Facebook may no longer be the coolest or sexiest social network on the block.

It may no longer be the place where teens and tweens go to vent their angst.

In fact, 71.1 percent of all Facebook users are 25 years or older.

But you know what? It’s bigger than ever.

Recent data from Statista even shows that Facebook has 1.86 billion monthly users.

And just look at how much it continues to grow. That doesn’t look like a slowdown to me — let alone the “death of Facebook.”

This means the marketing opportunities are plentiful.

I even think that Facebook is one of the best places to spend your money.

To show you why, let’s just compare the cost-per-click (CPC) of Facebook and the ultimate PPC juggernaut, Google Adwords.

The average CPC on the Adwords search network is $2.32.

And what about Facebook?

The average CPC is only $0.64! With a bit of jiggering and some smart moves, you can crush this number to an even tinier amount!

That right there should pique the interest of most online marketers.

The other thing that I love about Facebook advertising is the wide variety of options that are available.

For example, you can build brand awareness, increase engagement, send traffic to your Facebook page or go right for the jugular and try to make an immediate conversion.

It really just depends on your specific goals and what you’re trying to accomplish.

Just look at all of the different marketing objectives you can choose from.

But here’s the deal.

Facebook is a different animal than traditional PPC platforms like Adwords.

In other words, Facebook is more than just buying clicks or impressions. Used correctly, Facebook comprises its own powerful sales funnel.

Allow me to explain.

Learn how I use sales funnels to drive sales and increase my conversions.

Taking a different approach

Let me ask you a question.

What’s your objective when you log into your Facebook account?

Is it to check your friend’s updates, comment on photos and generally see what’s happening in your network?

Or are you logging in to search for products and make a purchase?

Odds are it’s the former and not the latter. You’re going to hang out, not spend money.

Here’s a graph from AaronZakowski.com that shows us what most people spend their time doing on Facebook.

As you can see, Facebook is more about socializing than buying.

Seldom is making a purchase on a person’s mind when they’re scrolling through their Facebook feed.

This means that there is an overall low buying intent on Facebook. It sounds like a pretty silly place to try to sell, right?

Well, for some, yes. As a result, many brands end up being disappointed with their ROI.

Maybe they’re getting new followers, more engagement and so on, but it’s not really translating into solid conversions.

The problem isn’t with Facebook. The problem lies in the approach that many marketers take and “jumping the gun” by selling to someone who isn’t fully on board to buy.

Afterall, you can’t expect a cold lead to instantly whip out their credit card and buy. They’re just not in the buying mindset.

You’ve seen the buying cycle before, right?

Facebook may no longer be the coolest or sexiest social network on the block.

It may no longer be the place where teens and tweens go to vent their angst.

In fact, 71.1 percent of all Facebook users are 25 years or older.

But you know what? It’s bigger than ever.

Recent data from Statista even shows that Facebook has 1.86 billion monthly users.

And just look at how much it continues to grow. That doesn’t look like a slowdown to me — let alone the “death of Facebook.”

This means the marketing opportunities are plentiful.

I even think that Facebook is one of the best places to spend your money. And I spend a lot!

To show you why, let’s just compare the cost-per-click (CPC) of Facebook and the ultimate PPC juggernaut, Google Adwords.

The average CPC on the Adwords search network is $2.32.

And what about Facebook?

The average CPC is only $0.64! With a bit of jiggering and some smart moves, you can crush this number to an even tinier amount!

That right there should pique the interest of most online marketers.

The other thing that I love about Facebook advertising is the wide variety of options that are available.

For example, you can build brand awareness, increase engagement, send traffic to your Facebook page or go right for the jugular and try to make an immediate conversion.

It really just depends on your specific goals and what you’re trying to accomplish.

Just look at all of the different marketing objectives you can choose from.

But here’s the deal.

Facebook is a different animal than traditional PPC platforms like Adwords.

In other words, Facebook is more than just buying clicks or impressions. Used correctly, Facebook comprises its own powerful sales funnel.

Allow me to explain.

Learn how I use sales funnels to drive sales and increase my conversions.

Taking a different approach

Let me ask you a question.

What’s your objective when you log into your Facebook account?

Is it to check your friend’s updates, comment on photos and generally see what’s happening in your network?

Or are you logging in to search for products and make a purchase?

Odds are it’s the former and not the latter. You’re going to hang out, not spend money.

Here’s a graph from AaronZakowski.com that shows us what most people spend their time doing on Facebook.

As you can see, Facebook is more about socializing than buying.

Seldom is making a purchase on a person’s mind when they’re scrolling through their Facebook feed.

This means that there is an overall low buying intent on Facebook. It sounds like a pretty silly place to try to sell, right?

Well, for some, yes. As a result, many brands end up being disappointed with their ROI.

Maybe they’re getting new followers, more engagement and so on, but it’s not really translating into solid conversions.

The problem isn’t with Facebook. The problem lies in the approach that many marketers take and “jumping the gun” by selling to someone who isn’t fully on board to buy.

Afterall, you can’t expect a cold lead to instantly whip out their credit card and buy. They’re just not in the buying mindset.

You’ve seen the buying cycle before, right?

Face it. If someone is in the “opportunity recognition” phase, they probably aren’t pulling out their credit card to make a purchase.

But all is not lost. Because there are customers who are ready to buy. But for the vast majority of Facebook users who have no intention to buy, there is still a way to coax them to a purchase.

How?

The key to succeeding with Facebook advertising is to first develop a sales funnel.

It must be sensible, logical, and take into account the fact that most Facebook users aren’t in a “buy now” mindset.

With that being said, I would like to present you with a step-by-step guide to creating a Facebook sales funnel.

Here we go.

Step 1 – Create segmented content

To begin, you’re going to need to have a few different forms of content at your disposal.This could include an epic blog post, video, infographic, slideshow, webinar or eBook.

It doesn’t really matter which specific path you take as long as it’s high quality, engaging, and relevant to the specific product you’re promoting.

Just make sure that it’s on your website. This will be important later on when you eventually retarget leads and work them further down your funnel.

You’ll need to have multiple forms of content so that you can reach different segments of your audience.

A one-size-fits-all approach won’t usually suffice because you’ll have different people at different levels of the buying process.

Some may be cold with very little interest in making a purchase and are simply doing some research.

Others may be warm and seriously considering making a purchase right away.

Having a variety of engaging content will ensure that you’ve got something for all of the little sub-niches of your audience.

And once they’re exposed to your content, they’re in your funnel.

Step 2 – Promote content to your “warm audience”

Target “lookalike audiences”

Facebook has a term they’ve dubbed lookalike audiences, “who look like your current customers, visitors to your website or Page fans.”

In other words, these are individuals with interests, habits, and behaviors that are similar to your existing core audience.

You can think of this demographic as a cold audience that could be easily warmed up to become viable leads.

Therefore, these are the people you want to target.

To do this, you’ll need to go to the Audiences section of Facebook ads.

Now click on “Create a Lookalike Audience.”