Facebook Now Allows Customers to Call Businesses From News Feed Ads

Facebook announced a break through in social media advertising today! The social network added a “Call Now” button option to its News Feed ads in its effort to enhance its advertising initiatives for local businesses.

The new call-to-action button is specifically available for News Feed ads and enables a customer to telephone a business. Mobile customers who tap the button are redirected to their phone dialer.

The new feature is apart of Facebook’s “local awareness” objective launched in October 2014. Facebook calls this new feature its first advertising feature specifically designed to benefit local businesses. Thus far, businesses have had the option to include like buttons for their page and add a “Get Directions” button that automatically loads the user’s mapping application on mobile devices.

Facebook ads offer the ability to target people near your business or live n the vicinity. Facebook claims that these new local ads are “more cost-effective than traditional advertising channels like newspaper while providing more precise targeting and greater reach”.

To get started with your ad campaign, head to the Ad Create tool, available for all page administrators. Select “Local Awareness, “ then the page you want to promote. Next, enter your business’s address (your address will automatically populate if it’s already listed in your page info). A map will show you the area that will be covered by your ad. Advertisers will have the option to choose their target audience, add ad text, and now add a call-to-action for phone calls.

For more detailed instructions on how to get started with your Facebook Local Awareness ads, access it on Facebook here. Or, visit the Facebook for Business page for more information.