Should I boost my Facebook posts?

If you have a Facebook page then I'm sure you recognize the "Boost Post" button.

Should you be using this feature? If so, when and why?

Facebook Advertising

Facebook advertising is a great investment for your business and I highly recommend that every business have a budget for it. The tools Facebook have created are powerful and let you do all kinds of amazing things, including targeting ads to people who already like your page, people who are friends with people who like your page, people based on other pages they like, and based on age and demographics.

You can also upload your email marketing list and target people who are already warm leads for you, create lookalike audiences from your mailing lists, and put conversion code on websites and then target people based on whether or not they have been to your website.

The possibilities with Facebook advertising are incredible! That being said, figuring out how to use them all, and use them well, is not easy. I've been using their tools for a long time and I still get confused. 

Facebook has tried to make it easier for everyone to figure out how to use the tools and one of the ways they've done that is with the 'boost post' feature. So the question is, should you be using it?

Boost Post

The boost post option lets you, with the click of a couple of buttons, turn something you shared on your Facebook page into an ad. The boost button appears for the admins of a page after each post, making it simple to find and easy to activate.

Once you click "Boost Post" you make a few simple choices and then your ad will be submitted for approval and start posting.

I think the Boost Post function can come in really handy, but only some of the time. Here are some reasons that you should use the boost post feature:

To promote something on your website. 

I promote most of my new blog posts so that I can make sure lots of people see the update and have the opportunity to click through and read the post. I think my audience would value articles by other people and I'm happy to share those, but the ones that I'm going to pay for are the ones that are driving people back to MY website.

To promote something that I'm doing.

It may not be something new on my website, but it's still something that I want my audience to take action on. It could be to enter a contest, to sign up for a webinar or to fill out a survey. 

The key is that I'm promoting myself. Sometimes I see people promoting posts that don't really tie back to their key messages and that isn't a great use of their marketing budget. If you're going to spend money on advertising, either do it to promote yourself with the boost post feature from time-to-time, or, invest in creating elaborate Facebook campaigns using the more advanced features (you may also want to invest in getting some help to do that).

Tips and tricks for using boost post

If you are going to use the boost post function here are a few things I've found work well:

- Boost to people who like your page and their friends. Often, your current audience has a lot of people in their network who are also your audience. By promoting it, not only to them but also to their friends, you are possibly going to find more fans. This is especially true when it's a valuable piece of content like a blog post, and less true if you're asking for something and are just trying to get more people to see your post.

- When I'm boosting a blog post I often boost for the smallest amount over a few days, and I don't always keep the post boosted for the entire time. Once you pause the campaign you stop paying so you don't actually have to pay the minimum amount they make it seem like you have to pay. 

- Check the insights. When you boost a post you will see the 'reach' under your post in two shades of orange. In addition to this, make sure to check on 'view results' so you can see what kinds of actions people took from the money you spent.

Here is an example where I spent just over $1 to boost a post. For that amount I got 16 link clicks, 3 post likes, one comment, and almost 400 more people saw the post. 

I encourage you to play around with the boost post feature. Create a budget for it and figure out what you want to promote about yourself so that the money you're spending brings eyeballs to the things that will move your business forward. 

Leave me a comment and let me know what kind of content you'll be promoting next!

Don't forget to sign up for my FREE webinar this Thursday, July 16th at 1 p.m. EST I will be sharing tips and tricks on how small businesses can use social media effectively without feeling overwhelmed! Click here to reserve your spot now!

The what, who, when, where & why of Facebook

Facebook is easily the most controversial major social network. Seemingly constant changes to Facebook's user interface, its functionality, and the algorithm that controls what we all see have led marketers and users alike to feel nearly constant frustration with the service.

So, if it’s so bad, why do we keep logging in? What keeps us coming back to this Web site that inspires such frustration?

Our friends. Our business. Our interests.

Yes - even if we see each of them less and less. The thing is, I doubt we'd like it if the algorithm wasn't prioritizing our newsfeed. And Facebook is still the largest and most-used social network on the Internet, which makes it relevant and important to your business.

What is Facebook?

Believe it or not, I meet people regularly who don't have Facebook accounts. They have their reasons, but if you're not on Facebook yet, it's hard to know what you're missing. Facebook is the quintessential social network. It started out as a two-way connection - reciprocity required. I send you a friend request, you accept or don't accept. One choice means I have access to your content and you have access to mine. Declining my request means we don't. 

"Friendship" is still the primary focus of the network, though they have since added Pages, Groups, Interest Lists, and Followers - all of which are not reciprocal connections.

Who should use Facebook?

From a personal perspective, I think that anyone who wants to connect with other people can get value out of Facebook. The idea that social media makes us less social doesn't have to be the reality - and it isn't for most. From a business or entity perspective, Facebook is a valuable marketing tool. There are over 1.3 billion active accounts on Facebook. It would be a rare business that can't find its audience in a pool of people that size.

When (and how) should I post?

Post at least daily, but not too often. The frequency your audience will respond to is potentially different from my audience and likely based on what kind of business you run. Media outlets can get away with posting numerous articles every day. A small business might post only once per day. For the majority of businesses, a maximum of 2-4 times a day is a good guideline. Facebook users will “unlike” your page if you annoy them. I know I have.

Be sure to share a mix of content - status updates, links, videos, photos - so that you get a better idea of what works best. The algorithm changes, so maintaining a mix ensures you won't get caught up in some of the silly (and fleeting) trends that don't work in the first place. 

Where should you post?

Over the years, Facebook has done a lot of work to improve its mobile app - from splitting out Messenger and Groups to improve loading time, to adding more and more of the browser app's functionality, such as editing, comment replies, and more. The list of actions you can only do in the web browser is getting shorter and shorter all the time. So, where should you post? Pretty much wherever you want.

Why should you be on Facebook?

I really like Facebook. The potential for collaboration, connection, information consumption are all pretty much endless. I've created and found support networks, small and large, through Facebook. I use Groups for my work with Lara on WWC, as well as part of the delivery of our programs. A lot of the issues people have with Facebook tend to be rooted in unrealistic expectations. Your audience has never all been guaranteed to see your content - not in newspapers, on television, on your website, on Twitter, or any other medium that you contribute to - not even when Facebook didn't have ads was 100% your audience guaranteed to see your content.

Developing a presence on Facebook can bring good things in the form of better relationships personally and professionally. It can also have an impact on the bottom line for businesses. However, no one should have a presence unless it makes sense to achieve business goals and they have the resources to be consistent. 

What would you add to the 5 Ws of Facebook?

Storytelling and social media: mini movies

How do you make people listen to what you have to say when there are so many things to read and watch?

Turn it into a story!

We talk about storytelling a lot because it is one of the best ways to pull your audience in to what you have to tell them. Today we’re going to share some of examples of how brands are using the mini-movie (longer than a typical ad but generally under 5 minutes) to really pull in their audience.

In some cases, the brand’s personal message is really subtle, in others it is less so. Either way, I had no problem watching the following three examples in their entirety without being tempted to close the window mid way through (this is particularly impressive given my personality.  

Investing as much as 5 minutes on an ad says a lot about how well-executed these were. Interestingly, two of these weren’t made in English. I hope to see more of these produced in North American markets.

Cornetto

Cornetto sells ice cream. This mini movie is a teen love story and there aren’t any real ice cream references that I noticed (though it’s not in English so I may have missed some). That being said, it has been viewed over 26 million times. Just by putting the mini movie together, they are getting a lot of visibility. 

Google search

I don’t know how I’d get through life without Google. In fact, when I was recently on a cruise our group spent a lot of time joking about how we were back in 1993 (“we know the information is out there somewhere and we can’t get to it!! We’re actually going to have to guess and then look it up later!”) because none of us had access to wifi.

This short movie pulled on all kinds of heart strings for me, and shows just how much many of us use Google search regularly.  It’s been viewed 6.5 million times and it was posted less than two weeks ago!

Code.org

The world needs coders.  This mini movie took some fascinating people and had them share their personal stories on why they learned to code. I thought it was a great way of sharing the personal side that people should consider becoming computer programmers.  Not to mention the job perks they get! :)

It’s been viewed over 11 million times.

What do you think?

I want to hear from you. Did those mini movies hold your attention? Have you seen movies like this going around and have you watched them? Leave a comment and let us know what you think: Does it work? Why?

If you’ve seen a good one, Share a link with us!

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Why should my small business use Facebook?

For small businesses that are thinking about using social media or starting to dip their toe in the water, the sheer number of tools (i.e., social networks) available to use can be staggering. One social network that is often the first businesses sign up for is Facebook, but not everyone is convinced it has value.

There are so many advantages for small businesses if they choose to use Facebook. Here are just five reasons we encourage many of our clients to be active on this channel - and why you should consider Facebook for your small business:

1) Easy two-way conversation

While business pages can’t go to personal profiles and engage with users individually, they can share engaging content that gets the conversation going on their page. It’s not always about making a sale - often the purpose of these conversations is simply to stay top of mind with fans so when they do need your small business’ services, it’s more likely they’ll look to you first.

2) Scalability and reach

Sure Facebook is the largest social network in the world with 1.15 billion accounts and over half (699 million)^* are active daily. The truth is, despite that large number, if your audience isn’t on Facebook then your business shouldn’t be either. But if your audience is on Facebook, then the advantage of being able to grow your business by sharing helpful content to a growing audience is too good to pass up.

*As of June 2013

3) Cost-effective platform

Facebook is not free. There is no monetary cost to using it, unless you want to place ads (more on that later) but there is a time cost. Your time as a small business owner has a great deal of value, so the time spent promoting your business through social media channels must be effective and efficient. We believe Facebook can be very cost-effective and using it to grow your business doesn’t have to take a huge amount of time.

4) Cost-effective advertising

Have you looked at the cost of a newspaper or magazine ad lately? Sometimes that’s the best route for a small business to go because the return is well worth the investment. However, many small businesses simply don’t have the budget to make that gamble. Traditional advertising is based on a broadcasting model with minimal targeting available. Facebook advertising gives small businesses the ability to buy inexpensive ads that are highly targeted to the interests of fans and non-fans.

5) Build a community

As you increase the two-way conversations with a targeted audience, you’ll eventually find you’ve built a community - not a fan list. The connection within a community is much stronger and longer-lasting than the mere association between a business and its customers.

Given how many people use Facebook and how simple a tool it is to use, Facebook is often the easiest and best way to start using social media for your small business.

What other reasons compel you to use Facebook for your small business?

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All month long here on the Wellman Wilson blog, we’re going back to the basics in honour of the newly launched Simple Start program. The program is designed to walk you through launching (or restarting or improving) your presence on either Facebook or Twitter. It’s not just for beginners either - even experienced social media users need that fresh start every now and then. Grab the free version of Simple Start by signing up to our newsletter now.

Buzz and Brilliance: Week ending May 11

Over the week we go through a lot of content - news and blog posts, how tos and conceptual posts on the state of the internet.  Every Sunday we share some of our favourites with you.

Check out the links and let us know in the comments if you have any questions or if you read any great posts this week!

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Lara

I often see people complaining about ads on Facebook and Twitter but they don’t bother me.  Why?  Aside from the fact that they are tools I want to use for my own business, I also know as a business owner that businesses need to make money, and Facebook and Twitter are businesses. These are free services we enjoy, most of the other channels we have to deal with ads on we pay for! (newspapers, tv, etc)

How will we ever create all the content that seems to be demanded of us to build a good online presence?  Re-use and recycle, and plan for it right from the start.

Video video video - it’s a big buzzword this year and I can’t disagree with it.  Video is important, but it needs to be done well.  James Wedmore is an expert I’ve recently found and his videos have a ton of useful content to help you figure out where to start and what to talk about.

Karen

I don’t like to say that there are rules when it comes to using social media, but it’s certainly good to know the etiquette or best practice guidelines. 

It’s ridiculously easy to use any old image you find online. But it doesn’t make it legal and you can get in a lot of trouble. In fact, often it isn’t and you’ll want to know how to use images in a way that won’t get you sued. (We have a whole session at Social Capital about this!)

Social media is about building relationships, which is why I really like the ideas in this post about having fun with your blog readers. Would you like to interact this way with your favourite blogs?

If what you write helps just one person, it’s valuable. Viral is overkill and not necessarily all it’s cracked up to be. (We’re going to have a session at Social Capital that touches on “viral” videos, too.)

SOCIAL CAPITAL

Social Capital is quickly approaching (it’s May 31 and June 1). Join us this Tuesday for our second #socapott Twitter Chat.  We’ve also announced a lot of great speakers that you won’t want to miss, including Gini Dietrich and Danny Brown!

THE MEDIA MESH

Making a case for Google+

Happy Mother’s Day!

As mothers ourselves, we know the work that you do every day. Today, we celebrate you and everything you do for your family. Enjoy this ad from Google: