New Facebook Advertising Opportunities

As social distancing measures prevent people from seeing their friends and family and lead to a sense of isolation, more Facebook users are messaging, posting, and consuming content. Facebook is currently experiencing record usage but decreased advertising demand.

What does this mean? Opportunity. The travel and film industries have made major cuts to their marketing budgets, which means more Facebook ad space is available, at a lower price. Here’s how we’re taking advantage of this opportunity.

Increased Engagement

Recent research shows that 47% of people report spending more time on social media^[1], and 32% of 55 to 64-year-olds (nearly half of active users of FB in the demographic) reported an increase of social media usage overall.^[2] At the same time, competition from big ad budget spenders has decreased. For example, there has been a 65% decrease in ad spend by the travel sector, a 72% drop from the law, government, and political sector, and a 40% drop from the sports sector, which all compete directly for the same demographic as the financial sector.^[3] 

What Do Users Want to See from Brands? 

Many are looking for information about the coronavirus and its economic impact. Our advisor’s target audience is likely even more concerned with the virus’s impact on the economy and the market. 85% of people want brands to be educators when it comes to the virus and how to protect themselves from its impact, and 89% of people find it important that the brand is supporting its employees and customers.^[4] This is a perfect time for advisors to present themselves as thought leaders in a crisis and increase brand awareness with helpful content and information about virtual meetings or their safety practices if they’ve re-opened their office. Facebook content during the crisis could have long-lasting effects: 65% of people say that the brand’s response to this crisis will impact their likeliness of purchase behavior from the brand.^[5]

What We’re Doing

We’ve created ample coronavirus-related content over the last two months, from market volatility webinars and guides to retirement planning during COVID-19 content, as well as Facebook ad campaigns to promote it. We’ve been testing more engaging images, as well as animation and short videos in ads. Using Facebook’s “dynamic creative” feature, we can optimize for the best pairing of image and text for a specific audience. We’re also focused on the tone of the ads and on creating compelling, helpful content that positions our advisors as go-to sources of information and reliable leaders in a time of crisis.

We continue to be thought leaders when it comes to Facebook advertising so that we can take advantage of new opportunities. By using the right messages, taking advantage of increased engagement, and decreased ad spend by other sectors, we’re capturing more leads for our advisors. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you as well!