AdWords vs. Facebook Ads

        

             When choosing between Google AdWords or Facebook advertising for your higher ed marketing, referring to your clearly defined advertising goals will make your selection easier. Are you trying to increase awareness of your program or school or sell a specific product or service? Secondly, knowing your target market will also make your selection easier. Recent findings with regards to Google vs. Facebook indicate that on a global scale, Google dominates, but if your target market is just domestic, Facebook Ads are actually a better choice. Facebook is considered to be a more social platform and hence visitors spend more time on the site looking around and chatting with friends which may be preferred for building brand awareness. Facebook also offers a more targeted advertising approach as a result of the immense psychographic data collected on the site. Data concerning favorite movies, books, and tv shows can benefit advertisers as they hone in on their specific target. “Facebook also allows advertisers some unique targeting options such as creating a `message specifically crafted for college alumni groups for example.” (unknown, n.d.) Facebook ads essentially target groups of people whereas Google AdWords target users as they are looking for a product.  So for example, if a recruiter wanted to attract prospects to an information session, they could target females in the geographic region, with a bachelor’s degree who are over a certain age with a Facebook ad. On the other hand, after the school rankings are released in the beginning of the year, Google AdWords may be the best choice as visitors will be seeking an EMBA program by a specific name. When an ad appears for that school, they will be more likely to click on it.

            Facebook’s extra psychographic data may not be an advantage for much longer though as Google+  now allows Google to collect more data as well from users who stay logged in as they surf the web and check email. Visitors on Google typically have a specific intent in mind which makes it an ideal platform for driving clicks and conversions for specific products. Google actually has an average click through rate of 2% on its ads, whereas Facebook struggles at .05% which indicates that Google may be a better choice for selling a specific product or service. (Sarah, 2013)

             Both Google and Facebook have massive audiences, but it’s important to know of course where your market spends its time. Both platforms have paid options as well as free online marketing tools like Facebook Fan Pages and Google+ Business Pages which will probably suffice if your goal is to increase brand awareness or develop messages for specific markets. Google does offer more when it comes to advertising specifically when it comes to remarketing. This feature allows advertisers to display ads based on what the users past web activity was on the site. AdWords also offers geo-targeting which is invaluable when it comes to mobile marketing. All kinds of metrics are available from Google to gather information about the effective ness of a campaign which is another reason to work with Google to some extent when designing a social media plan. Besides, Google goes to great lengths to ensure that ads shown are relevant to the users. Adwords unlike Facebook Ads will increase a site’s SEO. (unknown, n.d.)

             Google AdWords and Facebook Ads each have a place in your marketing plan and should be used to produce different results. How do you use each of these platforms for advertising your school?

References:

Sarah. (2013, May 9). Google AdWords or Facebook Ads? Some Interesting Insights [INFOGRAPHIC]. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from Pagemodo: http://www.pagemodo.com/blog/google-adwords-facebook-ads-interesting-insights-infographic

unknown. (n.d.). Facebook vs Google. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from Wordstream: http://www.wordstream.com/facebook-vs-google