Liking Gating on Facebook is over!
Videos natively loaded to Facebook are getting more reach.
Custom Audiences are a secret sauce for reaching customers.
Join me in this episode of the Halftime Mike podcast as I dive into the details you need to know to market successfully on Facebook today!
It's all about keeping it practical, doable, and leading edge so you can grow more leads and sales online!
This week I fly solo and dive into the specific changes and shifts happening in Facebook that marketers need to know and capitalize on!
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Let's dig in!
Are you aware that Facebook is putting an end to the “Like Gate”?
Yes, it's true. On November 5, 2014 Facebook put an end to the Like Gate!
Here’s what Facebook said in their Developer area:
“You must not incentivize people to use social plugins or to like a Page. This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page. It remains acceptable to incentivize people to login to your app, checkin at a place or enter a promotion on your app’s Page. To ensure quality connections and help businesses reach the people who matter to them, we want people to like Pages because they want to connect and hear from the business, not because of artificial incentives. We believe this update will benefit people and advertisers alike.”
Further detail by their Program team made it clear that the call to check whether a person has “Liked” a Page is being removed from the API. This is the feature developers like us used to help businesses enable a Like Gate function on tab apps. With the removal of this on November 5, 2014, the death of the Like Gate became a reality.
Is it a huge negative? What does it mean for Facebook marketing?
The Like Gate was no longer a high-value marketing method. It ran it’s course and serious business marketers know this. The alternative is so much more valuable: Lead Capture to grow your Email list!
A name and email address is so much more valuable.
Why? The email address is something you can use ongoing and via other means like email marketing where greater sales occur. A primary goal of your Facebook marketing should be focused engagement that drives fans to landing pages where they opt-in! Hopefully this forced change by Facebook forces the shift that needs to take place to better marketing methods!
Within TabSite we have a feature we think is much stronger and more valuable called “Form Gate.” It’s better for the simple reason that it is more valuable to get a name and email address than to simply get a fan! With this tool, you can “gate” information on a tab app or area of your web page and require visitors to submit the form (name and email for instance) to gain access to the content/deal/coupon etc. that you are offering.
This way you have a real, authentic lead that you can follow-up with and nurture via email marketing going forward.
A change noted in the last few months on Facebook is the power of FACEBOOK videos. Facebook made some tweaks to their algorithm after launching auto-play videos in the summer. Around August we began to notice more videos in the News Feed, and early this fall Facebook announced some new features for Video Ads on Facebook.
I've done a few different tests of Facebook videos versus link posts, and Facebook videos versus YouTube videos and my results have been astounding!! Facebook video's organic reach has TOTALLY blown away other posts types and YouTube video posts.
4,100+ reach versus an average of <750 on average for organic link posts!
It's a fact, Facebook video is something you need to consider. Facebook is in a all-out hunt to overtake YouTube as the premiere online video destination and I think they have a great shot at it! SocialBakers outlined some recent data showing the shift towards Facebook video and decline in YouTube.
The key for marketers, though is the REACH factor. Facebook videos are KILLING anything else! I'm increasing my video production significantly because of these factors:
YouTube video reached a mere 90 people after 7 hours!
The same video loaded to Facebook had 4x the reach in less than half the same time as the YouTube video share.
Facebook Ads allow you to target incredibly well! You can narrow down by location, gender, age, or by interests and even title and places of employment. This powerful targeting enables you to reach your ideal audience that would have interest in your promotion and product/services.
For as little as $1 per day you can reach your audience with Facebook Ads and drive traffic clicks to your promotion.
The Secret Sauce in my opinion is using the "Audiences" options.
Custom audiences allows advertisers to target their ads to a set of people with whom they already have some type of relationship.
For instance, a business can load a data file of their current customers names and email addresses, and Facebook will try to match the email addresses to information they have. Facebook doesn’t tell you exactly who matches but tells you the total number of matches they were able to identify. So, if you load 1000 customers, Facebook may tell you they can create a custom audience of 650 people. This means they matched 650 of the email addresses you uploaded to users in Facebook.
Since businesses know that the greatest and least expensive source of additional business is with existing customers, then it makes sense for a business to use this Custom Audience tool to reach their existing customer base with advertising on Facebook. They can use this feature to outline a new product or a related product add-on, and of course since the end audience is familiar with the company already, it’s an easier and smoother sell .
As well, a second type of Custom Audience that businesses should be aware of and use is the Website Custom Audience option.
To create this, Facebook gives the advertiser a snippet of code to add to their website pages. Then, when a visitor to the website is on a page with the snippet, the advertiser is able to deliver that an ad to the website visitors when the visitor is back on Facebook! You’ve likely seen this before when you visited a website and then the next time you are on Facebook you see an ad by that company on Facebook. It’s not by chance, it’s a website custom audience ad targeting you!
What if I told you that Facebook can help you reach an exact copy of the demographics of your best customers? Essentially help you find more of them on Facebook. Would you be interested? They can do exactly that!
Finally, one last incredible tool that Facebook offers to businesses in the Ads Manager to help them reach their ideal customer audience is something called a “Lookalike Audience.” It is really what it says it is, a audience that is like another audience.
Here’s how it comes into play:
Let’s say your business created a Custom Audience from existing customers. Facebook can then make a “lookalike” audience that matches the same demographic profile of your customers, and it allows you to target them with ads. So, say your customer base was largely females, ages 32-44, who lived in a certain specific region of the U.S. and had interests in gardening and fitness. This audience held employment titles like Vice President, Marketing Manager, and Director of Communications. Facebook would then use all their demographic information on users and give you a new audience that matched that same customer profile of your existing customers!
That’s the power of a Lookalike Audience, it’s using all the data collection to help businesses find new customers matching the profile of their existing customers.
Yesterday's "Like Gating" is gone and savvy online marketers need to adapt! Video and some of the niche Facebook Ads along with a cohesive plan for attracting a larger audience of the right mix, and then moving them into the lead nurture funnel with email marketing is key.
What are you going to need to do to adapt and shift your marketing?
I do a lot of writing, including having articles published with leading blogs including Social Media Examiner, AllFacebook.com and with Mari Smith.
As the co-founder and manager of TabSite, I understand the small business and start-up mindset. With over 7 years of consulting experience for small and medium sized businesses, I understand and can speak to those wanting to increase in-store traffic, elevate their online footprint, and those battling the challenges of juggling multiple priorities.
I speak the language of business. I understand the challenges – what it is like to meet budgets, to go out and get customers, and to keep them.
Those who hear me and follow my blog value my skill for simplifying technology and social business ideas to make them practical and useful.
You can view my complete bio at the About tab of this site.
I’m a Indiana Hoosier native where basketball is the top sport. Every team heads to the locker room at halftime to evaluate the first half and create a updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn’t.
