241: The Biggest Misconception Auctioneers Have About Facebook Advertising

Auctioneers regularly ask me, “How much more would it cost to advertise across multiple states?” or “What would I need to budget for a national campaign?” If you have the same question(s), here’s the answer: THE SAME.

We’ve been conditioned by television, direct mail, and newspaper advertising to think that the more geography we cover, the more we have to budget. But that’s not how Facebook advertising works. If we’re paying to reach 5,000 people who are most likely to click on an ad, Facebook can show the ads to the 5,000 most likely in your county or your country. In fact, sometimes it costs less per prospect in a multi-state or national ad because those interested in special-use equipment, niche collectibles, or destination real estate are sparsely populated across a large geographic area. In other words, the local or regional radius might not have 5,000 people as interested as the 5,000 people spread around multiple states or the whole country. So, sometimes, you have to spend more per prospect locally to get as much traffic for the same Facebook spend as a national ad.

Not every asset is worth shipping states away, let alone three time zones away. That’s where your asset and market expertise help your sellers. I’ve regularly seen auctioneer intuition lead to bonkers results I didn’t anticipate. Outside of run-of-the-mill estate sales, it’s usually safe to assume your market is geographically bigger than you expect—especially if you offer online bidding and shipping assistance.

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