 There's no mistaking the importance of Facebook in the social media world. It's got billions of users, 2.5 billion to be exact, and after 16 years is still the most widely used social media platform in the world with users spending an average of 38 minutes per day. If it's that popular, there has to be some value in it for businesses right? There absolutely is. In fact, that's why over 10 million U.S. small businesses are currently on Facebook. With Facebook, businesses can share posts, videos, and images, participate in Facebook groups, send messages, and even take advantage of paid advertising. With so much to do that's free, why should paid Facebook ads be included in digital marketing strategies? 1. Facebook ads are cheap Aside from the general popularity of the site making it an attractive medium for advertisement, the actual cost to advertise on Facebook is low. Facebook's cost-per-click averages $1.10. in the United States. It also costs an average of $7.19 per 1000 impressions, and $1 per page like. Although lately I have seen these be a little bit lower. Spending $100 on an add to get 10,000 impressions, 100 clicks, or 100 page likes is pretty efficient marketing. There's not too many other places The average cost on Google Ads is $1.75/per click, although this depends heavily on the industry and the ad itself. Many industries have significantly higher cost-per-click than others. 2. Facebook Ads are highly versatile The versatility of Facebook ads is seen in a few different ways. This is simply because Facebook itself has a wide range of things users can do within the platform compared to other social media sites/apps.
The above are of course generalizations, and while these platforms all have their advantages in the advertising space, none of them offer the variety of options that Facebook grants either in user experience or in paid advertising. First, the platform contains numerous options for ad presentation. The advertiser can boost a post, share text, images, videos, a carousel, and more. You can even create multiple ad options to show for different placements. Second, there are a number of placement options to go along with the varied presentation styles. Ads can be placed in the news feed, messenger, Facebook stories, searches, the marketplace, and even Instagram. You can also set these ads up with many different objectives such as brand awareness, page likes, lead generation, website clicks, etc. Since Facebook contains so much data tracking, this actually works to your advantage in marketing. In addition to the standard tools for tracking ad performance, Facebook allows their advertisers special tools like the Pixel to track people who interact with their ad. Pixel is a code you embed into your website that collects date on conversions from ads so you can build audiences, remarket, and optimize future campaigns. In other social media advertising platforms you can only share specific types of ads such as image posts on Instagram, sponsored content on LinkedIn, stories, or various types of messaging ads. On Facebook, you can utilize almost all of these in one place. 3. Facebook Ads are also highly targetable This is not unique to Facebook, but does make it an advantageous strategy for businesses over something like Google Ads. On Google Ads, you're tapping into the power of Google's algorithm to get visibility in searches related to what you sell- but only in those searches. That can still be a wide audience depending on the area you sell within, but it's still not the same as what Facebook offers. With Facebook, and other social media, you can target your ad to people based on demographics, interests, activity, and more whether they're actively searching for you or not. That's incredibly powerful, because it allows you to reach a wider audience. Now you see why the efficiency of Facebook ads is so important. With Google Ads, you could spend $1.72 per click and make only 50 impressions, but with Facebook you can spend $0.97 per click and make 1,000 impressions or more just in a few days. The targeting ability of Facebook ads, combined with the price, and versatility makes the platform a great place for businesses to earn strong ROI.
Of course, with much power comes much responsibility. Facebook Ads, like any paid ad campaign, are not always easy to create or manage especially since business owners wear a lot of different hats day to day. The good news is that many digital marketers are quite skilled at all the aspects of managing social media marketing campaigns- including me! If you'd like to learn more about getting started with Facebook Ads, give me a call or submit your information.
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 The powers of digital marketing haven't been a secret for quite some time now. All the methods and techniques are more or less out in the open now. However, just like in the past with TV and print ads, the fortunes belong to those who use the mediums well. Simply put, the success comes not in spite of the competition, but because of doing things that make you stand out. Do you want your business to get noticed? That's what these 3 key concepts of digital marketing are meant to do. If you can utilize them well, you'll become a force to be reckoned with. First, it's important to understand that marketing is just as much a science as it is an art. Just like sales, there's a huge amount of psychology behind the successful tactics. At its core, both are a type of social interaction, and they depend on successful interpersonal communication. When it comes to the methods for doing this, you don't need to re-invent the wheel, you just need to use the wheel in a different way. Take Pepsi as an example. Let's be honest, Pepsi is basically just Coca-Cola. So why does it rival Coca-Cola so well? Because they've told you it's different. It's in a different can with different coloring, there's different messaging in their advertisements. It's a different brand altogether. Pepsi, and every other similar example, has used the psychology of marketing to sell a product that is competitive despite being almost exactly identical to the original. The world is full of examples like this: Uber and Lyft; Plum Guide and VRBO; UberEats, DoorDash, and PostMates; literally any sports team; Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype; Apple and Microsoft; and the many streaming services. What this means for local businesses is that they can take the same approach despite being one of many in their town who provides their product or service. With the advent of digital marketing, these local businesses can use the same tactics as the bigger brands. It starts with recognizing that sales and marketing are based on creativity, messaging, and visibility. Without these 3 concepts, you'll have a hard time figuring out how to appear different in the face of competition. When it comes to using digital mediums, it's important to recognize that you're not the only business doing SEO, PPC, or social media. Lots of your competitors are using those platforms to try and reach customers. That means if you want to reach and benefit from those same customers, you need to get in front of them and make them want to buy from you over someone else. The 3 concepts below are meant to help you do that.  Distinguishing your business through marketing comes down to communicating well and in unique ways. In a lot of cases, people don't just buy a product or service, they buy the brand. The company is always important because whatever is purchased comes from them. That's why people want to wear Nike and Ralph Lauren, or drive a Bentley. The brand means something. The same thing happens on a smaller scale with local business. People still buy from brands, it's just much less noticeable. It becomes noticeable though in the digital space, where you can see actual metrics and connect the dots to what's causing them. Your website becomes #1 because of great SEO, but converts the visits it gets because of great content, calls to action, and well-built funnels. Your PPC ad stands out and gets lots of calls or form submissions because of eye catching copy and images. Your social media profile gets lots of followers and likes because you share great content that people want to engage with. It works like this for everything in the digital marketing space. The methods for accomplishing it are all that changes. You have to be present to be seen, but if you want to be heard or bought from, you have to coax it. People have to want to choose you over your competitors, and it's your job to make the choice easy for them. Separating yourself in marketing then is equal parts creativity, messaging, and visibility- the 3 key concepts in digital marketing. 1. Creativity Getting creative in marketing isn't always coming up with some brand new, revolutionary idea for how to advertise. Often, it's simply using the existing mediums in a unique way. The creativity of digital marketing is not so much in the method as it is in the execution. Creative digital marketing is about making your messaging and branding distinct from anyone else. This can be done with a website, an Instagram profile, or even with PPC ads and SEO. No matter where it is, the presentation must stand out. Sometimes it can be about revolutionizing the space though, but only in terms doing something new. In the restaurant space, do you see that no one else creating Snapchat geofilters? Make one. No other retail shops in your town have a Pinterest account? Make one. Can you create a Facebook group around your products or services? Make one. There's plenty of goldmines like these that lots of local businesses are missing out on. The ones who take advantage of them are the ones who stand out. You know who they are. Everyone does. They've been heard and seen because creativity is boldness and boldness gets recognized. 2. Messaging Advertising in any form is all about telling people things. It's storytelling. People don't like making up the stories for themselves. It's the responsibility of the advertiser to tell it to them. Messaging is the telling. Messaging happens consciously and unconsciously, which is why it can be hard to articulate for those who aren't marketing or sales professionals. To most people, messaging is noticed as a feeling or association. It's almost entirely unconscious, and felt and perceived rather than understood. People often buy from brands without even realizing why they actually like them- they couldn't tell you a good reason why.
Consciously constructed narratives are the most powerful and convincing. If you can take control of the message your business communicates then you control what gets perceived. That way what you want the customers to know about your business is deliberately told. Without that the message can run the risk of being wildly inconsistent, because no two people think and feel alike. A conscious narrative is one that s a business owner, it's always better to show and tell rather than make people guess.
Start by thinking of your business as a character or person. Branding is simply creating its personality through its logo, published content, product/service, advertising, interactions with customers, and the customer's experience. Messaging is about COMMUNICATING and CONTROLLING that brand by showing all of that to whoever is most likely to buy from you. 3. Visibility Of course, not much happens between creativity and messaging if both are not present to your customer. Boldness can create visibility, but sometimes you need to take direct actions to place yourself directly in the customer's line of sight. Get in their news feed. Show up on the first page of Google. Be present where they can see you. All the most powerful messaging and out of the box thinking won't do anything if no one can find it. To complete the picture you must figure out how to get visible. In future posts, I'll share some methods you can start using today to maximize the effects of these three. These are digital marketing strategies perfect for 2020 that will help you stand out and create a distinct image for your business. If your business is visible, creative with its content, and targeted and consistent with its messaging, you'll see success. Digital marketing has presented a unique opportunity for local businesses. You can now utilize some of the most powerful and impactful mediums in advertising with extremely scaled costs and high return on your investment. The internet has truly transformed the world in more ways than one, and now it can be used to transform your business. With the power of effective digital marketing, the sky is the limit.  Everybody knows Facebook is important. With around 2.4 billion users, it is by far the largest social media platform in the world. That also makes it one of the most valuable advertising platforms in the world. Its success has allowed Facebook to develop an advertising platform that in a lot of way is more robust and more valuable than even Google. While Google has an extremely high amount of activity that makes it a brilliant place to place your business, Facebook offers unique capabilities and opportunities that Google doesn't- simply because of the differences between the platforms. How Google Ads differs from Facebook Ads: One way Facebook is different is how it leverages the purchasing process. If you've never heard of the purchasing process, it's based off the idea that consumers go through a variety of steps before they reach a purchase. It includes recognizing the need/want, seeking out information, evaluating their options, and then purchasing. With Google, you're positioning your business near the end of the purchasing process. That means people are searching you out because they're either thinking about buying or are ready to buy. You're simply becoming a source of information and getting visible as an option for them to consider for when they go to purchase. Facebook is different. Only in particular niches do people seek out businesses via the platform because they're near a purchase. More often, Facebook can be a great way to initiate and control the purchasing process. It is a great option for businesses whose product is focused less around a need, and more around a want- think restaurants. Instagram works the same way. It's also a fantastic strategy for really niche products that have no Google traffic. You start, frame, and close the conversation. It's all directed to you. So, you can essentially create a lead funnel just leveraging social media. Don't think that needs based services/products can't benefit too, though. Leveraging Facebook can be great for any business, it just depends on how you approach it. Facebook can be a great place for a business to provide a place for information on a topic. That helps meet the customer at a critical time in the buying process, and helps build trust and credibility. The best thing with Facebook overall is that it allows you control over so much of the advertising process. You can target specific audiences, publish a wide variety of ads, create engagement and trust, and so much more. It's lucrative, especially right now. Why? 1. Facebook ads are cheap. Really cheap. You can get traffic to your page for a cost-per-click many times lower than you ever could through Google, all while targeting highly specific audiences, and publishing unique content that can drive conversions. 2. Everyone is on Facebook right now. I don't mean that 1/4 of the world's population has a profile. With the shutdowns all over the country, everyone is at home all day. Facebook is one of the places they will probably spend inordinate amounts of time along with Netflix, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit. It's a great opportunity to bring awareness to your brand, even if you don't sell anything. Simply getting your name out there is often enough. 3. There are unique strategies you can use to stand out. I'm a big fan of the Don Draper quote, "Success comes from standing out, not fitting in." He may be a TV character, but the quote is absolutely true. Here's the thing: a lot of people do SEO. A lot of people have a website. A lot of people simply have a Facebook page they post content to. What are a lot of people not doing?
Some are doing those things. A lot aren't. It shouldn't take a pandemic for people to get creative with their marketing, but we really have stumbled upon a great opportunity for you to stand out amongst the crowd. Everyone knows about PPC ads on Google. Not everyone knows they can effectively run a Facebook group and get business from it. The main reasons to leverage Facebook right now are because of its size and customizable ads platform, but also because of the unique opportunities you can utilize to market in a way no one else in your industry does. If you want to learn more about how Facebook can grow your business, give me a call today (559) 462-8663.
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