Facebook is a powerhouse. There's really no denying that a bulk of any social marketing spend should be done within the social-sphere of the biggest social media network on the planet. However, many marketers are using Facebook as nothing more than a vanity tool, or a place to collect “Likes” for no other purpose than ego-massaging and bragging rights.
Over the past couple of years, many in the industry have failed to notice the monumental shift in the way marketers do business on Facebook. In the past, it was largely a platform built for affinity and engagement, but now it has shifted into more of a branding-based tool or direct response solution.
“This transformation isn’t by accident. 66% of all online advertising spent in the United States goes toward performance-based advertising,” says David Serfaty, Matomy Media Group's director of social advertising.
Most marketers are using Facebook the same way they used it in 2008, which is largely a tool in which to garner “Likes” and promote engagement not only on Facebook, but to your home page as well. That's not to say that this shouldn't be part of your strategy, but if it's all you're doing, you are definitely missing the mark.
Here are 8 tips to help you get the most from your Facebook marketing campaigns.
“Like” Campaigns
Every business, website, or blog should be running “Like” campaigns already, but if you're not, here's what you need to know.
Even if you can only budget $2 a day, your business needs to see new faces in order to grow. A well-targeted “Like” campaign can bring you hundreds, or even thousands of new “Likes” per month. The best part is, all of this can be accomplished for as little as half a cent per click (for the best targeted campaigns).
Pixel Tracking
Facebook has a pretty powerful tracking platform right out of the box, but by adding pixel tracking – a small snippet of code you place on a website to determine if certain goals are being met (conversions, webinar registrations, email list signups, etc.) – you can start to really harness the power of paid advertising.
While most marketers use Google Analytics as a fancy tool for checking traffic stats (but not much else), the bulk of them aren't savvy enough to set up goals and conversions within it. Facebook makes this process simpler by allowing you to select what constitutes a conversion, and then tracking not only conversions, but cost per acquisition/sale, click-thru rates, and total reach. This is valuable data that allows experienced marketers to transform “dud” campaigns into winners by utilizing the data given.
Retargeting
Retargeting is the future of online advertising, so get on board or watch as your competitors pass you by.
Each time a visitor stops by your site, you plant a cookie on their computer. This cookie allows you to target those who have visited your site without making a purchase or completing a conversion goal. Now you have a chance to try to reach them once again, and statistics show that people are more likely to buy if they were semi-interested previously, and they remember the name of your page or product this time around.
Think of it as subliminal marketing. The first visit allowed them to learn your name, and then the retargeting campaign forced them to remember you, and ultimately complete a conversion goal. It's sort of a warm-up period with a chance to close them later. The best marketers are having all sorts of success with this method of engagement.
Advanced Targeting
One of the most revolutionary things in the online advertising and marketing world over the past decade plus has been Facebook's inclusion of the “custom audience” feature. This feature allows you to find pages on Facebook that have just the audience you're looking for and allows you to target your ads to them exclusively.
In addition, you can also use advanced targeting methods from Acxiom that allow you to target to new parents, new homeowners, those likely to move in the near future, people who have made recent purchases online, and dozens of other targeting features. Having this sort of data at your fingertips is almost unfair when it comes to creating online ads that are more targeted than ever before.
These targeting options make it easier than ever and completely shatter the barrier to entry for small businesses to run targeted advertising or lead generation campaigns. If you're not running ads on Facebook, and you're still looking for clients or customers, you're completely missing out on this amazing opportunity. Never before in this history of online marketing has creating super-responsive email lists, generating leads or closing sales ever been this accessible to the novice online marketer.