With gas prices on the decline and the American dollar travelling further than ever (especially in Canada) the tourism and travel season is shaping up to be a great one.

If you couple this with the ultra low cost of Facebook advertising at the moment, virtually every tourism and travel oriented business can reach their exact target market.

You should be paying for Facebook advertising. Here’s why…

The free ride for brands on Facebook is over.

As the social giant transforms into a media company and not simply another social platform, the hard reality is coming to light with regard to organic (unpaid) posting placement, specifically posting to brand pages, and the depth of which users will now see brand posts.

The organic reach of posts is in serious decline. (Organic reach being how often the post will be seen without the assistance of Facebook’s algorithm or via paid placement.) Although no one can provide definitive numbers in terms of the current reach of unpaid posting, the majority of online sources report numbers as low as 6% and declining. This is no accident.

Facebook derives all of its current revenue from paid placement. This is their model and this is how the platform will further shape itself into being the most powerful ad spend any organization can harness today. The reach of Facebook’s advertising model is far more powerful than any other platform currently available on the marketplace. It’s a fact. Advertisers have never had the power to harness deep seeded demographic information at the scale now provided by Facebook – all with a very limited ad spend. The type of data now available to the advertiser, within the platform, not only drives granular campaigns but also provides statistical information that allows reactive changes in strategy based on those metrics. This data illuminates the most effective conversion paths allowing marketers to quickly abandon those paths that are not showing returns.

At present, the cost to the advertiser is the lowest it has been in the history of the platform. The average cost per 1000 people (CPM) reached can be as low as $0.25. This type of cost is well below all other platforms, both digital and traditional. With a minimum spend of $1.00 per day there is essentially no excuse to not be paying for advertising on a platform that will provide, at the very least, brand exposure, at a scale that most businesses would have only hoped to achieve just 3 years ago. Many organizations will find themselves wrapped up in the ROI debate. But in all seriousness, 30 dollars a month for simple brand exposure is unheard of. Wrapping your brand into a well conceived and well tracked campaign will provide effective lead generation, deep seeded brand awareness, and put your organization far ahead of your competitors. All with very minimal financial commitment.

If you are still spending the lions share of your advertising budget in television, radio, and print, the following infographic should be all the impetus you need to carve out a healthy portion from traditional to digital, for Facebook, today.

It was a wild and free ride. But it’s time to pay the piper his paltry sum. And do it while its still the best kept secret in marketing. Your digital marketing agency will help your local business or large-scale organization design the correct Facebook strategies and campaigns for your brand.

Thinking About Facebook Advertising?

Let’s chat about the most cost effective advertising available online today.