Nowadays, thousands of online entrepreneurs, small businesses, and large companies are monetizing Facebook through contests. It is not uncommon to see businesses pushing products, services, or causes through contests hosted in the social networking site. If you own digital space of any kind, you should be doing the same. The power of Facebook as a marketing tool is undeniable. Facebook is after all the biggest social media site out there. Its members are close to approaching the one billion mark. If this doesn't make you rush out and use Facebook like crazy, nothing will. The great thing about the social network is that you don't have to be an online entrepreneur to be able to make use of it. Even if your business only operates offline, you can still make a huge online presence for it on Facebook.
Holding a Facebook contest is nothing new. Ever since the site's beginnings, people have been using it to conduct contests. Now that the site has grown into a whole new level, it's not surprising to see hundreds of contests being held on it in a daily basis. Marketers have seen the potential of Facebook contests and they are taking full advantage of it. You should be doing it as well if you want to leverage Facebook's huge traffic and member levels. Of course, the process is not as simple as offering prizes and stuff. You have to plan everything just like any marketing campaign. You can't just go in there without any directions or goals. If you do, you will likely fail.
Everybody knows that besides Facebook's advertising program, everything on the site is free to use. You don't have to pay a cent to make use of the services, resources and tools that it offers. Speaking of tools, there's one tool that is particularly helpful in holding Facebook contests and that would be the Facebook Connect feature. If you want to try monetizing Facebook through contests then Facebook Connect is something you should look into. This is going to make the whole contest process easier to conduct and of course simpler to track and measure. Facebook Connect was specifically made to help outside parties like you to get a better experience on the social network. With regards to contests, Facebook Connect will amplify the results of your contest campaign.
But first of all, what exactly is Facebook Connect and why does it matter in hosting Facebook contests? In the simplest of terms, it is but a feature of Facebook that allows users to share their information and activities with third party websites and applications. You are basically connecting your Facebook account with third party websites. That is of course if you allow them to. Looking at this scenario on a marketing perspective, this is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs, marketers, and businesses to get connected with customers, readers, clients, fans, etc. It is therefore not surprising to see many websites holding Facebook contests by leveraging the Facebook Connect feature. You will simply double or even triple the number of people you can reach if you use Facebook Connect on a contest.
Here's what happens if you host a contest on Facebook and then make use of Facebook Connect. Let's say you create a web application specifically for the contest you have in mind. In order for people to join in on the contest, they have to have a Facebook profile and they have to connect it to the web application you created via Facebook Connect. To use the web application, they will log in using the Facebook login details because this is the whole point behind Facebook Connect. You simply use your Facebook login details to sign in into third party websites and applications.
Now, whenever these people interact with your application, these interactions will be shown in their Facebook walls. They will show up in the feeds of other users who are friends with the people who joined your contest. In essence, people who join your contests will be promoting your contest for free. More people will be directed to your Facebook contest. There's a snowball effect. This is where the magic happens. If your Facebook contest is interesting enough, it could go viral. If the contest is geared towards promoting a product or service of yours, expect a spike in your sales. That's how powerful Facebook contests can be.
One obvious drawback of using Facebook Connect on a contest is the fact that people nowadays are more aware about security issues. They won't just give up their Facebook login details. Although Facebook Connect is pretty secure, you cannot discount the fact that people sometimes get freaked out when asked to connect their Facebook profiles to websites external of the Facebook banner. However, if the offers or prizes in your contest are hard to refuse, Facebook users have proven time and time again that they take risks when confronted with great free offers. With that said, if you play your cards well, people will be more than willing to connect their Facebook accounts to your website or application.
Now, let's go to the monetization part. The goal is monetizing Facebook through contests right? That basically translates to making money off Facebook. Most businesses use Facebook contests for marketing purposes like branding, introducing a new product or service, etc. You can also use the contests to make money right off the bat. The goal is to drive as many people as possible to your website or web application through the Facebook Connect feature then introduce them to your offers and services. It's as simple as that. In other words, the contest is merely a bait. This may sound a bit unethical but most of the time this is what Facebook contests are all about - just a small part in a huge marketing puzzle. It's a very effective marketing strategy as long as you have high quality products and services that will draw customers towards you.
Here are a few tips on how to effectively conduct a contest using Facebook Connect:
Offer great prizes. Give people reasons why they should connect their Facebook account to your website or application. If you are offering prizes of $5, why would anyone even bother connecting to you? So offer prizes that will blow people away that they will have no choice but to join.
Create a Facebook Page specifically for your contest. Keep in mind that a Facebook Page is different from a Facebook Profile or a Facebook Group Page. A Page differs because it can be viewed by anyone on the web whether he/she is logged into Facebook or not. This makes it a very great tool in promoting your contest.
Encourage those who joined your contest to share the contest with their Facebook friends. This will ensure that your contest is exposed to as many people as possible. Imagine someone sharing your contest to a thousand of his friends then these thousand friends do the same. The numbers can easily grow as people start sharing your contest.
These are everything you need to know about monetizing Facebook through contests. Keep them in mind and most importantly, follow them. A Facebook contest isn't too hard to pull off. If you have great offers, Facebook users will do all the marketing for you. For instance, if you're going to offer a free iPad, thousands of people will likely share your contest right after you announce it.
Kevin Coombe is the Owner of Market Web Group, LLC an online media consultant firm. He founded Market Web Group, LLC in 2009. The mission of Market Web Group is to generate a consistent stream of qualified leads for Businesses.
Market Web Group does Real Time Marketing for Businesses, both Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C). Strategies include: Video Marketing, SEO, SEM, PPC, Local Search (Google Maps), Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing, and most importantly (Automated Follow-up).
The Market Web Group puts your business message in front of your ideal customers online, in hundreds of places, so they see it, and your business gets noticed, for the lowest possible fee.
Friday, April 13, 2018
The Power of Facebook Advertising
Social media was once considered to be only for teenagers or for those looking for romance and relationships but that has changed dramatically in recent years. Facebook has evolved as one of the most valuable assets to advertisers who are striving to reach a particular niche audience.
Facebook is the largest and most visited social network on the web today is.
Not only is it a popular location for social interactions but also it is becoming a fiercely competitive marketing tool. Many entrepreneurs are beginning to tap into this advantageous method of generating leads and sales for their businesses. Research is showing that the average Facebook user spends just over 6 hours a month on Facebook which is double the amount of time of its closest competitor, Google. Over 50% of these users are perusing Facebook from a mobile device which means that there are more than 543 mobile users searching for goods and services while on-the-go. Every day there are more than 3.2 billion items that are liked or commented about on Facebook pages and that translates into a very powerful mode of advertising for any business.
Advertising campaigns on Facebook are providing up to a 5 fold return on any investment because of the strategic targeting of the right audience. Consumers are becoming more aware of brands and are recalling what they are seeing more than other online advertising averages. Facebook advertising is the catalyst for more positive conversations about businesses as well. More importantly, the 47% trust rate for advertising on Facebook commands a respect and awareness of this tool that can effectively be used to expand the bottom line.
When considering the most efficient way to invest advertising dollars, you should include Facebook advertising in your plan. You can connect to this exploding power to target new business, to generate high quality leads, and to piggyback additional advertising strategies, like word-of-mouth advertising, to more effectively stretch your advertising monies. An entirely new world of possibilities will be opened up to you with Facebook advertising.
Facebook advertisers are permitted to geo-target an audience by country which allows the advertiser the ability to limit or expand the message of their ad based on settings that are selected. Most of the countries in the world are now Facebook friendly which expands boundaries that once limited the sale of products to smaller areas and locations.
One of the features of advertising with Facebook is the advantage of keyword interest targeting. When a user signs up for Facebook, they create a profile page that is based on their interests, likes, and activities. When you create your ad for Facebook, you have the option of searching and selecting keywords that are of interest to a specific user. This will better target an audience that is already interested in your ad before they even see it. As an example, let's say that you as an advertiser are trying to reach people who are doing home remodeling projects. When you type in the word home remodeling, a list of keywords will be pulled up for you that are related to the profiles of users who listed home remodeling as one of their interests. You can then choose any of these keywords in your ad to reach those people who have these keywords in their profiles. You are targeting an audience who is interested in your information and who will respond to your ad.
Before you begin your advertising campaign, it's important to clearly know who you want to target. Customize your Facebook advertising to the target market so that this tool work better for you and your company. Try to vary your approach so you can attract different groups. 20 year olds will view your ad differently than a 40 years old will even if they have the same need for your product. Appeal to your potential client in a positive and attention-getting way. Be clear, concise, and brief.
There are several ways to advertise on Facebook; you can use these cost-effective ways to increase the traffic to your website and generate more business and profits for you. The first way to advertise on Facebook is to create a business profile so you can interact with your list of "fans" whom you will persuade to become clients. You can send out updates, news articles, special offers and promotions, and discount information to the entire list; Facebook affords you the ability to communicate instantly with a list of people who have already indicated that they are interested in your products.
Another way that you can advertise powerfully on Facebook is to buy an ad that is targeted toward a segment of the user base. Each one of these users has an enormous amount of information stored in their profiles. This information can be used to target them based on a selected keyword or filter. Using this method will assure you of reaching potential customers who are most likely to buy your product.
Word-of-mouth advertising has been brought into the digital age with Facebook's beacon tool. News feeds let users access each other's personal profiles and postings or comments. Facebook allows businesses the ability to report a user's actions with the business website and company to the user's friends. If a Facebook customer buys a product from you or engages in discussion regarding their satisfaction with your company, their interaction with you will be posted in the news feed which will automatically create a referral system for your business. It's word-of-mouth in cyberspace.
The first thing to consider as you plan your Facebook ad strategy is your goal. Are you going to advertise your product, expand the number of people who like your business page, inform the Facebook community of your business and what you do, or are you simply getting the attention of potential customers. As your goals become clearer, begin to decide on the type of ad you will create; there are three types from which you can choose.
Crafted ads target Facebook users by filtering demographic information such as age, location, and gender. These ads will be featured in the right hand column of Facebook pages. You can create sponsored stories which interact with a Facebook fan's page with the specific story. The ad will show up in the right hand column once the fan likes your particular post. You can also select promoted posts which are more visible in the posts on friends' pages and on their contacts' pages as well. One of the most powerful aspects of Facebook advertising is the customer loyalty that you will build. Create your own business Facebook page that will allow you to directly interact with your clients. This will give a more personal touch to your business and also will allow you to use word-of-mouth advertising that you generate from your Facebook ads to spread the word in a cost-effective way. Client satisfaction, customer service, and buyer protection are all tenets of a marketing strategy that will work nicely for you and your Facebook advertising campaign.
You can offer special promotions, new products, or the latest trends with your product with your Facebook ads to reach clients that are strategically targeted and already interested in your product or service. This will provide up-dated information to your clients and keep them better informed in a time-efficient way. Today's consumers on are the go with busy schedules and demanding deadlines. These ads will connect with them and solve their issues and concerns in a timely fashion.
Facebook ads are much more flexible than other internet locations. You will be offered additional character length for any ad descriptions that you might have. You can also improve your flexibility with image-based ads that attract the visual buyer. If someone participates in the Facebook community, then they are already proven to be a visually stimulated consumer. Use images and photos of high quality and that convey your message with the power of a thousand words. Your Facebook ads will be more visible to an audience who is there to engage in obtaining information as well as to create it themselves.
With the Facebook site itself generating such a high rate of traffic on a daily basis, your ad has a much better chance of being seen and having a positive effect. It will be seen a multitude of times by a targeted audience who is already comfortable shopping the online arena. Users visit the site many, many times a day and your ad will be there to greet them as they login and begin to participate.
You are also allowed with your Facebook ad to purchase space on a click-based or impression-based fee structure. Using your budget and personal preferences, you can tailor your ad campaign to meet the needs and goals of your business plan.
Because of the targeted nature of Facebook, advertising on Facebook can be affordable for you company. You can reach your targeted audience with your online campaign for a very reasonable price. The selection of packages that you can select is extensive so that you can reach as many users as your budget will allow you to.
The use of smart-phones has skyrocketed in recent years and your ability to reach this high volume of consumers is phenomenal. Access to these devices happens every second of every day and you can tap into this gold mine of prospects. Your ads won't just be limited to laptop and computer users; you will be expanding your potential client base.
You will be offered a choice between pay-per-click (CPC) or per 1,000 impressions (CPM). Studying your demographic clicks and responses will be an important first step. Begin by starting a campaign that includes everyone and then, after a set number of impressions, see who clicked on your ad and the responses that you received. After some study and careful insights, you can then rewrite the ad to appeal with that demographic audience in mind. You can then reset your campaign as a CPC method. Finely segment your ad to appeal to different age groups, or sexes, or relationship statuses. With this small touch, you will get more bang for your advertising buck. Continually test and modify your presentation to foster higher results with substantially lower costs.
With Facebook targeting, the natural skew is toward a younger than average audience that is female. Sometimes users mislead others by submitting incorrect data on profile pages. This will cause misrepresentation of data and some of your ads will be seen by users who are not interested by their very nature; you can only get a rough estimate of the people who might see your ad. When initially targeting your ad to an audience, you might begin with 10,000 people; 50% of them will log into Facebook and see your ad. By choosing this number, you will keep your costs under control and more efficiently modify it before you launch the ad to a larger audience. Carefully select connections of people you know who trust you and your business. This will give you a base circle of community with which to begin your advertising campaigns.
Another important thing to consider when you are creating your advertising strategy is to include additional languages other than English. Inexpensive translators can be hired on some of the work at home web locations to translate your copy for you. Many advertisers neglect this segment of the population and lose many dollars in profit for this lack of attention to detail. You can open up a new section of loyal clients with just a simple effort of reaching them in a language in which they feel comfortable purchasing.
Another powerful tenet of advertising on Facebook is the low risk involved in using this format. You will have full control of your advertising budget and it will be a good testing ground for your ad. You can learn if your message is effective in communicating to a potential buyer who you are, what you are offering, and how they can purchase your product quickly and safely. You are free to modify your message as needed and promote it to a better target. You can ascertain what works best with a particular demographic and how to reach them with your message. Especially if you have a fledgling business, you might want to use the high power, lost cost approach of a Facebook ad.
If you are striving to target your local audience, Facebook ads have been proved to be very effective. You can inform local and regional clients about your business and have the "friend" network assist you as well. Many local communities enjoy supporting local businesses that give back to civic groups and Facebook can get your ads to them quickly and efficiently. When you have a happy, satisfied customer, they can tell the seven people in their social circle and those seven people will tell seven of their closest friends and so the network will distribute the message about you and your product. Testimonials serve to peak the interest of clients ready to buy but who have just one more question. If someone has purchased your product already, they can attest to its quality and your excellent customer service. Facebook is being used in your area by all of the local people who are just waiting to be approached by your ad. The appeal of Facebook extends to everyday people; you don't have to be a computer genius to take advantage of this advertising power.
By promoting your Facebook business page through the ads you place on Facebook, you are guaranteed that the people you are targeting with your ads already have a Facebook account. You can be assured your ads are reaching the audiences most likely to buy from you and the communication vehicle is at your disposal 24/7.
One of the most powerful reasons of advertising on Facebook is the budget management that is available to you. Thousands of dollars of advertising fees are not required upfront. So, you don't have to have capital outlay at the onset of your advertising campaign. Your budget can be as low as $1 per day if that is the option that you choose to employ. Budgets can be changed daily or at any time and by any amount that you wish. The measure performance tools available on Facebook advertising allow you to see and test ad rotations and explore which are the most effective tools for you. After you run your first ad, try changing a combination of the ad's image, description, and title. You will measure the performance rate of your campaigns by viewing the click-through rate which is the percentage of clicks from the number of times it was viewed on Facebook. You will select the ad which shows the highest click-through rate for you.
In a world of social media, advertising can be an excellent way to reach customers. The users of Facebook are very active; they log on daily sometimes multiple times. It provides a way for you to reach customers with whom you might not have otherwise connected. They are going to find your ad on a social media sight more rapidly than they would your own blog or website.
The exposure you receive is a very lucrative benefit to advertising on Facebook. The more customers who are exposed to your product, the higher your profits can become. Facebook does an excellent job of allowing all advertisers a multitude of targeting options that include age, gender, interests, and relationship status. These targeting filters will strategically develop an audience who is primed and ready to buy. This is possibly the most beneficial tool of Facebook advertising.
In addition to an effective list of potential clients, you will have all of the benefits of instant results. In our fast-paced society of today, speed in purchasing is important. A client will spend approximately 90 seconds looking at your ad before moving on to something else. Quality images and representations of your product along with concise and clear descriptions are dynamic tools to capture the attention of the audience and cause the perusing to develop into purchasing. You can attract many new customers in a single day and the profits can rise along with those viewing your ads.
Before you even begin your advertising campaign, you must set your budget and stick to it. There are expensive options for you with Facebook advertising but you will have to operate within your budget to obtain the success you are seeking. Use a common sense approach with your newly acquired technological advertising to promote your company and profits.
In addition, a Facebook ad will provide you with a more personal platform of advertising. Research shows that consumers are more likely to trust your ad especially if they see a link to a Facebook friend. Your ad is placed in the right hand column and is a bit more engaging than an ad they see randomly on a search engine. Even in the world of internet marketing the handshake and confidence in a deal is important to make. By personalizing your Facebook ad, it's like extending your hand across cyberspace to reach out and seal the deal. This type of business advertisement will foster good business relationships that ensure repeat business.
In effective advertising, everything is a balance. You don't want to spend a lot of time reworking your ads if they aren't accurately targeting the audience you need to be targeting. Spend time tracking your progress and your effectiveness but don't forget to interact and connect with potential and current clients. Follow through with all of your strategies and the components of your plan to generate new customers and increase your profits. A Facebook ad campaign will be an effort that takes time and patience. Keep in mind that Facebook advertising is about developing relationships and connecting with consumers not just selling them a product immediately. This platform of marketing is still developing and using these advertisements effectively will take research, study, and modifications that better hone your ad for consumers to view.
Facebook has become a powerful tool in the advertising world. The expanse of active users coupled with the micro-targeting tools make this method of telling others about your product one that will reap dramatic rewards for your bottom line. You will boost sales and maximize profits at a cost-efficient way for your business. Your business will be given the opportunity to build, improve, and maintain client relationships which is a satisfying aspect of having your own business.
The clients with whom you connect will provide you with feedback, encouragement, and testimonials that can help you reach your goals and dreams as a successful entrepreneur. By using the proper demographic, copy, and image, you will see your Facebook ad come to life. Don't be afraid to try this new and unique method of advertising. It's a fun and interesting way to reach an enormous audience with a few simple guidelines that anyone can perform.
It's not rocket science but it can provide you with an astronomical income that makes your business the success you knew it could be.
Facebook is the largest and most visited social network on the web today is.
Not only is it a popular location for social interactions but also it is becoming a fiercely competitive marketing tool. Many entrepreneurs are beginning to tap into this advantageous method of generating leads and sales for their businesses. Research is showing that the average Facebook user spends just over 6 hours a month on Facebook which is double the amount of time of its closest competitor, Google. Over 50% of these users are perusing Facebook from a mobile device which means that there are more than 543 mobile users searching for goods and services while on-the-go. Every day there are more than 3.2 billion items that are liked or commented about on Facebook pages and that translates into a very powerful mode of advertising for any business.
Advertising campaigns on Facebook are providing up to a 5 fold return on any investment because of the strategic targeting of the right audience. Consumers are becoming more aware of brands and are recalling what they are seeing more than other online advertising averages. Facebook advertising is the catalyst for more positive conversations about businesses as well. More importantly, the 47% trust rate for advertising on Facebook commands a respect and awareness of this tool that can effectively be used to expand the bottom line.
When considering the most efficient way to invest advertising dollars, you should include Facebook advertising in your plan. You can connect to this exploding power to target new business, to generate high quality leads, and to piggyback additional advertising strategies, like word-of-mouth advertising, to more effectively stretch your advertising monies. An entirely new world of possibilities will be opened up to you with Facebook advertising.
Facebook advertisers are permitted to geo-target an audience by country which allows the advertiser the ability to limit or expand the message of their ad based on settings that are selected. Most of the countries in the world are now Facebook friendly which expands boundaries that once limited the sale of products to smaller areas and locations.
One of the features of advertising with Facebook is the advantage of keyword interest targeting. When a user signs up for Facebook, they create a profile page that is based on their interests, likes, and activities. When you create your ad for Facebook, you have the option of searching and selecting keywords that are of interest to a specific user. This will better target an audience that is already interested in your ad before they even see it. As an example, let's say that you as an advertiser are trying to reach people who are doing home remodeling projects. When you type in the word home remodeling, a list of keywords will be pulled up for you that are related to the profiles of users who listed home remodeling as one of their interests. You can then choose any of these keywords in your ad to reach those people who have these keywords in their profiles. You are targeting an audience who is interested in your information and who will respond to your ad.
Before you begin your advertising campaign, it's important to clearly know who you want to target. Customize your Facebook advertising to the target market so that this tool work better for you and your company. Try to vary your approach so you can attract different groups. 20 year olds will view your ad differently than a 40 years old will even if they have the same need for your product. Appeal to your potential client in a positive and attention-getting way. Be clear, concise, and brief.
There are several ways to advertise on Facebook; you can use these cost-effective ways to increase the traffic to your website and generate more business and profits for you. The first way to advertise on Facebook is to create a business profile so you can interact with your list of "fans" whom you will persuade to become clients. You can send out updates, news articles, special offers and promotions, and discount information to the entire list; Facebook affords you the ability to communicate instantly with a list of people who have already indicated that they are interested in your products.
Another way that you can advertise powerfully on Facebook is to buy an ad that is targeted toward a segment of the user base. Each one of these users has an enormous amount of information stored in their profiles. This information can be used to target them based on a selected keyword or filter. Using this method will assure you of reaching potential customers who are most likely to buy your product.
Word-of-mouth advertising has been brought into the digital age with Facebook's beacon tool. News feeds let users access each other's personal profiles and postings or comments. Facebook allows businesses the ability to report a user's actions with the business website and company to the user's friends. If a Facebook customer buys a product from you or engages in discussion regarding their satisfaction with your company, their interaction with you will be posted in the news feed which will automatically create a referral system for your business. It's word-of-mouth in cyberspace.
The first thing to consider as you plan your Facebook ad strategy is your goal. Are you going to advertise your product, expand the number of people who like your business page, inform the Facebook community of your business and what you do, or are you simply getting the attention of potential customers. As your goals become clearer, begin to decide on the type of ad you will create; there are three types from which you can choose.
Crafted ads target Facebook users by filtering demographic information such as age, location, and gender. These ads will be featured in the right hand column of Facebook pages. You can create sponsored stories which interact with a Facebook fan's page with the specific story. The ad will show up in the right hand column once the fan likes your particular post. You can also select promoted posts which are more visible in the posts on friends' pages and on their contacts' pages as well. One of the most powerful aspects of Facebook advertising is the customer loyalty that you will build. Create your own business Facebook page that will allow you to directly interact with your clients. This will give a more personal touch to your business and also will allow you to use word-of-mouth advertising that you generate from your Facebook ads to spread the word in a cost-effective way. Client satisfaction, customer service, and buyer protection are all tenets of a marketing strategy that will work nicely for you and your Facebook advertising campaign.
You can offer special promotions, new products, or the latest trends with your product with your Facebook ads to reach clients that are strategically targeted and already interested in your product or service. This will provide up-dated information to your clients and keep them better informed in a time-efficient way. Today's consumers on are the go with busy schedules and demanding deadlines. These ads will connect with them and solve their issues and concerns in a timely fashion.
Facebook ads are much more flexible than other internet locations. You will be offered additional character length for any ad descriptions that you might have. You can also improve your flexibility with image-based ads that attract the visual buyer. If someone participates in the Facebook community, then they are already proven to be a visually stimulated consumer. Use images and photos of high quality and that convey your message with the power of a thousand words. Your Facebook ads will be more visible to an audience who is there to engage in obtaining information as well as to create it themselves.
With the Facebook site itself generating such a high rate of traffic on a daily basis, your ad has a much better chance of being seen and having a positive effect. It will be seen a multitude of times by a targeted audience who is already comfortable shopping the online arena. Users visit the site many, many times a day and your ad will be there to greet them as they login and begin to participate.
You are also allowed with your Facebook ad to purchase space on a click-based or impression-based fee structure. Using your budget and personal preferences, you can tailor your ad campaign to meet the needs and goals of your business plan.
Because of the targeted nature of Facebook, advertising on Facebook can be affordable for you company. You can reach your targeted audience with your online campaign for a very reasonable price. The selection of packages that you can select is extensive so that you can reach as many users as your budget will allow you to.
The use of smart-phones has skyrocketed in recent years and your ability to reach this high volume of consumers is phenomenal. Access to these devices happens every second of every day and you can tap into this gold mine of prospects. Your ads won't just be limited to laptop and computer users; you will be expanding your potential client base.
You will be offered a choice between pay-per-click (CPC) or per 1,000 impressions (CPM). Studying your demographic clicks and responses will be an important first step. Begin by starting a campaign that includes everyone and then, after a set number of impressions, see who clicked on your ad and the responses that you received. After some study and careful insights, you can then rewrite the ad to appeal with that demographic audience in mind. You can then reset your campaign as a CPC method. Finely segment your ad to appeal to different age groups, or sexes, or relationship statuses. With this small touch, you will get more bang for your advertising buck. Continually test and modify your presentation to foster higher results with substantially lower costs.
With Facebook targeting, the natural skew is toward a younger than average audience that is female. Sometimes users mislead others by submitting incorrect data on profile pages. This will cause misrepresentation of data and some of your ads will be seen by users who are not interested by their very nature; you can only get a rough estimate of the people who might see your ad. When initially targeting your ad to an audience, you might begin with 10,000 people; 50% of them will log into Facebook and see your ad. By choosing this number, you will keep your costs under control and more efficiently modify it before you launch the ad to a larger audience. Carefully select connections of people you know who trust you and your business. This will give you a base circle of community with which to begin your advertising campaigns.
Another important thing to consider when you are creating your advertising strategy is to include additional languages other than English. Inexpensive translators can be hired on some of the work at home web locations to translate your copy for you. Many advertisers neglect this segment of the population and lose many dollars in profit for this lack of attention to detail. You can open up a new section of loyal clients with just a simple effort of reaching them in a language in which they feel comfortable purchasing.
Another powerful tenet of advertising on Facebook is the low risk involved in using this format. You will have full control of your advertising budget and it will be a good testing ground for your ad. You can learn if your message is effective in communicating to a potential buyer who you are, what you are offering, and how they can purchase your product quickly and safely. You are free to modify your message as needed and promote it to a better target. You can ascertain what works best with a particular demographic and how to reach them with your message. Especially if you have a fledgling business, you might want to use the high power, lost cost approach of a Facebook ad.
If you are striving to target your local audience, Facebook ads have been proved to be very effective. You can inform local and regional clients about your business and have the "friend" network assist you as well. Many local communities enjoy supporting local businesses that give back to civic groups and Facebook can get your ads to them quickly and efficiently. When you have a happy, satisfied customer, they can tell the seven people in their social circle and those seven people will tell seven of their closest friends and so the network will distribute the message about you and your product. Testimonials serve to peak the interest of clients ready to buy but who have just one more question. If someone has purchased your product already, they can attest to its quality and your excellent customer service. Facebook is being used in your area by all of the local people who are just waiting to be approached by your ad. The appeal of Facebook extends to everyday people; you don't have to be a computer genius to take advantage of this advertising power.
By promoting your Facebook business page through the ads you place on Facebook, you are guaranteed that the people you are targeting with your ads already have a Facebook account. You can be assured your ads are reaching the audiences most likely to buy from you and the communication vehicle is at your disposal 24/7.
One of the most powerful reasons of advertising on Facebook is the budget management that is available to you. Thousands of dollars of advertising fees are not required upfront. So, you don't have to have capital outlay at the onset of your advertising campaign. Your budget can be as low as $1 per day if that is the option that you choose to employ. Budgets can be changed daily or at any time and by any amount that you wish. The measure performance tools available on Facebook advertising allow you to see and test ad rotations and explore which are the most effective tools for you. After you run your first ad, try changing a combination of the ad's image, description, and title. You will measure the performance rate of your campaigns by viewing the click-through rate which is the percentage of clicks from the number of times it was viewed on Facebook. You will select the ad which shows the highest click-through rate for you.
In a world of social media, advertising can be an excellent way to reach customers. The users of Facebook are very active; they log on daily sometimes multiple times. It provides a way for you to reach customers with whom you might not have otherwise connected. They are going to find your ad on a social media sight more rapidly than they would your own blog or website.
The exposure you receive is a very lucrative benefit to advertising on Facebook. The more customers who are exposed to your product, the higher your profits can become. Facebook does an excellent job of allowing all advertisers a multitude of targeting options that include age, gender, interests, and relationship status. These targeting filters will strategically develop an audience who is primed and ready to buy. This is possibly the most beneficial tool of Facebook advertising.
In addition to an effective list of potential clients, you will have all of the benefits of instant results. In our fast-paced society of today, speed in purchasing is important. A client will spend approximately 90 seconds looking at your ad before moving on to something else. Quality images and representations of your product along with concise and clear descriptions are dynamic tools to capture the attention of the audience and cause the perusing to develop into purchasing. You can attract many new customers in a single day and the profits can rise along with those viewing your ads.
Before you even begin your advertising campaign, you must set your budget and stick to it. There are expensive options for you with Facebook advertising but you will have to operate within your budget to obtain the success you are seeking. Use a common sense approach with your newly acquired technological advertising to promote your company and profits.
In addition, a Facebook ad will provide you with a more personal platform of advertising. Research shows that consumers are more likely to trust your ad especially if they see a link to a Facebook friend. Your ad is placed in the right hand column and is a bit more engaging than an ad they see randomly on a search engine. Even in the world of internet marketing the handshake and confidence in a deal is important to make. By personalizing your Facebook ad, it's like extending your hand across cyberspace to reach out and seal the deal. This type of business advertisement will foster good business relationships that ensure repeat business.
In effective advertising, everything is a balance. You don't want to spend a lot of time reworking your ads if they aren't accurately targeting the audience you need to be targeting. Spend time tracking your progress and your effectiveness but don't forget to interact and connect with potential and current clients. Follow through with all of your strategies and the components of your plan to generate new customers and increase your profits. A Facebook ad campaign will be an effort that takes time and patience. Keep in mind that Facebook advertising is about developing relationships and connecting with consumers not just selling them a product immediately. This platform of marketing is still developing and using these advertisements effectively will take research, study, and modifications that better hone your ad for consumers to view.
Facebook has become a powerful tool in the advertising world. The expanse of active users coupled with the micro-targeting tools make this method of telling others about your product one that will reap dramatic rewards for your bottom line. You will boost sales and maximize profits at a cost-efficient way for your business. Your business will be given the opportunity to build, improve, and maintain client relationships which is a satisfying aspect of having your own business.
The clients with whom you connect will provide you with feedback, encouragement, and testimonials that can help you reach your goals and dreams as a successful entrepreneur. By using the proper demographic, copy, and image, you will see your Facebook ad come to life. Don't be afraid to try this new and unique method of advertising. It's a fun and interesting way to reach an enormous audience with a few simple guidelines that anyone can perform.
It's not rocket science but it can provide you with an astronomical income that makes your business the success you knew it could be.
A Simple Tutorial On Linking Facebook To Your WordPress Blog
With almost 60 million WordPress users, many that also have their own Facebook pages, a lot of people want to know how to link Facebook to WordPress. The first question is what exactly does this mean - linking Facebook to WordPress? Well, there are actually a few steps we must take to fully integrate Facebook into our WordPress Blogs.
Fortunately this can be easily achieved using a couple of free WordPress Plugins and Widgets. This tutorial will explain exactly what linking Facebook to WordPress entails and overview the Plugins and widgets required to achieve this. I will also walk through exactly how to configure the Plugins and widgets to give your WordPress Blog and Facebook page a huge social boost!
The 4 Different Ways we can Link Facebook to WordPress
There are several ways we can link Facebook to WordPress. To become fully integrated, our Blogs should contain the following functionality:
1. Have the option to easily post summaries of our Blogs to Facebook
2. Have a 2 way commenting system between FB and WP
3. Have a place advertising your FB page on your WordPress Blog for people to Like
4. Have the option for visitors to "Like" your individual Blog posts
Posting Blogs to Facebook and 2-way Commenting
Let me elaborate on this. Part 1 simply means when you write up a new post, you want a simple "click of a button" process to publish a summary of your post to Facebook, along with a link back from Facebook so people can read your entire post.
Part 2 means that when someone comments on Facebook, that comment gets published on your Blog site and vice-versa. This makes your Blog and Facebook page appear to be more popular because every time someone comments, that comment is going to both places.
The one key word here would be "simple". We don't want to manually copy and paste our Blogs and create a backlink, or copy and paste comments here, there and everywhere. Fortunately there is one awesome plugin that takes care of this.
Using Wordbooker to Link Facebook to WordPress
Wordbooker is an absolutely awesome plugin with unlimited flexibility. It has so much flexibility in fact, that the options sometimes get a little confusing. There are essentially 2 main options:
- Automatic or manual posting of Blogs to Facebook
- 2-way commenting, 1-way commenting or no-way commenting
I would recommend manual posting, as you don't want to accidentally publish posts to Facebook or publish an unfinished post, and 2-way commenting, as this increases the conceived popularity to both FB and WP which is never a bad thing! Let's dig in.
Installing and Authorizing Wordbooker with Facebook
First go ahead and install the plugin. From you WordPress dashboard, go to plugins, install new plugin and search for the Wordbooker plugin (activate after you have installed it)
The next thing we need to do is authorize Wordbooker to communicate with your Facebook page. Wordbooker can be found under settings. Click Wordbooker from the settings menu to bring up the main configuration screen.
After you click "Authorize Wordbooker" you will be taken to your Facebook login page. Login to Facebook and you will be greeted with a screen that allows you to authorize Wordbooker to post to your Facebook page. Click on "Go to App" and then click "Allow" from the next page.
There's just one more step. After you click allow, you will be taken back to your WordPress Blog. To complete the link from Wordbooker to Facebook, click the "Reload Page" button and you should be taken to the general Wordbooker settings page.
Configuring Wordbooker to Post Blogs to Facebook and Sync Comments
The best thing about Wordbooker is how easy it is to use! The settings that it comes with are good enough to get your first Blog posted to Facebook without changing anything.
As mentioned, I prefer to post manually to Facebook. I often edit my posts after I publish them, and sometimes I publish posts in progress and don't want them to be posted to Facebook before they are done. Posting to Facebook is achieved directly through the page where you compile your posts in WordPress. Scroll down to the bottom of your post to see the Wordbooker options. There are several check-boxes to check here:
- First check "Publish this Post to Facebook"
- Check the box pertaining to which wall you want to publish to
- Check all 3 of the last boxes to enable 2-way commenting (optional)
The only thing left to do is to update your page and Wordbooker posts it to Facebook:
Tip: You can insert a featured image and Wordbooker will pull that image into Facebook too! I try to keep the images to a max size of 125×125 pixels.
Linking Facebook to WordPress via a Sidebar Widget
Next, we are going to link Facebook to WordPress via a pretty cool sidebar widget. It gives your Blog visitors the option to Like you on Facebook and join your network of friends. Think about what we have accomplished above. Every time we make a new post to our Blog, and publish it on Facebook - each of your friends will get an update on their page - so the more friends or fans you have on Facebook, the greater an audience you can share your Blog with.
We need to give your Blog visitors an easy and obvious way to join your Facebook network to allow optimal growth of your fan-base. This Widget accomplishes exactly that!
The Widget is called "Facebook Social Plugin", search for it through your WordPress dashboard and install the same way as we did the Wordbooker plugin. Activate and take a look at your available Widgets (through Appearance, Widgets).
You'll see a couple of additional options, the one you want to drag into your sidebar is called "Facebook Like Box". After you drag it into your sidebar, you will need to configure it to pull from your Facebook page - the settings are minimal and fairly obvious - just don't forget to enter your Facebook URL and click save. Take a look at your website after this and you should have an easy avenue for people to Like you on Facebook in the sidebar area!
Link Facebook to WordPress - Get Visitors to Like your Posts
The final way we can link Facebook to WordPress is by getting your visitors to actually link to your posts through their Facebook accounts. Again, we should focus on making this obvious and easy. Wordbooker does have a function for this, but there is another little plugin that also gives visitors the option to Tweet, post to Google +1, Pinterest, Delicious and a host of other social platforms.
The Plugin is called "Shareaholic". Search for it through your WordPress dash and install as we did the previous 2 Plugins and activate it.
Access the Shareaholic plugin and click where it says "Please visit the Plugin Options... " then hit "Enable Shareaholic". You'll then be taken to the Shareaholic dashboard where you can configure this Plugin. I click on Enable Sexy Bookmarks, which allows me to choose which social media platforms I allow my visitors to share my posts on.
And there are a ton of options to choose from. Select the media platforms you want to allow your visitors to post to, scroll to the bottom of the options page and hit save. There are oodles of options as you scroll down, but the defaults are pretty good. Now, at the bottom of each post you make, there will be a bookmark bar, where your visitors can share your posts to their Facebook page and any of the social media networks show above!
Linking Facebook to WordPress Summary
Well that's all there is to it! These are the 4 key steps in fully integrating Facebook into WordPress and to increase the popularity of your Blog! I do want to point out one more option, but this is usually very theme dependent.
A lot of Blog theme designers today recognize the importance of integrating social media into their Blog design, and as such, most themes come with configurable options to enter your Facebook as well as other social platforms. The respective icons will then show up on your Blog could be in the header, footer, sidebar, or all 3 places - the placement and appearance is theme dependent.
Fortunately this can be easily achieved using a couple of free WordPress Plugins and Widgets. This tutorial will explain exactly what linking Facebook to WordPress entails and overview the Plugins and widgets required to achieve this. I will also walk through exactly how to configure the Plugins and widgets to give your WordPress Blog and Facebook page a huge social boost!
The 4 Different Ways we can Link Facebook to WordPress
There are several ways we can link Facebook to WordPress. To become fully integrated, our Blogs should contain the following functionality:
1. Have the option to easily post summaries of our Blogs to Facebook
2. Have a 2 way commenting system between FB and WP
3. Have a place advertising your FB page on your WordPress Blog for people to Like
4. Have the option for visitors to "Like" your individual Blog posts
Posting Blogs to Facebook and 2-way Commenting
Let me elaborate on this. Part 1 simply means when you write up a new post, you want a simple "click of a button" process to publish a summary of your post to Facebook, along with a link back from Facebook so people can read your entire post.
Part 2 means that when someone comments on Facebook, that comment gets published on your Blog site and vice-versa. This makes your Blog and Facebook page appear to be more popular because every time someone comments, that comment is going to both places.
The one key word here would be "simple". We don't want to manually copy and paste our Blogs and create a backlink, or copy and paste comments here, there and everywhere. Fortunately there is one awesome plugin that takes care of this.
Using Wordbooker to Link Facebook to WordPress
Wordbooker is an absolutely awesome plugin with unlimited flexibility. It has so much flexibility in fact, that the options sometimes get a little confusing. There are essentially 2 main options:
- Automatic or manual posting of Blogs to Facebook
- 2-way commenting, 1-way commenting or no-way commenting
I would recommend manual posting, as you don't want to accidentally publish posts to Facebook or publish an unfinished post, and 2-way commenting, as this increases the conceived popularity to both FB and WP which is never a bad thing! Let's dig in.
Installing and Authorizing Wordbooker with Facebook
First go ahead and install the plugin. From you WordPress dashboard, go to plugins, install new plugin and search for the Wordbooker plugin (activate after you have installed it)
The next thing we need to do is authorize Wordbooker to communicate with your Facebook page. Wordbooker can be found under settings. Click Wordbooker from the settings menu to bring up the main configuration screen.
After you click "Authorize Wordbooker" you will be taken to your Facebook login page. Login to Facebook and you will be greeted with a screen that allows you to authorize Wordbooker to post to your Facebook page. Click on "Go to App" and then click "Allow" from the next page.
There's just one more step. After you click allow, you will be taken back to your WordPress Blog. To complete the link from Wordbooker to Facebook, click the "Reload Page" button and you should be taken to the general Wordbooker settings page.
Configuring Wordbooker to Post Blogs to Facebook and Sync Comments
The best thing about Wordbooker is how easy it is to use! The settings that it comes with are good enough to get your first Blog posted to Facebook without changing anything.
As mentioned, I prefer to post manually to Facebook. I often edit my posts after I publish them, and sometimes I publish posts in progress and don't want them to be posted to Facebook before they are done. Posting to Facebook is achieved directly through the page where you compile your posts in WordPress. Scroll down to the bottom of your post to see the Wordbooker options. There are several check-boxes to check here:
- First check "Publish this Post to Facebook"
- Check the box pertaining to which wall you want to publish to
- Check all 3 of the last boxes to enable 2-way commenting (optional)
The only thing left to do is to update your page and Wordbooker posts it to Facebook:
Tip: You can insert a featured image and Wordbooker will pull that image into Facebook too! I try to keep the images to a max size of 125×125 pixels.
Linking Facebook to WordPress via a Sidebar Widget
Next, we are going to link Facebook to WordPress via a pretty cool sidebar widget. It gives your Blog visitors the option to Like you on Facebook and join your network of friends. Think about what we have accomplished above. Every time we make a new post to our Blog, and publish it on Facebook - each of your friends will get an update on their page - so the more friends or fans you have on Facebook, the greater an audience you can share your Blog with.
We need to give your Blog visitors an easy and obvious way to join your Facebook network to allow optimal growth of your fan-base. This Widget accomplishes exactly that!
The Widget is called "Facebook Social Plugin", search for it through your WordPress dashboard and install the same way as we did the Wordbooker plugin. Activate and take a look at your available Widgets (through Appearance, Widgets).
You'll see a couple of additional options, the one you want to drag into your sidebar is called "Facebook Like Box". After you drag it into your sidebar, you will need to configure it to pull from your Facebook page - the settings are minimal and fairly obvious - just don't forget to enter your Facebook URL and click save. Take a look at your website after this and you should have an easy avenue for people to Like you on Facebook in the sidebar area!
Link Facebook to WordPress - Get Visitors to Like your Posts
The final way we can link Facebook to WordPress is by getting your visitors to actually link to your posts through their Facebook accounts. Again, we should focus on making this obvious and easy. Wordbooker does have a function for this, but there is another little plugin that also gives visitors the option to Tweet, post to Google +1, Pinterest, Delicious and a host of other social platforms.
The Plugin is called "Shareaholic". Search for it through your WordPress dash and install as we did the previous 2 Plugins and activate it.
Access the Shareaholic plugin and click where it says "Please visit the Plugin Options... " then hit "Enable Shareaholic". You'll then be taken to the Shareaholic dashboard where you can configure this Plugin. I click on Enable Sexy Bookmarks, which allows me to choose which social media platforms I allow my visitors to share my posts on.
And there are a ton of options to choose from. Select the media platforms you want to allow your visitors to post to, scroll to the bottom of the options page and hit save. There are oodles of options as you scroll down, but the defaults are pretty good. Now, at the bottom of each post you make, there will be a bookmark bar, where your visitors can share your posts to their Facebook page and any of the social media networks show above!
Linking Facebook to WordPress Summary
Well that's all there is to it! These are the 4 key steps in fully integrating Facebook into WordPress and to increase the popularity of your Blog! I do want to point out one more option, but this is usually very theme dependent.
A lot of Blog theme designers today recognize the importance of integrating social media into their Blog design, and as such, most themes come with configurable options to enter your Facebook as well as other social platforms. The respective icons will then show up on your Blog could be in the header, footer, sidebar, or all 3 places - the placement and appearance is theme dependent.
Facebook Business Page, Not Your Facebook Profile - Every Time
Business No-Brainers: Why You Should Use A Facebook Business Page Not Your Facebook Profile!
I was compelled to write this three-part article after meeting so many business owners who have not yet realised the benefits of a Business Page for their brand, products or services and are, in my opinion, really missing a trick. And then there are those who either misunderstand the separate entity concept of a Facebook Business Page or mistakenly think that it gives people a portal to their private lives online. I have even met business owners who to my dismay have set up multiple Facebook accounts with separate log-ins - so much unnecessary work for them.
1. Personal vs. Private
A Facebook Profile and Business Page are (nearly) mutually exclusive and lead very separate lives providing you always remember to post updates as your Page. Whilst there is a limit to what is 'public' on your Facebook Profile unless somebody is friends with you, if you are still concerned about the distinction, it doesn't do any harm to lock down the settings even further if you wish to - Facebook gives you the flexibility and control to do this.
On the flip side, putting yourself in the shoes of your family and friends, they probably don't want to see an update on your business every time they log in to Facebook same as you wouldn't want to read about a friend's job every time you did. Of course, if they have chosen to Like your Business Page then it's a different story but keeping the two separate in the first place gives everybody the option and upholds an individual's preferences.
Thereafter you have one universal log-in and there is no limit to the number of Pages you can create and administer.
2. It's Not About You!
There is nothing more frustrating than clicking on a Facebook icon on a website for it to then take you to somebody's Facebook Profile. This looks amateurish and as if you don't have a handle on how to use Facebook for business. I have lost count of the number of times this has happened to me and when it does, rather than taking the time to find out if there is in fact a separate Page, I simply turn off and close the webpage.
I am not personally in the habit of sending friend requests to people I don't know, but say in this instance I did? So, I've landed on a Facebook Profile by clicking on the Facebook follow button on a website and sent a friend request. This has now been accepted. BUT I still don't receive business updates, but rather the photos, comments, friend updates, etc. of not only the person in question but their friends as well who I equally don't know from Adam. Have I made my point?
3. Brand Newsfeed
A Page Newsfeed or Timeline is the equivalent of your Email Marketing on Facebook and underpins your success in reaching and engaging with people. Think of it as a person's inbox to which you deliver your entire Business Page related news, i.e. a Newsletter to which Fans have subscribed to. With the added bonus of a far lower unsubscribe rate, no reliance on subscribers forwarding it to their friends (albeit with an incentive for doing so built in), it is far less time-consuming to keep up to date and a sentence or two is all it takes for you to potentially obtain new Fans and increased exposure.
But let's also not forget the reverse, because what you read from others in your own Page Newsfeed will not only provide a wealth of inspiration and material for your own content ideas but also provide further opportunities for you to comment on the posts of others and be seen by their Fan/Friends.
The bottom line is that without your Page Newsfeed, you wouldn't be seen or noticed on Facebook - it really does embody the Domino Effect!
In essence, your Page Newsfeed equals increased exposure for your business/brand, invaluable insights into what you are saying most resonates with people but also provides ample opportunities for conversations with new audiences.
Just make sure that you are using Facebook as your Business Page in order to comment/post on the Business Pages of others.
4. Tagging & Commenting As Your Page
Isn't it great when your friends and family Tag you in photos you didn't know you were in or at a location you were both at? All well and good but imagine if your Facebook Business Page name could only be Tagged or commented on by them - it would be a very limited audience, right?
Well it's a good job that this isn't the case - another highly advantageous feature of Pages is that in addition to those who Like your Page, any Business Page owner can Tag/comment on your Business Page which opens it right out to a viral audience. And of course, each time they do this, you are maximising the number of Newsfeeds your Business Page name appears in and ultimately not how many Fans see it but also their own Fans too which offers rich pickings in terms of engagement and new fans.
5. The Sky's The Limit!
Did you know that a Facebook Profile is limited to 5,000 friends? Not that I know anybody with that number and if I did, I'm pretty sure they'd be too thinly spread to ever spend any time with yours truly!
A Facebook Business Page is a different story with no limit to the number of Likes it can receive. Whilst 5,000 friends on a Facebook Profile might be met with scorns of derision about its authenticity, if you've got 5,000 or more Likes on your Business Page you're going to be held in pretty high regard. But why stop there?!
6. Google Search Results
Whilst it is key that your online activity focuses on driving traffic back to your website, Social Media is the lifeblood of your overall online presence. Facebook Pages are indexed by Google which means that they are optimised for search engines. So the more active you are the more visible your business will be in a search resulting in an increased online presence and active and prolific impression on Social Media.
7. And The Winner Is...
Who doesn't love a freebie?! Contests/Competitions are a great way to build engagement with your followers/Fans and also incentivise other people to Like your Business Page and share your content, making them an instant ambassador for your Brand or business.
They are, in my humble opinion, one of the most fun and creative Facebook Business Page features and something else that a Facebook Profile cannot offer. The main reason for this is that they are generally only available via Apps or Advertising which Profiles do not offer the software for and, in the case of Apps, generally only installable to Facebook Tabs (see 12.), another exclusive Business Page feature.
Contests are a really effective way of incentivising people to share your Business Page or content and grow your Likes. Enough said?
8. Featured Likes
This enables you to showcase the pages of other brands/businesses that you Like - providing not only an insight into your brand/business and its interests but also to showcase the Pages of those businesses you have Liked which should also encourage reciprocity by those businesses.
Simply clicking on the 'Like Pages' link on the left-hand side of your screen allows you to choose from a list of Pages under various categories, including Brands & Products and Companies & Organisations. Of course, businesses similar to you or those whom you have an affiliation or association with, such as complementary services, trusted suppliers and so on, are always going to have maximum impact.
9. Business Page Owners
As with the content management system of a website, an Administrator of a Business Page can delegate administration rights to other Facebook account holders with a tier of different permission levels, which as well as allowing you to work smarter and free up your own time to focus on other areas of your business, provides an additional level of security because you don't have to give them the username/password for your own Facebook account.
10. Featured Business Page Owners
You can also make anybody who is already an Administrator of your Business Page a Featured Administrator/Business Page Owner. This will simply associate them with the Business Page by displaying their Facebook Profile Picture in the About section of your Business Page and also state that they are a Business Page Owner on their Facebook Profile. For my own business, the benefit of this is to allow people to see who the people in the business are, in the same way as the About Business Page of a website does.
11. Business Showcase
A Facebook Business Page allows you to display such information as your business's opening times, location map, telephone number, email address(es) and website address(es), etc. without compromising any of your personal contact details, such as a mobile number, Gmail address, etc.
In the website section you can also add up to three addresses of your choosing in addition to your business site - some suggestions are a link to your Twitter profile, LinkedIn Profile/Company Business Page, Google+ Page, Blog address, etc.
You can further showcase your business by providing a Company Overview, Description, Mission, Founded, Awards, Products (a call to action with a website link is recommended here), etc.
12. Tabs & Apps
Newsletter sign up, Twitter feed, e-Shop, website link or iFrame - these are just a few examples of how you can utilise your Business Page Tabs through the use of Third Party Apps, another feature exclusive to Facebook Pages. Not only that, but the majority of these Apps are completely FREE to download and use and, in many instances, customisable to your own business' needs. You can even set up an Amazon or eBay!
One of the many advantages of these Tabs is that followers can sign up to your Newsletter, view your Twitter feed, purchase your products/services, etc. without ever leaving Facebook. And, since Facebook's M.O is naturally to encourage traffic to stay within its own walls, you're in good hands. I have chosen to utilise one of these Tabs for my Blog (in addition to the website area where it can also be displayed).
13. Advertising & Promotions
Okay, so they're not free but Facebook Adverts still wipe the floor with many other (free) and organic techniques for growing your fan base. I'm not saying other methods aren't as powerful, far from it, but there's a reason you pay for Adverts - they REALLY WORK!
Facebook Adverts appear in a sidebar on the right-hand side of your Timeline (Newsfeed) right before your status bar of friends who are/aren't online. Whilst an Advert can only be set up by a Page, the beauty of them is that their audience is not restricted to Page fans; they can be used to target your friends too.
Whilst Facebook Adverts are a paid entity and can prove expense if not managed properly, you can control your spend with a budget, start and end date and maximum price per click (if you are going down that route), etc. Facebook offers you the choice of several tiers of advertising to suit your budget and objectives. You can also manage the Adverts from your Pages' Admin Panel to track their effectiveness in the same way as Facebook Insights (see 19.).
Promotions are also a paid entity but work slightly differently to Facebook Adverts in that they appear within your Page Newsfeed so appear more natural and less aggressive or targeted. And, whilst most of us know that by clicking on an advert the person who posted it is paying, this isn't so obvious or widely known with Promotions.
14. I'm just Checking in!
The Check-In Tool is another fantastic feature you can utilise to encourage people to engage and interact. It's also an easy way to provide the social proof that your Business Page is resonating with people and useful to them. In other words, those people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions.
Of course, this does rely on you having a physical location so if you are a work from home digital marketer it may not be the most useful feature but still worth knowing about and something else that is not available on a Facebook Profile!
15. Notes
This vastly under- utilised and valued yet fully interactive Facebook Tool can be used almost like a Blog and as another platform through which to further expand on your Products, Services or Brand. Notes are similar to Blog posts in that you can add or edit content and also avoid the 420 character restriction of a status update.
Fans can even Like and comment on your Notes and equally any Notes within which your Business Page has been tagged or commented on is accessible by you. They can even interact with other Fans about your Business Page which not only increases your Page's exposure but also provides you with the opportunity to increase traffic to your Blog and your industry authority and credibility.
You can add comments, photos and images, tag other Fanpages, and even format the style and layout of Notes, i.e. use bold, italics, or underline, numbering, bullet points and quote blocks.
Why are they important? Well, Google will index your Notes if you have properly optimised them and increase the probability of them appearing in a Google search, which of course means an additional stream of traffic for your Business or Brand.
Several years ago you could also use the Notes feature as a bonafide blogging platform but this seems to have been buried by the updated Newsfeed. There are rumours however that Facebook will revive the blogging functionality of Notes so watch this space for developments!
Do you use the Facebook Notes tool - if so, what for?
16. Import Contacts/Invitations
As long as you are using Facebook as your Page, you can invite a whole host of people to Like it and increase your number of Fans exponentially. This is absolutely my recommended port of call when you first set up a Business Page because they are already your captive audience and therefore incredibly influential in growing your Likes through their own Newsfeed. As I said in point 14., the people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions and which also helps non-profits to garner support. After all, word of mouth is the oldest form of marketing in the world but arguably still the most powerful, right?
There is nothing wrong with periodically re-inviting contacts to Like your Page and your lists will no doubt have grown since you last did this anyway. Facebook does also allow you to select which people you would like to invite to Like your Page so you can make it more targeted if you so wish.
17. Link Your Business Page To Twitter
If you sync your Facebook Page with your Twitter account, whenever you create a post in Facebook, both Social Media channels will be updated simultaneously. Not only is this a quick win but you are working smarter as you don't have to update both channels with the same content. Be mindful however if you use the HootSuite Social Media Dashboard that you don't post to both Social Media channels otherwise even the most diehard Fans will quickly turn off if they are seeing double every time!
18. Unique Username
A unique username or Vanity URL, such as Facebook.com/example will also assist with your search ranking and make your company name synonymous with Facebook, especially valuable if this is also your brand/product/service.
Much as you would add your current job to your Facebook Profile if you were an employee, you also have the facility to add your Business Name to your Profile with a link to your Business Page (please note that this will not link your Facebook Profile and Page, merely show where you work).
19. Analyse Your Page's Activity
Once you have 30 Likes, you will be able to view Facebook Insights, which provide in-depth analysis on every one of your Business Page posts to see how many people your post reached how many engaged with it and how many talked about it with their Friends. You can also compare your different posts by showing the percentage of people who talked about your post to their Friends after seeing it. You can also export a report of your Facebook Insights to a spreadsheet and email it.
As defined by Facebook, "Insights provides Facebook Business Page owners... with metrics around their content. By understanding and analysing trends within user growth and demographics, consumption of content, and creation of content, Business Page owners... are better equipped to improve their business with Facebook."
Ultimately, Facebook Insights provide a platform for something you should really be checking anyway - what content is resonating the most with people, be it particular status updates you post, links to Blog Posts or your latest Newsletter or something else so that you can tailor your messaging for maximum impact.
Are you in the Facebook Profile or Facebook Business Page camp? What other advantages or disadvantages have you encountered with both? I'd love to hear your experiences!
I was compelled to write this three-part article after meeting so many business owners who have not yet realised the benefits of a Business Page for their brand, products or services and are, in my opinion, really missing a trick. And then there are those who either misunderstand the separate entity concept of a Facebook Business Page or mistakenly think that it gives people a portal to their private lives online. I have even met business owners who to my dismay have set up multiple Facebook accounts with separate log-ins - so much unnecessary work for them.
1. Personal vs. Private
A Facebook Profile and Business Page are (nearly) mutually exclusive and lead very separate lives providing you always remember to post updates as your Page. Whilst there is a limit to what is 'public' on your Facebook Profile unless somebody is friends with you, if you are still concerned about the distinction, it doesn't do any harm to lock down the settings even further if you wish to - Facebook gives you the flexibility and control to do this.
On the flip side, putting yourself in the shoes of your family and friends, they probably don't want to see an update on your business every time they log in to Facebook same as you wouldn't want to read about a friend's job every time you did. Of course, if they have chosen to Like your Business Page then it's a different story but keeping the two separate in the first place gives everybody the option and upholds an individual's preferences.
Thereafter you have one universal log-in and there is no limit to the number of Pages you can create and administer.
2. It's Not About You!
There is nothing more frustrating than clicking on a Facebook icon on a website for it to then take you to somebody's Facebook Profile. This looks amateurish and as if you don't have a handle on how to use Facebook for business. I have lost count of the number of times this has happened to me and when it does, rather than taking the time to find out if there is in fact a separate Page, I simply turn off and close the webpage.
I am not personally in the habit of sending friend requests to people I don't know, but say in this instance I did? So, I've landed on a Facebook Profile by clicking on the Facebook follow button on a website and sent a friend request. This has now been accepted. BUT I still don't receive business updates, but rather the photos, comments, friend updates, etc. of not only the person in question but their friends as well who I equally don't know from Adam. Have I made my point?
3. Brand Newsfeed
A Page Newsfeed or Timeline is the equivalent of your Email Marketing on Facebook and underpins your success in reaching and engaging with people. Think of it as a person's inbox to which you deliver your entire Business Page related news, i.e. a Newsletter to which Fans have subscribed to. With the added bonus of a far lower unsubscribe rate, no reliance on subscribers forwarding it to their friends (albeit with an incentive for doing so built in), it is far less time-consuming to keep up to date and a sentence or two is all it takes for you to potentially obtain new Fans and increased exposure.
But let's also not forget the reverse, because what you read from others in your own Page Newsfeed will not only provide a wealth of inspiration and material for your own content ideas but also provide further opportunities for you to comment on the posts of others and be seen by their Fan/Friends.
The bottom line is that without your Page Newsfeed, you wouldn't be seen or noticed on Facebook - it really does embody the Domino Effect!
In essence, your Page Newsfeed equals increased exposure for your business/brand, invaluable insights into what you are saying most resonates with people but also provides ample opportunities for conversations with new audiences.
Just make sure that you are using Facebook as your Business Page in order to comment/post on the Business Pages of others.
4. Tagging & Commenting As Your Page
Isn't it great when your friends and family Tag you in photos you didn't know you were in or at a location you were both at? All well and good but imagine if your Facebook Business Page name could only be Tagged or commented on by them - it would be a very limited audience, right?
Well it's a good job that this isn't the case - another highly advantageous feature of Pages is that in addition to those who Like your Page, any Business Page owner can Tag/comment on your Business Page which opens it right out to a viral audience. And of course, each time they do this, you are maximising the number of Newsfeeds your Business Page name appears in and ultimately not how many Fans see it but also their own Fans too which offers rich pickings in terms of engagement and new fans.
5. The Sky's The Limit!
Did you know that a Facebook Profile is limited to 5,000 friends? Not that I know anybody with that number and if I did, I'm pretty sure they'd be too thinly spread to ever spend any time with yours truly!
A Facebook Business Page is a different story with no limit to the number of Likes it can receive. Whilst 5,000 friends on a Facebook Profile might be met with scorns of derision about its authenticity, if you've got 5,000 or more Likes on your Business Page you're going to be held in pretty high regard. But why stop there?!
6. Google Search Results
Whilst it is key that your online activity focuses on driving traffic back to your website, Social Media is the lifeblood of your overall online presence. Facebook Pages are indexed by Google which means that they are optimised for search engines. So the more active you are the more visible your business will be in a search resulting in an increased online presence and active and prolific impression on Social Media.
7. And The Winner Is...
Who doesn't love a freebie?! Contests/Competitions are a great way to build engagement with your followers/Fans and also incentivise other people to Like your Business Page and share your content, making them an instant ambassador for your Brand or business.
They are, in my humble opinion, one of the most fun and creative Facebook Business Page features and something else that a Facebook Profile cannot offer. The main reason for this is that they are generally only available via Apps or Advertising which Profiles do not offer the software for and, in the case of Apps, generally only installable to Facebook Tabs (see 12.), another exclusive Business Page feature.
Contests are a really effective way of incentivising people to share your Business Page or content and grow your Likes. Enough said?
8. Featured Likes
This enables you to showcase the pages of other brands/businesses that you Like - providing not only an insight into your brand/business and its interests but also to showcase the Pages of those businesses you have Liked which should also encourage reciprocity by those businesses.
Simply clicking on the 'Like Pages' link on the left-hand side of your screen allows you to choose from a list of Pages under various categories, including Brands & Products and Companies & Organisations. Of course, businesses similar to you or those whom you have an affiliation or association with, such as complementary services, trusted suppliers and so on, are always going to have maximum impact.
9. Business Page Owners
As with the content management system of a website, an Administrator of a Business Page can delegate administration rights to other Facebook account holders with a tier of different permission levels, which as well as allowing you to work smarter and free up your own time to focus on other areas of your business, provides an additional level of security because you don't have to give them the username/password for your own Facebook account.
10. Featured Business Page Owners
You can also make anybody who is already an Administrator of your Business Page a Featured Administrator/Business Page Owner. This will simply associate them with the Business Page by displaying their Facebook Profile Picture in the About section of your Business Page and also state that they are a Business Page Owner on their Facebook Profile. For my own business, the benefit of this is to allow people to see who the people in the business are, in the same way as the About Business Page of a website does.
11. Business Showcase
A Facebook Business Page allows you to display such information as your business's opening times, location map, telephone number, email address(es) and website address(es), etc. without compromising any of your personal contact details, such as a mobile number, Gmail address, etc.
In the website section you can also add up to three addresses of your choosing in addition to your business site - some suggestions are a link to your Twitter profile, LinkedIn Profile/Company Business Page, Google+ Page, Blog address, etc.
You can further showcase your business by providing a Company Overview, Description, Mission, Founded, Awards, Products (a call to action with a website link is recommended here), etc.
12. Tabs & Apps
Newsletter sign up, Twitter feed, e-Shop, website link or iFrame - these are just a few examples of how you can utilise your Business Page Tabs through the use of Third Party Apps, another feature exclusive to Facebook Pages. Not only that, but the majority of these Apps are completely FREE to download and use and, in many instances, customisable to your own business' needs. You can even set up an Amazon or eBay!
One of the many advantages of these Tabs is that followers can sign up to your Newsletter, view your Twitter feed, purchase your products/services, etc. without ever leaving Facebook. And, since Facebook's M.O is naturally to encourage traffic to stay within its own walls, you're in good hands. I have chosen to utilise one of these Tabs for my Blog (in addition to the website area where it can also be displayed).
13. Advertising & Promotions
Okay, so they're not free but Facebook Adverts still wipe the floor with many other (free) and organic techniques for growing your fan base. I'm not saying other methods aren't as powerful, far from it, but there's a reason you pay for Adverts - they REALLY WORK!
Facebook Adverts appear in a sidebar on the right-hand side of your Timeline (Newsfeed) right before your status bar of friends who are/aren't online. Whilst an Advert can only be set up by a Page, the beauty of them is that their audience is not restricted to Page fans; they can be used to target your friends too.
Whilst Facebook Adverts are a paid entity and can prove expense if not managed properly, you can control your spend with a budget, start and end date and maximum price per click (if you are going down that route), etc. Facebook offers you the choice of several tiers of advertising to suit your budget and objectives. You can also manage the Adverts from your Pages' Admin Panel to track their effectiveness in the same way as Facebook Insights (see 19.).
Promotions are also a paid entity but work slightly differently to Facebook Adverts in that they appear within your Page Newsfeed so appear more natural and less aggressive or targeted. And, whilst most of us know that by clicking on an advert the person who posted it is paying, this isn't so obvious or widely known with Promotions.
14. I'm just Checking in!
The Check-In Tool is another fantastic feature you can utilise to encourage people to engage and interact. It's also an easy way to provide the social proof that your Business Page is resonating with people and useful to them. In other words, those people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions.
Of course, this does rely on you having a physical location so if you are a work from home digital marketer it may not be the most useful feature but still worth knowing about and something else that is not available on a Facebook Profile!
15. Notes
This vastly under- utilised and valued yet fully interactive Facebook Tool can be used almost like a Blog and as another platform through which to further expand on your Products, Services or Brand. Notes are similar to Blog posts in that you can add or edit content and also avoid the 420 character restriction of a status update.
Fans can even Like and comment on your Notes and equally any Notes within which your Business Page has been tagged or commented on is accessible by you. They can even interact with other Fans about your Business Page which not only increases your Page's exposure but also provides you with the opportunity to increase traffic to your Blog and your industry authority and credibility.
You can add comments, photos and images, tag other Fanpages, and even format the style and layout of Notes, i.e. use bold, italics, or underline, numbering, bullet points and quote blocks.
Why are they important? Well, Google will index your Notes if you have properly optimised them and increase the probability of them appearing in a Google search, which of course means an additional stream of traffic for your Business or Brand.
Several years ago you could also use the Notes feature as a bonafide blogging platform but this seems to have been buried by the updated Newsfeed. There are rumours however that Facebook will revive the blogging functionality of Notes so watch this space for developments!
Do you use the Facebook Notes tool - if so, what for?
16. Import Contacts/Invitations
As long as you are using Facebook as your Page, you can invite a whole host of people to Like it and increase your number of Fans exponentially. This is absolutely my recommended port of call when you first set up a Business Page because they are already your captive audience and therefore incredibly influential in growing your Likes through their own Newsfeed. As I said in point 14., the people who have Liked your Business Page have effectively endorsed your business to their friends. And this kind of social proof is an integral driver of a consumer's buying decisions and which also helps non-profits to garner support. After all, word of mouth is the oldest form of marketing in the world but arguably still the most powerful, right?
There is nothing wrong with periodically re-inviting contacts to Like your Page and your lists will no doubt have grown since you last did this anyway. Facebook does also allow you to select which people you would like to invite to Like your Page so you can make it more targeted if you so wish.
17. Link Your Business Page To Twitter
If you sync your Facebook Page with your Twitter account, whenever you create a post in Facebook, both Social Media channels will be updated simultaneously. Not only is this a quick win but you are working smarter as you don't have to update both channels with the same content. Be mindful however if you use the HootSuite Social Media Dashboard that you don't post to both Social Media channels otherwise even the most diehard Fans will quickly turn off if they are seeing double every time!
18. Unique Username
A unique username or Vanity URL, such as Facebook.com/example will also assist with your search ranking and make your company name synonymous with Facebook, especially valuable if this is also your brand/product/service.
Much as you would add your current job to your Facebook Profile if you were an employee, you also have the facility to add your Business Name to your Profile with a link to your Business Page (please note that this will not link your Facebook Profile and Page, merely show where you work).
19. Analyse Your Page's Activity
Once you have 30 Likes, you will be able to view Facebook Insights, which provide in-depth analysis on every one of your Business Page posts to see how many people your post reached how many engaged with it and how many talked about it with their Friends. You can also compare your different posts by showing the percentage of people who talked about your post to their Friends after seeing it. You can also export a report of your Facebook Insights to a spreadsheet and email it.
As defined by Facebook, "Insights provides Facebook Business Page owners... with metrics around their content. By understanding and analysing trends within user growth and demographics, consumption of content, and creation of content, Business Page owners... are better equipped to improve their business with Facebook."
Ultimately, Facebook Insights provide a platform for something you should really be checking anyway - what content is resonating the most with people, be it particular status updates you post, links to Blog Posts or your latest Newsletter or something else so that you can tailor your messaging for maximum impact.
Are you in the Facebook Profile or Facebook Business Page camp? What other advantages or disadvantages have you encountered with both? I'd love to hear your experiences!
Newbie's Guide: How to Market Your Company on Facebook
Do you want to get started marketing your business on Facebook, but uncertain where to start?
Well, then, here's a quick start guide to understanding exactly what to do...
When it comes to your marketing and advertising options & specific audience targeting, Facebook advertising provides some of the most best choices online today.
You can make use of Facebook ads to accomplish a variety of things, from growing your Facebook audience to promote your apps or driving traffic to your website, products, and services.
In this brief guide, we're going to take a look at the present Facebook ad options available & how to use them.
If you don't already have an advertising account set up on Facebook, then you can do so by clicking on the word "Advertising," found at the bottom of most Facebook pages.
An Overview of the Different Facebook Ad Types
1. Clicks to Website
This option enables you to connect to specific pages on your web site in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users as well as the sidebar.
2. Website Conversions
Site Conversions enable you to direct site visitors to particular pages with your site with the specific goal of getting them to complete a task, like joining your email list or making a purchase.
Prior to you creating your ad, you'll want to add a conversion-tracking pixel to your web site, which will track the outcome of the goal you are wanting to track.
You can produce conversion-tracking pixels in your Facebook Ads Manager. You'll create a pixel to be added to each page on your web site that signifies the completion of a certain goal, such as the order verification page when someone buys or the thank you page when they fill out an opt-in form.
You can then create Website Conversion ads once you have set up your conversion tracking pixel. Web site Conversion ads can be positioned in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users along with the right sidebar.
3. Page Post Engagement
These ads enable you to enhance the number of Likes, shares, and active discussion within your Facebook page posts.
You'll have the ability to make use of videos, pictures, or text ads in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users along with the sidebar.
4. Page Likes
These ads allow you to target the audiences that'll be most likely to do business with you & encourage them to become fans of your Facebook page.
As you grow your fan base, you'll be able to target ads & natural posts at prospective customers in order to obtain even more Likes on Facebook. You can place Page Like ads in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users as well as the right hand sidebar.
5. App Installs
App Installs ads allow you to increase the number of people utilizing your mobile app with ad placement in the news feed of mobile users.
6. App Engagement
App Engagement ads enable you to encourage users to utilize your app more often with ad placement in the news feed of mobile users.
7. Event Responses
These ads allow you to get even more exposure for your upcoming events (both online and live events), plus get people to RSVP for the event as well. You can place Occasion Responses ads in the right sidebar for desktop users.
8. Video Views
These ads enable you to drive, well... views to your videos. Facebook optimizes these ads to be seen by people most likely to watch the videos. These ads can run on all devices.
9. Offer Claims
Offer Claims ads enable you to drive individuals to your business to redeem a coupon or special offer. You can place Offer Claim ads in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users along with the right hand sidebar.
10. Premium Ads
Facebook also offers premium advertisement spots for those that wish to be guaranteed their ads will show up at the top of the news feed or in a prominent sidebar location.
These normally need to be purchased as CPM (cost per thousand) via an IO (insertion order), however they can also sometimes be produced in the Facebook Power Editor as well. These ads are generally designated for bigger marketers with higher ad budgets than the average small to medium sized business.
Facebook Ad Specifications
Each year, it seems that Facebook makes some major overhaul of their ad specifications to conform to the latest platform redesign, so you are best off confirming the current details by visiting https://www.facebook.com/help/ and clicking on the "Facebook Ads" tab.
In general, however, Facebook lets you position most ads in the news feed of desktop users & mobile users-- or in the right sidebar.
Depending upon the type of ad & positioning, the specs for maximum amount of text, image element ratio, image size, and video element ratio will differ.
For optimal display & effect, be sure to review the ad specs for the ad kind you are creating, in addition to certain placement alternatives.
Note that there are two ways to produce some kinds of ads-- by linking them to a Facebook page you own, or not connecting them to a Facebook page. Ads not linked to a Facebook page will only be positioned in the right hand sidebar for desktop users.
Creating Ads on Your Facebook Page
Now, let's take a look at where you can produce your ads. All ads need to be associated with a specific Facebook page, so we'll look at the ads you create through the lens of being an admin from a specific Facebook page.
1. Promote Your Page
When you go to your Facebook page, the first promotional opportunity you'll see is to "Promote Your Page" option in the left sidebar.
When you click this option, you'll get to preview how your ad will show up in the news feed for desktop users & mobile users-- in addition to the right hand sidebar column.
The ad will use your Facebook page's name, short description, and cover photo for the creative. If you don't like the way they display, you 'll have an opportunity to change each of these elements prior to finalizing your ad.
You can click on the settings wheel icon underneath the preview & choose Advanced Options to configure your ad with custom text & an image in the Facebook Advertisements Manager.
You'll also be able check your targeting choices. They're basic & include place, interests, age, and gender. Underneath these, you'll have the ability to set your budget & schedule the duration of your ad's run.
Once you have actually set up these options, you can click Promote Page to submit your ad to Facebook for their review and approval.
If you want to have more control over the targeting choices, you can click the settings wheel icon below the preview & choose "Advanced Options" to configure your ad with a more targeted audience in the Facebook Advertisements Manager.
2. Boost Post
Whenever you make a new post for your Facebook page, you'll have the choice to boost your post to a bigger audience making use of the "Boost Post" button at the bottom right of each post.
You'll get to preview how your boosted post will look in the news feed when you click this option.
The ad will make use of the exact text & image you included in the post itself when you published it to your page.
Once gain, you'll have the ability to target your ad by area, interests, age, and gender. Beneath these, you'll have the ability to set your budget & schedule the duration of your advertisement's run.
When you've configured these various options, you can click "Boost" to send your ad to Facebook for review and approval.
And, as above, you can get more sophisticated with your targeting via the "Advanced Options" choice when you'll be able to configure your ad inside the Facebook Ads Manager.
3. Promote Website
If you have a a website link in your Facebook page's "About" section, you'll have the option to promote your website via a Facebook ad as well.
When you click this option, you'll get to customize your ad text & image, then preview how your ad will show up in the news feed.
You'll have the ability to target your ad by area, interests, age, and gender. Underneath these choices, you'll have the ability to set your budget & schedule the duration of your ad's run.
As above, just select the setting you want for your ad and submit it for review and approval.
Additionally, if you 'd like to make use of more advanced targeting alternatives, you can click on the settings wheel icon beneath the preview & choose "Advanced Options" to configure your ad in the Facebook Advertisements Manager
Producing Ads Using the Facebook Ads Manager
While the above ads are simple to create straight from your page, the Facebook Ads Manager enables you to access lots more advertising options, create totally customized creatives, and target your ads to very specific audiences.
To get started, you'll click the green "Create Ad" button in your Facebook Ads Manager. You'll then select from the list of ad objective options.
Depending on the advertisement kind you choose, you'll get numerous alternatives when it comes to customizing the ad imaginative.
For instance, if you pick Clicks to Website or Website Conversions, you'll get to include images, link to your Facebook page (which is required if you want to have the ability to show your ads in the news feed), tailor the heading & text, include a call-to-action button, and link your ad to a specific conversion pixel for tracking.
The real magic in using the Facebook Ads Manager happens where you specify your target audience.
When you create an ad from your Facebook page, as an example, you can just target by interests, place, age, and gender. In the Facebook Ads Manager, however, you get many more options including custom audiences (which you can upload from your own database), interests of Facebook users, and specific details related to people's lives - including demographic data and purchasing habits among other things.
Overall, Facebook provide a tremendous range of opportunity and flexibility to any business, large or small, when it comes to connecting with more prospects and customers.
Author David Baer offers clients custom strategies and automated marketing tools for Facebook and other online marketing at his website, BaerOnMarketing.
Well, then, here's a quick start guide to understanding exactly what to do...
When it comes to your marketing and advertising options & specific audience targeting, Facebook advertising provides some of the most best choices online today.
You can make use of Facebook ads to accomplish a variety of things, from growing your Facebook audience to promote your apps or driving traffic to your website, products, and services.
In this brief guide, we're going to take a look at the present Facebook ad options available & how to use them.
If you don't already have an advertising account set up on Facebook, then you can do so by clicking on the word "Advertising," found at the bottom of most Facebook pages.
An Overview of the Different Facebook Ad Types
1. Clicks to Website
This option enables you to connect to specific pages on your web site in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users as well as the sidebar.
2. Website Conversions
Site Conversions enable you to direct site visitors to particular pages with your site with the specific goal of getting them to complete a task, like joining your email list or making a purchase.
Prior to you creating your ad, you'll want to add a conversion-tracking pixel to your web site, which will track the outcome of the goal you are wanting to track.
You can produce conversion-tracking pixels in your Facebook Ads Manager. You'll create a pixel to be added to each page on your web site that signifies the completion of a certain goal, such as the order verification page when someone buys or the thank you page when they fill out an opt-in form.
You can then create Website Conversion ads once you have set up your conversion tracking pixel. Web site Conversion ads can be positioned in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users along with the right sidebar.
3. Page Post Engagement
These ads enable you to enhance the number of Likes, shares, and active discussion within your Facebook page posts.
You'll have the ability to make use of videos, pictures, or text ads in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users along with the sidebar.
4. Page Likes
These ads allow you to target the audiences that'll be most likely to do business with you & encourage them to become fans of your Facebook page.
As you grow your fan base, you'll be able to target ads & natural posts at prospective customers in order to obtain even more Likes on Facebook. You can place Page Like ads in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users as well as the right hand sidebar.
5. App Installs
App Installs ads allow you to increase the number of people utilizing your mobile app with ad placement in the news feed of mobile users.
6. App Engagement
App Engagement ads enable you to encourage users to utilize your app more often with ad placement in the news feed of mobile users.
7. Event Responses
These ads allow you to get even more exposure for your upcoming events (both online and live events), plus get people to RSVP for the event as well. You can place Occasion Responses ads in the right sidebar for desktop users.
8. Video Views
These ads enable you to drive, well... views to your videos. Facebook optimizes these ads to be seen by people most likely to watch the videos. These ads can run on all devices.
9. Offer Claims
Offer Claims ads enable you to drive individuals to your business to redeem a coupon or special offer. You can place Offer Claim ads in the news feed for both desktop & mobile users along with the right hand sidebar.
10. Premium Ads
Facebook also offers premium advertisement spots for those that wish to be guaranteed their ads will show up at the top of the news feed or in a prominent sidebar location.
These normally need to be purchased as CPM (cost per thousand) via an IO (insertion order), however they can also sometimes be produced in the Facebook Power Editor as well. These ads are generally designated for bigger marketers with higher ad budgets than the average small to medium sized business.
Facebook Ad Specifications
Each year, it seems that Facebook makes some major overhaul of their ad specifications to conform to the latest platform redesign, so you are best off confirming the current details by visiting https://www.facebook.com/help/ and clicking on the "Facebook Ads" tab.
In general, however, Facebook lets you position most ads in the news feed of desktop users & mobile users-- or in the right sidebar.
Depending upon the type of ad & positioning, the specs for maximum amount of text, image element ratio, image size, and video element ratio will differ.
For optimal display & effect, be sure to review the ad specs for the ad kind you are creating, in addition to certain placement alternatives.
Note that there are two ways to produce some kinds of ads-- by linking them to a Facebook page you own, or not connecting them to a Facebook page. Ads not linked to a Facebook page will only be positioned in the right hand sidebar for desktop users.
Creating Ads on Your Facebook Page
Now, let's take a look at where you can produce your ads. All ads need to be associated with a specific Facebook page, so we'll look at the ads you create through the lens of being an admin from a specific Facebook page.
1. Promote Your Page
When you go to your Facebook page, the first promotional opportunity you'll see is to "Promote Your Page" option in the left sidebar.
When you click this option, you'll get to preview how your ad will show up in the news feed for desktop users & mobile users-- in addition to the right hand sidebar column.
The ad will use your Facebook page's name, short description, and cover photo for the creative. If you don't like the way they display, you 'll have an opportunity to change each of these elements prior to finalizing your ad.
You can click on the settings wheel icon underneath the preview & choose Advanced Options to configure your ad with custom text & an image in the Facebook Advertisements Manager.
You'll also be able check your targeting choices. They're basic & include place, interests, age, and gender. Underneath these, you'll have the ability to set your budget & schedule the duration of your ad's run.
Once you have actually set up these options, you can click Promote Page to submit your ad to Facebook for their review and approval.
If you want to have more control over the targeting choices, you can click the settings wheel icon below the preview & choose "Advanced Options" to configure your ad with a more targeted audience in the Facebook Advertisements Manager.
2. Boost Post
Whenever you make a new post for your Facebook page, you'll have the choice to boost your post to a bigger audience making use of the "Boost Post" button at the bottom right of each post.
You'll get to preview how your boosted post will look in the news feed when you click this option.
The ad will make use of the exact text & image you included in the post itself when you published it to your page.
Once gain, you'll have the ability to target your ad by area, interests, age, and gender. Beneath these, you'll have the ability to set your budget & schedule the duration of your advertisement's run.
When you've configured these various options, you can click "Boost" to send your ad to Facebook for review and approval.
And, as above, you can get more sophisticated with your targeting via the "Advanced Options" choice when you'll be able to configure your ad inside the Facebook Ads Manager.
3. Promote Website
If you have a a website link in your Facebook page's "About" section, you'll have the option to promote your website via a Facebook ad as well.
When you click this option, you'll get to customize your ad text & image, then preview how your ad will show up in the news feed.
You'll have the ability to target your ad by area, interests, age, and gender. Underneath these choices, you'll have the ability to set your budget & schedule the duration of your ad's run.
As above, just select the setting you want for your ad and submit it for review and approval.
Additionally, if you 'd like to make use of more advanced targeting alternatives, you can click on the settings wheel icon beneath the preview & choose "Advanced Options" to configure your ad in the Facebook Advertisements Manager
Producing Ads Using the Facebook Ads Manager
While the above ads are simple to create straight from your page, the Facebook Ads Manager enables you to access lots more advertising options, create totally customized creatives, and target your ads to very specific audiences.
To get started, you'll click the green "Create Ad" button in your Facebook Ads Manager. You'll then select from the list of ad objective options.
Depending on the advertisement kind you choose, you'll get numerous alternatives when it comes to customizing the ad imaginative.
For instance, if you pick Clicks to Website or Website Conversions, you'll get to include images, link to your Facebook page (which is required if you want to have the ability to show your ads in the news feed), tailor the heading & text, include a call-to-action button, and link your ad to a specific conversion pixel for tracking.
The real magic in using the Facebook Ads Manager happens where you specify your target audience.
When you create an ad from your Facebook page, as an example, you can just target by interests, place, age, and gender. In the Facebook Ads Manager, however, you get many more options including custom audiences (which you can upload from your own database), interests of Facebook users, and specific details related to people's lives - including demographic data and purchasing habits among other things.
Overall, Facebook provide a tremendous range of opportunity and flexibility to any business, large or small, when it comes to connecting with more prospects and customers.
Author David Baer offers clients custom strategies and automated marketing tools for Facebook and other online marketing at his website, BaerOnMarketing.
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