When I worked as the marketing manager for a local grooming salon in London, I quickly learned about the natural ebb and flow of grooming customers. We’d be super busy leading up to the holidays, when dogs needed their summer haircuts and in the weekends of course.
But then sometimes during the weekdays, we’d have several slots open and our groomers would have nothing to do. Lucky for us we had all of our client’s email addresses, and we could send out a quick email with a special offer – but it would have been great to be able to reach brand new customers with an introductory offer instead of only contacting our regulars.
Back then, Facebook hadn’t introduced their local awareness ads yet, but today you could reach brand new (and existing) clients in your area the very same day, with just a few clicks! Then, when your books are full, you simply switch the ad off.
Here are some ideas for using local ads on Facebook for your pet business
- Promote a sale, or special offer you’re running
- Rainy day deals – you know the quiet days when the rain is pouring and no one goes out unless they get a great deal. (Superb for dog walkers to remind dog owners they don’t need to go out in the rain, or for groomers who could bath muddy paws!)
- Promote your pet care services in your local area – perfect if you’re starting a new business, but of course also works if you need new clients.
- Give special discounts/deals to new clients during off peak season
Sounds good but where, exactly are the local ads shown?
Your local awareness advert will be shown in people’s newsfeeds, right along with updates from friends and family. Only people within the radius you’ve chosen around your pet business will see the advert. Make sure you’re using your own original photos in the advert to really look authentic, interesting and local!
Here’s an example of a local ad from Wholefoods (image source: Facebook)
How can I target the adverts for my pet business?
There are 3 targeting options available for local business promotions:
- Location – choose a radius around your business address between 1-50 miles in the US (or 1-70KM outside the US)
- Age – choose an age range between 13–65 years old
- Gender – choose between men, women or both genders
How much do I have to spend?
You can spend as little as $1/day – but the more you spend the more eyeballs you get on your ad. You can choose to run your ad continuously, or set an end time/date.
You can choose between 4 different types of call to action buttons for your local ad:
- Get Directions: Direct pet parents to your salon or pet store and drive foot traffic.
- Call Now: Direct customers to call your business and schedule an appointment
- Send Message: Communicate with customers through Facebook messaging.
- Learn More: Send people to your website for more information (it’s a great idea to direct them to a specific page that you created for the advert, rather than your main home page).
How to set up a local advert
- Go to your Pet business Facebook Page
- Click Promote in the top right corner
- Click Promote Your Local Business
- Fill in the details of your ad
- Click Promote
If you don’t see the Promote Your Local Business option, you may need to update the category for your Page – see instructions on this page from Facebook.
Time to take action: When do you think you’d like to run a local Facebook ad campaign for your pet business? Try and mock up an ad today so you know how it works for the day when you really need it!
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