When Forbes reported a decline in active Facebook users in 2014, people started wondering if Facebook advertising was on the way out. With new social networks emerging regularly, it's a legitimate concern for small business owners. But to paraphrase the Brits, "Facebook is dead. Long live Facebook!"

Reach a Large Audience

As social media evolves, Facebook has proven to be a nimble competitor despite its massive size. According to its own report, in the second quarter of 2015 alone, Facebook reached 1.49 billion active monthly users and reported $4.04 billion in revenue. Put simply, Facebook offers far too large an audience for businesses to ignore.

According to Forbes, Facebook was the only social network to experience a decline in active monthly users in 2014, while others saw large jumps in activity. However, looking forward, AdWeek predicts Facebook will continue to dominate in terms of overall numbers. Its biggest competitor, Instagram (which is owned by Facebook), has nearly 100 million fewer users, and that number is still larger than the audience held by any other social media network. Facebook helps you reach a larger audience than any other social network out there, and SMBs can target their ads to make sure that the right users in that audience are seeing their ads.

Display ad purchases aren't just a matter of bidding for available space. Other factors enter the equation, particularly when it comes to the type of website where ad space is purchased. Brands tend to be concerned about where their advertising dollars are spent, and they weigh all the pros and cons of their associations with television shows, print publications and, yes, websites.

This is where a digital consultant can be invaluable in directing your brand safety efforts. Programmatic advertising has made the process of matching ads to available spaces much easier, not to mention hands-free. But it's also created an increasing need for brand safety solutions — technical measures that can help you ensure that you're only placing your ads on quality websites that align with your company values.

Much of the buzz surrounding mobile marketing revolves around creating online conversions and increasing digital sales. But did you know that mobile technologies are also essential for increasing sales within your store? In fact, Marketing Land notes that, according to data from Google, they're a driving force behind in-store purchases. The data shows mobile users are "closer to purchase decisions and often have immediate needs and desires," making them a prime audience for marketing efforts.

If you're not already using mobile technologies to get consumers into your store, you might want to start capitalizing on the many micro-moments you have to interact with your customers. Here are three areas where you can get started today and see immediate results:

Retargeting has become a staple for marketers eager to increase conversions, and it's one strategy that's getting better all the time. Retargeting platforms have only become more precise and effective over the years, thus encouraging one of digital marketing's most rewards-rich campaign channels.

Building a retargeting strategy may seem like a challenge at first, but armed with the knowledge of what to do — and, perhaps more importantly, what not to do — you can launch an effective campaign. Here are some essential dos and don'ts to lay the foundation for a successful retargeting strategy.

Do Target Shoppers Who Abandon Carts at Checkout

Retargeting can be deployed through several channels — social media, email or website, for example — but when it comes to increasing sales, the best bet is on retargeting those close-but-not-quite conversions on your website or online store. There, the primary target audience is made up of consumers who've recently shown interest in or intent of conversion before bailing out at the last minute. Reminding them of their interest may convince them to return and complete their purchase.

Most people like to think that their daily routines offer some downtime where they can take a break from their smartphones and tablets. In practice, though, mobile device usage is often at the center of those relaxation periods. This habit also extends into vacations. BookingSuite notes that a TripAdvisor online survey shows that 90 percent of Americans surveyed use smartphones while traveling — even abroad.

This steady mobile habit presents an interesting opportunity for marketers. Consumers have their mobile devices with them everywhere they go — basically, if your target audience is awake, they're accessible.

The digital climate is changing rapidly as more and more people are using their mobile devices to interact with brands, purchase products and obtain information. However, Marketing Land reports that Mary Meeker, a Kleiner Perkins partner, found that though the average person consumes 20 percent of his or her media on mobile devices, advertising spend in the mobile sphere is still less than five percent.

Though there might be some hurdles that stand in the way of your organization achieving mobile success, you will be missing out on a vast number of opportunities if you do not invest in this channel. Here are three potential obstacles that might be preventing your organization from taking advantage of this market — and how you can overcome them.

The modern mobile shopper is taking a whole new journey when he or she makes a purchase, and what you don't know about this process can cost you valuable business. Nowadays, there's no longer a simple sales funnel: The circular cycle through which purchases are made has become an intricate set of interactions involving any number of competing brands. But, according to Think With Google, 93 percent of people who use their mobile devices to research a product or service eventually make a purchase. As such, in order to be viable in today's market, you need to know the new stages involved in the mobile shopping path.

Facebook has already established itself as the gold standard for social media advertising, but now the company is striving to stake a claim as an integral component of online commerce. According to Marketing Land, Facebook is testing a new shopping feature that allows brands to host catalogs and make items available for sale right through the social network itself, which eliminates the need to drive clicks through to a separate retail website. As the Facebook shopping feature removes a step in the purchasing process, it has the potential to increase consumer shopping activity.

Facebook Establishes Itself in the Online Retail Space

After installing a "Buy" button last year to more directly drive shopping referrals from Facebook business pages, the company is now creating an even more robust commerce experience. The introduction of this Facebook shopping tool is the latest — and most significant — step made by the social network to establish itself in the online retail space. If testing goes well, a platform-hosted shop may find a permanent home underneath the "About" section of a brand's profile page.

Mobile display ads are often associated with generating website traffic or boosting social networking profiles. However, there's one key feature that marketers may be overlooking: the ability to generate calls to your business. Though traditional search ads are still a great way to reach consumers, the mobile variety has become an increasingly important component of campaigns, designed to drive calls in response to shifting consumer behavior patterns.

The Shift to Mobile

It's no secret that consumers are using smartphones to browse the Web more than ever. A 2014 study by the Pew Research Center found that "34 percent of smartphone Internet users go online mostly using their phones and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer." That represents a huge shift in behavior, and it's important that marketers respond to it. While fairly few consumers use only their smartphones to access the Web, marketers looking to drive calls through display campaigns need to reach consumers where they are comfortable and where they will be most likely to respond instantly to these ads — on their smartphones.

There's a reason some marketers consider retargeting to be the highest-value digital campaign, and it all starts with the audience you choose. Unlike many other types of digital marketing, which aim to reach new consumers and expand brand reach and visibility, retargeting concerns itself only with past website traffic and consumers who have demonstrated an interest in your products or services.

Retargeted ads, whether delivered through traditional computers or via a mobile retargeting strategy, attempt to reconnect with those prospects who have since moved away from your brand's properties without completing a conversion. The retargeted ads function as a means of trying to rescue and secure a potential conversion.

The trick to optimizing retargeting campaigns all hinges on the quality of their underlying strategy. Here's a guide to making the most of this digital opportunity.