For a long time, local businesses survived (and even flourished) without focusing much on their marketing side.
Some attractive flyers and word-of-mouth referrals were enough to bring in more customers.
But now the times have changed. Competition for local businesses has multiplied, and old methods are not enough to stand out anymore.
Luckily, there is a platform that you can use to show off your local business to thousands of new potential customers all at once and earn qualified leads.
Yes, that’s Facebook.
“But why Facebook instead of other social platforms?” you may ask.
Why You Need Facebook Marketing
Although many social networks are available for advertising, Facebook is the king for two main reasons.
#1. The volume of users: Among all the other platforms, Facebook has the highest number of users. It has more than 1.5 billion daily active users which means a whole lot of people spend a crazy amount of time on Facebook. This is the place your audience hangs out most of the time.
#2. The ability to customize a target audience: Whether you like it or not, everything you do on Facebook is constantly being tracked.
What you like, what you watch, what you type, and everything else in between is recorded in the database, and Facebook compiles a detailed profile of each user based on his information and activity.
The Facebook advertising platform gives you the ability to target users by their location, gender, age, income, interest, preferences, and behavior.
Now the question is, “Will Facebook advertising work for your business?”
To answer this question, I have listed 15 types of businesses (with some ad ideas) that can leverage the Facebook platform for advertising their brands.
I’ll explain how you can determine your target audience and what offers you can throw out there for them with the goal to turn them into leads and sales.
Let’s get started.
#1. Dentist
By 2021 the dental industry is projected to be worth around $37 billion. This means people are spending money on their teeth.
Determine the target audience:
Being a dentist, you can target large segments of people. However, I’d suggest you target one small section at a time, and create an offer specifically for that particular audience.
For example, you can target women who are over 24-35 years of age and need to be ready for some important events like an anniversary or a wedding. They tend to like having their teeth cleaned and whitened.
Offer you could test:
You can provide a free teeth whitening session for new patients.
Limit this offer to the first few (15-20) patients only. As they become a lead and happy with your service, you can leverage them into actual sales via follow-ups and special discounts.
#2. Chiropractor
According to Chiropractic experts, Facebook advertising is one of the best ways to attract new patients.
Determine the target audience:
You can target men (or women) who are CrossFit enthusiasts. Since they regularly run, jump, squat, do push-and-pull-ups, and are super tough with their bodies, they often need a chiropractor.
Offer you could test:
A compelling and feasible offer you can try is a consultation, exam, adjustment, and massage at a heavy discount for new patients.
Build trust with new customers over time and increase the odds of them returning to you over and over again.
#3. Veterinarian
The demand for veterinarians is increasing at a high rate. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of licensed and practicing veterinarians will increase by 12 percent by 2022.
Determine the target audience:
As a veterinarian, your audience may vary depending upon the animals you deal with.
For instance, if you’re a cat veterinarian, you can select people who own a cat and have shown interest in reading about cat’s health or cat food. Since they already show concern for their cat, they most likely need your service.
Offer you could test:
Give a free health exam for first-time visitors.
Again, you can limit the availability of the offer to create urgency for the special deal.
#4. Spa/Massage Therapy
Everybody wants to look good. It’s not a coincidence that the global spas and beauty salons market will reach $190.81 billion by 2024.
Determine the target audience:
Since you’re in the business of beauty, your target market is huge. You can target all men and women over 18 years of age in your locality.
However, you need to remember that it’s best to always target one specific segment at a time (with relevant offer), and choose people based on their income level so that your ad reaches the audience who can afford you.
Offer you could test:
You can share some beauty tips in exchange for their email to get the leads or you can try to give a heavy discount for new customers.
#5. Gyms
The fitness industry is growing at a rate of 2.6% globally and has reached $87.23 billion in 2018.
Determine the target audience:
Although you can target large segments of people, I’d suggest focussing on one at a time.
For example, you can target Moms with early school age children or grade school kids as they often feel like they are out of shape. They always want to get back in shape but they get busy with parenting, work, and other parts of life.
Offer you could test:
Free 2 weeks personal training session for the next 20 people.
Build trust with customers over time and increase the odds of them returning to you over and over again.
#6. Restaurant
The food industry is the most stable business on the planet because food is not just a factor of our greed but our need for survival. The growth rate of the food and beverages industry is 11.4% and expected to reach a market volume of $144,162 million by 2022.
Determine the target audience:
With a restaurant, you can appeal to different types of audience – from families with small children to sports fanatics, younger couples, and so many more. But again, the key is to focus on one audience at a time.
For example, you can target women who are between the ages of 20 and 40 and have a birthday in the next 30 days. Plus, you can add friends of women who also have a birthday in the same month.
Offer you could test:
A delectable and feasible offer you can provide is a buy one, get one free birthday dinner.
#7 and #8. Yoga and Pilates
People are adopting Yoga all over the world. In 2012, the number of yoga participants in the United States was 20.4 million which is expected to grow to 55 million by 2020.
Determine the target audience:
Target men or women in your local area between the ages of 18 and 65 who are interested in fitness, health, hatha yoga, kundalini yoga, yoga journal, yoga mat, yoga pants, pilates, studio pilates, etc.
Offer you could test:
You can provide a 50% off discount for all your programs if someone brings a friend. To make the deal more lucrative, you can say that the 50% discount deal is good for both parties.
#9. Real Estate
According to data from the National Association of Realtors, 5.51 million existing homes were sold in 2017.
Determine the target audience:
Finding your audience in a real estate business is a bit tricky. Here the important thing is not who needs your product or services but who can afford your product and services.
While customizing your audience, remember to select people who are above a specific range of age, have plenty of income, and are interested in buying a new house.
Offer you could test:
You can use a carousel ad format and show multiple properties in a single ad. It’ll be easy to lure as you have more options to capture the buyer’s eye.
#10. Accounting/Financial Planner
Earning money is hard. Saving money is harder. Investing your money in the right place and achieving financial freedom is the hardest.
Determine the target audience:
Select people who are between the age of 35 and 55, have income above a specific range, and are running a small business. Since they have money and stay busy with their business operations, they most likely need your help to plan their finances.
Offer you could test:
You can run a slideshow or a video to explain who you are and how you can help. Try to show some testimonials to build up an initial trust.
#11. Pet Supplies
In 2017, Americans spent $69.5 billion on their pets. And of course, this figure is expected to grow in the future.
Determine the target audience:
You can target men (or women) in your locality who have a pet, show interest in pet food, and concern about the health of their pet.
Offer you could test:
You can try to give some kind of discount for new customers, or show off some new supplies you have recently added to your inventory.
#12. Wedding Planners
On average, 2.4 million weddings are performed in the U.S. every year. The average amount spent on an American wedding is $22,000. But the more interesting thing is, 72% of all brides say they would have spent more time choosing their reception entertainment.
Determine the target audience:
Target men and women in your area with the status ‘engaged.’ Since they’ll marry soon, obviously they need someone to help them plan their wedding.
Offer you could test:
Based on your customer’s lifecycle, you can develop different ads for different stages. For example, if couples are newly engaged, and the wedding is a few months ahead, you can share some helpful planning tips and maybe get the lead.
As the prospects get engaged with you, you can nurture them for sales.
#13. Local Photographers
Even though everybody has a decent camera on their mobile phones now, professional photography is still a rare talent. You can use props and advanced editing to stand out from the crowd.
Determine the target audience:
As a professional photographer, you can target a wide range of events and audience – from a birthday party to an engagement ceremony, wedding, model’s portfolio, and many more.
However, as I mentioned earlier, focus on only one type of audience at a time. In fact, you can run a seasonal ad for a specific event. For instance, you can target married women in your locality on Mother’s Day who has kids at home and a household income above $100k.
Offer you could test:
Give a Mother’s Day special discount for early bookings.
#14. Car Dealerships
In 2016, some 17.5 million cars and light trucks were sold in the United States. Sales in the U.S. for new car dealers are expected to reach $916 billion by 2020.
Determine the target audience:
You can choose people in your area who are interested in buying a car. An important thing you need to consider is the ‘income range.’ Filter out to people with a high-income range so that your ad reaches the right audience.
Offer you could test:
You can show off your new model and offer a free test drive.
Give a simple signup form to the users. Personally follow up on each of them and close the deal.
#15. Home Improvement
Owning a home is a dream for most people. And when they get it, they don’t hesitate to spend more money on its renovation.
According to a report, the total sales of home improvement retailers in the U.S. will be $409.2 billion in 2019.
Determine the target audience:
If you’re in the business of home improvement, you have to be careful while targeting your audience. Just targeting all the people who own a house wouldn’t be a smart step.
You need to consider other aspects such as age, net worth, home’s value, and interest. You should also target commercial properties as they tend to provide more ROI.
Offer you could test:
You can provide free roof inspections for the first 25 customers. And then give a reasonable discount for roof replacement if needed.
What Next?
So, now is the time to try Facebook ads. If you have already tried, how was the response? Let me know in the comment box.
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