Facebook marketing illustration.

Engagement is the key to long-term business growth. If you can keep the visitors on your website, apps, and social platforms just a little more engaged, you’re likely to see higher conversions and sales. For this reason, Facebook marketers must consistently seek new ways to boost engagement. This could be by positing new visuals every few hours or chatting with fans regularly. Live videos and hashtags are other strategies Facebook marketers use to keep fans engaging. Below are a few more Facebook marketing tools to help you boost engagement metrics and convert more sales.

1. Facebook Messenger

It’s unfortunate that very few Facebook marketers use Messenger. Messenger has an open rate of 50-80% and a click-through rate of 20%. It also boasts a conversion rate of 3-5% while being much cheaper than Facebook ads.

Very few platforms offer similar marketing metrics. Thus, you should start taking Facebook Messenger more seriously. The best part is that it’s 100% free to use!

2. Comment Guard

Comment Guard is a feature that works with Facebook Messenger to allow you to add a user’s contact details to your list if the user comments on one of your Facebook posts.

Simply check your Facebook posts and see who’s commenting. Then reply to a few comments. Any contact that engages with your reply instantly becomes a candidate for Comment Guard. You can then directly add their name to your Facebook Messenger contact list to initiate a marketing relationship.

3. Click-to-Messenger Ads

You might have heard about this before. Unfortunately, many people still don’t take it very seriously. The difference with click-to-Messenger ads is that instead of sending people to a landing page, the ads send them to your Facebook Messenger, where they instantly become leads.

Your Messenger bot can then immediately initiate an automated/robotic conversation to keep them engaging.

4. Chat Blaster

If you’ve used email blasts before, you’ll have an idea of how Chat Blaster works. Also using Facebook Messenger, Chat Blaster allows you to send a message to all the users in your contact list at a go – within minutes.

The best part is that you can integrate Chat Blaster with MobileMonkey to schedule your chat blasts, send messages in bulk, and develop interactive messaging sequences.

5. New Drip Campaign

This is one of the most powerful marketing tools on the Facebook Messenger platform because it allows you to engage leads while saving time. Moreover, it’s easily accessible and takes a click to set up.

Once set up, Messenger Drip Campaigns allow you to welcome and onboard customers, keep leads engaged, and leverage automation to communicate at scale.

6. Pages to Watch

The best brands and marketers take time to analyze the competition. One way to learn more about your competition on Facebook Messenger is through Pages to Watch.

To get started, click on Insights and scroll down until you find Pages to Watch. Facebook shows five pages on this list by default, though you can add others. Once you have the list of your competitors, you can keep track of all their important metrics.

7. Invite Friends to Like your Page

Finally, we all know the power of social. Everyone wants to be associated with crowds. So, your Facebook marketing post is unlikely to gain much traction if it only has 20 likes after a full day.

Messenger has a natural solution to this problem – the “Invite Friends to Like your Page” feature. The feature allows you to invite friends to like your pages and create a personalized message, perhaps to persuade them. The feature is found in the “Community” tab.

Summary

There you have it – Use these tools to increase engagement, and continue posting relevant, interesting content for your followers.


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Apple and Facebook logos with a privacy lock.

The new Apple iOS14 update has created a lot of excitement for iPhone customers with the new power to control app tracking for ad use. However, this update brings along apprehension to marketers and business owners. The update will affect data tracking permissions and the efficacy of Facebook ads. Notable changes with the iOS14 privacy changes update are to privacy and data sharing policies, otherwise known as Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework. This move aims to give Apple users more control over their privacy online.

However, business owners fear that consumers won’t allow tracking across the internet, which they currently require to measure the efficacy of Facebook ad campaigns. This change applies to all apps in the App Store, including Facebook apps such as Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. If this update will affect your business, the following tips can help you maneuver around the iOS14 privacy changes update.

Segment Your Audience to Android and iOS Users

One way to avoid these changes is to target Android audiences only. The update will only affect iOS users. Therefore the targeting of Android device users won’t be affected. Ideally, you would track both Android and iOS users. However, data collected from iOS users will now be incomplete, thus it may be best to work with Android users only.

That said, when creating Facebook campaigns that target conversions, consider changing the “Specific Mobile Devices & Operating Systems” option to Android devices only.

Enable Value Optimization

Once the updates roll out, Facebook and related apps will track very few platform users. However, to compensate for this shortage, Facebook has made some changes for marketers to use value optimization. Value optimization allows marketers to bid for high-value users or target audiences who will most likely take the ideal action.

However, you should prove that you are eligible for value optimization by fulfilling several requirements. These requirements state that marketers should have an active product catalog or pixel. They must also have over 100 optimized purchases within the last ten days, and over ten different purchases within seven days.

Update Facebook SDK

iOS 14 will affect the performance and measurement of Facebook ads within apps. Therefore, Facebook recommends that marketers should update their iOS Facebook SDK to version 8.1 or higher. If your adverts require a Facebook login, you should update to version 9 at least. By updating to one of these versions you can continue providing personalized ads to users of iOS.

Use Independent Tracking and Customer Retargeting Options

Some Facebook campaigns will automatically lose efficacy once the iOS14 privacy changes update is fully implemented. Therefore, you should prepare early by exploring alternative strategies for testing the performance of your ads. Begin by using different bid types, events, and audience definitions in your Facebook ad testing.

You can also stop monitoring website conversions from Facebook. Instead, opt to use your website’s tracking system when monitoring where your traffic comes from and their activities on your website.

Choose 8 Priority Events

The update places a limit on the number of events that you can rank and use to track conversions in your Events Manager. Therefore, you should decide on the eight valuable Pixel events that are most important to your business. Initially, Facebook automatically chooses the eight high-priority events. However, you can change the automatic selections and reorder them according to those you deem important. Note that other events not included in the eight priority ad sets will be paused.

Final Thoughts

The new iOS14 privacy changes update is leaving most business owners and marketers concerned about the ability to target users effectively. Not to mention the concern around measuring conversions, and generating leads from Facebook and Facebook-associated apps. Unfortunately, the true effect of this update remains unknown until the final version is rolled out completely. Nonetheless, marketers should look into finding alternative ways of marketing their business effectively to minimize the effects. Other social media platforms have ad options as well and it may be time to evaluate some shift in strategy.


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Top view of a white maze representing the Facebook algorithm..

In the current digital age, social media platforms play a significant role in helping small businesses acquire and retain customers. However, as the most used social media platform, Facebook frequently tweaks its ranking algorithms. Like Google algorithms, such changes aim to prioritize specific content without favoring some businesses.

Both small and large businesses find it challenging to master the algorithm maze to connect with their target market. If your business has the same challenges, implement the following tips to take advantage of the Facebook algorithm.

1. Share Great Content

Content is king for all forms of digital marketing. For instance, if you want more people to visit your website, populate your Facebook page with valuable content. Include informative posts, interactive guides, and videos with links to your website. Similarly, to increase online purchases, create and share Facebook posts that highlight key product features.

To create good content, it is important that you understand your target audience. Researching your prospects makes it easier to create content that resonates and induces a positive response. You should also avoid sharing material that can irk or discourage Facebook users from checking out your business.

Posting frequency, timing, and hashtags are key determinants on the effectiveness of your content. Some people recommend limiting Facebook posts to a few times daily or weekly. However, your posting schedule should be determined by your brand. Infrequent posting may garner more clicks. However, this depends on the number of followers and the nature of your content.

You should also be careful when using hashtags with your content. While they are underused on Facebook, hashtags can increase your searchability and direct you to relevant interactions. However, only use hashtags relevant to your industry; avoid overusing and misusing them. Also, feel free to generate your own hashtags if they suit your audience and business.

2. Generate Conversations

Based on the recent algorithm changes, Facebook promotes profiles with content that generates conversations and user interactions. This means these businesses will appear higher in users' feeds. Therefore, this can affect your ability to generate conversations and encourage engagement among your followers. That said, consider the following to generate user interactions on the platform;

Regardless of the medium, ensure that your Facebook uploads drive your audience towards natural engagement.

3. Avoid Fake News or Copied Content

Sharing incorrect content can instantly downgrade your Facebook presence and increase negative impressions in the Facebook algorithm. This includes links to copied content, offensive content, or manipulated videos. Just like Google, Facebook is a social platform that embraces honesty, originality, and creativity.

Therefore, when posting content on your page, ensure it is informative, professional, and business-related. Always abide by your social media marketing strategy when uploading content.

3. Focus on Video Content

Over time, the use of video content has gained immense traction. If you aren’t already using video content for your digital content marketing, you are missing out. For instance, 96% of Facebook users watch explainer videos about products and services. Additionally, 84% purchase products, and 74% download software or apps after watching a video.

Facebook ranking algorithms consider original and high-quality videos in users’ feeds. However, there are three important ranking factors when creating videos for Facebook. They include length/duration, originality, and intent. You should also embrace Facebook live video to engage users.

Bottom Line

The Facebook algorithm is getting better at curating what it believes each user wants to see. Therefore, learning how this algorithm works is important so you can produce content that reaches your target audience. With the tips above, you can take advantage of the Facebook algorithm to earn new followers, improve brand visibility, and boost brand awareness.


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Drive more traffic to your website using Instant Articles from Facebook.

Traffic is an indicator of consumer engagement and business growth. There are numerous tools and methods you can use for generating traffic to your website. Four years ago, Facebook launched an online marketing tool called Instant Articles. This allows for articles and webpages to load faster on Facebook rather than linking you out and loading a web page.

Facebook is still the most widely used social media platform. Research shows mobile users spend about 90% of their time on mobile apps. This is why Instant Articles can be an advertisers' best friend.

Here are some of the ways Instant Articles helps to drive more traffic to your website.

5 Steps for Using Instant Articles

Detailed Formatting

The formatting of your content determines the rate of consumption. Components of articles such as headers, images captions, and hyperlinks affect how readers consume the content.

Instant Articles ensures that all your content is formatted correctly before publishing. This not only improves user experience but also enhances your Google ranking. The power to change font colors and include logos gives publishers control over branding. A full branding experience makes your product much more memorable.

Faster Load Time

Loading time is a crucial component of user experience. Slow loading time is responsible for the majority of abandoned searches. Instant Articles are designed to load right within the app. This makes them render up to 10 times faster than web-based content.

Reports indicate that this makes instant articles 70% less likely to bounce. It also increases share rates by up to 30%. That's a big win for any business.

Improved Analytics

Traffic is good, but quality traffic is even better. The data needs to be analyzed to provide insight into the activity on the website. Instant Articles come with a variety of analytical tools for measuring page views but also additional page depth.

Some of the integrated measurement tools are Chartbeat, Omniture, Google Analytics, and Adobe Analytics. Additionally, it also includes tools like Share. This makes it possible for publishers to test article headlines to discover which type of content resonates with your audience.

Convenience

Instant Articles' biggest selling point is that users don't have to leave the app to read the full article. Mobile devices are the preferred way of consuming digital content. This means marketers have had to shift their focus to this segment. This is where Instant Articles shine since the whole article can be read right there on the app.

This eliminates the load time and increases engagement levels. It also makes it easier to share the article with other Facebook users instantly. Sharing organically generates traffic to your website. Marketers can directly publish Instant Articles from their Content Management System, thereby saving a lot of valuable time.

Option to Include More Advertising

Instant Articles allows the publisher to include other ads in their content. This is beneficial in two ways. First, you can easily advertise your content using Facebook ads or through coding. The overall effect of this is generating more traffic to your website.

The second benefit is that you can decide to monetize your content. There are tools available for third-party ad placement in your article, increasing your overall advertising revenue.

Make the Change

Marketers who have integrated Instant Articles are already reaping the benefits. The 1 billion Facebook users cannot be ignored by marketers looking to increase website traffic. The above benefits provide a compelling reason to get on board.

The set-up is quite simple. It's also relatively easy to experiment with minimal onboarding complications. Instant Articles continue to show more promise as a medium for distributing and monetizing mobile-optimized content. The platform continues to get better with time. Online marketing is continuously changing and is more competitive every day.

If you haven't tried Instant Articles for your business, now would be a good time. Start today and enjoy the benefits.


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Mike Gingerich life leadership business coaching

How-to-Increase-Brand-Reputation-on-Facebook

Maintaining an outstanding reputation is the key to success in today’s highly competitive atmosphere. This is because 74% of consumers rely on social media to make a purchasing decision. Facebook, with an active online community of over 2.4 billion users, is arguably the most powerful and attractive platform for building a brand. Most users on this social platform like brand pages with the sole aim of researching products and assessing a brand’s character. Therefore this means that every post, review, and comment redefines how the Facebook community views you. For this reason, every brand should ensure it is presented in the best light.

Here are four actionable tips that business can follow to increase their brand reputation on Facebook:

Provide updated business information

Brands should always provide updated business information on their Facebook page. This includes their business name, location, description, logo, contact details, email address, operational hours, and more. Additionally, share important business details such as upcoming events, special deals, and other news updates on your Facebook business page. Making this information public shows that your brand is legitimate and earns you more trust.

It is also vital to verify your Facebook business page. This ensures that fake accounts claiming to be affiliated with your brand are not used to damage your online reputation. It also helps your business to be able to get fake accounts removed.

Use high-quality content to position your brand as a thought leader

Brands must create high-quality and authentic content to thrive in today’s competitive marketplace. The same applies when it comes to Facebook marketing. You cannot create a strong brand reputation without sharing informative and engaging content that adds value to your audience.

Here are some tips for improving your Facebook reputation through an effective content strategy:

Manage your Facebook reviews and recommendations

Every brand should engage their customers by allowing public comments and reviews. Thus showing the audience that your brand values customer feedback. You should always respond to reviews, whether they’re positive or negative. If the review is positive, ask them to share their experience with their friends or the larger Facebook community.

In case a customer posts a negative review or comment, do not overreact by fighting back. This might damage or even ruin your brand reputation. Instead, find a way to fix the problem and make the customer happy. If the comment made had a significant impact that ruined your brand’s image, it is a good idea to assess the issue and make a detailed public statement.

Leverage the power of client testimonials and case studies

When consumers are evaluating vendor products and services, they start by researching the company’s online profile. The first step is usually checking their website, followed by social media profiles such as Facebook. Sharing positive customer reviews and success stories from happy clients can improve your reputation significantly. Make it the norm to regularly share captivating, yet honest video testimonials from your clients. You can also publish case studies and client experiences that show your brand as an authority. All of these are effective ways of communicating the value of your products and services to your target audience and ultimately maintaining an outstanding brand reputation.

Finally, remember to defend and protect your brand proactively against fake news. It is a good idea to use social monitoring tools and put a rapid response team in place. This way, it will be easy to handle an online PR crisis before things get out of control.

Building a strong brand reputation on Facebook and other online platforms is a great way to make potential customers trust your brand. This goes a long way to grow your customer base, generate more leads, and ultimately, boost your business sales.


Looking for help? Tired and believing there has got to be a better way?

Let’s talk about your business. With over a decade of experience leading companies and transforming lives, and a Master’s degree in Org. Development and Leadership, Mike can help you find the best way forward!

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Mike Gingerich life leadership business coaching

How-Facebook-Algorithm-Changes-Can-Affect-Your-Business-700

Having an online presence has become vital to the growth of any business. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have become the go-to social media platforms for online visibility. Despite the success companies enjoy using their online presence to promote their business, there are two words that threaten marketing strategies. The term ‘algorithm changes’ are the two most dreaded words in social media marketing.

Facebook has had several algorithm updates over the years. Every time these changes have affected how business pages interact with their audiences.

Some of the Most Important Facebook Algorithm Changes

Prioritizing posts from family and friends over posts from business pages

n 2018, Facebook’s CEO announced that the new algorithm update would prioritize posts that users can relate to and encourage conversations. With this in mind, Facebook decided that the news feed would have less content from business pages and more from family and friends.

Thus there was a dramatic decline in organic reach. Business and public pages began sharing controversial topics to increase engagement. However, this only lasted until November of the same year. Facebook released another update that demoted posts that were controversial, misleading, or sensational. This resulted in an even bigger dip in organic reach.

The news feed is now all about interaction and engagement. You can try engagement baiting, but eventually, Facebook's AI will catch up with you. The only way to remain relevant is to focus on strong emotions and sharing interesting topics that provoke discussions. Also, share videos as they have a better engagement rate compared to photos and other posts. The algorithm prioritizes video, which, if used correctly, could increase your engagement rate and organic reach. You can use video campaigns or animated content to promote your business.

Limiting the number of ads

Typically the number of ads you can have is limited by how much money you're willing to spend. However, this is changing with the newest update. Which limits the number of adverts a brand can run. It's said that the limit will be high; thus, it will have very little to no impact on most pages.

Brands that are affected by this update will have to prioritize ads that have more impact.

“Why am I seeing this post?”

Facebook rolled out an update in April 2019, which provided context to why certain ads and organic posts appear on users' news feeds. Facebook is trying to be transparent with how it uses personal data, and this is one of the ways it hopes to achieve this.

The update will have a huge impact on business pages as they will have to evaluate how they interact with their audience. If the audience isn’t interested in your ads, they can choose not to see ads from your brand. The audience can also make changes to their ad preferences and choose the fields they're interested in. There is also the option to choose "I don't want to see this" in organic posts. Meaning you need to be selective in your content and focus on your audience's needs.

Conclusion: Navigating Facebook Algorithm Changes

These Facebook algorithm changes have made business pages evaluate how they interact with their audiences. Some are going to extreme lengths just to remain relevant and increase engagement. This is why you see the news feed full of videos that have no correlation with the pages that posted them. Pages are trying to get more engagement and increase their follower count by baiting the audience with videos. While this might seem like a great strategy. It actually has minimal impact on your business as most of your followers are there for the videos, not your business. Stick to content that offers value and come up with better ways to interact with your audience. Don’t try to outsmart the algorithm. Instead, use the changes to focus on growing organically. Additionally use ads that are relevant to your target audience, not clickbait.


Looking for help? Tired and believing there has got to be a better way?

Let’s talk about your business. With over a decade of experience leading companies and transforming lives, and a Master’s degree in Org. Development and Leadership, Mike can help you find the best way forward!

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Mike Gingerich life leadership business coaching

Should-your-business-run-Facebook-ads-and-how-700

As a business owner or CEO, you might be easily tempted to do what your competitors are doing in terms of marketing — ranging from blogging, SEO, email marketing, or creating videos among other options. However, you may not be able to use all these marketing strategies considering their associated costs. Consider the thought, should your business run Facebook ads.

You need to choose a marketing channel that suits your needs and gives a cost-effective marketing ROI and one to consider is Facebook Ads. In might be news to you, but Facebook Ads can help you attract the biggest audience with better engagement compared to many other social media platforms.

This means Facebook is a social media platform that you should not ignore. Not convinced? Here is why your business should be running Facebook ads.

Facebook Ads Are Economical

The cost of Facebook Ads are only a fraction of what you would pay for many online marketing options. To be on the safe side, you can make a daily Facebook budget to avoid exceeding your budget. The main focus is not on how much the ads cost but the value you get for every dollar spent.

If you try Facebook advertising with a proper strategy, the results plus the cost efficiency aspect may surprise you. For instance, if you spend 1 dollar per day on Facebook, your ad could attract 4000 more targeted and relevant potential customers in a month that otherwise would not have seen your business.

Huge Audience

At the end of June 2019, Facebook had 2.41 billion active users monthly around the world. Also, Facebook provides 22 billion ad clicks every year. It's clear that Facebook gives businesses an excellent opportunity to advertise.  It has the people, and Ads allow you to drill down to target the right audience. Most of your customer audience have Facebook accounts; you only need Facebook Ads to find them.

Exceptional Targeting Capabilities

Besides the different ad types such as Messenger ads, Photo carousel ads, lead ads, and video ads, the targeting capabilities you can achieve with Facebook are exceptional. You can target users based on their interests, gender, behaviors, age ranges, connections, location or even a particular yearly income range and more. The best part is, only potential customers will see and interact with your ads.

Custom Audiences

Remarketing on Facebook via custom audiences works wonders. This strategy captures the attention of people that have visited your website before and may be interested in what you are offering, allowing you to then target them after their visit to your site with a specific ad when they are back on Facebook. If you are using a loyalty program, then you can use your audience's phone numbers or email addresses to create a custom audience to reach with an ad as well.

How Do You Use Facebook Ads For Your Business?

1. Target potential customers

Facebook provides a variety of targeting options. You can target people in your geographical location or people who would be interested in your product. The easiest way to target potential customers is through Look-A-Like and custom audience targeting backed by a well-written copy.

With Look-A-Like targeting, you will find new customers that resemble your current customers. This saves time that you would have spent trying out other targeting options.

Your ideal audience size should be approximately 50,000 to 100,000 individuals.

2. Provide An Incentive

Most Facebook users will click an Ad when given a reason to do so; for instance, by providing incentives. Try using a coupon with engaging content to see how many people will converse and then probably make purchases.

3. Track Your Ads

After preparing your coupon landing page and ad, ensure that you keep track and take stats. Things will be simple if you use both Coupon App and Facebook Ads Manager. You will then be able to collect statistics on the number of conversions and Ad views.

Finally

Concluding should your business run Facebook ads. Yes, if you want to be better than your competitors, try Facebook advertising. You will not only see an increase in audience and followers, but you will also make valuable sales. Happy advertising!


Looking for help? Tired and believing there has got to be a better way?

Let’s talk about life, leadership, and business coaching. With over a decade of experience leading companies and transforming lives, and a Master’s degree in Org Development and Leadership, Mike can help you find the best way forward!

Contact Mike today to start the breakthrough!

Mike Gingerich life leadership business coaching

How-and-Why-to-Split-Test-Facebook-Ads-700

The number of businesses and brands using Facebook ads is on the rise, and for good reason. According to HootSuite, more than 74% of Facebook users say they've discovered a product through Facebook ads. Additionally, the average Facebook user clicks on 8 Facebook ads every single day!

If you are already using ads, but your campaign is struggling, it’s time for a change. You need a well-executed A/B test. Here’s how to set up your tests and why A/B testing works.

How to Run a Facebook Ad A/B Test

here are two broad ways to test Facebook ads; manually or automatically using the recently launched Facebook A/B test feature.

Manual Testing

Manual Facebook ad campaign tests are simple to set up. Follow the tips below;

Split Test Facebook Ads using Facebook's Split Testing Feature

Facebook recently rolled out a split test feature for ad campaigns. This new feature is available to all advertisers with a Business Manager account.

One of the key advantages of the new A/B test feature is that it prevents ad overlap when conducting a split test. Previously, there was no way to prevent a user from seeing both sets of ads. The new A/B test feature separates your audiences so that each test group can only see one ad type.

Some of the things you need to know about the new A/B test feature include;

It's also important to mention that you are able to create variations of an ad based on link clicks, conversions, impressions, unique reach, and conversion window. You can also adjust the bid amount as you wish or choose Manual vs. Automatic bidding.

To use the automatic feature instead of manually split-testing your Facebook ads, proceed as follows;

Advantages of Facebook Ad Split Tests

Split testing Facebook ads comes with many advantages. The following are just a few examples;

It's a low-cost option

If you're already using Facebook ads to reach and engage your audience on the platform, split tests won't cost you any extra money. Why? Because whenever you set up a Facebook ad campaign, you're already establishing a budget! You won't be charged extra just because the ads in your new campaign are meant for A/B testing.

Get to optimize your audience

A recent study by AdEspresso shows that optimizing your Facebook audience, specifically by country, gender, age group, relationship status, and purchase behaviors, results in significant gains for advertisers. Facebook split tests can help you optimize your audience and help your marketing plan going forward.

Validate your decisions

Budgeting remains one of the toughest aspects of social media marketing. How much do you spend per ad? What if the campaign isn't performing? What if you don't get an ROI? Split testing allays these fears by validating your decisions.

That's It to Split Test Facebook Ads

Now you know how to set up both manual and automatic Facebook ad split tests. It’s time to get started on optimizing your advertising budget. Don't forget to track the performance of each test, analyze the results, and implement the findings.


Looking for help? Tired and believing there has got to be a better way?

Let’s talk about life, leadership, and business coaching. With over a decade of experience leading companies and transforming lives, and a Master’s degree in Org Development and Leadership, Mike can help you find the best way forward!

Contact Mike today to start the breakthrough!

Mike Gingerich life leadership business coaching

How-and-Why-to-use-Facebook-Business-Manager-700

In the 4th quarter of 2018, Facebook made $16.6 billion in advertising revenue. This figure shows just how much companies are spending on Facebook ads, which span across Facebook feeds, Facebook Messenger, Instagram feeds, as well as Instagram and Facebook Stories.  Ads are being used by businesses because they are showing results, the key is how to manage your ads efficiently.

To make managing your ads easier, Facebook rolled out the Facebook Business Manager. This online tool is designed to give business owners more control when managing their Facebook Pages and Ads. Users are able to control multiple company Pages from one location, edit permissions for employees, setup and manage ad campaigns, and assign specific tasks to their team.

Facebook Business Manager also provides insights across multiple accounts, so you’ll have the ability to access integrated reports that make future planning easier.

Why do you need Facebook Business Manager?

To get the best results from your Facebook ads, you’ll often involve more than 1 person in implementation. However, this decentralized approach may result in logistical challenges.

For example, how do you control access to separate ads from a single convenient platform? If you have more than one page, how do you give team members of each location only access to certain things within each while corporate maintains overall access? Facebook Business Manager helps to solve these challenges.

This new tool can be a benefit for your business if you:

Have multiple people working on your accounts at the same time

This tool can also be used to manage access control, assign roles, and keep track of progress on specific tasks.

Need access to advanced insights and reports

Facebook Business Manager provides real-time insights into organic outreach, promoted outreach, clicks, and views. You can also automatically generate reports based on your KPIs.

Operate more than one account for ad creation

If you’re an agency or organization that creates Facebook ads for multiple clients or stores/locations, Facebook Business Manager allows you to keep track of all your advertisements from a central location. You can also pay for ad campaigns separately rather than in a monthly grouped bill. Plus the added benefit of having them grouped by type, objective, design, etc.

A brief guide to using Facebook Business Manager

The user interface for this tool is convenient and easy to use. If you don’t have an account yet, you can create one by heading to the Facebook Business Manager website. There, you’ll be prompted to create an account name and select which page is your primary page.

Make sure you select a secure username and password, as this account may contain sensitive data regarding your business and your clients.

1: Setting up the account

Once you've set up your login information, you can then add specific pages, people, and partners to your main account. When working with clients, you have two options: either add their pages to your Business Manager account- or have them add you to the main account that they’ve set up for themselves.

2: Manage permissions

Managing access and permissions is one of the most powerful and beneficial features of Facebook Business Manager. You can assign access to people as either an Admin or an Employee.

An Admin has full access and control over pages, ad accounts, and adding/removing individuals. Whereas Employees only have access to what the Admins have assigned to them. All settings can be managed from the “Users” tab on the left control panel making it easy to change roles when needed.

3: Add relevant Facebook pages

Once you’ve set up your Facebook Business Manager account and added the relevant people as Admins and Employees, you can now add (or create) specific Facebook pages. These options fall under the “accounts” tab.

Once you have added a page, you’ll be able to establish ownership, grant access to others, or request access to a page that you need to work on.

Make sure all the individual pages that you’ll need to work on regularly are linked to your account.

4: Integrate apps

This powerful tool also allows you to integrate third-party apps for advertising purposes. You can add Instagram accounts and Messenger profiles to your Facebook Business Manager profile. Then, you’ll be able to create relevant ads and link them to other compatible pages.

Now you are ready to start using Facebook Business Manager to manage your different Facebook accounts today!

Your-Facebook-Page-is-Not-Enough-700

A recent HootSuite report shows that Facebook currently has 80 million small and medium-sized business pages, with a year-over-year increase of 23%. Moreover, 52% of these businesses post on their pages every single day.

This shows the growing role of Facebook in marketing. Businesses have discovered that Facebook can help them generate traffic and leads, close sales, and reach new markets, and they’re ready to give the platform a try. If you’re one of these forward-thinking marketers, well done!

On the same note though, we have to warn you against depending exclusively on Facebook pages. It’s just not enough. Pages are a great place to start your Facebook marketing campaign. But if you’re serious about getting value from your digital marketing efforts, you must think big; you must think beyond Facebook pages, beyond Facebook itself, and beyond social media in general.

Why A Facebook Page is Not Enough

There are four main reasons a Facebook page isn’t enough to drive your digital marketing campaign;

Not everyone uses Facebook

Facebook currently has about 1.74 billion users worldwide. A big number, yes, but, aren’t there 7 billion people in the world, 4.39 billion of whom use the internet, with up to 3.48 billion on social media? It means that when you confine your marketing to Facebook, you’re locking out over 1.74 billion social media users and at least 2.65 billion internet users.

You don’t control Facebook

It’s unlikely to happen any time soon, but if Facebook was to close down, where would you go? Or, consider something more likely. What happens when Facebook decides to suspend your account? They purged millions of accounts recently in the war against fake influencers. What if you were a casualty, even if by accident? These things happen all the time and are another reason you can’t depend 100% on Facebook pages for digital marketing.

Organic marketing on Facebook is dead

This is a warning to businesses that haven’t started using Facebook ads yet. If all you do is share your promotions on your page and wait for fans to comment, like, and share the posts, you’re seriously limiting your business. Organic reach on the platform has steadily declined, from 16% in 2012 to 6% in 2018 and as little as 2% currently when your number of fans hit 500k. Relying on such a small reach to drive your digital campaign isn’t ideal.

On Facebook, your competitor can advertise on your page!

The platform is designed in such a way that those who pay enjoy a lot of perks. And, that includes having their ads displayed on competitors’ pages! Seriously, how is this different from giving them the keys to your customer base? It gets worse; Facebook targeting algorithms allow competitors to actually study and target your customers! Unthinkable, right?

What You Can Do

First off, you don’t have to stop using Facebook pages. As a business, you need as much exposure as you can find and Facebook pages give you plenty of that. However, never depend exclusively on these pages. We recommend that you;

Start using other Facebook features – Messenger, Facebook ads, and Groups are a few examples of tools you can start using today. These features will help you expand your reach on the platform.

Go beyond Facebook – Start using other social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. There are likely millions of people on these platforms interested in the products or services you offer.

Go beyond social media too – Consider other digital marketing strategies such as search engine marketing, content marketing, and email marketing. Email marketing, for instance, reaches more people and promises a higher ROI than Facebook marketing.

Have a website: A professional, SEO and mobile-optimized business site ties together all your digital marketing efforts. Users on the many digital channels we’ve mentioned who's interested in your products can be directed (through links and CTAs) to your site for conversion.

Don't Wait. Start Now

The key is not put all your efforts into one platform you can't control.  The foundation you can control is your website to ensure it is current and functions well on all devices, especially, mobile devices.  As well, begin expanding to the likes of Messenger, Facebook ads, Google Ads and ultimately take your business beyond Facebook and social media in general. It’s the only way to have control of your business potential online.

Instagram Changes & Facebook Updates Through June 26th

Woohoo! It’s Summer! Time for getting outdoors, taking pics and videos to share with your social media accounts!

Lot’s of changes and key updates in the social media realm in the recent past!  Let’s dive into some of the key social media and Facebook updates.

Instagram Updates

IGTV

The big, big announcement last week was IGTV! Now your long videos shot vertically have a home. Just click the “TV” button in the upper right corner of the app to watch and use this new IGTV area.  Videos can be up to 10 minutes in length in this new area and the format it truly to be more like a “tv” network.

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Facebook changed video and now Instagram is following suit. Instagram is making it easy to shoot quick video with your phone and turn it into a show/channel. Take people through your newest product or project and reach the younger audience that’s found on Instagram.  This is a strong move by Instagram into a new realm of “social media television.” Try it out, get your channel name, and experiment a bit because this could be a key tool going forward.

Facebook Changes

Introducing Subscription Groups for Admins

Now you can create a subscription group and take money inside your Facebook group. If you have a Facebook group now you can concentrate on creating content instead of duct taping subscriptions and payment options together.

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Now making money with Facebook groups is easier. This is huge for entrepreneurs and those who have done member sites, courses, and more.  As well, you can spend all your time on helping the people in your group and less on the tech infrastructure!

Facebook is Increasing their Efforts to Fight Fake News

Facebook is expanding their fact-checking program to new countries and photos and videos. They’re taking now actions against repeat offenders.

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When the news is truthful people will trust what they see more. The more they trust the more they’ll trust the brands and businesses they follow on Facebook.  This is a good thing and will not impact marketers who are above board while helping the user experience on Facebook.

Create Facebook Stories on Your Desktop

Upload videos and pics the same way you would for the newsfeed to create a Facebook Story on your computer and no longer just on your mobile device. They’re not seeing the growth they’d like so their making it even easier to add content.

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Stories only last 24 hours so they’re a great way to add urgency to a sales or product launch. Have a quick “how to” video? Add it to Stories. It’s another opportunity to reach your audience.

Want to get alerted to these updates via email in your inbox?  Sign-up for my email list (2 emails a week) and I’ll also give you my free guide to Facebook Live success!

Facebook had their big, annual F8 Conference this past week where they announce new features and things coming in the year ahead. As usual, lots of new and interesting items.  This was particularly a big year as Facebook had suspended the new app program for a time after the Cambridge Analytics data fiasco.

Facebook Dating

“This is going to be for building real long-term relationships alright- not just hookups,” said Mark Zuckerberg at the annual F8 Conference.

Facebook is adding an opt-in dating feature which will allow single people to create a profile that their friends can’t see. Not much else has been released on what the dating feature will include but it has already caused a stir for online dating.

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While this isn’t really business related per se; if they have ads in the dating app then restaurants, concerts, and other date spots may have an easy audience.  For Facebook and businesses, it’s about keeping people on Facebook and being able to deliver ads to the right target audience. The more Facebook “places”, the more ad options.

Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality

Augmented reality continues to become a bigger thing in the social media world and it’s only going to get bigger. Currently, users can do many different kinds of selfie filters, but new features will be rolling out to Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger to include “tricks.. like fill a room with liquid or add virtual steam to a real cup of coffee.” An example is a company such as Sephora can use it as a way to virtually allow people to try on makeup, or Nike can use it as a way to give a 360° close-up look of shoes to help in the buying process.

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What does AR mean for you and your business? Keep your eyes open and keep learning about it...it’s coming!  With AR you will be able to easily create content with drag and drop elements. This will allow you to expand the way you market and promote products on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. Customers can get a better idea of how your product looks (like Nike) and even test it out (like Sephora) before purchasing.

Messenger

“There are 300k monthly active bots and this year alone, more than eight billion messages have been sent between people and businesses each month.” That is just a mind-blowing number!  With Facebook’s Messenger now able to be embedded on your website, the bots will be getting even more messages. This will also allow you to continue chatting with the prospective customer even after they have left your website.

Facebook also announced “in-Messenger” translation is rolling out slowly starting with English/Spanish, enabling auto-translation of messages and helping business/customer conversations and connections.

Bottomline

This is huge in allowing businesses the ability to keep in contact with the prospective customer via Facebook Messenger even on their business website.  It’s Facebook getting into the “website chat” arena. You will be able to send messages that could ultimately turn that prospective customer into a real customer.  With the addition of translation, more barriers are removed and the world becomes a closer place!

 

Instagram

Video Chat

Lots of people use Instagram’s live streaming, and now Instagram is adding a group chat video feature to live stream. This allows the user to be able to video chat to select individuals. This is another way that Instagram is expanding to connect people together.

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Coaches get ready to do some live coaching on Instagram. This chat can be used for interview shows on Instagram or teaching to a small group.  It’s opening up a whole new way to train and interact with customers and your community.

Bio Links

Frustrated with only being able to have one bio link on your Instagram account? Well, there are tools out there that you can use to add links to your profile to generate traffic. Five tools for increasing your bio links are Linktree for Instagram, Leadpages, Lnk.bio, Link In Profile, and Short Stack.

Bottomline

“If you frequently publish a lot of content and want to keep your audience updated, adding multiple Instagram bio links helps ensure your audience can quickly find your information.” Having multiple links in your bio also helps increase the opportunities to drive your audience to other accounts, blogs, videos, podcasts and more without causing you to change your bio link everytime you want to promote something new.

 

So that’s a quick wrap on some of the key updates in the social media world the past two weeks!  I’ll be back with another wrap-up in two weeks to keep you updated. Any of these social media updates really stand out to you or raise questions for you?  Let me know!

Facebook boosting is a simple Facebook Ad strategy that can work well for small businesses when done properly.  Any post you publish on your company or organization Facebook Page is eligible to boost. Look below any post and you will have the button to select to do this. “Boosting” a post does require a bit of work to make your ad be all it can be. By boosting your posts helps you rise above the sheer volume of posts on Facebook and get seen by an ideal targeted audience, but it's not a one-click solution. Boosting requires you take careful steps to optimize the ad’s effectiveness.

Four Steps To Optimizing Your Facebook Boosted Posts

1. Have A Goal

Before boosting a post ask why you’re boosting it. A boosted post should lead to a tangible result.

This can be to raise brand awareness, share information, promote a blog post, announce a new product, or drive traffic to a website or social media account. The point is a boosted post ad should have measurable real-world results that lead to the desired outcome.

2. Picking A Post

Boost posts strategically and boosting posts that are already generating attention can be an effective strategy. Isolate these posts by going to the ‘Insights’ tab in Facebook and look at which posts reach the most people and generate the most engagement.

Part of ‘going viral’ is not just a marketing push it's also content based. So a post that is already generating attention before being promoted may only need a little bit of attention for it to really take off.

3. Timing Is Everything

Much like commercial television timing is important. You wouldn’t want your television advertisement to air when your target market is at work or asleep. The same applies to boosting a Facebook post.

Time your boost for when your target market is most likely to pay attention and read it. Remember the proper time is dependent on your target market is and traditional advertising time frames may not apply. That means if your target market is on Facebook at night while relaxing, the proper time may be 7:00-10:00 pm.

4. Target Properly

To be successful you must know whom you’re trying to reach. Ads sent out to large nonspecific audiences aren’t effective. You need to reach people who are interested in your products and services.

With targeting your post can reach viewers of a specific age, location, interest group, hobby, gender, or other identifying factors. Your profiling can get very focused (i.e. what model of car they drive) and narrow your targeting to a highly specific portion of the marketplace.

This is useful as many businesses collect a large percentage of their income from highly engaged niche markets. So know who your customers are and reach out to them.

Final Thoughts

Boosting a Facebook post can be a very effective marketing tool. For as little as $1/day or $30 a month, significant results can be achieved. However, it isn’t just clicking a button and you’re done.

To effectively use this tool you have to be careful, specific in your goals, and above all boost to your target market. By making proper preparations you can effectively boost your posts and reach out to a large and receptive audience.

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Change is the name of the game in social media!  To be an adept social media marketer you MUST keep up with the constant changes that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the other social media networks make.

In this review, we cover some of the latest and most important updates from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that rolled out in the past 2 weeks.

Facebook Video Best Practices

Best practices and updates on video and monetization

Facebook has been moving towards giving preference to video for some time now.  However, this is THE FIRST TIME they actually shared a specific guide to help! They have outlined best practices for shows and videos to engage a loyal audience.

Here are a few of their headlines and be sure to click through for the full details:

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We keep encouraging businesses to be aware that to win on Facebook you need to use some video.  And, now, Facebook gives you a roadmap for how to do this! That’s H-U-G-E! Pay attention to this.

Key point: Engaging, consistent content that is connected (like episodes in a TV season).  Things should build on each other and reference past videos.

Instagram Nametags and Focus

Instagram Nametags, its clone of Snapchat QR codes

[clickToTweet tweet="Click to Tweet! 'Instagram nametags will allow quick access to your Instagram account. By using the Instagram Stories camera, users will be able to scan a special image that you create and which has your account username in the center.'" quote="Click to Tweet! 'Instagram nametags will allow quick access to your Instagram account. By using the Instagram Stories camera, users will be able to scan a special image that you create and which has your account username in the center.'"]

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This is another welcomed Snapchat copycat idea!  It means that businesses can more easily promote their Instagram account visually in the ever-more-popular Stories area. They can promote their nametag on other social media platforms as well, and even have it printed out on posters and merchandise.

All people have to do is scan the nametag to follow you.  It’s a win for businesses on Instagram. We’ll watch for the full roll-out of this tool and recommend specific ways you can use it to grow your Instagram following.

Time spent on Instagram continues to grow as this social network moves forward with strong momentum.

Introducing Focus for Instagram

Focus is a new feature in the Instagram camera. You will notice that when you take a selfie or a picture of a person, the person stays in focus while the background is softly blurred out.  It’s a nice effect.

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This tool will allow you to focus on a person in an image and in a video. It will be another tool that you can use to create unique stories for your business. It’s just another advancement and powerful tool in your pocket to help you provide high-quality content and a great experience to your community.

Twitter Rules for SM Managers

What Do the New Twitter Rules Mean for Social Media Managers

The new Twitter rules are in place to help keep Twitter free from spam by preventing you from posting to multiple accounts, multiple similar tweets, multiple tweets to a trending topic, and simultaneously perform actions such as Likes, Retweets, or follow multiple accounts. This takes away an efficiency many people used to share the same tweet to multiple accounts but it was needed.  Why? Spammers.

You’ll see this change in any Twitter tool you use.

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Two big changes are that you can no longer select multiple twitter accounts to post to and you can’t use the drag-and-drop copy feature to copy posts to another Twitter Queue.  Plan for a bit more time in scheduling your tweets!

 

That’s a wrap this week on important updates for you in the social media marketing space!  Any thoughts on these changes and updates to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? Let me know!

 

Want to get alerted to these updates via email in your inbox?  Sign-up for my email list (2 emails a week) and I’ll also give you my free guide to Facebook Live success!

Facebook and Instagram continue to evolve and make changes....most being good for marketing purposes!  Here's a few of the latest key changes for Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook

Facebook Adds Admin Privileges to Messenger

Admin privileges within Facebook Messenger give you more control by allowing you to approve new members of a Message Group, remove members, and change any other person in the group chat as an admin.  It’s very similar to what exists in Facebook Groups currently.

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It means Messenger is growing up and becoming more of a broader mass chat tool.  It is helpful for larger message groups, to be able to add team members who can approve members before they join your chat.  This is a move by Facebook to make group chat more of a business tool, a way for a business to have a “quick access” communication method to their core clients/community.  Think of it as a new tool more narrowly focused than an email marketing blast and definitely more geared towards interactive exchanges.

Facebook Adds Joinable Links to Messenger

Joinable Links allows easy access for people to join your Messenger chat group by creating custom links to share with others.

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Note the theme of new Messenger tools to make Messenger more mainstream for Page use and group chat?  You can give share link to a person or group of people to join a conversation and they can be added to the group automatically or by admin approval with just one tap.  Keep your eye on Messenger as it becomes a new means to communicate. Think of it first more for small groups, like your team, or a customer testing group for new products, etc.  A way to offer personalization and fast communication.

Facebook Helping People Better Assess Stories in News Feed

Facebook is adding a feature to help people have more accurate information to decide what to read, trust and share in their news feed.  Can we say “Fake News Reaction”??

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Facebook knows they have lost trust and ground with missteps on the security of information and ease of fake news being published.  This is a corrective measure. This helps people verify stories they read by providing more context about the article, publisher, the same topic, how many times it’s been shared, and ability to follow publisher’s page.  Not really a business-specific tool at this point but an important move and one to watch.

Instagram

A Better Shopping Experience on Instagram

Get ready for more of a “seamless store experience on Instagram.” From Instagram:

 

“In November, we began testing a new shopping experience that made it easier for people to find, evaluate and track relevant products on Instagram. Posts with tags have an icon that makes discovery simple. If a product catches your eye, there’s a space to explore, where you can easily tap to see more details from products featured in posts, and even click to a business’s website if you’re ready to buy.”

 

Now expanding to more businesses are product tags that provide more detailed information on the product when tapped and allow for a smooth way to see products and make purchases.

Bottomline

This is BIG! This was only available to a few select businesses, but with its success, it will be expanding to more businesses.  You still must be approved in order to have this feature. Details here.  This will begin a big move to enable e-commerce on Instagram.  There is a setup curve that businesses will face but this is a big leap forward and change for Instagram as a whole.  What would it be like for your business to have an easy way for Instagram followers to swipe, click, view, and buy right on Instagram!

Providing Full-Screen Support for All Ads in Instagram Stories

This takes the businesses ad post and automatically provides a full-screen option of the content in Instagram Stories fashion.  Via the Instagram Blog:

How It Works

"When a business uploads a single photo or a video under 15 seconds within Instagram Feed aspect ratios, Instagram will automatically provide full-screen support for this content on Instagram Stories."

Bottomline

It’s never been easier for businesses to create Instagram stories from their posts.  A nice innovation and it makes advertising on Instagram a more attractive destination for businesses.  This is something we’ll be experimenting with.

That’s the bottom line on a few of the latest social media updates that I believe can impact your business and organization marketing!  Check out the links for more information. My aim is to give you a quick “cheat-sheet” that adds value!

Instagram and Facebook Updates for January 4th
Happy New Year! I hope you have set your goals and are organized to achieve them in 2018.

Even though the changes slowed down over the holidays  … there are still a few to share in the ever-evolving world of social media marketing!

Facebook Updates

Facebook Adds a Snooze Button

This new Facebook feature will snooze people, pages, and groups for 30 days. Account users now have more control over their newsfeed.

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This is an issue for businesses. Now that organic reach is down to practically nothing, anything that keeps a businesses posts from being seen is not good.  People can “snooze” you if they're tired of your content!  Up your content game with video in 2018!

Find Out if You’ve Liked Russian Troll Accounts

Sign into your Facebook account and go to this tool, https://www.facebook.com/help/817246628445509 Instantly you can see if you followed any Russian Troll Accounts

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This doesn’t affect businesses .. unless they’ve been flagged as a Russian Troll account. This is more about a community service announcement that we don’t want to help Russian troll accounts!

Facebook Ad Image Sizes for 2018

Using Facebook Ads?  You should be!

What matters most?  Your image or video in the ad!

Here are the latest Ad sizes for Facebook courtesy of AdEspresso.

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Use these image sizes to optimize your Facebook Ads and make sure your ads look sharp and get clicks.  This is critical to capturing the “eye” of the user in the news feed!

Instagram Updates

Send a Live Video in Direct

Send a live video directly to a friend or group of friends. When you’re live click the Direct icon at the bottom of the screen and send your video. It will land in your friend's inbox.

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A business can use this feature to send followers special offers or new product videos directly to a followers inbox. This is a very promising feature!

Instagrams Adds Recommended Posts to a Feed

Instagram is adding an additional feed, Recommended Posts. It will contain 3 to 5 suggestions.

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Your products and services could get new eyeballs and clicks. This will be a good thing if people check the new feed.

While there weren’t that many changes this past 2 weeks, who knows what 2018 will bring?

Are we connected on social?  Find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mikegdigital, Instagram at @mikegingerich and on Twitter at @Mike_Gingerich.

Facebook Updates for December 7th

Holy moly it’s already December! Weren't we just watching fireworks? Lol!

This is my favorite time of year. Even with all the hustle and bustle, we take the time to be with family and friends. And we get great food and special events along the way in the holiday season!

Just because it’s the holiday season doesn’t mean social media updates slow down!  In fact, we’ve had quite a few significant updates in the past few weeks.  Here a number of them:

Facebook

Facebook Local

Facebook recently relaunched its Event app as Facebook Local. (This is different from Facebook Events in Facebook. This is a stand alone app.) The Local app combines Events and Places and is geared to be a “Yelp” challenger.

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There’s a lot of searching power in this new app. View upcoming events or places to visit in list or map view. Local business pages, their reviews, and check-ins will be included in the apps data set.

Users can group results by causes, theater, food, movies, fitness, music, parties and more! It will be the easy and quick way to find something to do in your local area for the weekend and maybe the only Facebook app you need.  Will it compete with Yelp?  Time will tell but it’s got the userbase already to do that!

Customer Chat Now Open and in Beta for Facebook Messenger

This is an awesome opportunity to quickly respond to customer inquiries in Facebook Messenger. The marketing strategy of using lead pages has just evolved. Now, instead of directing fans to a website lead page, use a messenger bot to communicate the benefits and answer questions before a sale in an interactive manner.

Bottomline

A friend created a bot for a program she’s selling and I was able to see her beta test before she went live. Her bot asked leading questions and replied to answers just like the bot was human. (Congrats to her for using a great script for the bot.) I initiated the conversation with the bot because I was curious, but the encounter and the messaging I received moved me forward in the sales funnel and I signed up for her course! Lol

Facebook Will Test Ads at the Beginning of Videos

I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. As a consumer, I hate ads of any type. As a marketer, I understand that these ads work. YouTube has proven that people will sit through and tolerate these ads.

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These will be very short ads right at the start of a video so people are guaranteed to see them. I see these ads as being valuable for brand recognition and exposure.  Stay tuned for the rollout!

Facebook Messenger Kids

Created just for kids ages 13 and under, this app is privacy-focused and designed to eliminate child predator threats while giving the young a way to get started on Facebook. The app will have SnapChat like features and let kids text and video chat with parent-approved friends. Kids won’t sign up for a Facebook account and don’t need a phone number to use the app.

Kids will be able to join family group chats so staying in touch with Grandpa and Grandma will be easy now.

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The app has been created with help of the FTC. Special proactive safety filters will prevent nudity, sexual content or violence from being shown on the app. There is no monetization planned for the app, meaning no ads!  Will it take off?  I’m not sure yet.  Younger kids text and they are jumping on apps like Instagram.  Will they want to Message within this app or have it just in case they need to use it to chat with grandparents?  Time will tell.

Instagram

Archive and Highlight your Favorite Expired Instagram Stories

A brand new announcement that is HUGE! Instagram Stories are now going to be automatically archived to a private part of your profile after they disappear (24 hours).  This means you’ll be able to access them but also pull pieces together to display a non-disappearing highlight Story.

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This could be HUGE for marketers.  Use your stored Stories to create an even better source of information for your products and services. And it’s easy for fans to view these collections, they will show up in a horizontal bar across the top of your profile.

This is a “win” and shows Instagram is seriously upping their game.  This takes it beyond SnapChat for sure.

Twitter

Twitter Lite Now Available

In countries where mobile use is abundant but data plans are expensive Twitter Lite is the answer. The app loads faster on slower connections and is more stable on unreliable networks. The app size has been reduced so it doesn’t take up too much memory.

Bottomline

Countries where cell connections are unreliable and data plans are expensive will now get the benefit of one of the world's largest news sources, Twitter. Hopefully, this will help families communicate with one another even though they may be far apart.

This is the first social media update for December. I expect lots of changes for the rest of the year and going into next year. Social media never stays still!

Stay tuned and happy holidays!  Are we connected on social?  Find me on Facebook at https:fb.com/mikegdigital, Instagram at @mikegingerich and on Twitter at @Mike_Gingerich.

's Audience Network Ads-600

If you're implementing a social media strategy for your business, Facebook advertising must be a part of it. It's demographic targeting, and price points make it very attractive for a lot of businesses. It's much cheaper than traditional advertising, and it gets your business in front of more people than organic Facebook marketing does.

There are many different ads you can create using Facebook advertising, but one of the most unique is advertising on Facebook Audience Network.

What is Facebook Audience Network?

This is how Facebook allows its advertisers to advertise off of the platform with the exact same targeting it offers on the platform. This can be remarkable for advertisers. Websites who want to generate revenue by being a part of the network, and of course, for Facebook who now has, even more, ways to offer to advertise.

There are 3 types of visual ads your business can place. A banner that shows up at the bottom of the screen. A native that appears in an article. An interstitial which takes up the full page above or below the article. You can also place Audience Network video ads that will appear throughout a video stream.

Why does Facebook Audience Network matter?

Many marketers have worried that Facebook's news feed and in-platform advertising spaces would eventually become too saturated to be effective, or for the platform to continue to make money. Facebook's new Audience Network allows Facebook to display their ads on external sites much like Google's Display Network.

This is very important for Facebook, businesses, and marketers alike. They're able to keep the same price point or cheaper sometimes on Audience Network ads. Therefore, making them that much more appealing.

Why are these ads so powerful?

This advertising can bring your cost per click down drastically. In fact, if you choose to opt out of the Audience Network Placement while placing your ad, Facebook will warn you that doing so might increase your overall cost per conversion. With more availability comes lower ad costs, and that's a powerful thing.

Not only that, but you're able to reach even more people. Even people who might not be regularly using Facebook or viewing the ads on Facebook. With Facebook's incredible targeting data and demographic insights.

Facebook advertising should be an essential piece of your digital marketing strategy. If you have a limited advertising budget, test out social ads on Facebook's Audience Network.

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Facebook is the #1 most used social media network across North America, Europe, Australia, and South America.  It's a key place where people spend significant amounts of time online and did you know there is a powerhouse of Facebook Tools your business can be using to help your marketing on this network?

A key reason Facebook is a powerful platform for marketers is the time spent by users on Facebook.  Recent stats released by Facebook show U.S. users are spending on average 40 minutes per day total on the platform in bursts of 2-5 minute increments.

The majority of this time spent is on mobile devices, particularly the mobile app, and it is spent surfing the news feed.  So within that backdrop, what do we need to know about Facebook Tools for business?  I bet you are not using all 15 of these!

Let's dive into 15 Facebook Tools you need to know about for your business today!

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15 Facebook Tools you Need to Know about for your Business

Facebook is a powerful tool to market your business and brand.  

People spend an enormous amount of time on the site, the age demographics span all major buyer profiles, and the people use the site daily.  A bonus is that Facebook gives businesses plenty of tools to use for successfully engaging your ideal audience.

An example of a social media service you can use is Facebook advertising, which uses the ads manager tool to promote a product or business through the social networking platform. Business owners can use social media services to boost online presence, brand awareness, and overall business reputation.

Likely you are using Facebook for your business already if you’re a reader here.  The question is whether you are using the Facebook Tools that you should be. Might there be some you are missing?

Here are 15 Facebook Tools you Need to Know about for your Business  

Facebook Pages 

This is the starting point for a company on Facebook.  Different from a profile, you need a Facebook Page where you can post as the company and grow a fan base who "like" your Page that you can communicate to.  It's the core foundational Facebook tool you need for your business.

Using Facebook Pages is a popular way to highlight your business’s portfolio. If you’re too busy to manage your social media pages, a professional can help you. Social media service providers provide assistance to business entrepreneurs, helping them manage their Facebook and other social media pages. 

Here’s how you can use your Facebook pages to help your business reach greater success:

Go here to create a Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Customize the URL of your Facebook Page:

So, first and foremost, make sure your business has a Facebook Page and all the Facebook Tools it offers! You can customize your Facebook page by uploading your company or brand logo, theme, and posts. Also, remember to set your control, management, and security preferences.

Facebook Page Post Scheduling

This is a key Facebook tool within your page for when and how you can post.  You don't have to be on Facebook at 8 pm to have a Page post for your business go live!  You can schedule them to go at key times of high Facebook use by your fan base.

Use this tool to ensure your target audience will see your posts when they’re online. In this way, you can boost your social media page followers, likes, and shares, as well as the number of customers you gain through social media.

Anytime you create a post, you get the option to "Schedule".  Go through the quick setup to deploy it at the time you desire.  NOTE: In the Insights area within any Page you Admin, you can go to the

Pages App for iOS and Android

A free app for managing your page on the go via your smartphone!  This is a powerful way to keep posting to your page and responding to comments while out of the office.  It's a "must have" tool for any Page admin.

Facebook Apps - TabSite

A key feature on desktop for Facebook Pages is the ability to add 3rd-party apps to your page.  Our TabSite.com software is one of these apps.

3rd Party apps allow you to add functionality to your Page that doesn't exist such as to run a Photo Contest or to host a Sweepstakes right on your page.  Key TabSite apps for Facebook Pages include:

The benefit of a app like TabSite is that you can simultaneously embed the app on your website as well.

Facebook Page Admin Roles

In the "Settings" area for your Facebook Page you can add other users with specific roles on your Page.  It's a good idea to have a trusted person be an additional Admin on your page and you can assign employees or third party social media management helps to specific roles such  as Editor, Advertiser, or someone that can go Live on the Page.

Be sure to check this section and manage it.  Best practice is to have a second user as a Admin that you trust! (spouse, partner, etc.)

Facebook Events

Setup and get RSVPs for events on Facebook! A great and simple way to have focused attention, including sign-ups, around a event.  Perfect for a training event, grand opening, special event, and more.

Facebook Ads

You’ve seen them before – they’re the ads in the news feed with “Sponsored”. These ads are designed to look like a typical post made by a friend. On a desktop they appear in your sidebar and can be images or video. Some are specifically created as an ad setup and launched. But some are posts that have now been “boosted”. If you have a popular post, it can have a wider reach by paying to boost it.

How they work

Facebook offers a dashboard to manage your ads and monitor their performance. You design the ad, specify the budget, and pay out for every click on the ad.  There are other options as well such as paying per impression (when an ad is seen).

There’s a corresponding cost for every click on your ads, but you can manage your spending by setting a per day budget. This will spread out your total budget across several days.

You can target your ads by choosing from the massive filters available. Make your ads visible to everyone, or you can limit your audience by geographical area, gender, age, language, and/or specific interest. You can be as broad or specific as you want, though it’s advisable to start with a wider audience and just narrow it down as you go along.

More on Facebook Ads >

Facebook Audience Network

What is Facebook Audience Network?

This is how Facebook allows its advertisers to advertise off of the platform with the exact same targeting it offers on the platform. This can be remarkable for advertisers, websites who want to generate revenue by being a part of the network, and of course, for Facebook who now has, even more, ways to offer advertising.

There are 3 types of visual ads your business can place: banner (shows up at the bottom of the screen), native (appears in an article), and interstitial (takes up the full page above or below the article). You can also place Audience Network video ads that will appear throughout a video stream.

Facebook Custom Audiences

Custom Audiences are great Facebook Ad tools for reaching exactly that.....custom audiences.  For example, by adding a Facebook Pixel to your website (web developers can do this) you can then setup an ad just for those who recently visited your website!

If someone visits your website after clicking on a Facebook Ad, they may not always complete an action like making a purchase or giving you their contact information. The Facebook Pixel can help you by:

More on Custom Audiences >

Facebook Video

Video is a leading Facebook tool today!  People watch video and Facebook shows video to more of your fans than they do a text post!  You read that right.

Native video is the key....By this I mean videos loaded directly to Facebook for your Page, as opposed to videos on other services like YouTube and Vimeo that are shared on Facebook.

I’ve done a number of tests for my own videos like this:  I load the same video to YouTube and to Facebook, and share them at the same time of day on my Facebook business page.  The results are not even close!  The Facebook video reach and engagement is MASSIVE compared to the YouTube link share.  This is important because marketing on Facebook is about getting in front of your audience and providing some of value that they want to engage with.

In fact, I’ve found that little videos I post to Facebook are performing from 50-400% better than text, photo, and link posts for many of the Pages I manage!  

More on Facebook Video >

Facebook Video Auto-captions

Facebook wants people to understand and engage with video content, so they created the auto-captioning feature to add context for the people who watch videos without the sound on, and they made it dead simple for the average person to use.

How Facebook Auto-Captioning Works

When you upload your video to your Facebook page, it goes through an automated process that attempts to accurately transcribe the video.

While auto-captioning is very effective, it doesn’t always get everything right on the first try. So Facebook gives you a simple way to edit, line by line, the transcription of the video. Generally, Facebook does a solid job transcribing and it can be from 75-95% correct from the start!

More on Facebook Video Auto-captions >

Facebook Video Crossposting

Crossposting is a way to share videos across multiple Pages.

Crossposting can only happen between Pages that have added each other. You control which videos you want to crosspost. When a Page crossposts your videos, they will also be able to view video insights for their posts.

Perfect if you have complimentary pages or multiple Pages for different store locations!  Go to Settings / Crossposting to access this for your Page.

Facebook Live Video

One of Facebook’s newest features to help businesses to market is live video. You don’t need special equipment or any special software, all you do is open your company Page in the mobile App and click on the live video icon where you publish a new post!

With this feature, you can see the number of people watching, along with their names and comments. As soon as the video is over, it’s saved and posted on your timeline automatically as a new video post others can watch. You can share it on other social media platforms, such as Twitter, or even embed it in your website.

Here are some of the benefits of using Facebook live video for your business >

Facebook Messaging

Make sure you have this turned "on" for your Page so a visitor can contact you via Messaging.  It's like a contact form, only better with the Artificial Intelligence options for intelligent immediate responses that help you be efficient and effective!

Facebook Groups for Pages

New since mid-July 2017...Groups for Pages!

Having the ability to add groups to your Facebook page helps you foster a  real community around your brand. Knowing they can have extended interactions through a group, page followers are likelier to become more loyal to the brand.

Full details on ways to use Groups for Pages >

Facebook Instant Articles - Publishing Tools

This is a newer mobile format developed by Facebook which is used to serve pages rapidly to visitors accessing website content from the Facebook mobile app.

Why should I optimize my content for Facebook Instant Articles?

Facebook Instant Articles is built to load instantly on mobile devices and designed for higher engagements, resulting in improved News Feed reach.

More details on the where and how for Facebook Articles here >

Signup link for Facebook Instant Articles >

Instagram Connection for Facebook Pages

Yes! You can manage Instagram on Facebook!

Add your Instagram account to Facebook so you can easily edit your account details, create Instagram ads and more.

Facebook Jobs

Yes, you can list jobs on Facebook and they appear in the marketplace.  Think of it as a growing Monster.com or Indeed.com with the ability to reach your desired employee target with the powerful targeting tools on Facebook!

More on Facebook Jobs >

That's a bit more than 15 tools!  Are you using all of them?  Implemented within an overall digital marketing strategy (see my book link below), these tools can be key pieces that add to the success of your online marketing.

ACTION ITEMS:

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Why the Halftime theme Mike? 

I’m an 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 an updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn't. The “halftime” is a key review point where the game stops, the team pulls away to huddle in the locker room away from the fans, and they come out prepared and ready to succeed in the second half.

That’s what this podcast is all about, taking the time to pull away for a bit to evaluate, learn, and set some strategies for your business to succeed in the second half. Join me by subscribing and let me be your “business halftime” to help you find great success going forward!

Subscribe: Halftime Mike on iTunes | Android users via RSS | Listen on Stitcher.

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Facebook is the top social media network for a reason and there are 5 key Facebook marketing mistakes that marketers need to avoid today on this powerful marketing platform.

A key reason Facebook is a powerful platform for marketers is the time spent by users on Facebook.  Recent stats released by Facebook show U.S. users are spending on average 40 minutes per day total on the platform in bursts of 2-5 minute increments.

The majority of this time spent is on mobile devices, particularly the mobile app, and it is spent surfing the news feed.  So within that backdrop what do we need to avoid?

Many marketers are not keeping up with Facebook shifts.  What mattered and worked a year ago on Facebook for marketing is often not working today.  It's critical to stay current and use the latest tools and features that are working.  Let's dive into 5 things to avoid and what really matters today!

Ready to go?

Listen Now:

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BONUS: Win a free ticket to the fall’s best social media marketing conference, Social Media Strategies Summit in New York City!  Enter now through Sept. 30 for a chance to win a free ticket.
More details here.

5 Facebook Marketing Mistakes Podcast Video

Facebook is a powerful tool to market your business and brand.  

People spend an enormous amount of time on the site, the age demographics span all major buyer profiles, and the people use the site daily.  A bonus is that Facebook gives businesses plenty of tools to use for successfully engaging your ideal audience.

Likely you are using Facebook for your business already if you’re a reader here.  The question is whether you are using it well!  Many businesses continue to make mistakes when using Facebook for marketing. These mistakes are costly and hamper an overall marketing strategy.

Here are 5 mistakes that you need to avoid when using Facebook for marketing.    

  1. Not Using Facebook Ads   

To truly reach the right audience on Facebook, some money must be spent. Many businesses, especially small ones, don't have unlimited funds and must carefully construct cost-effective, engaging ads. However, it's possible to make mistakes in this area that can waste time, money and fail to earn attention.   

Facebook determines potential ad reach mainly by budget size. Ad cost must be factored in the size of your target audience and the length of time the ad will run. If the budget is too low, there can be a dramatic reduction in reach. Trying to take a lower budget and stretch it can be wasteful as it will be less likely to have the desired effect.   

How to Avoid:  When working with a limited budget, make certain the money is being directed toward strategies that are proven to work. First, make use of Facebook's Power Editor tool. It allows users to specify, in great detail, where they want their ads placed, and it provides information on how well ads do in certain niches. Ads placed in mobile news feeds for example often work better than other potential placements such as the desktop sidebar.   As well, if your dollars are limited, limit your ad time length.  It’s better to go shorter duration and have more impact than to go long and limited.

  1. Not Seeking to Engage Your Audience   

Marketing, forming communities and making human connections go hand in hand. In an age of social media, this is even more evident. There are a number of ways your business can make the mistake of ignoring this human link including:

Talking "at" your followers.  This is simply a turnoff. When your Facebook content is focused all on the brand and not the followers, it isolates followers and makes the page appear less approachable. Because engagement leads to your business being displayed to a wider audience, ignoring audiences is not the way to go.   

How To Avoid:  Create your posts around people; analyze fans & followers, and make an effort toward humanizing your brand. Move away from a monologue and create a dialogue between followers and the brand. Share relevant viral content or ask questions directly or in polls which will give followers a voice. When a negative comment shows up, don't ignore it, it can seem as though the brand does not value its customers. Instead, respond with a kind, individualized manner to try to alleviate grievances. This shows that person and all watching that your brand is human and does care.  

Understanding the followers on a Facebook page is easier with the Insights tool that Facebook offers. To effectively market to someone, you need to know who is already being reached.  With Insights, you can see the posts that are getting the most likes and engagement, active fans, and follower demographics.  Learn from these items as you plan new content to share.

  1. Using the Wrong Post Types   

Quality content is important to marketing in any media. It's one of the backbones of your marketing campaigns. Weak content that comes off as a continuous sales pitch or a boring mess of information isn't going to get much attention, or at least, not for very long. Common marketing mistakes regarding content are:

Lengthy Content - Facebook content that is too long isn't optimal for reaching customers.  Facebook news feeds are often cramped with lots of posts vying for the attention of Facebook users. Lengthy text-only content can turn off those users as they look for content that is easy to scan through quickly.  Unless you are getting great engagement already, beware of 500 word posts!

Bland Content - Employing the same type of content repeatedly gets old fast. Because Facebook is a visual medium, not including visuals and video can leave existing text content feeling a bit bare and boring.   

How to Avoid:  Content that's relevant, attractive and helpful is the type of content that will be invaluable to your marketing. Optimize your content so that it will be rich with important information in a compact form.  And think visual!  

Don't overload your followers. The ideal character count for many Facebook posts will usually be around 150 characters with an upper limit of 250 characters. Integrate multiple content types into your posts.  It has been frequently shown that pictures, video, and infographics and other visual content receives more engagement that basic text content.      

  1. Avoiding Facebook Live   

It takes courage to go LIVE the first time but it’s an important “next step” in your marketing.

Why?  Because Facebook gives priority to Live and if you want to reach the majority of your fan base and use a method where your fans are notified in app that you are online on your Facebook Page, then you need to use Facebook Live.

Often due to discomfort or fear businesses are avoiding trying Facebook live.  I recently helped a business through this.  They are a retail B2C shop and one of the owners did such a good job with welcoming people who walked in and showing them around that I explained we needed to do this for Facebook Live.  Ultimately I was the “new guest” and I had them going live showing me around the store and it worked great!  Start simple and be consistent in doing live and you can gain traction!

  1. Inconsistent Posting and Updating   

Although it seems like a basic rule, it's not unheard of for businesses to not update their Facebook pages regularly. Many businesses have more than one social media profile. As a result, some pages end up getting neglected. This makes it appear to possible followers that the page has been abandoned, and potential fans will steer clear.   

How to Avoid:  Set a regular update schedule. When followers learn to expect regular updates, they're more likely to keep coming back. Take time to fill out all the page's sections. Make sure the about page is properly filled out and provides relevant information and includes links to the main website or blog.

Know that “regular updates” means a few times a week at minimum if not multiple daily posts.

So there you have a wrap on some more common Facebook mistakes and how to avoid them.  Facebook is a great place for businesses to connect with their potential audience.  Like anything in business, it simply has to be done planned out and executed well.

ACTION ITEMS:

  1. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST!  This is just a sample of the goods I deliver to help you get on track, think through your key online changes and what you need to do this year to succeed.
  2. Identify your "one thing."  What's the next single thing you need to take action on that you learned today?   Share below!

Resources in Post: Facebook and & Social Media Changes August 5


Help Spread the Word!

Please let your Twitter followers know about this podcast.
Simply click here now to post a tweet >>.

If you enjoyed this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast, please “go over to iTunes,  leave a rating, write a review and subscribe!

Thank you so much for your support!

Why the Halftime theme Mike? 

I’m an 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 an updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn't. The “halftime” is a key review point where the game stops, the team pulls away to huddle in the locker room away from the fans, and they come out prepared and ready to succeed in the second half.

That’s what this podcast is all about, taking the time to pull away for a bit to evaluate, learn, and set some strategies for your business to succeed in the second half. Join me by subscribing and let me be your “business halftime” to help you find great success going forward!

Subscribe: Halftime Mike on iTunes | Android users via RSS | Listen on Stitcher.

Download this Episode:
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Catch all the episodes of Halftime Mike by signing up for inbox delivery below!

Need help planning your Social Media and Online Marketing?

Grab my helpful checklist that includes strategy for social media lead generation. Click image!

web and social media marketing checklist planner

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