Facebook Marketing

Facebook marketing is a vital part of any social advertising strategy but all to often advertisers find themselves frustrated with Facebook advertising. Often times they find they can get clicks to ads but not many conversions or a campaign that was previously converting is no longer doing so.

The great thing is you can learn from all my previous mistakes and use these tips to help improve some of your own campaigns.

• Test ads evenly – Unlike Google Facebook lacks an evenly rotate option and will show the ad that gets the most clicks which is not often the ads that gets the most conversions. So it’s important to pause those ads to let others rotate.

• Segment- Just like in keyword based advertising the more general the segment the less likely it will be to convert. It’s important to try out different segments and tailor your ads towards those segments as much as possible. The important thing to remember is you’re not targeting keywords you’re targeting interests and like keywords not all segments will work but that’s not a reason to write off Facebook all together.

• Combat ad fatigue- Unlike Google advertising where new users are constantly coming to your site Facebook ads are shown to the same segments over and over again so users will quickly tune those ads out over time. It’s important to keep rotating images out to keep things fresh. A good guideline is to rotate images every two weeks or so.

• Try look alike audiences- with lookalike audiences you can load a list of email address from existing customers of your site into Facebook. Facebook will then get the common likes and interest traits of those existing customers from their Facebook pages and use those common interests to create a new segment of advertisers. This works quite well in obtaining new conversions from an otherwise un-thought of audience.

• Can’t get conversions try likes – Getting likes to your page helps build up an audience. Facebook offers sponsored stories if you have a Facebook page which are which are ads that display in a users newsfeed and look similar to an ad users would get when they subscribe to a business page. Facebook will scan the users profile for their likes pages and use those likes pages to advertise the business to their other friends. These tend to work rather well at getting conversions.

• Try landing page testing – When ads are getting tons of clicks but no conversions it could very well be your landing page. Test several variations of landing pages to see which one works better for you. To evenly test landing pages we suggest using testing tools such as Optimizely.

• It’s not you it’s Facebook – Even your most successful segments will burn out eventually so it’s important to realize this as you’re setting up a new campaign. To help combat segment burnout we suggest refreshing images. If this ceases to work it may be time to pause that segment for awhile.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you're aware that social media is dominating the online landscape and appreciate the power and influence of social media platforms, currently showing no signs of slowing down. For all businesses this means that choosing not to engage with social media platforms will prove detrimental to their desired long-term success. Whether business owners like it or not, engaging with friends and followers on social media platforms is no longer a “nice to have”, but forms an integral part of brand awareness and business success.

There was a time when we used to sit in front of our television sets and passively consume television commercials, relentlessly surfing the same 3-10 channels for something to watch. We did this because we didn’t really have a choice, there was no alternative to the top-down method of communication from brand to consumer. But with the advent and popularity of social media channels, all of that changed. Suddenly, it wasn’t only brands that had a voice. Everybody from the teenager Tweeting on the bus to the Mum Facebooking her friends via her home PC to the couples creating Youtube videos together suddenly had an online voice.

Brand awareness is no longer something that can be dictated by the amount of capital that is invested into a television or radio campaign, it now hinges on true engagement and the sites for true engagement in 2014 include social media platforms.

If you are a business owner who is not yet present on social media, you need to immediately sign up. After signing up, you need to form a social media strategy that will enable you to reach your target demographic online and communicate your most important messages with that audience in order to boost your brand awareness. It is not enough (although it is important) to post new content to your audience every day. You have to think carefully about how your content promotes the value of your business and why it is meaningful to your audience. By creating and promoting this kind of original and meaningful content via social media channels, you will build a loyalty with followers and customers that cannot be bought with media spend.

It is also extremely important to recognize that the world of social media is a two way street. Brand success within social media is not only about posting useful content but also about listening to what your followers have to say, replying to them, and showing that you care. Used in the right ways, social media can provide you with brand awareness, brand authority, and an unbreakable connection with your client base.

Nowadays Facebook is a part of everyone’s life, one way or another. As the biggest, popular and rapidly growing social networking site on the planet and millions of subscribers; Facebook presents a viable opportunity to connect with a specific target market demographically through their targeted advertisements and fan page.

This means your presence on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites have become an integral part of any online marketing campaign. Every business needs Social Media Marketing that includes fan page creation, ad management, content management and application development as part of a complete SEO approach.

• Facebook Ad Management- One of the efficient methods to reach your target market is using Facebook's advertising platform, it’s a cost-effective way to draw an audience and generate interest in your product, brand, or service.
• Custom Facebook Fan Pages- Interactive fan pages are a wonderful in developing better brand recognition and loyalty. By maintaining a fan page, you can update and grow your email list as well as easily provide updated information on product updates or new releases.
• Facebook Page Management- Social media has a lot to offer it also requires considerable knowledge to establish and meet your goals and give your corporate Facebook account a voice.

Advantages of Facebook Marketing

• Facebook marketing effectiveness is immeasurable, allowing a more focused approach to targeting specific markets based on demographics, keywords, common interests and more. Facebook is a convenient venue to advertise upcoming sales, new products, promotions, and so much more.

• Your company’s Facebook page can be promoted via a newsletter link and grow current subscribers, expand audience reach as well as increase shares, fans or likes to your page.

• You can add a social plugin to your blog or website which allows visitors to like your page without visiting your Facebook account.

• You can create Facebook groups to share knowledge about your product or brand to a larger audience.

• You can customize your Facebook page URL to allow search engines to easily remember your page and contribute to your site’s online presence.

• You can encourage better interaction with your fans by conducting polls, surveys or contests to generate more interest.

• Create events and track visitors to your Facebook page, share tips and continue growing your blog’s audience.

Social media can help you make sales if you use it in the right way. Think engagement and content first and then sales will naturally come from that.

On social media you need to be active and engage readers, providing good content and not just your sales messages. If you are just going to be salesman and make pitches then social media is not going to work for you. The whole idea is to become involved with your audience, answer questions, provide solutions and be an engaging personality. The more engaging and friendly the content and interaction, the better the payoff. Be the expert in your field and not that annoyingly loud “pitch-guy” for your company.