Yesterday was a big day for small businesses. Within 24 hours of each other, Facebook unveiled "Facebook for Business" and Google released Adwords Express, two products targeted very squarely at the small business advertising market.
Only...they didn't.
See, both of these products were available before. Facebook for Business is simply a web page linking to some PDFs, aggregating the business features that Facebook has been offering for awhile and Adwords Express is actually a reincarnation of the product Google telemarketers have been pushing: Google Boost, which is a simplified platform for advertising on Google. They tend to emphasize pointing your ad traffic at your Google Place page, which makes it seem new, but it really is the same thing they've been selling all along.
So, why the big hub-bub, all at once?
Well, Facebook and Google are engaged in a very real battle over your ad dollars. Google's new social networking platform, Google+ (which is still in beta), is scrambling to fill the gaping void left by Facebook's (nonexistent) privacy policies and create engagement among consumers. You see, they have their eye on that big, fat advertising revenue that Facebook as been able to generate through their dominance as a social media platform. Google figures that if Facebook did it to MySpace, Google can do it to Facebook and scoop up some of those ad dollars themselves.
Since Google+ is holding out on allowing businesses to participate in the shiny, new social networking platform while they work out the kinks and make sure that real people are really loving it, Facebook is trying to take advantage of this opportunity to gain the loyalty of businesses.
Which one is better?
The problem is, businesses shouldn't be loyal to an advertising platform. They should be loyal to their customers and prospects. The short answer to "which is better" is this: if there is a lot of awareness around your product or service and your customers are searching for it online, Google may be better for you. If you need to create awareness within a certain group that you can define using, for example, their demographics, Facebook may be better. For now. But that is what Google+ is working to change. If they can create critical mass among consumers, they will become a more attractive advertising platform for businesses wanting to target not just by search queries, but by social profiles, as well. In fact, the answer will vary by industry, by business, and by product. It's a complex question and sometimes you won't know the answer until you test.
So, if you're not feeling a little like a debutante at the big ball, you should be. Everybody wants to dance with you. How do you know who you should dance with?
Targeting - Make sure that you select a platform based on where your customers (and thus, your prospects) are hanging out.
Testing - Test everything: ads, messages, offers, landing pages...and if that just made your eyes glaze over, be sure you are working with marketing pros who can help you navigate and be sure you are using your ad dollars effectively. Trust me: it's a worthy investment.
Tracking - Be sure that, no matter what you do, you know what return you are getting for it. Not just how many visitors are coming to your website, but what they are doing after...are you hearing from them? Are they buying from you? Nothing is more telling about the effectiveness of your Targeting and Testing than conversions. And if you aren't Tracking, you don't know.
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Deb Jones is a Target | Test | Track fanatic. You can find her on Facebook at facebook.com/internet.marketing.science and on Google+ at gplus.to/debjjones.
