[Patrick directed me here, hope this helps add to your marketing efforts] There's two sides to social ads: cheap reach (which is where most people start) and the chance to grow your social presence (which is my preferred opportunity, but a less direct path to return). As Beley mentioned, businesses often struggle with ads pointing to their site. That's because people are on Facebook to interact with friends, family, perhaps even brands... they aren't out searching (i.e. it's interest marketing, not intent). Still, with the right targeting and the right site, you can find a response. Just don't expect it to be click, credit card, purchase like you might on AdWords or a direct response campaign (multi-source attribution is key to measuring social, as is post-purchase research). More than that however, let's think about what a small business has to bring to the table in social irrespective of ads. Usually it's personality. Whether paid or organic, you've got the ability to talk personally, to share local or topical information, to be an expert. That's what you advertise. If you have a class on Mondays, show it. If there's a rotating schedule of instructors, tell people who is on. When there's a success from a student, make that be the focus point. People respond to things which inspire / aspire, which they can discuss, or which they've tried as well. You want discussion. When Beley suggests promoting your page, what it's really about is getting more people to see that great content so, over time, they can act (buy). Otherwise you're just buying attention for nothing. Tactics: If you're buying clicks, refine to a target that matches and do what and give them a reason to click. Then hone your site to fit them (i.e. you can't expect me to know your lingo if I'm a random visitor). On the other hand, if you're pushing for interaction, step up the relationship fit (i.e. ditch the contest or make it easy entry, must-follow fans don't tend to care much) and push harder on the content. You have to understand Facebook as a system. Their goal is not to show your business, it's to show people what they'll [potentially] like so that they keep coming back. Thus Facebook suppresses posts to a small fraction of followers (i.e. 5-25% of your fans are likely seeing your posts), boosting can help get past that but should be reserved for the right post (one which is both interesting to people and targeted to your offering). Finally, think format, know the tools. Newsfeed ads tell a story, the sidebar pushes an offer or tests creative. Use the right one for you (usually the feed). There's lots of links and resources on the subject but this is ever evolving stuff (i.e. last month you could not tell how many link clicks you got on a boosted post, now you can). Read the books about the theory, the blogs which cover changes more than practices and test like hell. It's not hard to be at the forefront of this stuff yourself.
