To Pay Or Not To Pay For Facebook Promotion?

Discussion in Facebook Offers started by MyDigitalpoint • Jun 3, 2015.

  1. MyDigitalpoint

    MyDigitalpointActive Member

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    I've been considering the making of hand-crafted items to sell online after setting a shop into my website, what means exposure of the products is limited to the number of visitors my site may receive.

    This limitation has made me think in the possibility to advertise my site on Facebook, as I have seen fashion boutiques promoting products this way, but not being Facebook my favorite social network, I'm somewhat skeptical about the good results coming from advertising here.

    Has anyone succeeding with paid advertising on Facebook? Have any thought, warning mention, or suggestion to share with me?

    Your comments will be much appreciated :)
     
  2. tasha

    tashaActive Member

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    I advertised with facebook and don't do it! I spent a bit on my adverts as they are cheap to do but the exposure you get is not much and I did get one or two hits from it but no sales. I think 1 out of 100 people would look at it. It is a waste of time and you are better of advertising with google ads as they are everywhere and advertise where people are in need of what you are selling
     
  3. Lushlala

    LushlalaWell-Known Member

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    I too used the Facebook promotional tool twice for the clothes I sell, and although it did get us more views and likes, that's where it ended. Sadly, not a single sale was generated off the back of that! We did get a few enquiries, but nothing further than that :(
     
  4. MyDigitalpoint

    MyDigitalpointActive Member

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    Ouch! I thought that being such a popular social networking site, Facebook might have a better conversion rate and generate some sales but based on your words, I think it's gonna be look for another option.

    Hmm, Google could be indeed a better option to try, hope advertising here is not too expensive though.
     
  5. radzi

    radziActive Member

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    Don't. I advise you to go else where which is much more profitable. Social Media isn't necessarily the best way to advertise because it might not be your target audience, so it's a bit of a gamble. I think you should go to target websites and who knows, some accept advertisements for probably lower price than Facebook.
     
  6. JoanMcWench

    JoanMcWenchActive Member

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    I think it really depends on the level of creativity you put into the ad itself. I normally ignore ads in general (or with my adblock ;)) but there are those occasions where I see something I'm interested in & the smart way the ad grabbed my attention is rewarded with further looking into.
     
  7. radzi

    radziActive Member

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    I know what you mean. I also have ad block and sometimes it's not necessarily that I allow it to let me see ads, I might see it in a video on YouTube or a post somewhere, some of them are quite interesting and worthwhile seeing them.
     
  8. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    Waste not a penny on Facebook promotion. Many of those who've paid for FB ads and that kind of thing didn't see any returns. It would be better instead to create a page and promote it yourself.

    Or you could use blogs and forums to promote the handcrafted items you make and have blog readers or forum visitors opt in for emails [from you] and use Email marketing to boost your sales.
     
  9. tasha

    tashaActive Member

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    Yes definitely found that sales were nowhere to be seen with the use of advertising on facebook and it is best to try alternative advertising as this will get you some sales.
     
  10. MyDigitalpoint

    MyDigitalpointActive Member

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    Thank you so much for the advice, I think to be able to begin with email marketing as I remember to have succeeded with a campaign in the early days I simply wanted to boost my website traffic, matter to focus on my products this time.

    By the way, after reading this comment I recalled something already forgotten:
    Over a year ago when I was still Facebook addict, I remembered to have seen very creative ads that made me click on them, but such creativity was used o mislead people!

    Some of them were links to phishing sites, some others promising an interesting interview that was a pure sales copy thing, and so on.

    No, definitely Facebook promotion is not the way to go!
     
  11. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    I have not paid for an ad on Facebook, I do see lots of training telling you how much money you can make if you get it right and they would love to teach you how to get the right combination to make a good ad on Facebook that will make you lots of money. But I do believe they are just telling you that so they can get your money.
     
  12. Diane Lane

    Diane LaneWell-Known Member

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    From what I've heard, Facebook advertising is very expensive. I haven't tried it yet, and don't plan to in the future, either. I do occasionally see ads that interest me, but usually will type the site's name into Facebook or Google, rather than clicking, to see if it's a legitimate site. The ones I do that on are very rare. And, FYI, advertising on Twitter doesn't seem to bring in many sales, either, but at least it's free.
     
  13. Stephanie Y.

    Stephanie Y.New Member

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    I have tried Facebook for my business also. It didn't work out for me at all. Like someone else has said it did give me views and a few likes. It didn't cost too much so I suppose for me at the time it I didn't take it as a loss, just a trial and error. I have heard of and know many people that use Instagram. I have used it also and have received way more action and interest going that route. That is of course if you are wanting to try social media options. Pintrest is still a good way to get your product out there. I personally don't use Pintrest.
     
  14. bonzer

    bonzerActive Member

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    Perhaps it all depends on how the system is set up. Facebook is basically a social networking site, where people hang out with their buddies online. They may run Ads on the sidebar but is not optimized and is not targeted towards potential buyers.

    Google advertising is geared towards customers looking to buy a product specifically. So many people can't be wrong. It's better to stick to a quality network like google.
     
  15. MyDigitalpoint

    MyDigitalpointActive Member

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    Hmm, this could be the explanation for the poor response to Facebook advertising and the lack of control over what is announced. Anyone can promote anything using Facebook ads without someone filtering those ads to see if they point to legit websites or offers, what makes me feel like FB is ony after your money, not your interest.
     
  16. paultrump1

    paultrump1Member

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    Everyone blows that Facebook Ad increase large traffic to shop site,but the conversion to purchase is too low.And my latest promotion behaved worse !!
     
  17. MyDigitalpoint

    MyDigitalpointActive Member

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    I have seen this problem repeating with almost all advertising schemes, including Adsense.

    More of our promotional efforts pay off in terms of traffic, but there is no conversion or clicks, and this make promotion truly discouraging regardless the website or service you are using to advertise :(
     
  18. DonnaIReilly

    DonnaIReillyActive Member

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    I haven't paid for an ad on Facebook but I have considered it lately. I have a business fan page and I am considering promoting my business but I'm in two minds because I have a huge Twitter following, so I am in two minds. I think I will stick with Twitter, but I give it a try too.
     
  19. xTinx

    xTinxWell-Known Member

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    The success of Facebook ads ultimately depends on the following: 1) the type of product or service you're promoting and whether it matches with prevalent sentiments, 2) the intensity of promotion and 3) the way it is presented to the public. Take note of these three factors before you jump the gun. The choice rests on you. After all, there are so many ways to reach success. We just adopt different methods to get there - some like it cheaper, some like to invest more.
     
  20. Lushlala

    LushlalaWell-Known Member

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    The thing I like about the Facebook promotion service is that it's not at all expensive, and the results are evident almost instantaneously. It really worked for us, more than i'd thought possible! I was really happy with it when we did it, and if we had a few spare $$$ I'd probably run every 1-2 months just to remind people that we're still there.