Facebook Ads are extremely popular in other industries. In fact, Facebook Ads brought in $9.16 billion in revenue for Facebook in the second quarter of 2017. But what about Facebook Ads for banks and credit unions?
Thanks to compliance concerns and limited resources, many banks and credit unions have yet to venture into this medium. This lack of competition means opportunity.
Why use Facebook Ads for Banks and Credit Unions?
There are four reasons that make Facebook ads a great investment for your bank or credit union as compared to more traditional channels;
- Facebook Ads are cheaper.
- They have more robust targeting options.
- They allow for high-quality content.
- They're easier to act upon.
How Much Do Facebook Ads Cost?
Your exact cost will depend on a number of variables, including you objective, the targeted audience, competition for that audience, and the effectiveness of your ad. To get a picture of general cost effectiveness, let's look at some averages. Brian Carter compared CPMs (cost-per-mille or the price you pay to reach 1000 people) across digital and traditional channels.
Source: https://moz.com/blog/1-dollar-per-day-on-facebook-ads
Now, this article was written in 2014 and costs have changed since then. Ad Espresso performs an annual analysis of Facebook ad costs across countries, industries, and objectives. They found the following for 2016:
Source: https://adespresso.com/academy/blog/facebook-ads-cost/
This means Facebook ads are cheaper than advertising in newspapers, magazines, and on the radio. (Keep scrolling, in the video embedded in this post, Monica Louie talks through her strategy to reduce this cost even further).
Targeting and Objectives
There are over 2 billion people on Facebook. Luckily, Facebook allows you to target your ads down to an audience as small as 20 people. Your options fall into some broad buckets:
- Demographic (Geolocation, Age, Gender, Income level, Education level)
- Psychographic (Interests, Connections, Employers, Job Titles)
- Behavioral (Engagement)
Facebook explains a complete list of options here. The second way you can target is by marketing objective. Again, these objectives fall into three broader buckets.
- Awareness (Reach)
- Consideration (Engagement)
- Conversion (Purchase)
You can read more about Facebook's Ad objectives here.
Quality of Content
Facebook is a multi-media platform. You can build your ads with;
- Text
- Images
- Video
- Lead Cards
- Links
- Or similar to a microsite in a format called Canvas
This makes for a great user experience, but it is incredible for you as an advertiser as you have the ability to test and tweak your creative. Consider how creative works on other channels; take a billboard for example. You spend months building out the perfect design, you run it, and it either works or it doesn't. All of your eggs are in that one basket.
With Facebook Ads, you can upload multiple versions and then see which ones are resonating best with your target consumer. Facebook makes this information easily accessible and will even optimize your campaign to show the best performing ads more frequently.
Validating your creative hypothesis in this way will allow you to generate better creative in the future and consistently drive down your Facebook advertising costs.
Easier to Act Upon
We've all had those moments where we're standing in line at the grocery store and think "I really should get an oil change."
This is a moment of inspiration, or what Google refers to as a "micro-moment." Todays' consumer might take out their phone and do a quick search to see if there are any mechanics near by that are highly rated and are offering specials.
We experience these same micro-moments when we see a billboard or hear a radio ad, but the problem is that these micro-moments don't last long. You have to channel that inspiration into action.
Facebook is an environment loaded with micro-moments. Consumers are being bombarded with inspiration; A friend posts that they just bought a new car and that triggers a reminder to shop for new insurance. The consumer has been shopping for clothes and then a retargeting ad for those items appears in their newsfeed.
What makes Facebook so powerful is that it connects the intent with the ability to easily act. One-click and you can be at the offer, ready to convert.
Facebook Ad Strategies for Banks and Credit Unions
It's not enough just to plug in your creative and fund the ad. For Facebook ads to be successful for your institution, you need to understand the strategic role they play in the larger marketing campaign. To better understand this, we sat down with Monica Louie, a Facebook Ads Coach:
Facebook Ad Resources
In the above video, Monica goes over a couple of important topics and resources. Here are pages that detail those topics.
Facebook Ads share much of their terminology with other marketing platforms, however, it is always valuable to look through exactly how Facebook uses these terms before spending money. Their glossary is a useful resource to keep bookmarked; Glossary of Terms.
Monica talks about how one of the most important steps you can take before advertising is deploying the Facebook Pixel. It's a short piece of code that allows Facebook to track who is looking at and converting on your Bank or Credit Union's website. Installing one will allow you to build custom audience options (which are more likely to convert) and pay for conversions. Here are Pixel Instructions.
We also discuss how you'll need to make note of the pixel in your Bank or Credit Union's customer privacy policy. You will have to say that your bank or credit union does share personal user data with third-party sites for the purposes of marketing.
Finally, here are some beginner guides to help you understand the basics of building your first Facebook campaign:
Ad Espresso's Guide to Facebook Ads
15 Ways to Optimize Your Facebook Ads
Want More Social Media Tips and Tricks?
All September long we're hosting Social Media Month. The free all-digital social media conference designed specifically for community banks and credit unions. RSVP to secure access to weekly reminders, recaps, exclusive content, and access to all session recordings.
