How Schnucks is Winning at Facebook Advertising

Every town in America has their local flavor of grocery store. In St. Louis, the two biggest players are Dierbergs and Schnucks.  Both family-owned companies, these two (along with many other cut-rate stores) compete for customers on thin margins, personal label items and additional departments (floral, bakery, deli, etc) to make their money.

We see their ads on TV and hear them on the radio, but don’t often see them on Facebook.

Well, that changed this week, when I saw an ad for Schnucks that was perfect.

So today is March 5th, and in just 11 days I’ll be celebrating my 23rd wedding anniversary.  Pretty important day – one that guys tend to forget.

But not this year, thanks to Schnucks.

Smart Targeting

I’m quickly becoming a Facebook advertising nut. The reach, targeting and options are nearly endless. Want clicks that cost a penny or less? Facebook ads (done right) can get that, easily.

One of the great things Facebook ads can do is target certain demographics – take anniversary for instance.

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Now, I’m not 100% certain what their targeting is, but I can get a pretty good idea since I happen to fit their target market – afterall, the ad showed up in my feed.

• I’m a man
• I’m married
• I’m over the age of 35 (ie I have money for a dozen roses)
• I live within x miles of a Schnucks
• I have an anniversary within the next 14 days

These simple targeting parameters mean Schnucks is showing relevant ads to qualified customers.

It doesn’t necessarily matter in this case, but it is worth noting: I am not currently a fan of the Schnucks Facebook page.

Be Specific and Hit the Target

Facebook targeting doesn’t have to be rocket science.  While you may not have roses to sell, there are still plenty of demographic-related ads you could come up with if you take a few minutes to get creative.

Hint: St Patrick’s Day. Can you show ads that resonate with single drinkers, married folks with no kids or leprechauns? Ok, maybe you can’t target leprechauns (yet)…

Listen, there’s a big, open world out there (and by out there I mean Facebook).  They have so much information on their users that the targeting can be really specific (and accurate). If you’re thinking about getting in on the FB ad game, just be careful – much like Google AdWords, you can go through your money quickly if you don’t know what you’re doing. And of course, you can always hire us to come up with a specific strategy for building your likes, increasing your website traffic, and boosting your conversions.