Set it up: Setting up an advertisement is a simple process. “Honestly, my 18-year-old daughter could do it,” said Drew McLellan, CEO of McLellan Marketing Group. To create an ad, users log onto www.Facebook.com and click on a button on the right side of the page that says “Create an Ad.” From there, Facebook will walk the user through a step-by-step process. Ads can be posted on the same day if necessary.

Cost: Facebook will give users a recommended amount to spend per day, which users can adjust up or down. The cost is generally low, though it has gone up, according to recent reports. Phil James, owner of Good Milkshake LLC, which helped run advertisements for Cafe di Scala, said he typically wouldn’t spend more than $3 or $4 a day. Josh Fleming, interactive marketing director at Lessing-Flynn Advertising, said his clients typically will spend between $50 and $200 per month.

Functionality: One of the major drawbacks of advertising on Facebook is the lack of creativity. The site only allows a title, a 135-character description and an image. Ads will typically appear to users as they interact within the site, and occasionally on the user’s home page. Important in the creation of an ad is the landing page that it links to, said Katie Miller-Smith, director of Catchfire Media LLC. A common mistake is to direct users to a webpage that has nothing to do with the advertisement. Instead, ads should direct users to a place with a purpose, such as a specialized tab on the company’s Facebook fan page.

Targeting: Probably the most important feature of Facebook advertising is that advertisers can target their demographics more specifically than with any other medium. Facebook advertising isn’t intended to reach the masses in the same way that a newspaper or television ad would. Instead, it’s designed to reach a very specific group of people who in some cases will have a very specific interest, based on what they “like” in their Facebook profile.

Performance: Facebook allows businesses quick access to see how their ad is performing. That means businesses can run different ads for different targets and see what works best. It’s a feature some businesses don’t take advantage of as much as they should, Fleming said. The advertising prices are cheap enough that businesses should use the medium to test what works and what doesn’t, he said.