While companies continue to debate the effectiveness of Facebook advertising, other businesses are cashing in on additional revenue and traffic that are a direct result of their Facebook advertising strategy with sponsored stories seemingly the best approach to use for the biggest variety of campaigns. Sponsored stories show up in newsfeeds, just like a regular post would show up, while Facebook ads show up in the right hand navigation bar on Facebook pages.
For those who are still confused between the different of Facebook ads and Facebook Sponsored stories, the ads have the opportunity to reach more people, and are very targeted. While some businesses find success with these ads, many Facebook users completely ignore them. Sponsored stories on the other hand do not always provide the amount of possible exposure but high a higher reach in the fact that they are impossible to ignore since they show up where they are reading their friend comments, posts and shares. Current testing shows that the sponsored stories get far more clicks than the ads are getting.
Sponsored stories can look like any other Facebook post, the difference is they are highlighted and show up at the top of Facebook user’s newsfeed. How you create the story will determine the best ones, while having clear calls to action, do not read as a class advertisement will read because people do not appreciate feeling like they are getting advertisements in their newsfeed. A relevant sponsored story could be an announcement of a special event or promotion for your products or services and is personalized to sound more like a comment than an ad. They are typically geared toward a specific goal such as getting people to share information. An example is if a customer leaves a great comment on your Facebook Page about your products, services or customer experience, you can turn that into an add that will encourage people to Like your business Facebook Page.
Create Facebook Sponsored Stories that include attention getting images and a clear call to action to Like or Share the post for the best results. Using Sponsored Stories and Facebook ads as campaign tests can give you the best information to determine which type of Facebook advertising is going to work for you. Many businesses find that using both, such as Sponsored Stories for increased engagement, and ads for increased sales gives them the best return for their investment.
