By Rachel Karl
Most marketers and business owners know that Facebook is an important tool for getting the word out. With a daily active user base of 1.28 billion (1.03 billion on mobile alone), Facebook is constantly growing and changing as consumers’ interests shift. Think about this: You, with just your phone and a Facebook account, can reach potentially thousands–if not millions– of people with the touch of a button. As a business the possibilities are very exciting. You can reach new audiences you may not have been able to do with any other medium, get found easier, promote the content you want to promote, create highly engaged audiences around almost any topic and develop a strong brand identity. Without posting cat pictures.
We hear from so many business owners that Facebook is not the right place for their business to advertise. Many businesses have been slow to get onboard with advertising on social media in general. Yet, according to a poll by Statista, global monthly active users on social media’s most popular sites (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter) reached 3.9 billion!
Why not market your business to these audiences?
So, if just about everyone is on social sites, how can they not be the right place for you to advertise your business? It’s all about how you approach it. The number one reason we hear from business owners for why they don’t want to advertise on Facebook is: “we’ve tried social media and we didn’t get any leads from it.”
Look at it this way: There are two sides to social media, just like there are two sides to radio and television:
- There is the content side: radio has music, television has shows, and social media has posts. This is where most businesses “do social media” and it’s really good for getting information out to your current customers, but it’s not the right channel for attracting new business.
- The other side is the advertising side. On TV and radio, this takes the form of commercials, but on Facebook we have a much more powerful option to take advantage of – News Feed Sponsored Posts.
What is a News Feed Sponsored Post?
When you log onto Facebook, the first thing you see is your News Feed. This is where you see pictures from your cousin’s birthday party, your friend’s cat’s blog, and a video of your niece walking for the first time. Interspersed among those posts are Sponsored Posts from businesses (advertisements). If they’re good advertisements, they won’t even look like an ad; they’ll just look like another post from a friend you didn’t know you had.
So how does this result in more leads?
By using a three-step campaign, you can get the attention of a user on Facebook, target them with an ad to let them learn more, and then remarket to them with your offer. For some businesses, the process will look like this:
First Ad:
Target: a large audience with your general target demographics (age, location, whether they have kids, etc.)
Content: a 30-second video that is entertaining and informative, showcasing your product or service.
Second Ad:
Target: only the users that have watched at least 50% of your video from the first ad. Now we’ve narrowed our audience to the people who are more likely interested in our offerings.
Content: Ad with an image of your product or service, text enticing the user to learn more, and a clear call-to-action, such as “Learn More” or “Sign-up”. This ad should take them to a product information page on your website.
Third Ad:
Target: only the users that clicked on the second ad.
Content: Ad with an image of your product or service, copy telling the user about your offer with a clear call to action “Schedule now for 25% off!” – This ad should take them to a dedicated landing page with a contact form or use one of Facebook’s built-in Lead Forms.
And that’s how you generate more leads with Facebook!
If you have any questions about how to setup your Facebook Ad account or if you would like to know some of the tools we use to create our images, just give the team at Suite 4 a call at 971-264-2911 or fill out the contact form on our website.
Rachel Karl is the founder of Suite 4. She helps her clients navigate the complexities of social media so they can reach more customers. Founded in 2008, Suite 4’s clients have ranged from celebrities and small businesses, to non-profits and brand agents for Disney, M&M and Coca Cola.
