Facebook Ads vs Sponsored Stories

Sponsored stories highlight people on Facebook who have already completed an action that you want, like buying something from your ecommerce website. That makes your advertisement look like an endorsement from someone’s friend, which can help sell more.

Compared to Facebook ads, sponsored ads act more as word-of-mouth recommendations than direct advertisements. But that doesn’t mean Facebook ads are useless, either.

On this page, we’ll discuss what both of these advertisements are, how you can use them, and which one may be better for your business.

Call 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about Facebook advertising services from WebFX, or keep reading to learn more about your options for reaching new customers on Facebook.

BONUS READING: WHY WE THINK SIMON COWELL CRACKED THE CODE TO FACEBOOK MARKETING

Facebook ads and the rebirth of sponsored stories

Facebook discontinued sponsored stories in 2014 for internal reasons. However, they kept a lot of the same elements alive in modern Facebook ads.

Facebook ads are the newsfeed and sidebar ads that include text, images, or videos. They’re often located in the same places as Facebook’s old sponsored stories.

Still, you can use Facebook ads in a similar way to sponsored stories if you highlight certain people or groups that have used your company before.

Facebook ads are also a form of pay-per-click advertising (PPC), which is one of the most user-friendly systems of advertising. It also lets you set an overall budget for your advertising campaigns, and you’ll never go over that budget. Then, you’ll pay Facebook’s advertising fees at the end of the month.

Facebook ads are excellent for building brand awareness because anyone who fits a certain demographic can see them.

That’s the beauty of Facebook advertising — it comes with a huge quantity of targeted data that helps you advertise directly to potential customers.

With all of that at your fingertips, you can easily start using Facebook advertising (including “sponsored stories” qualities) to get excellent results for your business.

But before we launch into that, let’s take a brief look at the background of Facebook ads and sponsored stories.

Why Facebook ads and sponsored stories merged

If you tried Facebook advertising a few years ago, you’ll notice that today’s ads look a lot different.

This is because they now include what was great about sponsored stories — social influence. Namely, Facebook ads now show who has “liked” and commented on certain ads.

That means you do not have to make the decision between a Facebook ad or a sponsored story today — you get the best of both worlds in one convenient package.

With this in mind, you can now look at Facebook ads to determine the best way to get value for your dollar.

RELATED READING: HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU SPEND ON FACEBOOK ADS?

Create a Facebook ad that is going to be “liked”

People do not simply “like” an ad because it’s there. You have to give them a reason.

You also have to tell them to share the ad, like it, or take some other kind of action with what you’ve created.

For instance, you may want to create a Facebook ad that is completely devoted to getting your business page more likes. Every time someone “likes” your page, he or she will be added to the number of “likes” on your advertisement.

But the only way you’ll get those “likes” is if you tell people to do that in your ad. It may seem inconsequential, but choosing the right call to action (CTA) for your Facebook ad can make a huge difference in terms of success.

Add images or videos to your Facebook ads

While it might be tempting to grab a stock image to go along with your Facebook ad, think about it a little deeper.

Is that image or video the best representation of your business and what you offer? Will it attract people’s attention away from their news feeds? Does it seem compelling or interesting?

If the answer to any of those questions is no, look for another image or video. You can almost certainly find one better.

Try a few different types of text headlines and descriptions

Then, measure the results. Facebook makes it easy to analyze the effectiveness of your Facebook ads, so take the time to test different ideas you have. The results are a better overall ROI for your advertising dollar.

With all of this practical knowledge at your fingertips, you can make effective Facebook ads for your company right now. The sooner you start, the sooner you can get results!

ORGANIC OR PAID FACEBOOK ADVERTISING? SEE WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

WebFX will help your business grow with Facebook

WebFX has a whole team of Facebook advertising professionals who know how to use both ads and sponsored stories to get results. We work with Facebook each day and keep up with the most recent trends, strategies, and ideas to get the results you want.

Contact us today to create a Facebook advertising strategy for your company!