Facebook Advertising the Best for Small Business?

 A recent study from GO digital shows consumers much prefer Facebook to other social networks for driving offline sales for small business. 84% of respondants in their survey say that local deals or offers on Facebook heavily influence their decision to buy from bricks and mortar stores.

 

For its newly released study on Facebook advertising, G/O Digital surveyed 1,000 U.S. users from 18 to 29 years old. It found that an impressive 62 percent of respondents consider Facebook to be the most useful social media network for researching products or services before they visit a local business, compared to Pinterest (12 percent) and Twitter (11 percent).

Additionally, 84 percent of consumers surveyed think that local deals or offers on Facebook have a great impact on their in-store purchase decisions, with 25 percent saying that "it's very important and I would be likely to make an in-store purchase within a week."

A deeper look at different marketing tactics reveals that 40 percent of respondents say Facebook offers that can be redeemed at a local store are most likely to persuade them to make in-store purchases, followed by Promoted Posts (12 percent) and photos/videos (11 percent) seen on the platform.

Interestingly, although Facebook has been criticised for invading users' privacy, the report shows that local relevance and personalisation are more important than privacy concerns in weighing the value and legitimacy of Facebook advertising.