Getting The Most Out Of The Latest Technology
I’ve been hearing a lot about facebook ads lately. Just last week I heard about a company who
was pulling $130k a year in sales and they jumped to $700+ thanks to a large
part in Facebook advertising. That is a ridiculously large amount of change in
just under a year. That sort of connection can mean the livelihood of some
businesses and even keep some from going completely under.
But Do They Really Work?
We have been testing $5 ads here and there to see what ones
are effective. We just ran some simple test ads to see what kind of responses
we could get and what was really possible. The Facebook ad platform has become
easier to use and setting up an account is fairly easy. Getting approved for your ad takes just minutes and
before you know it you could be in front of thousands of hungry prospects.
The good news is that out of all of the options that are
available – Facebook advertising is actually pretty awesome. We lost out big
time on a couple of recent postage campaigns. I had sent out over 200 marketing
pieces through traditional snail mail and had received zero response. These
were sent to a highly targeted mailing list and there was a special offer
included and even a bonus. I had done this a couple of times and received no
response. After such a dismal return I went back to cold calling and made a few
sales that way.
Compared to snail mail the Facebook option is much easier on
the wallet. The only thing is that you have to be interesting on Facebook. If
you want to get in front of people you have to inform them or educate them on
something. I still see a lot of home
improvement guys wanting to push the dreaded 10% coupon on people. In that
case, you are better off knocking on doors.
What Were The Results Like?
Do you know what kind of video actually works on Facebook?
Non-professional videos that are homemade with everyday people talking about
real experiences. Nothing I ever release is scripted. I tend to talk directly
and frankly about whatever it is I am pitching. Reality is very big on the web
and people like to snoop around on the web and get real information.
Authenticity is everything and that is what you must understand before you
start shelling out money on this kind of marketing.
People respect realism and will tend to pass that video or
message off their friends. They like to hear real stories and real experiences.
You will build rapport and people will be able to understand and appreciate you
better. That is why I don’t like to work off a script. I can usually tell when a
video is scripted because it sounds so canned and the language is too clean and
polished.
The returns are what is most important right? So let’s talk
about that for a minute. For a small $10 investment I actually got 19 people
engaged in my ads. For another $10 I got another 20 people that engaged with my
ad and shared it with their list of people and 11 video plays. That is not bad and my ad actually got
included in a Google index. We popped up on a Google SERP, (search engine
result page) in the number two spot for our city, location and our services. I
didn’t see that coming. So in addition to the people that interacted with our
ad we have some value by having the Google placement in view for the public.
That is a permanent placement.
Plus in just a few days I actually got my phone to ring…..
and got some business prospects out of the whole thing. People wanted to call
and reach out and talk to me live one on one. Some of those conversations
turned into real sit down meetings and I was able to land some business.
So I put together a little checklist of what you need to do
on your Facebook ads.
1.
Come Up With An Eye Grabbing Headline
2.
Make Sure The Headline Is About Your Prospect
3.
Identify A Problem or Become The Solution For
Your Prospect
4.
Create Need And Urgency
5.
Include Your Phone Number
The math gets really interesting. Because you can not only
bring traffic to your post but you can also direct people to your Facebook
page. From here you will want to get out a calculator and a notepad and take
good notes.
Spending $20 dollars a day will get you about 19 likes. Ideally
you can get 78 people but keep in mind that you have to be really interesting
and will have to connect to your audience. Some businesses will want to spend
$50 a day and that will get you even more exposure. Double check your control panel to see just how many
people you can physically reach. There is a potential to get in front of 11
thousand people a day in your local immediate area.
Now keep in mind that not all these people are going to buy
from you. But they will look at your product, and interact with your brand.
There is a lot of noise and competition out there. People are often selling the
exact same thing. You will have to put your own spin on your products and
services and differentiate on how you are unique. Maybe you are going to offer
a business building tip, or a weight loss idea, or maybe you will talk about
how to get rid of moles in your backyard. There are a lot of things you can
talk about and somehow tie it back in to your product.
People are news junkies and many times will get their daily
dose of news from Facebook. This is true when someone dies in Hollywood. I
heard about the death of Mickey Rooney and Anne B Davis from the Brady Bunch on
Facebook. I knew about them passing before I even made it to my TV to catch
CNN. The news was so immediate and so fast. So my suggestion to you is to be
topical and to stay with current times. Be on top of what is happening and
somehow relay that news to your product and get in front of as many eyeballs as
you can.
My favorite time to release news is anytime. But if I was
going to release something business related then I would stick to the Wednesday
and Thursday routine. Business people tend to pay more attention during the
middle of the week for special offers and webinars. That is the way it’s always
been.
Is Facebook advertising really effective for your business? Hot Metro Finds spells
out the steps you need to get customers
Ted Cantu
May 2014 -- HOT METRO FINDS
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