One of the most notable advantages of social media in this modern age is the insights and information it can provide the marketing industry. In recent times, Facebook Ads have become a viable way to test business ideas before you can start investing money and other resources in the concept itself.
Facebook’s complete network boasts of over 2.2 billion daily active users and 2.8 billion monthly active users (Facebook, Audience Network, Instagram, Messenger).
According to reliable reports, it is very possible to reach 37% of the world population with Facebook every month. Have it in mind that its user base offers businesses almost immeasurable possibilities to target and discover their core audiences.
It also provides a comprehensive platform and an easy way to reach various customers at varying stages of a sales funnel.
Facebook ads are well-noted as a cost-effective and very reliable tool for digital marketing, and reports have it that it helps to increase a company’s profitability and visibility online. Advertising on Facebook has been on the rise, and businesses that leverage it are known to gain positive and long-term results.
Market testing using Facebook advertising ensures that you can quickly gain feedback from a massive sample of people. Have it in mind that these insights allow companies to test a product idea, understand what you would need to create a minimum viable product, and also find out the exact demographics to engage with the advert. With this data, you can then make strategic decisions about the exact people to target with further advertising.
Indeed, Facebook Ads offers you the platform to hit the ground running, testing your ideas for just $10 a day. However, to ensure you get the best possible results, here are steps on how to test your business idea using Facebook Ads.
How to Test a Business idea With Facebook Ads
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Create a Public Figure Page
This is the first step to take when looking to test your business idea using Facebook Ads. You first have to create a Facebook page. But instead of creating the page as a business or company, you should set it up as a public figure page.
This page will mainly be used to test your ideas; therefore, there won’t be any need to build it up into something fancy or even try and get lots of people to follow you. By creating this page as an individual rather than a business, you can always leverage it to test as many different ideas as you like.
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Set Up Your Facebook Ads Account
After creating the public figure page, the next step will be to create your account on Facebook’s business page. Once you have accessed Facebook Ads Manager, click on the ‘Create New’ option from the ones underneath ‘Ad Account’. You will then be asked to provide some of the vital information needed to set up your account, such as credit card information. Also note that you will be asked to verify your account’s country, time zone, and currency.
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Create Your First Post
This is where it starts to get real! Although this will most likely depend on what your business idea is, it is always advisable you tailor your post accordingly. For most people, a survey will do. Numerous websites offer templates for these. You should consider using Qozo, SurveyMonkey, or any other notable survey software.
Also, you can just write a post advertising your service/product, set a $10 limit, and then sit back to watch how potential customers react. Nonetheless, you will need to monitor both the reactions that can be given to Facebook posts (i.e. Like, Love, Wow, Angry, etc.) as well as the comments.
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Boost Your Post
By leveraging Facebook Ads Manager, you can easily view the number of people that have interacted with your advert. Under the ‘Promote’ column you can also find a ‘Boost Post’ button. At first, when trialing ideas, it is advisable you set your limit to $10 and then boost your post.
You will also get the opportunity to choose the audience your advert will be shown to. Also note that you can leverage the targeting options to serve your business idea to various genders, ages, and locations, amongst other demographic or geographical identifiers.
Once you have settled on your service or product, it can be a good idea to further boost adverts that have already reached a large number of people. By further boosting them, you will surely receive encouraging feedback from a wider audience.
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Plan The Next Move
This is the point where you get ready for the eventuality of very positive feedback and also start to look into ways to further implement your idea, especially since from there on it is all a matter of execution. Truth be told, the odds are against you; therefore you must get ready to also receive bad feedback and move on to the next thing.
You shouldn’t also bother about people stealing your idea. While everyone will at one point or another experience that fear — by the law of averages, it will often not happen. It is always better to get feedback on an idea before you start investing substantial resources or money.
Facebook Ads is indeed a viable tool for anyone looking to carry out initial market research into a new product or service. It is always advisable that you let the campaign run for a full 24 hours without touching it. If, after 24 hours, you aren’t receiving the number of clicks/impressions you want, consider adjusting the pricing.
If you are still not getting form submissions or the action you want, then change the ad and landing page content to let the visitor know more about what to expect when they click.