Billboard Ads vs Facebook Ads: What's the Difference?

· Facebook boasts nearly 3 billion active users

· A billboard can cost you upwards of $5,000/month in a small city

· Facebook ads allow for easy targeting and tracking to see your ROI

If you’re torn between spending your advertising budget on billboard ads or Facebook ads, then this article is for you!

Billboards are considered to be one of the most effective advertising platforms since the 19th century. Many establishments use them to build brand awareness and for broadcasting their business to as many people as possible.

Because they’re strategically placed in high traffic areas, they tend to generate a lot of views and impressions.

But times are changing. Many people are staying at home and are no longer passing by busy areas as often as before.

This signals us that billboard advertising might not be as effective as it used to.

In this digital age, where people spend most of their time online, it’s safe to say that digital advertising is the best way to move forward for businesses.

With over 2.7 billion active users worldwide, we believe that Facebook ads have the power to help SMBs widen their reach and take their company to the next level.

In this article, we will discuss the difference between billboard ads and Facebook ads, as well as which option is best for your business.

Differences Between Billboard Ads and Facebook Ads

Cost of Advertising

Let’s be frank: Billboard ads are so much more expensive compared to Facebook Ads.

It can cost you as much as $5,000 per month to advertise your business on a billboard located in small to midsized cities and whopping $14,000+ a month in bigger cities.

And, that doesn’t even include the costs for installation and maintenance, electricity, and property tax.

But with Facebook ads, you can run advertising campaigns on any budget! You only need to spend as little as $3 a day for a month to reach a thousand people by the end of your campaign.

Plus, you’re sure to get a higher ROI using this platform!

Targeting Specific Audiences

When advertising on a billboard, you’re paying for everyone to see it – not just those who will likely buy from you but also people who will never do business with you.

But with Facebook Ads, you don’t have to waste money on people who aren’t interested in your products or services. You can target specific audiences and ensure that your message reaches the right people. Facebook allows you to customize who gets to see your ads.

You can narrow down your audience by several variables, including the following:

· Job Title

· Behaviors

· Language

· Age

· Relationship Status

· Education

· Life Events

· Location

· Likes

· Dislikes

· Political Views

· Life Events

This ensures that every cent of your advertising dollars is optimized.

With billboard advertising, there’s no way of finding out if your ads are effectively reaching your target audience.

Yes, you can choose to position your billboard in specific areas where you can estimate demographic tendencies, but you’re never really sure if your message is getting to your ideal customers.

Tracking the Effectiveness

Facebook ads allow you to track and monitor the results of your campaigns.

You can see how many people clicked on your ad as well as the number of views, total impressions, total sales, and the sum of people reached.

This allows you to gauge if your campaigns are successful or not. It also enables you to weed out any ineffective strategies or elements that are eating your ad dollars, so you’re left with tactics that drive results.

Here are some of the basic Facebook ads metrics you need to know about:

· Cost per Result: This metric shows you the amount spent per conversion or other metrics that serve as the basis or purpose of a campaign

· Ad Impressions and Reach: This metric allows you to compare the number of times your ad was viewed with its reach over the past week  

· Ad Frequency: This metric shows you the average times your ad was presented to each person

· Ad Clicks: This metric shows you the number of people who clicked on the link on your ad that redirected them to select destinations or experience on and off Facebook

· Click-Through Rates: This metric shows you the number of times people saw your ad and clicked on a link

· Cost per Click: This metric is used to identify the costs of showing users your ads on Facebook

· Conversion Rates: This metric shows you the percentage of your audience who completed a desired action out of your total audience

· Cost per Conversion: This metric shows you how much is spent to acquire a customer

With billboard advertising, there is no way of measuring if an ad is effective or not; unless somebody shows up in your store and tells you that they saw your billboard that’s why they’re there.

Although you can manually track the efficacy of your billboard ads by asking every potential customer how they heard about you. Wouldn’t it be better if this was done for you automatically?

Building a Relationship with Your Audience

Billboard Ads are merely ads.

They don’t allow your audience to ask questions. They also don’t allow you to respond to any queries.

But with Facebook ads, you can respond to comments and feedback, redirect prospects to your website, and interact with your audience constantly!

Plus, an interested buyer on Facebook can contact your business immediately. This can boost your sales tremendously!

Here are some Facebook Ads Tips You Should Try Today:

· Use Facebook Canvas Ads to create a deeply engaging experience for your audience

· Use Carousel Ads to display your products

· Use page post engagement ads to widen your reach

· Use Facebook video ads to capture interest and drive more engagement

· Use Facebook Lead Ads to collect leads

· Use Facebook Analytics to find opportunities

· Take advantage of custom audiences to find people who already know about your business

· Use lookalike audiences to create a new segment of potential customers who have similar characteristics with your existing audience but have not yet interacted with your brand

Forget about Billboard Ads and Start Using Facebook Ads Today!

The thing about billboards is that once you drive past them, you can no longer go back to get the contact information on it unless you google the company or wait until you pass by that area again.

But with Facebook ads, people can contact you immediately with just one click! You can also make changes to your ads anytime, track their progress, and engage with your audience.

And the best part about Facebook Ads is that they’re so much more affordable than billboard ads yet they have better ROI!

If you were to choose between billboard ads and Facebook ads, we suggest you pick the latter. It’s the best way to grow and scale your business online!

If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency that can help kickstart your business to success, then Digital Resource is the right partner for you.

We offer everything from web design and development to content and social media marketing up to SEO. Contact us today to learn how your business can benefit from Facebook ads!

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