finally, fill in the message (or the first few messages) you want people to see when they click your call to action. For example, you could send them a coupon or ask them a question to start the conversation.

That’s it. Once you’ve completed these steps, your very first Facebook Messenger ad will be up and running – and you’ll be able to see for yourself what a powerful marketing tool Facebook Messenger can be.

Getting a great ROI on Facebook advertising can be tough. There’s a ton of competition and as a small business owner, your marketing budget is limited. Facebook Messenger ads can help you leapfrog over the competition and connect directly with the most valuable people on social media – your customers.

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