But don’t panic!
As you may recall, people found out that Facebook advertising included a mega breach of trust, and said people (a.k.a all of us), got mad. Rightfully so. In a move to regain trust of the average Facebook user, your Facebook advertising process has been seriously altered over the last several months.
Businesses now have to explain how they obtained user contact information for advertising purposes. Users can expand the settings on an advertisement and select a handy tool entitled “Why Am I Seeing This Ad?” By clicking on that the user receives a detailed explanation of why they’re seeing that ad. Yes, it’s that simple. Reasons may include age group, or general information on how the business running the ad may have obtained their information, such as you’re already on their customer list by following their official page. Users can also easily adjust the information available to advertisers, including age range and interests. To coincide with that, Facebook has changed the Partners 
relationship, which is how you used to be able to share or receive customer contact information from other businesses. That Terms & Conditions you had to agree to will appear every time. If your page has thousands upon thousands of followers, you’ll have to verify that you’re a real company. Finally, did you know that general users can go to your Facebook page and see what ads you’re running, even if they aren’t directed to that specific user? They can.
This sounds daunting, but it’s really just going back to what we already know. It means that you’ve got to go back to some A/B testing with your campaigns. It means you’re going to lose some of your advertising outreach. And it means that the time to be transparent is now. Which is no problem for you, because you’ve been paying attention every time we’ve mentioned that customers put their loyalty into companies that are honest, and up front.
We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to document your advertising campaigns, no matter what platform you use. Case in point: Some of the changes Facebook made may have resulted in a total wipeout of your previous campaign information. But that’s a risk with any online posting. There’s a reason our fingers use muscle-memory to stab Ctrl + s constantly. It’s why you have backups for your backups, and then an online recovery tool, too. It’s why you still have a filing cabinet near your desk.
You can still narrow down your audience using various metrics, just be aware that Facebook users have been given amplified reasons to hide your ad, so make it irresistible. And you still get information on how your advertisement is doing. Go back through your data and find out what worked for what group of customers. Learn how to tell a story with limited space, how to cultivate a strong social media following, and get to know your audience.
Advertising with Facebook has been the bane of business since social media marketing became a thing, and the secret to success is evolution. Tech usage habits change, platform usability changes, and therefore, so must your marketing strategy change. No need to panic, this is a challenge, but not a roadblock.
Need some help with online presence? Jelly Triangle can help your website get noticed! Call us at 519-624-8888 to book your free consultation.
