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Facebook campaigns.
They are often still the secret black box of marketing. For businesses and even for seasoned marketers, it continues to confuse and confound, leaving many to not attempt it, or do it really wrong. We still encounter business owners with really bad assumptions and misinformation hampering their potential to harness the power of this remarkable marketing asset.
Here are a few MISTAKES AND ASSUMPTIONS that we hear regularly:
Myth #1: Confusing “managing my social accounts” with real, strategic Facebook marketing.
Sure. Go ahead. Maintain an active News Feed. Post related blogs and inspiring quotes and business updates. Keep it active and relevant. That’s great, and pretty important, actually. (Later, you can read why here.)
But that’s not “Facebook Marketing.”
You could even throw some money at a few posts to sponsor them. You could. But without a solid, carefully researched strategy, you could also flush that money down the drain and get just as much value from it.
(And, don’t forget this little tidbit that escapes most people: Not everybody who Likes your Page even sees all your posts - sponsored or otherwise. Remember, you’re playing with Facebook’s computers and algorithms, and they’re the ones who ultimately determines the closest relevancy-fit for your messages.)
More and more companies are realizing that a “social media manager” is an entirely separate job from a truly seasoned social media marketer.
Myth #2: Thinking that Facebook marketing doesn’t return their investment.
No. Just, no.
In fact, why would you invest money in ANY advertising unless it generating revenue?
Truly strategic, targeted and well-executed Facebook marketing is designed expressly to drive your revenue. People who think otherwise: 1. Don’t know how to do it right, 2. Have been burned by somebody who didn’t do it right, or 3. Have tried it for a month and gave up.
Page Likes are nice, but they don’t contribute a lick to your bottom line. Focus on devising an effective social strategy that keeps revenue as the key driver. More on that in Part 2 of this blog.
Myth #3: Believing that your clients aren’t on Facebook.
Uh, yes they are.
Many businesses assume that “business happens on LinkedIn, and Facebook is for pictures of vacations and food and puppies.”
In some ways, yes, that’s true. But life doesn’t happen in segmented boxes. Even when your prospective business client is killing time on Facebook (and, they do), their mind hasn’t left the office. As hard as they might try, if they’re flying through their puppy pictures and happen across an incredibly well-placed sponsored ad that PERFECTLY addresses their deepest business pain point . . . they’ll stop. They’ll be intrigued, maybe they’ll even click on it. At the very least, you’re now in their subconscious, and they’ll find themselves looking for that ad again because it’s so freaking clever and frankly, they’re surprised that you snagged their attention. Good on you.
Our point is - with over 310 million people on Facebook just in the US, your clients are there. With the right strategy, they are findable and reachable.
Myth #4: Assuming that people will see your ad and buy your stuff.
A buying journey rarely works that way. It is just that: A Journey.
In Scott Lerman’s book Building Better Brands, he defines it like this:
Awareness, Familiarity, Consideration, Choice, Loyalty.
OR: Entry, Longlist, Shortlist, Win, Retain. Online marketing giant Hubspot shortens the journey to Attract, Convert, Close, Delight.
However you slice it, any decision to purchase takes a while. Your customer may have been exploring solutions to the problem you’re aiming to solve for them for YEARS before they ever encounter you. Or, you may have just raised the question in their minds at this very moment.
They’ll start a process of researching you in every conceivable way possible to see if you’re trustworthy. Googling to find reviews, scanning your website, reading your blogs, checking out your social channels (see why all of it’s important? That’s another blog for another day), all of it builds their awareness and perception of you as a potential solution to the nightmare they face that you claim to solve for them.
That simply means this:
Relax. Settle in. Even as careful and strategic as your Facebook campaign is, it’s a long-term play. It takes some time to see traction. Nobody wins the football game in the first quarter.
But once you DO see traction – as we say in my family – man-oh-pete, look out. Just try to keep up.
From Myth to Reality
If you find yourself stuck in one of these categories, we hope this helps provide some clarity to get you out of the weeds and onto the next step of really considering Facebook marketing for your business.
How do you know if this is the right strategy for you?