How do I target my Facebook adverts to attract more clients?

To help you find potential clients on Facebook, the first thing you need to do is define who your audience is.

To try to appeal to everyone with your Facebook ad is an exercise in futility. You need to narrow down your focus. To help you do this you need to look at your current client database and ask these questions:

• Do they mainly fall into a certain age category?

• Do they live in a particular area?

• Are they married?

• Do they have children?

• What is their income bracket?

• Do they have hobbies in common?

• What TV programmes do they like?

Gathering this information will help you to make a “composite” person you can market to. This is your avatar client. A lot of people find it helpful to give their avatar client a name. When you go through this exercise you will end up with a clear picture of a person you can focus your marketing to. More importantly you can tailor your Facebook marketing message to this person. It makes the process of marketing a lot easier when you are crafting marketing messages to one person, rather than trying to market to a faceless group.

If you find you have two separate and distinct groups of clients, then make up two avatars.

For example, one salon that I work with identified that they have two different client groups, a younger one that demands tans and nails, and one older which prefer facials and relaxation treatments. For this salon this distinction is very important, and they now write totally different adverts for each group.

Once you’ve identified your avatar client - and only then, can you focus your marketing messages to them, whether that’s on Facebook or via any other marketing medium. For example, here is the avatar client for a laser clinic I work with—let’s call this avatar ‘Jennifer’.

Jennifer is 31, single but has a steady boyfriend for the past two years, takes a two-week holiday in the summer and skis for a week in the winter. Jennifer lives within two miles of the laser clinic is active on Facebook, reads certain online blogs, works in an insurance company in an office building that’s local to the clinic, has a facial and her nails done once per month, and her favourite TV channel is National Geographic.

Once you have identified the information for your avatar, Facebook advertising makes it really easy to laser focus your audience as you can choose those who see your ad by gender, age group, education level and interests, to name a few.

Bonus Facebook advertising tip: Have you ever heard the saying “Birds of a feather flock together?” We tend to hang out with people who are similar to ourselves. Similar age, income bracket and interests. Our clients do the same thing. So when you’re setting up your Facebook ads, make sure you select “Friends of people who like your page”. This has a lovely added bonus - when these people see a friend of theirs has already Liked your page, they are a lot more likely to pay attention to your post. So before you jump into advertising on Facebook, do a little homework first and identify your “Jennifer” and you are a lot more likely to be on target.

Catherine Trebble is a UK based website and social media expert. Catherine will be speaking on the topic of social media at the Professional Beauty GCC’s Beauty Conference in February 2017. Professional Beauty GCC. Visit www.professionalbeauty.ae for more information.

To help you find potential clients on Facebook, the first thing you need to do is define who your audience is.

To try to appeal to everyone with your Facebook ad is an exercise in futility. You need to narrow down your focus. To help you do this you need to look at your current client database and ask these questions:

• Do they mainly fall into a certain age category?

• Do they live in a particular area?

• Are they married?

• Do they have children?

• What is their income bracket?

• Do they have hobbies in common?

• What TV programmes do they like?

Gathering this information will help you to make a “composite” person you can market to. This is your avatar client. A lot of people find it helpful to give their avatar client a name. When you go through this exercise you will end up with a clear picture of a person you can focus your marketing to. More importantly you can tailor your Facebook marketing message to this person. It makes the process of marketing a lot easier when you are crafting marketing messages to one person, rather than trying to market to a faceless group.

If you find you have two separate and distinct groups of clients, then make up two avatars.

For example, one salon that I work with identified that they have two different client groups, a younger one that demands tans and nails, and one older which prefer facials and relaxation treatments. For this salon this distinction is very important, and they now write totally different adverts for each group.

Once you’ve identified your avatar client - and only then, can you focus your marketing messages to them, whether that’s on Facebook or via any other marketing medium. For example, here is the avatar client for a laser clinic I work with—let’s call this avatar ‘Jennifer’.

Jennifer is 31, single but has a steady boyfriend for the past two years, takes a two-week holiday in the summer and skis for a week in the winter. Jennifer lives within two miles of the laser clinic is active on Facebook, reads certain online blogs, works in an insurance company in an office building that’s local to the clinic, has a facial and her nails done once per month, and her favourite TV channel is National Geographic.

Once you have identified the information for your avatar, Facebook advertising makes it really easy to laser focus your audience as you can choose those who see your ad by gender, age group, education level and interests, to name a few.

Bonus Facebook advertising tip: Have you ever heard the saying “Birds of a feather flock together?” We tend to hang out with people who are similar to ourselves. Similar age, income bracket and interests. Our clients do the same thing. So when you’re setting up your Facebook ads, make sure you select “Friends of people who like your page”. This has a lovely added bonus - when these people see a friend of theirs has already Liked your page, they are a lot more likely to pay attention to your post. So before you jump into advertising on Facebook, do a little homework first and identify your “Jennifer” and you are a lot more likely to be on target.

Catherine Trebble is a UK based website and social media expert. Catherine will be speaking on the topic of social media at the Professional Beauty GCC’s Beauty Conference in February 2017. Professional Beauty GCC. Visit www.professionalbeauty.ae for more information.