Why advertise on Facebook? It’s a good question especially for small business owners and people that already have successful marketing campaigns via Google or direct mail. After all if it ain’t broken, Don’t fix it! So why advertise on Facebook?

It’s pretty simple.

It’s where all the fish are – Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

Let’s take that fishing analogy a little bit farther. If you have been fishing in the same spot for years, you are probably catching fish after all why fish there if there are zero fish, just as long as there are SOME fish. However, do you have less fish today then you did a year ago? Now replace the word fish with customers and you can start seeing that all of your customers are now on Facebook and if you aren’t marketing to them, it’s a pretty good bet someone else is.

However, before you leave your fishing hole for a new one, it’s important to look at the new and understand why it’s a good place to fish for customers. Let’s take a closer look at a picture of that fishing hole:

The picture above is a map of all the Facebook connections in the world and makes a pretty good mirror for the whole world. Those countries that are dark like Russia do not have active Facebook populations, but if you look at the U.S. you see the whole country connected.

The most recent statistics are pretty compelling.

• 800 million people are on Facebook and this number is growing
• 500 million people login every day
• 350 million people access Facebook from their mobile phones. This means they are checking in at your store or business and their friends are seeing this.
• 100 million “likes” every day. People are liking brands, stores, activities, foods, just about anything.
• 2 billion posts are recorded every day
• The average person spends 7 hours and 34 minutes every month on Facebook
• When a person likes a business they are 4 times more likely to buy

The reason it’s so compelling to advertise on Facebook is simply because everyone is there and they are very active. Like Google, there is an organic side to Facebook and a paid side to Facebook and they are equally important.

Organic Side

On the organic side content you and your customers create is about telling a story. You share a great or bad experience that you had in a store. You listen to your customers. You post new pictures. You share your passion for what you do.

Advertising Side

On the advertising side, you keep your brand in front of potential customers. Chances are you know exactly what your basic customer is. They might be young and male or old and have a birthday. Facebook’s ad system can target your customer and have them either visit your website or like your Facebook page so you can keep marketing to them. The other Facebook ad that is probably its most valuable is sponsored stories. If someone likes your page, then their friends will see an ad that the person either liked your page or checked in. This is word of mouth advertising. It’s friends telling friends about a store, or bar or company they really like.

So the choice you are faced with is either keeping up with the same ol’ advertising or going where your customers are, which is on Facebook.