#MarketingTrends2018 - Using Facebook Boosting and Facebook Ads

It might surprise you to hear that Facebook ended 2017 with 2 billion monthly active users and is still growing. That’s a lot of people. So it’s no wonder that 93% of social media advertisers use Facebook advertising. That’s not even close to the next most popular platform for ads, Instagram (owned by Facebook) which weighs in at 24%.

If you are a social media marketer with an advertising budget, you are probably already on Facebook. But are you meeting your goals? If not, maybe you aren’t focusing on the right tool to get your Facebook content seen and, even better, converting.

When it comes to advertising on Facebook you have two choices—news feed ads or boosted Facebook posts. Understanding the difference between the two can be a little tricky, but it’s SO important to choose the right type of advertising!

Knowing which route is best for your business objectives means you’re using your money wisely, and your advertising is in front of the right people.

What’s the Difference?

Simply put, a boosted Facebook post is a type of ad that takes content that you have developed for your news feed and shares it with a larger audience. Status updates, photos and videos, and special offers are all popular types of content that people choose to boost. When you boost, you are paying to have the content you posted show up in people’s news feeds. You go through Facebook’s ad manager to do this and you have the option of selecting the audience you want to target.

Facebook ads work the same way except you have more options for narrowing down or expanding your audience. You also have the ability to include a call to action. Depending on your goals you can have users “Like” your page, visit your website, or take some other action. Since you can target users by very distinct characteristics such as age, gender, and hobbies, ads can be more effective than boosted posts for a planned campaign with well-defined goals.

A key difference between boosting a post and placing an ad is that with boosting, you can only focus on visits and engagements. If your objective is simply to build a greater awareness for your brand, then boosts may be just what you need. If, however, you hope to do more than that, your investment will be put to better use with ads.

For most social media managers, developing a plan that incorporates both boosting and ads is the way to go.  But if you are trying to accomplish something a bit more specific, like sell a certain product or push the audience toward engagement with your page, then your dollars will work harder with ads. The exact combination will depend on your objectives and your business but both have a part to play.

Much like traditional advertising, Facebook is a sandbox where – if you haven’t built up a loyal community yet – you’re going to need to pay to play. Thankfully, Facebook ads are affordable and their targeting system so refined that, if done properly, the financial investment is worth it.

If you want help navigating Facebook ads, or simply want to hand the process over to an expert, schedule a Discovery Session call with me at hollieclere.youcanbook.me.

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Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

New Year, New Habits - The Value of Learning Social Media from a Social Media Manager

Is this the year that you’ve decided to truly invest in social media and make it an integral part of your company’s marketing plan? There were over 179 Million social media users in 2015. That is a huge audience and should not be overlooked when creating a marketing strategy. Incorporating social media make not sound like a difficult task, however there are a lot of variables to consider when dealing with social platforms. Here are some thought-provoking reasons to seek out a social media manager before building your social media strategy.

Social Media Marketing

When doing your own marketing, content is any bit of material created with the purpose to establish or grow online presence.  This includes articles, blog posts, videos, websites, publications, podcasts and curated social media posts. A social media manager’s role is to take the most relevant and interesting content and post it at just the right moment so that the targeted audience will see it and engage with it. This means understanding the various social media platforms – including their strengths and weaknesses – and what content works best for each. It also requires understanding peak times and the best time to post, related to individual platforms. A social media manager stays on top of platform trends and knows the processes behind scheduling just the right type of content at the right time.

Social Media Engagement

Posting consistent social media content is important. However, motivating the audience to engage and then capitalizing on that engagement is the real benchmark of success. Some platforms require more attention than others. Also, there are a variety of tools available to help streamline and promote certain types of engagement. A social media manager is experienced with creating online environments that motivate organic participation. They also understand that engagement is essential and missed opportunities to engage are bad form. In fact, having social media content and not making engagement a priority is a waste of strategy and resources.

Social Media Advertising

With so many people using social media, it is an easy thing to get lost in the shuffle. Newsfeed algorithms automatically filter out quite a bit of content. Sometimes the push to be found requires a boost of social advertising. Most of the social platforms have established their own advertising options. A social media manager is familiar with the details of each of the social advertising possibilities and can show users what ads and campaigns will be more successful. They will also have the expertise to analyze and track the results in order to adapt the best possible strategy moving forward.

There is so much more to social media marketing than drafting some tweets and posts and hoping for the best. Training with a social media manager will ensure that an effective social media strategy is implemented – saving time, money and resources.

Don’t go into social media blind! Give us a call and arrange a time to discuss how we can train you to #BeAwesome with your social media marketing.

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don't get left behind ~ 

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a "#BeAwesome" Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn,Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , YouTube,Pinterest, Instagram  and the tools to manage them. 

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars.

Why choose Social Media?

To understand the question, “Why social media”?  You first have to understand America and how Americans decide where to spend their money.  The foundation of this country has always been about “the guy next door” or “the mom and pop” businesses.  Even if you don’t consider your business one of these, it’s not about your business but about your customer. 

Your customer wants to do business with someone they “know”.  It has always been that way.  Due to the big box stores and advertising prices through the roof, the “little guy” has gotten lost.  It’s not that customers prefer these shops, because of advertising; they just know them like they used to know Tim’s Hardware down the street.  Most people will tell you that there is something missing.  Shopping from Mrs. Large Hardware Chain or Mr. Just As Large Hardware Chain just isn’t the same as when they could walk into Tim’s, get greeted by name, and put their money into the pockets of someone they actually knew.

Even if your potential customers have never known anything other than the big box stores, there is still something buried deep within their DNA that makes them want to spend their money with someone they know.  Bottom line is that your customers are looking for you!  If they can’t get to know you, they will still spend their money, but it will be with whom ever the media has told them to do business with.

Most business owners will tell you that if they could just sit down with a potential customer and talk to them about their product or service, they would be closing deals hand over fist.  With social media you not only allow your potential customers to get to know you, but you get to know them as well.  No matter what “widget” you sell, you will sell much more if people have a chance to buy them from “Tom” or “Jill” instead of a website or cold store front.



~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don't get left behind ~ 

Jeremy Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a social media manager, trainer and consultant in  LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , Pinterest and the tools to manage them.  

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