Nathan Yerian
Social media is a valuable tool for building relationships with customers. Through Facebook fan pages, brands can converse with loyal audiences, share information, and amplify marketing messages. Beyond inspiring discussions and providing a forum for customer support, Facebook is also a platform for lead generation, audience recruitment, and product promotion.
Unlike other forms of social media marketing and display advertising, Facebook's advertising platform enables strategic demographic targeting by age, gender, and interests. For marketing matchmakers, this type of data is invaluable.
Still, far too often for many brands, Facebook ads fall short in delivering results. Especially for marketers on a tight budget, every advertising dollar spent needs to translate into concrete returns in the form of ead generation, new clients, or revenue.
Planning to advertise on Facebook? Here's what brands need to know to generate substantive results:
Do: Define Goals Up Front
As with any well-crafted marketing campaign, brands need to pinpoint objectives ahead of time. For instance, a brand may want to increase its Facebook fan base or promote a new product.
After identifying these types of goals, marketers can customize campaigns to reach ideal audiences, and most importantly, decision-makers will be able to gauge a campaign's success by knowing exactly what to measure. How many leads did a campaign produce? How many of these leads generated sales?
Do: Study Successes and Weaknesses of Other Brands
Who says that marketers need to go in blind? The Internet is overflowing with case studies from brands who have run similar campaigns. Learn from others' strengths and weaknesses for a custom-tailored and effective approach.
Do: Be Personable and Relevant
Social interactions build the heart and soul of Facebook. Keeping this in mind, brands should humanize their campaigns to build legitimate connections with audiences. When building a campaign, select audiences that make sense. Provide incentives. Focus on creating visually appealing and eye-catching designs that are relevant to that market.
Don't: Neglect the Copy
Writing ad copy is an art. Be short and sweet. Persuade. Don't be self-serving, and most of all, don't appear sloppy with typos or choppy language. While looking through newsfeeds, Facebook audiences will give brands a split-second of time. Make the most of it.
Don't: Forget to Follow Up
Even with advertising, Facebook marketing is all about building relationships. If recruiting prospective customers, for instance, brands should make an effort to keep in touch with follow-up incentives. Instead of dropping off the face of the earth, stay active and be assertive.
Don't: Mislead People
This point is a no-brainer, but it's worth reiterating. Be wary of unintended messages or implications. Always strive to be accurate and deliver upon promises. Otherwise, the campaign will steer people far away.
Do: A/B Test to Gauge Performance
Marketers know that ads are an art form. Instead of settling on one design or message, test a couple of options to see what performs best. A/B testing is an important component for any marketing plan, especially experimental ones through social media channels.
Most Importantly
Remember that Facebook is best for appealing to consumers. For B2B services, marketers are better off pursuing alternative options. Still, for consumer products, events, and special offers, Facebook is worth a try. Set aside a small budget, and see how the experience goes.
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