Are Paid Facebook Ads Worth the Bucks?

To advertise on Facebook, or not to advertise on Facebook?

There's still plenty of debate about whether advertising on Facebook (or social media in general) is worth it, and whether it's more useful as a lead generation tactic than a direct driver of sales. But as anyone on Facebook can see from the sheer number of promoted posts and sponsored stories, that businesses large and small are opening their wallets.

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We wanted to learn what's actually working on Facebook for startups, so we asked a panel of successful entrepreneurs which Facebook advertising strategies they find most useful -- and what kind of ROI they're seeing so far. Here's what they had to say:

1. Hitting Specific Targets

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- Joseph Ricard, Tunebash Inc

2. Using Facebook Paid Ads With a Darwinian Approach

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- Danny Boice, Speek

3. Using Facebook Ads to Grow Email Lists

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- Brett Farmiloe, Digital Marketing Agency

4. Working With a Growth Hacker

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- Rob Emrich, PaeDae

5. Boosting Mobile App Installs

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- Sean Johnson, Digital Intent

6. Offering Contests

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- Josh Weiss, Bluegala

7. Buying Advertising to Find Discussion Group Members

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- Sarah Schupp, UniversityParent

8. Retargeting on Facebook Exchange

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- Andrew Saladino, Just Bath Vanities