Mobile smartphone usage continues to dominate. By 2018, it’s anticipated mobile search will drive over 70 billion calls. With 60% of consumers’ smartphone usage spent checking social media platforms throughout the day, it’s only natural social media advertising is experiencing a surge. After all, advertisers will go where the consumers are.
Yet, with email, and even chatbots, it’s no secret that 75% of consumers prefer calls. A customer will use their smartphone to research a product, then want to immediately speak to a customer representative.
As advertisers look toward social media to retarget customers, it makes sense to have a campaign strategy that melds click to call and social.
Currently, Facebook is ruling this area with their social ads that incorporate click to call buttons. No surprise given 80% of Facebook’s ad revenue is mobile. It’s anticipated Facebook’s social ads will drive more than 12 billion calls to U.S. businesses. If those stats don’t entirely convince you to jump on the bandwagon, here are four more reasons why your campaign should include Facebook ads with call buttons.
1. Pay Per Call Provides Consumers With Options
On average, ads with phone numbers have an 8% higher click-through rate than ads with no number. Why? Click to call makes it easier for consumers to quickly connect with a customer service rep when they have questions or are ready to make a purchase.
When an advertiser only offers one path to purchase, they risk losing conversions. Customers want options: the ability to connect immediately or later offline. When a customer places a call, they’re actively connecting with the advertiser at the moment of highest interest.
Adding a call now button to a native mobile ad on Facebook allows customers to call businesses directly from their news feed, making it super convenient for users. Here, customers can call directly from Jasper’s Market’s sponsored ad on Facebook.
Source: Marketing Land
2. Social Delivers More Exposure
A social media platform like Facebook provides marketers’ ads with lots of exposure. Hit publish, and your mobile display ad will instantly be in front of thousands of eyes.
Source: Social Media Today
With so many eyeballs on your ads, marketers would be remiss not to take advantage of those views by including a click to call button, too. And with specific exposure — using display advertising targeting — you can even hone in on local audiences.
Say you’re a local landscaping company who offers grass cutting, mulching, etc. You decide to run Facebook display ads during the summer months, when your services are in high demand. A consumer who lives within your service area sees your display ad. They think, “Hey, my lawn guy just moved away, and I need someone to cut my grass.”
With a call button, they are immediately connected to your business. They can call and schedule their appointment, all without leaving their Facebook feed.
Which brings us to another important point, social plus click to call is also great for local businesses.
3. Social + Click to Call Benefits Local Businesses
Local businesses — using geotargeting — can target nearby consumers on social media and capture those who may be interested with pay per call.
Here, a New Age healing business — Butterflies & Wildflowers — has the right idea. They’re targeting individuals who have recently been within the vicinity of their shop.
Let’s say a group of friends are on their way to a Girls Night Out dinner at a pub two blocks over. They park their car and start to walk toward the pub, and happen to see Butterflies & Wildflowers’ storefront. They want to check out what kinds of therapeutic services are available, but don’t have time to stop in. After dinner, the business is closed so they head home.
The next day, they log into Facebook and see this ad. Now they’re being served a not so subtle reminder that they should check out this nearby local business.
Great job, Butterflies & Wildflowers, but take it a step further and remember to add a call button next time instead of the phone number to truly cinch the deal.
4. Call Tracking Offers Valuable Insight
Call tracking lets you record calls, which will help you identify potential problems. You see how often and quickly customer service reps answer the phones and how they interact with customers.
With call tracking you can review call duration, day and time of call, caller location, origination, and volume. You can also determine which personas are utilizing the call button feature, perhaps more Boomers call than Millennials.
Advertisers can take all of this info and use it to optimize their call campaigns as needed. In turn, this can help with training current and future employees to even scheduling your social display ads. Like the aforementioned Jasper’s Facebook ad, if you’re getting calls after business hours, you’ll know to adjust your scheduling so ads run from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Now a consumer will see your ad during business hours, and be able to call and schedule their pickup order while the business is open.
As advertisers continue to follow consumers to social media, it makes sense to incorporate the mode of communication that consumers feel most comfortable with: call. By offering the option to include a call button in a social media ad, Facebook is giving advertisers the distinct advantage of capturing interested, ready to buy consumers. Once again Facebook proves they’re miles ahead of the digital advertising curve.
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