Facebook Ads Archives - The Social Media Advisor

May 10, 2020
Social Media Strategy

Developing a Social Media Strategy for Marketing Your Business

Posting consistency on your business social media channels is vital. Consistency is one of the keys to success on social media. However, making sure you have a post up every day isn’t necessarily a social media strategy. If you’ve found that posting to social media isn’t producing the results you had hoped, it’s time to evaluate what you are posting and whether or not it’s the type of content your audience actually wans in their social media feeds.

When developing a social media strategy for marketing your business, these three tips are what we’d like you to focus on right now:

Organic Growth

In today’s social media world, there are really only two paths for growth on Facebook for small businesses. Organic growth is where you grow your audience on social media without investing in any platform-based advertising. By creating and sharing branded content, you attract like-minded individuals and nurture those relationships through social media engagement and posting valuable information. The best organic growth strategies incorporate community building – encouraging your audience to come back daily for connection and community.

Social Media Advertising

Once you know your content is working (because your audience is growing and engaging with your posts), it’s time to consider investing in social media advertising. For many industries, social media advertising is quite affordable and helps to draw new traffic to your channels. Once you know a post is doing well, boosting it can draw fresh eyes – people that may decide to follow your channel (growing your audience).

You can also craft ads using a targeted strategy to draw traffic to your website, landing page, newsletter sign-up, or other call to action area. These ads don’t necessarily have to start as original content in your feed. However, since you are sending traffic elsewhere this effort probably won’t result in an increase in social media followers on that channel.

Which method works best? It depends on your strategy and what marketing goal you are trying to reach. Are you trying to drive traffic to your new launch? Increase your Facebook followers? Build your email marketing list? Each effort requires a specialized advertising approach.

Analytics & Reporting

What you think makes a great post won’t always align with what your audience believes is valuable content. That’s why it’s important to track your data frequently, evaluating what is and isn’t working, so you can optimize your social media posts to gain even more reach and engagement.

Social media strategy is about building your audience on your social platforms. This is done with a consistent content marketing strategy and by boosting your efforts through paid advertising. A content marketing strategy is key to organic growth so creating original content (blogs, videos, podcasts) using monthly themes and then repurposing that content for sharing on social media comes first and is then followed up by boosting content that is doing well and creating ads to direct targeted traffic to what you are sharing.

Are you looking for social media training you can participate in, right from the comfort of your home? Join others utilizing our 40+ video training series that you can participate in, at your own pace, from your home. We have a Private Facebook Support Group, Monthly Ask the Expert Mastermind Sessions, FREE Ebook and regular new videos to support your marketing. Learn everything from creating the editorial calendar, to creating custom branded images, to the best use of hashtags, to paid ads and reporting by joining the Social Power Program.

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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 Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

October 14, 2019
Social Media Strategy

#BePrepared – How to Establish a Social Media Ad Budget

Is it possible to achieve social media success without advertising? Sure.

Is it easy? No way.

In today’s world, gaining an organic audience on social media is nearly impossible.

Unfortunately, however, many small business owners live under the assumption that social media advertising costs way too much money or that it’s too difficult to pull off.

We’re here to tell you that’s not true. You don’t need a ton of training to pull off a successful Facebook ad – and you certainly don’t need a giant budget.

Here’s how to make it work:

Setting a social media budget

The first thing to do when determining a social advertising budget is to figure out how much you want to spend on your social media strategy overall – that includes everything from scheduling tools (like Hootsuite) to hiring outside contractors.

From there, you can determine what portion of that budget you want to spend on social media ads.

For most small business owners, a marketing budget amounts to 5% to 15% of annual revenue – so if you’re making $50,000 a year, you might spend between $2,500 and $7,500 on advertising. Out of that budget, you’ll likely want to spend about 15% on social media advertising.

The bigger picture

When planning your budget, don’t forget that the actual cost of the ad is only part of the total expense. Even if you’re handling the work entirely by yourself, there is still time spent – and when it comes to business, time equals money.

So, what exactly goes into creating a social media ad campaign?

Research
Copy Writing
Design
Strategy
Analytics
More

Those items need to be worked into your social media advertising budget. If you hire someone for graphic design, that cost should be lumped into your ad budget. If you’re doing the design yourself, account for that as well – for example, if it takes you one hour to design an ad, and you charge $75/hour, deduct that amount from your budget.

It’s important to not let those peripheral activities go unaccounted for. If you don’t keep track of your real ad spend, you’ll have no idea what your actual ROI is.

Bottom line? For just a nominal amount each month, you can expand your reach and attract new customers. Totally worth all that time it takes to sit down and create a budget!

Contact us if you have questions about setting a social media marketing budget. Our Social Power Program can teach you how to use ads – and much more – to grow your business on social media.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

September 30, 2019
Social Media Strategy

#GrowYourBusiness – What Are the Benefits of Paid Ads in Social Media?

We recently discussed the power of organic reach in social media. And, indeed, it is a powerful strategy that often results in long-term, loyal customers.

But that doesn’t mean it should be your only strategy.

Paid ads in social media can be enormously beneficial, especially for newer businesses looking to grow an audience. By incorporating ads into your online marketing strategy, you can make sure you reach the largest audience possible, along with several other benefits, including:

Gain followers

Paid social ads will help your content get in front of more people, who may then choose to follow your page. Why is this beneficial? Well, first, when someone follows your page, it increases the chance that they will see more of your content in the future. Second, as more people follow and interact with your content, Facebook will rank it higher in searches. And, last but certainly not least, a large number of followers adds to your social proof – highly beneficial in today’s society, where consumers so highly value recommendations from others.

Grow your email subscriber list

Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to turn prospects into leads and leads into customers, but it only works if you have people to send your emails to. Paid social media ads are a great way to grow your subscribers and build a list that will work for you.

Many people entice subscribers through the use of gated content, or content that is locked behind a digital wall. For example, you could offer access to an exclusive webinar in exchange for a user’s email address. Other people use contests or sweepstakes to gain email addresses.

The strategies are nearly endless, but once someone is on your list, you can continue to send them useful information and build a quality relationship.

Get more website traffic

The ultimate benefit of paid social media ads? MORE WEBSITE TRAFFIC.

Let’s be honest: Your website is where all the magic happens. It’s where you talk about your business and values, it’s where people can browse through your products and services, it’s where they can read your blog, and (most importantly) it’s where they can make a purchase or sign up for a service.

It’s important to note that in order to increase website traffic, you have to share your own original material (blogs, podcasts, product features, etc.). If you boost a post that contains, say, a shared industry article, your audience member will end up back on that other website, not yours.

Bottom line? Paid social can work (and typically, it won’t break the bank). The key, like all other social media tactics, is to come up with a strategy that will work.

If you’d like to learn more about paid social media ads and how they can work for your brand, reach out today to set up a training session for you and your staff. We offer a variety of workshops and seminars that will get you started on the road to social media success!

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

April 18, 2019
Social Media Strategy

#GrowYourBusiness – How to Use Paid Ads to Generate Leads in Social Media

You may love your job but you aren’t just working for the fun of it. You also want to make money. Moreover, to make money, you need to get sales. To get sales, you need leads.

Until the last few years, you could rely on getting leads organically through your website and search strategies. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of these tools has been on the decline over the last few years. Nowadays, to make the most of using the web to generate leads you need to take advantage of social media advertising.

Of course, you want to make sure that you’re using your dollars effectively so before jumping in you need a plan. Here are six key steps to using paid ads to generate leads in social media:

Set a Budget: When it comes to cost, social media advertising is relatively inexpensive when compared with traditional media. Best of all, you can set a target for how much you want to spend. Based on the results you can either increase or decrease the amount. You’ll need to be aware of the pricing structures for the various platforms and decide how you want to allocate your resources.
Think About Your Targets: When you purchase social media advertising you select the target audience. Consider your audience carefully and make your selections based on who is most likely to need your products or services.
Decide How To Measure Success: Unless you have goals and metrics established you have no way to determine if you’re getting your money’s worth. Is it hard sales, leads, clicks, shares or some other number that will determine if your campaign is working?
Analyze Your Options: Study each platform carefully before launching. Each platform (Facebook versus Twitter, for example) has its own unique strengths and weaknesses.
Develop Your Content: The exact type of content that will work best depends on a variety of factors. Your best bet is to use a balance of different media.
Rinse and Repeat: It may take time to develop the right combinations of spending, platforms, and specific content. Evaluate your progress and make adjustments to your strategy.

To use social media paid advertising successfully you need to understand the basics as well as what makes each platform tick. The quickest, most effective way to do that is to consult with a professional.

The Social Media Advisor can help you jump-start your effort by helping you build a solid foundation. The Social Power Program will give you the tools you need to make sure that you are not spinning your wheels and wasting money. Best of all, for a limited time, you’ll receive a FREE Social Media Analysis with your Discovery Session.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

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