Providing a variety of tactics for your advertisers to reach and engage customers is critical in today’s omnichannel world. When you offer digital and linear options, local businesses can see their campaigns perform better. A key component of this is social media advertising. Using social networks has many benefits, but it’s not as easy as pushing an ad out with a general promotion. So, knowing the basics about local business Facebook and Instagram advertising is critical. 

We’ll cover how it works, why it’s a good tactic, how it complements radio and ideas to take to your advertisers. 

How Local Advertising Works on Facebook and Instagram 

Setting up campaigns on Facebook and Instagram can work in several ways. You can create and deploy them directly on social websites. It requires a Business Manager account for the company’s Facebook and Instagram pages. You then go through the steps of developing an ad by choosing a goal, defining a target market, choosing the format and where it will run (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, etc.), and uploading creative. 

Doing this for every advertiser can be daunting, and you must have access to their Business Manager account. Alternatively, you can use a third-party digital platform. It streamlines the process, but you’ll still need page access. 

Before you begin to have conversations about these ad tactics, you’ll need compelling reasons why local advertisers should invest in them. 

Why Facebook and Instagram Are Good Tactics for Local Businesses 

Most consumers have some awareness of Facebook and Instagram. These sites are part of the digital experience, with many people using them to learn about brands and discover products. Here are some data points that support Facebook and Instagram as valuable ecosystems for advertising: 

These stats represent both sites’ potential reach and how much people integrate them into their daily lives. They use these platforms to do much more than post memes and pictures of their dogs. It’s a whole new marketplace, which makes it a prime place for local businesses to invest. Additionally, businesses don’t need huge budgets to begin advertising. 

Most of your advertisers already have profiles on Facebook and Instagram, and many actively post and engage with followers. If they aren’t paying attention to their pages, recommend they do some optimizing and posting before launching an ad. 

You may not have to make much of a case for why they should launch these campaigns. What you do need to develop with them is a strategy. 

Key Things to Define in a Facebook and Instagram Campaign Strategy 

Facebook and Instagram campaigns have many factors that impact their performance. As a result, you need to build a strategy for your advertisers or provide feedback on what they’ve already been doing. Getting insights from digital expert resources can also provide insights. Ultimately, you and your advertiser need to define these things: 

  • What’s the goal? It may be website traffic, brand awareness, sales or more followers. 
  • What’s the budget? They can start small with Facebook and Instagram campaigns, especially if they’ve never done one. 
  • Who is the audience? Outlining the ideal customers aligns with the targeting options and can include demographics, interests, location and more. Tapering down the audience can improve performance because those seeing the ad find it relevant. However, you don’t want to be so narrow that it won’t reach a large group. 
  • What ad format will work best? There are several options — images, videos, slideshows and carousels are popular. The choice comes down to the creative you have available and the type of product or service promoted. 
  • Where will people land if they click? While this isn’t part of the ad setup, it’s crucial to achieving conversions. Once the person clicks the ad, they should arrive on the company website page that aligns with the ad content rather than just the homepage. 

Putting all these pieces together means the campaign can actually meet the advertiser’s goal. Taking the time to walk through this with them illustrates your knowledge and value. They may know how to put an ad on Facebook, but do they know how to do it effectively? That’s where you come into the picture. 

For clients that already purchase radio spots from you, you can also advise them of how well these tactics complement radio. 

Facebook and Radio Are an Ideal Pair to Reach 55+ 

Facebook users trend older than those on Instagram. Radio and Facebook can drive great results if your advertisers want to reach those over 55. Currently, 22.4% of U.S. Facebook users are 55 and older. This group also spends the most time with the radio, listening for around 14 hours per week. This demographic spends considerable time with these mediums, and research supports that radio gives Facebook ads a lift. Learn more about why these two tactics work so well together and get ideas in our post. 

Instagram and Radio Can Influence Gen Z 

On the other side of audience targets is Gen Z, which places Instagram at the top of their social media list. Contrary to misconceptions, they also still listen to the radio. In fact, 75.7% of 18- to 24-year-olds do so weekly. They have positive feelings about radio, associating it with nostalgia and good memories. They also see it as a source to find new songs and learn about music, artists and news. 

Thus, Instagram and radio can be a great match. You can suggest spots that align with programming Gen Z may prefer or specific dayparts. Radio ads might trigger Gen Z to research the brand, and they may start with Instagram. 

More Ideas for Facebook and Instagram Advertising 

Your clients might have a social media ad campaign goal but still need inspiration. Here are some ideas to get things started. 

  • Facebook and Instagram can be good places for recruitment ads: Most local businesses are struggling to hire workers. Social media gives them a chance to reach a targeted audience. The ad concept could include current employees talking about the company in videos. They may also want to highlight compensation, benefits and other positives of working for them. 
  • Showing off their community support is great for brand awareness: If your advertiser participates in community events, including those for nonprofits, they can leverage this exposure with branded ads that introduce new people to their company. 
  • Facebook and Instagram are great for event marketing: If your client is hosting their own event or opening a new location, these sites are perfect for drumming up some buzz around them. An invitation-like ad with images or video could create a lot of anticipation. 
  • Social media promotions have great results: People love discounts and deals, and Facebook and Instagram are excellent places to promote them. Advertisers could see more sales online or at their retail locations. 

With these ideas, stats, data and more, you’re ready to deliver the best positioning for Facebook and Instagram advertising for local businesses. Get more social media advertising content by reading these posts: