Creating a Facebook marketing strategy for your product or service is a no-brainer. Especially right now where Facebook is looking to produce revenue for shareholders. They will be under the gun of Wall street so you might want to jump in and create a great Facebook marketing strategy. They’re being very aggressive with ads, think Google back in 2001.
WARNING: Facebook is still in the “Wild West” phase of click ads. They will burn through your budget so keep a eye on things. I am very strict on how I use Facebook Ads. I love them for Retargeting.
Across the accounts of all adult Facebook users, the average friend count stands at 338[1]. That’s 338 profiles worth of content that has to be filtered through a single user’s newsfeed. Keep in mind, that number doesn’t even factor in the pages each user likes. Yikes. So how do you compete with the cat videos, party pics, and witty statuses soaking up the attention of your followers?
You Don’t Compete, You Buy Facebook Ads!
Reigning as the most widely used social networking site, Facebook is a virtually limitless tool for communication[2]. Any company can take advantage of this platform, and best of all: it’s cheap and some of it can be free. Creating a profile on Facebook requires only an e-mail address, and from there, the connection opportunities are endless. Once your profile is created you are able to start creating Facebook Ads, not only that, you can create a retargeting campaign from Facebook.
Okay, so you already knew that. Your company has a Facebook page and has managed to secure a number of followers. The questions become: what do you post and how often do you post it? When should you run ads? How do you run Facebook ads?
Step 1: figure out your company’s main goal on Facebook and create the ads
Your goal on Facebook should be to capture leads, increase sales, foster branding, receive feedback, or a combination of the four? Your intentions on Facebook will drive the nature of your ads, and your audience will appreciate a certain level of post consistency. When ever we run ads we always try to push them away from Facebook to our website. If I am going to pay for something I want to make sure I get the audience onto my site, where I can control the user experience.
What does this mean? Random selection is not best (sorry to any tuned-in researches who might take offense!). Create a weekly plan that will give you a picture of what your posts will look like in succession. You have to have amazing pictures, creative headlines and unique content. Take this opportunity to evaluate your content selection. Ask yourself: Does my ads work? Am I only posting ads that will get clicks? Does the whole effort of my posts get across the ideas and
information I want it to? Is the content within my posts repetitive? Would I keep these posts in my own newsfeed? If you hope to pass the Successful Facebook Page test, you better study the answer key: yes, no, yes, no, yes.
Ok so I am going to show you an example of some ads we created for Ydraw and Yinc.
- This ad has about a 2% click-through rate, which is really good for Facebook Ads. You can see I used a compelling image with a green play button. We also used a fun headline, which seem to make people smile.
- I ran it for a small amount of time just to test and see what I could get. You will see a couple of thing that made this ad very profitable. It was a good headline, and I told a short story. I also used the curiosity factor. Instead of posting an image I just put a play button in the middle. Who is not going to click on that? Take note that when you run Video ads on Facebook you are going to get a lot better engagement due to the fact that Facebook will play the video without any sound. You will see what I am talking about when you play around on the newsfeeds. Videos are always playing without sound.
Step 2: create Facebook post that get traction and boost them.
How can you create a post that will get the same amount of attention as that compilation video of baby animals falling asleep? Not by making your followers fall asleep, that’s for sure. You’ve got to set yourself from the perspective of the user to consider what they will and will not engage with during their free time.
[Tweet “Facebook posts that get traction.”]
Luckily, it gets more specific than that. Let’s say you wish to offer your followers information about upcoming products, events, or company news. The biggest no-no you can commit takes the form of a 2 paragraph long status that requires a “Read more…” button. This offense might not be illegal (though it should be!) but it can potentially result in the loss of a follower. Informative ads should be short and sweet! Hit them with the Headline followed up with a Call to Action.
Facebook users scroll quickly and will rarely take the time to read the history of your company’s product. It’s just not happening. Condense the information into 5-7 sentences and offer a link.
Trying to develop your branding? Images, videos, and news stories can be your new best friends. The obvious posts are those that relate to your company, but sometimes the more appreciated posts are the ones that don’t. These posts illustrate your company’s personality and are a way to make genuine connections with your followers’ interests. A word of caution: do NOT choose content based on shock value! That is the wrong kind of attention. That is toilet-paper-stuck-on-your-shoe kind of attention. (Hint: as is true in the real world, people who try too hard for attention tend to be defriended, or in this case, unfollowed!)
Of course, what you post will depend not only on your company’s intentions and personality, but also on the audience to which you’re trying to appeal. Fortunately, there are some widely appreciated content types that should help you navigate through the different personalities of your followers.
Firstly, and most simply, humor. A small smile or chuckle can go a long way on Facebook. Nearly 40% of users particularly value humorous content, so don’t hesitate to incorporate a fun personality[3]. After all, Facebook users log on voluntarily for personal enjoyment, so personalize your posts!
Secondly, Facebook is a social networking platform that aims to foster connection, so why not use it as such? Start conversation with your followers by asking open ended questions about their opinions and experiences related or unrelated to your company. The comments that ensue will help promote your post and increase the likelihood that your followers will remain followers. Be aware, however, that if you start a conversation, you’ll have to actively engage with any participants. Don’t leave your followers’ responses hanging- acknowledges them to show that someone is actually listening.
Thirdly, post helpful information that people can share. We all want to be helpful!
Step 3: Don’t kill them with ads.
Yes, you can schedule your Facebook ads. No, you should not schedule a bombard your audience every hour. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should! Aim for 1-2 impressions per day. It may not seem like a lot, but it’s enough. You want your company to have a presence in your followers’ newsfeed, but not more of a presence than their friends and families. Show a little restraint! You might think you want to appear more frequently than mom and dad, but if you did, you would be going against most of your followers’ reasons for using the site. Besides, if your post is able to attract a lot of attention, it has a chance of staying in the spotlight into the next day…quality over quantity!
Side note
Now, to answer the question you’ve had this entire time: when is the best time to post? Unfortunately, you can’t stalk each of your followers and observe their Facebook habits. Fortunately (for them), you CAN see what times during the day yield more reach and interaction. Simply go to your page and click on the customize button that appears next to the “Follow” option (it looks like a gear found in a clock). Now select “View Insights,” and then check out the data collected for your Reach and Posts. Once you’ve secured a following, the data related to your posts will be extremely helpful in determining the best times of day to post given the makeup of your following. The best part about this feature is that it offers a breakdown for each day of the week, so you can ensure your content is always reaching its fullest potential! There are even records available that will give you a look into the demographics of your followers, which will enable you to customize your content accordingly. It’s that simple- can you believe it’s free?
Okay, so what can be learned from all this? Firstly, your company must have a Facebook marketing strategy and open up an Ads account. It’s too good a communication tool to pass up. Secondly, you’ve got to take necessary measures to ensure that your content is effective and appropriate. Lastly, exhibit self-control when posting. The last thing you want to do is annoy your followers. It’s easy to get over-excited with the attention Facebook can give your company, but keep in mind the type of attention you’re aiming to secure. We want good qualified leads that turn into paying customers.
So now you know why you need a Facebook Marketing Strategy.
[Tweet “A Facebook Marketing Strategy That Works”]
[1]http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/03/6-new-facts-about-facebook/
[2]http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/social-media-update-2013/
[3]http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/03/6-new-facts-about-facebook/
