Facebook and Google Ads are great tools for advertising. Here’s how they work:

• Facebook Ads: These allow you to create ads that go out on Facebook or Instagram and are shown to people that meet predetermined criteria that you define.  For example, you can define that an ad will be shown to people within a particular geographical area, age range, that have a specific interest, etc.  Essentially, you set a budget of how much you wish to spend and your ad is shown each day to the individuals that meet those criteria until your budget is depleted.  Check out this detailed article for more information on these and directions for creating an ad: https://www.facebook.com/business/ads
• Google Ads: These work very similar to Facebook Ads except you are defining a key word or phrase that users have to type in a Google Search in order to see your ad.  However, you also have options to target people in a certain location. Google Ads are shown above the regular search results with a title such as “Ad” attached to them.  These will show daily until your defined budget is depleted.  See the following link for detailed information: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6324971?hl=en.

Here are some tips:

• Research effective ads and use those as inspiration or a starting point for your ads
• For Facebook Ads, be sure to use catchy images or video. If doing it yourself, Canva is a great tool for creating images.  Alternatively, you can hire a graphic designer to create a custom image for you. In either case, be sure to adhere to the size guidelines for images which is 1200 px by 1200 px.
• Review the different ad types and utilize the one(s) that you feel are best suited to your objectives.
• Monitor your ads while they are running and make adjustments as needed. In other words, do not just launch them and forget about them. Sometimes, it is a trial and error exercise where you need to make changes as needed.
• Try split testing your ads. This is where you have different variations of an ad to see which performs best.

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