Social media presents a great opportunity to for advertisers. As one of the largest sites in the world, Facebook has changed the way people navigate the web. No longer is Google the only window to the internet. People now turn to social media to find products, companies and can combine that with the status updates and posts from their friends to make an informed decision.

When it comes to marketing on Facebook it is a completely different animal then search engine marketing and must be presented that way to clients.

First lets take a look at search:

A potential customer heads to a search engine to ask a question. They are looking for a product, a service, the location of a store or restaurant and are looking for an answer. They are actively searching out for something.

This presents a great opportunity for advertisers. We can place an ad in a postilion that directly corresponds to what a potential customer is looking for. We can also target potential customers throughout the purchase cycle and send them to relevant landing pages.

What does Facebook offer?

Facebook also presents a great opportunity to advertise, but it is a different kind of opportunity then search. Facebook allows marketers to target users by their interests and demographic information. You can specifically show your ads to people who have expressed interest in a specific product, way of life or anything else that would fall under ‘interest’.

The biggest difference is Facebook offers more of a contextual based advertising , while Google search is more of a direct response model. It is very important to make your clients aware of this during the ramp of period of your relationship. With Facebook, users are not searching for your product or service, they are being shown your ad because they may have filled out their profile with something related to your product.

In order to set proper expectations with your client you need to make it clear that your impression level on Facebook may be quite high while your CTR will be lower then it is with search. People coming over from Facebook may be in more fact finding mode and want to browse more of your site. Keeping an eye on your analytics and looking at different metrics like time on site and bounce rate can give you a good idea of the quality of visitor you are receiving from your campaigns.

The best approach is to be upfront and clear with your client. Present them with relaistic expectations and make sure they understand the mediums you are using to drive traffic.