Understanding Meta

November 07, 2023

Understanding Meta

Let's start with the basics... what is Meta? Well, it turns out Meta is not just the way you conducts ads for Instagram and Facebook. Meta is actually the parent company to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and many more. Previously known as Facebook Inc. (as of October 2021), Meta was born to reflect the company's focus to developing the "metaverse" including technologies like AR and VR with programs and applications like Horizon World and Oculus [1].

According to Meta and ChatGPT, the implications of this change with businesses and how they advertise to consumers offers a range of opportunities, including:

Impact on Long-Term Brand Growth: Research indicates that digital advertising on Meta apps significantly contributes to long-term brand return on investment (ROI). Marketers focusing on building long-term brand equity can gain a competitive advantage in a digital-first landscape. Across various studies, it was found that the long-term ROI constituted almost 60% of the total ROI, demonstrating the importance of considering long-term impacts in advertising strategies [2].
Strategies for Driving Long-Term Growth on Meta Apps: To maximize the effectiveness of digital advertising on Meta apps, it is recommended to target broad audiences, use multiple formats including video, aim for sufficient ad exposure, and run campaigns for longer periods. These strategies are key in driving long-term sales through brand-building [2].
Future Advertising Opportunities in the Metaverse: The transition to Meta opens up new advertising possibilities in a 3D virtual world, like virtual reality billboards, product placement within games, sponsored content in the form of immersive experiences, and virtual influencers. These innovative advertising formats can create unique and engaging marketing opportunities [3].
Meta's Advanced Tools for Small Businesses: Meta has introduced new tools like Advantage+, which uses AI and automation to enhance advertising efficiency. These tools enable small businesses to create more effective and personalized ads, targeting relevant audiences based on details from their Facebook pages. This democratizes access to sophisticated advertising technologies for businesses of all sizes [4].
Comprehensive Guide to Meta Ads: Meta Ads, leveraging the extensive user base of Facebook and Instagram, allow for targeted advertising based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. The Meta Advertising Ecosystem includes Meta Business Suite and Ads Manager, offering a wide range of ad formats and placements. These tools enable advertisers to craft compelling ad creatives and manage ad campaigns effectively, optimizing ad performance to meet specific business objectives [5].

Meta has simplified the way businesses can create ads and target audiences, as now everything is under one platform. However, the selection is still extensive. There are five main categories in which an ad may be places. These are as follows:

Meta Ads offer a variety of placement options for advertisers, divided into different categories. Here are the six types of ad placements available on Meta Ads:

Nonetheless, these are optimal for very difference audiences. Just within the U.S.A., Facebook caters mostly to people between the ages of 35-44 [6] while Instagram's largest user group is men and women between the ages of 18-34 [7].

Even with all these differences within Meta already established, the type of advertising efforts you can realize are very different from one another. For example, boosting a post is different from running a post, which in turn it's different from using Ads vs. Ads Manager. We will explore these differences in the next blog post.