You are losing money every minute if your business is not advertising on Facebook.

If my 75-year-old grandmother from the remote Tekoa village in Treshua is already on Facebook, why not your business?

It’s amazing how ingrained Facebook has become in our lives, personally and professionally; as consumers and as individuals.

When a business doesn’t have a website, it’s surprising, but when it doesn’t have a Facebook page, it’s straight-up dumbfounding.

Facebook usage statistics in Kenya

Of all social media platforms, Facebook is the biggest in Kenya, with more than 5 million active users, and still growing every morning.

The latest Global Social Media Stats (July 2019) indicate that Facebook dominates a whole 57.8% of all social media users in Kenya, with Pinterest taking 22.82%. Twitter comes in third with 12.7%, YouTube 3.16%, Instagram 2.75% and finally LinkedIn at 0.26%.

Simply said:
+ Facebook is undeniably the most popular social media platform in Kenya 
+ Facebook is the second most popular website in Kenya after Google
+ Facebook is the second most downloaded mobile app in Kenya after Whatsapp
+ Facebook Messenger is the third most downloaded mobile app in Kenya
+ Facebook is the most accessed social media platform by Kenyan mobile users
+ Kenyan men are more active on Facebook than women
+ The youthful population in Kenya spends between 2-3 hours in a typical day browsing.

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Why you should advertise on Facebook

With this huge audience in place, it’s important to understand a few things.

First, Facebook has evolved over the last several years, something that has notably changed how many people see your posts.

The bad news is that fewer people see your Facebook posts organically than in the past.

What this means is that posted content s does not reach even half the number of followers.

Gradually, Facebook has moved to a “pay-to-play” model, meaning you have to pay to promote your posts in order to reach a big audience.

Alas! So Facebook is not FREE as I religiously thought!

Not even ‘Free Facebook’ is FREE!

If you are a marketer, you do not need to spend sleepless nights building a following of thousands of Facebook fans.

Luckily, Facebook advertising is one of the cheapest ad platforms ever. With a few coins, you can have your posts reach exactly who you want.

Below are 20 reasons why you MUST take advantage of Facebook ads, whether for a new or an established business.

1. Your customers are on Facebook

Think about a marketplace housing more than 80% of the population. Think about a marketplace so attractive to over  65% of adults over the age of 65 years.

Think about a marketplace with billions of customers who will check in multiple times a day, every day.

Think about a marketplace bigger than Gikomba, Garissa Lodge and Muthurwa combined, open 24/7 all year round.

Think about a marketplace mostly made up of men (who mean business). A marketplace where every customer hangs around for more than 3 hours, every day!

Then you understand that Facebook is a marketplace you MUST utilize well.

2. The Selective Power of Facebook advertising

The good thing with Facebook advertising is that you are able to reach a specific audience.

As opposed to commercial ads on Radio, TV, or outdoor billboards, Facebook allows you to choose your target audience by age, interests, behavior, and location.

This is a big score especially when you know who your potential customers are, or where they are located.

If you are dealing with solar home systems, for instance, you would need to select an audience away from the city centers.

If you are selling duvets, selecting an audience in the cooler areas would yield better results.

3. The cheapest form of advertising

One would actually expect such a targeted form of advertising to be the most expensive. However, Facebook advertising is one of the cheapest forms of advertising you can get.

How cheap?

With as little as Ksh. 500, you can reach more than 1,000 people.

Out of these, tens of them will perform the intended action, either clicking on a link to a website/blog or checking the advertised products.

It does not make sense to spend a lot of money on television commercials, billboards, and other traditional media to reach the same or a lesser audience.

4. Facebook advertising increases website/blog traffic

Are you interested in boosting the traffic to your website/blog? Facebook advertising will do the magic for you.

Among other known methods of increasing website traffic, the precision and cost-effectiveness of Facebook advertising makes it the best.

All you have to do is run a website click campaign targeting your audience and send them to your website. The results are just amazing!

5. Facebook advertising increases brand awareness

So you have launched that new outlet in town. You really want as many people as possible to know about it.

Or maybe you have new arrivals at your fashion store. Or probably a new web hosting company with great offers.

Facebook advertising will significantly build your brand awareness.

It is a great way to make people aware of what you have to offer. The more familiar people are with your brand, the more likely they will purchase your products when it is time to make a decision.

6. Facebook advertising is measurable

The results from Facebook advertising are measurable. As the ad runs, you are able to track the impressions, clicks, and conversions you are receiving.

You can then refine your audience or add some budget to reach more people in the selected audience.

7. Pay after service

You do not need to have any money in your account to start a facebook ad.

You actually pay for it afterwards, or at least when the maximum limit is reached (mostly Ksh. 2,500 for normal accounts).

If your linked account is without the required amount, Facebook will actually wait until the funds are available.

8. More Sales in the Future

There exists a close and direct relationship between the number of times your audience sees your brand and the sales/conversions you receive.

Facebook advertising will help you increase your touchpoints with your potential customers, hence more conversions in the future.

9. Facebook advertising can drive off-line sales

Apart from visiting your website, a number of customers will see your ads on Facebook and choose to visit your business premises.

10. Facebook advertising can drive repeat business

Customers who have purchased from you in the past are an asset you don’t want to lose.

If these customers got to know about your products/services through the ads on Facebook, this will help you get repeat business with them.

You can import your customer emails into your Facebook advertising campaign using the audiences feature.

This means you will actually advertise directly to the audience that is most likely to buy from you.

11. Facebook ads build engagement

If you are seeking to build more engagement with your target audience, try Facebook ads.

Engagement consists of the likes, comments, and interactions on your Facebook posts.

Those likes and comments are a treasure. They actually portray a stronger connection with your audience.

The more engaged your audience is, the stronger your connection is with them.

12. A boost to Referrals

The social aspect of Facebook is an asset in itself. Facebook advertisements can go viral.

If your ads are reaching the right people, they will likely share it with friends, sometimes in crowded platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp groups.

13. Grow your blog traffic

Bloggers feed on traffic.

Blogging can be fun (and highly paying) if you are passionate about your subject.

It can be equally frustrating if the analytics show that you have no traffic to your blog.

It is like writing a wonderful book that ends up just sitting on the bookshelves.

With Facebook ads, you will be able to expose your blog to the masses and generate instant traffic.

Advertising your blog posts will boost the level of trust and credibility to your audience.

14. Increase your SEO rankings

Search is social, the reason search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo rely on social signals to rank websites and their content.

Changes in algorithms have made social media signals very influential factors that determine who gets to be on top of search rankings

By social signals, I mean activities on your social media content, which includes shares, likes, and comments on your posts.

Since Facebook ads help in increasing your social signals, they indirectly influence your SEO rankings.

15. Facebook ads can help you break into new markets

If you are bringing a new product or service to the market, you can use Facebook ads to increase its exposure.

Facebook advertising will help you test the market for suitability, at your own pace.

It will also help you get instant feedback from the target audience concerning their expectations and worries, if any.

16. Facebook advertising is real-time

All your facebook campaigns are visible to you in real-time. Even better, in case the results are not satisfactory, you can make adjustments to your campaign immediately.

This would not be possible with conventional forms of advertising such as Radio and TV ads or print media.

17. Your competitors are using Facebook ads

Your competitors are using Facebook advertising to grow their business, why not you?

Probably you have the best products/services at the best prices.

Failure to take advantage of Facebook ads would only be an advantage to your competitors, probably offering lesser qualities.

Remember, your customers spend most of their time on social media, and mostly on Facebook. You really need to make sure you are using it to grow your business. It’s a need.

18. Facebook advertising is mobile.

Mobile is the future of online. 50% of all Internet users are mobile.

Over 84% of Facebook users access Facebook from a mobile device.

Facebook is the second most downloaded mobile application in Kenya, after WhatsApp.

With Facebook ads, therefore, you are able to advertise to your audience on the devices they use every day.

19. Organic Facebook is dead!

The days of organic Facebook marketing are no more. Facebook advertising is a must for you and every business seeking success.

Even with thousands of followers, you will still have to use Facebook advertising to boost your audience. You will have to promote your posts to reach more people.

Facebook advertising is a must if your business plans to adopt a social strategy.

20. Facebook ads are budget-friendly

Facebook advertising is budget-friendly. You can set a daily or lifetime budget. You can easily increase or decrease it at any time.