It’s no secret that Google and Facebook have immense financial resources at their disposal.
In good news for businesses that are struggling to deal with the fallout of the global COVID-19 crisis, both companies have announced that they’re using some of their monetary clout to launch a series of grants, ad credits and other financial assistance measures.
While the full details of these packages have not yet been released, we wanted to keep you up-to-date with the latest information so that you can plan properly and make the most of this assistance if/when you get access to it.
What does this mean for you?
If your business is lucky enough to still be operating, then financial grants and ad credits can be used to fund your online marketing activities (which help you reach your customers/clients and help to keep revenue coming in).
But what if your business has had to temporarily close, as has been the case for lots of operators in the hospitality, travel and tourism sectors? Why bother advertising if your doors aren’t open?
The important thing to realise is that this crisis won’t last forever, and maintaining contact with current and prospective clients/customers will enable you to bounce back more quickly when life returns to normal.
Even if you aren’t operating at the moment, now is a great time to be focusing on your marketing funnels. The more people that you’re able to get into the top of your funnel now, the more you’ll be able to convert into sales once you’re back up and running again.
That’s why these grants and ad credits are such a big deal for everyone.
Google COVID-19 Ad Credits Q&A
If you really want to learn as much as possible about the Google Ad credits and other financial assistance measures, we recommend heading straight to the source:
- Google Grants Overview
- Message From The Google CEO
For those that want a more high-level view, we’ve put together the following Q&A summary that distills the most important facts.
Q: What is Google doing for businesses?
A: In order to help small and medium-sized businesses stay in touch with their customers during this challenging time, Google is giving out a worldwide total of $340 million (USD) in ad credits.
Q: What is an ad credit?
A: Ad credits will essentially be “free” money that Google is planning to give eligible businesses access to through their Google Ad accounts. Businesses can then use these credits to pay for Google ads.
Q: What can the Google Ad credits be used for?
A: These ad credits can be applied to all types of Google ad campaigns. Unlike their pre-existing non-profit ad grant, it will not be limited to search campaigns only.
Q: Who is eligible for ad credits?
A: The ad credits will be available to small and medium-sized businesses around the world who advertise directly with Google (or through a partner agency like us) and have had an active Google Ads account since January 1, 2019 (and comply with all Google Ads T&Cs).
Q: How and when will eligible customers receive their ad credits?
A: While Google hasn’t given any exact answers as to when people will start receiving these credits, they’ve said that they’ll inform people through notifications within their Google Ads account.
Facebook COVID-19 Small Business Grants FAQ
As with the Google information above, if you’d like to learn about Facebook’s grants in detail, click here to visit their site and read their official update.Otherwise, check out our Q&A summary below. Unfortunately, they haven’t released a whole lot of detail at the moment, so rest assured that we’ll keep you informed as soon as more details come to light.
Q: What are they offering?
A: While they are yet to confirm the exact details, Facebook have said that they’re going to be offering $100 million (USD) in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries.
Q: Who is eligible?
A: Again, details are a bit hard to come by at the moment. However, what you can do is click here and sign up for updates directly from Facebook (see the bottom of the page).
Q: How and when will eligible customers receive the grants and ad credits?
A: While Facebook hasn’t given out much information about this, we’re keeping a close eye on communications with our Facebook agency reps. In the meantime, the best thing you can do is use the link we supplied above to sign up for updates.
Making The Most Of Your Ad Credits & Grants
Just because Google and Facebook are giving away seemingly “free” money, it doesn’t mean you should be flippant or wasteful with any ad credits or grants that you receive.With business conditions being so tough at the moment - and looking like they’ll only get tougher - it’s vitally important that you have a well-thought-out plan in place to use this funding to generate the biggest positive impact you can.
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