We’ve spent a lot of time talking about Facebook marketing and how essential it is to be active on the platform to boost your business. But keeping active on your Facebook page and placed paid ads is only one piece of the online marketing puzzle.
In today’s
Big changes are coming
Relative to traditional marketing, Facebook ads (if done correctly) are still remarkably cheap. But this will all change once the Big Boys (A.K.A major retail companies and brands) start dropping massive amounts of cash into the platform.
We noticed that towards the end of 2018, many small businesses didn’t get the return on investment they expected. Every year we see businesses advertising like crazy for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and some do make a lot of money during this spending spree. But on the whole, we noticed that making money using Facebook is not as easy as it was 3 – 5 years ago. The feed is getting full.
Additionally, Facebook has been under scrutiny for its privacy policies and potential data breaches and are facing increasing pressure from regulatory bodies. This means that they’ve adjusted targeting options and in general became more finicky about the ads. The time they take to approve ads increased (in some cases, we saw video ads taking up to 48 hours or longer to be approved).
And it’s not just the ads. Facebook is holding Facebook Business Accounts and even the content posted on Facebook Business pages to increasingly high standards.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make advertising a little bit trickier, especially if you don’t have a digital marketing company doing it all for you.
Why you need to diversify from only advertising on Facebook
The fact is Facebook is a bidding platform. There is a limited amount of real estate in the feed to sell, which means that the more businesses compete for the same space, the higher the cost per click, cost per purchase and so forth.
We’ve already seen costs increase organically as Facebook advertising evolves but we have yet to see the big players drop millions and millions into the platform. When that happens the entire game is going to change, especially for small businesses.
If you are spending the bulk of your marketing budget on Facebook, it means you’re putting your entire business into one platform. Facebook is an amazing platform but we want to caution you against putting all your eggs in one basket.
We want to help you put contingency measures in place
How to be Omnipresent
Our approach for 2019, for ourselves and our clients, is to be seen everywhere. We like the word omnipresent but you can also call this retargeting.
The premise is simple: people don’t buy the first time they hear of you. You need your ideal customers to see you front and centre wherever their eyes take them on the digital rabbit hole. If they are on a news site, they should see you. If they are Googling for dinner recipes, an ad with your product or service should be in the corner of their eye.
By using cookies such as the Facebook Pixel, it’s possible to “follow” your customers around the web and expose them to your company over and over again.
Say for instance you own a beauty salon, and people only see your brick-and-mortar store when they walk or drive past it. You have a website, a weekly email sent to your list of subscribers and advertise on Facebook. This is a great foundation but you can take it to the next level.
Once they’ve visited your website, it’s possible to retarget potential customers and show them your latest promotion the next time they are scrolling Instagram or searching for something online. The idea is to be seen not only on social media
Think of retargeting like leaving digital breadcrumbs that lead your customer right to your door.
Retargeting in a nutshell
Facebook: using the Facebook Pixel you are able to retarget people who have been to your website or landing page.
Google Display Network: all those ads you see on the Google search page and within websites, news sites etc.
YouTube: the
Adroll: owns real estate around the internet. You place your ad on Adroll and they place your ad in multiple spots all over the internet. There are other services that also perform this function, but we currently use Adroll.
By being seen all over the digital landscape builds brand awareness and creates the impression that your business is reputable.
Quick tip: being omnipresent and using retargeting is a powerful tool, but it needs to be used properly. Don’t send the same message to the same people indefinitely, or they will get irritated and possibly report your ad as spam. Be sure to mix up your offerings and targeting to keep things fresh and exciting.
5 Essential elements of being omnipresent
- Your Ideal Customer Avatar
When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one. Before you even start crafting your ads, carefully consider exactly who your ideal client is. Where do they work, hang out online and what are their interests? If you don’t know who you are trying to reach, then your advertising efforts will be in vain. - Messaging
How you communicate online is the dealbreaker. You cannot send a general message to the general population and expect specific results. Take extra care with your copy and speak directly to your ideal customer. - Different user experiences
Don’t stick with static image ads and expect success. Incorporate slideshows and videos into your marketing tool belt. For YouTube, videos are essential. The aim is to grab attention quickly and deliver your message in a memorable way. - Funnels
We could talk about funnels all day because they are an absolute obsession for us! Essentially you need to have a purpose for everything you do online. A funnel isthe process by which you guide potential customers until they know, like, and trust you enough to make a purchase. One of the easiest ways to do this is to give away great advice for free and lead them further down the funnel until they feel they have to have what you are selling. - Metrics
Don’t fly blind. Use metrics on Facebook and Google Analytics to discover how many people are clicking on your ad, visiting your website, downloading your freebie, signing up to your webinar and so forth.
If you get lots of clicks but very few people
The Takeaway
We hope that you already have a website, Facebook Business Account and a Facebook Page. You get extra points if you put a lot of time and effort into posting on your page and doing Facebook Lives. But now we want to challenge you to take it further.
Paid Facebook ads remain one of the cheapest ways to advertise your business, but don’t rely on one platform to get you the R.O.I. you are expecting. There are numerous other ways to be found online, and it’s time to start making your website and the ability to retarget work for you.
We will elaborate on many of these principles in future blogs but for now, start considering how your business can be omnipresent in 2019.
