If Facebook advertising works (and it does), why aren't more business using it as an effective advertising or recruitment tool? I am hoping that this article will help any companies out there considering using Facebook as a tool to build better campaigns. If you've got any questions or further suggestions, as always contact me. Oh and I am not going to talk about company profiles or social media interaction in this post, will save that for later (needless to say, if you haven't already begun building your company profile page on Facebook, get cracking).

Firstly some quick stats; these stats are always changing (for the better), but, in a nutshell, Facebook can rightly be called a phenomenon with 200 million active users, 18 million of those return daily. And its popularity is spread across all age groups; 12% of users are aged between 13-17, 29% aged 18 to 24, 30% aged 25- 34 and 29% aged 35 and above. This demographically even split makes Facebook an amazing prospect for business advertising.

How does it work? It's like Google on steroids!

We all know Google Adwords Pay Per Click Platform enables advertisers to choose what keywords their ads would display against in Google search. Facebook have taken this a step further, enabling advertiser to only show ads to those targeted users who would be interested based on the detailed information captured by each user. Like Google, you are only charged when that relevant person clicks on your ad. Turn it off and on when you need. Simple.

The key to Facebook advertising is knowing and understanding your target demographic and making sure you reach them with adverts that resonate and are relevant.

So the first action is to work out who you want to reach and build a targeted campaign against that demographic. It is easy to target your campaign against age, gender, location, workplace, education and interests.

Think about the possibilities here for who you want to reach and how they would register their interests on Facebook, the opportunities are endless. Think about the recruitment potential (both direct and branding), being able to direct specific campaigns to users who are working at a company you would like to target (Call Centre staff working for a competitor in an area, for example). Or a graduate campaign for specific universities which have a distinctive talent pool. What about solicitors who have roots in Liverpool, but are finishing their training contract in London.

And don't forget this is global. We recently ran a campaign for a global translation business that needed to hire Chinese translators in China. Through effective targeting we were able to pinpoint an ad to the 240 registered users who had registered their interests as "translator" or derivative to ENORMOUS success.

But, and this is the real meat of the post, make sure that your campaign is relevant and resonates!

Here are 5 key pointers to remember when designing your Facebook advertising campaigns:

1. Make Your Ads Campaign Specific.

So many businesses make the mistake of creating a general business ad with details of their company as a whole. The more specific the ad, the easier it will be for the viewer to decide whether it is relevant to them. Increasing relevant and cutting out irrelevant clicks. It will also allow you to more clearly specify your key demographic i.e. age group, gender, interests.

Create an ad for each specific product/service you provide.

For example: For a Further Education College, instead of creating a general college ad they should create ads for their separate courses e.g. a journalism course ad with specific details about that course.

This leads onto the what you do with people when they get onto your site:

2. Think Carefully About The Ad Landing page

You could have the best ad in the world but if the viewer isn't taken to a landing page that matches the ad copy , they'll lose interest. If you are recruiting land on the relevant work for us page. If you are a college looking to increase enrolments, land on the right course page.

3. Make Your Ads Emotive

Create a reason for the user to click on your ad.

Remember you are targeting ads to their interests. Ask your viewer a question.

For example: A further education college may ask "Do you want to be a journalist?" when alluding to their journalism course.

Making bold statements that grab the viewer's attention will always gain you more clicks.

Be daring as well as informative with your ad copy and you'll definitely get a higher click through rate.

4. Choose a Memorable Picture

Unlike plain Google text ads, Facebook allows you to include a picture with your ad. Your company logo won't always gain maximum clicks. Good pictures of people get more clicks than anything else, but images that closely relate to your product are always a good choice.

5. Be Competitive and Realistic with your Bids

Although quite self-explanatory it is important to take note that you can run your advertisement for a specific time period and can specify the date and time the campaign starts and finishes. Impressions are the number of times your advert is displayed on facebook.

I would always recommend paying per click instead of impression as this should be more cost effective.

Ensure your daily budget and cost per click is both competitive and realistic. It may take a certain amount of trial and error to gauge the right bid per click and you should start at facebook's suggested bid when you first start listing your ad.

Why wouldn't any business consider this. What stops companies wanting to engage in this direct approach?

Time and inclination. Look, everything I have put up here does take time and you need to put the effort in to get the results (or outsource to a reputable partner who will save you time and will be transparent in their charges). Whether you do this yourself or work with a partner (mmmm and maybe I know someone who could help...), I hope this post has helped focus on the potentials.

So to sum up, Facebook advertising can be extremely cost effective and a valuable advertising platform if used with thought and care. Don't be afraid to be imaginative when writing your ad copy and choosing your picture and monitor your click through rate carefully as this will be a good indicator for how well your ads are performing and how much you should bid per ad. If you want more detailed help with setting up a facebook advertising campaign or want information on our flat fee recruitment service please get in touch.