Rules to an effective Facebook campaign
Most successful advertising these days is undertaken online. Whether you choose Twitter, Facebook or some other social media site, it’s a good idea to have a plan in place before you start. Think seriously about what you are trying to do, who your target audience might be, how much you can afford to spend on advertising, and what type of advertisement best suits your needs.
Choosing Your Platform
There are a number of platforms from which you can run an ad campaign, but for the purposes of this article, we will use Facebook. Facebook is extremely popular with all types of people, as it allows them to connect with friends and family, stay on top of the news, and advertise a particular product or service. It’s a good idea to take a good look at other people’s campaigns on Facebook. Try to assess what works for you as a potential advertiser and what doesn’t. Once you know what you don’t want, it’s a lot easier to establish how you’re going to proceed with your own campaign.
Your Target Audience
Whether you are trying to sell a product, get people to sign a petition, or sign up for a course, you need to know your target audience. The best way to go about establishing your audience is to undertake some research; see what people are searching for, and what terms they use to look for something similar to what you are offering. Once you have established the kind of people looking for what you offer, then it becomes easier to make your pitch. Research your target audience to see what they are looking for, and then you can take the next step.
If you know your target market you will be able to establish a strategy for the content you think will get the best interaction with the user.
Setting a Budget
Facebook offers a number of ways to advertise your product or service. You’ll need to find a method that will work for you, and that your budget can accommodate. To some extent, how much you spend will depend on the type and size of adverts that you want to use – you may also want to use a page that is separate from your personal Facebook account to run your campaign. Once you know how much you have to spend, you can go about researching the size, type, and placement of the advertisements for your product or service.
Once you’ve decided on the type of advert that you want, you need to know how much you want to pay for it. Cost is usually calculated on the number of impressions that an advert receives. If you pay more money, you will get more impressions, and you can choose from a cost per thousand impressions or a cost per click. You may need to have a test run using different advert forms to see which model gets the most clicks. Whatever you decide, look for advertisements that best fit what you are offering, and that work within your set budget.
Encouraging Interaction
As mentioned above content is a massive part of any social media campaign. Getting the user to notice your ad, click on it and become a customer all come down to the content leading them down that route.
For example, if you run a modern bar, you can select the age group it appeals to and the location outreach when setting up the ad.
The content then has to appeal to that buyer persona so the ad reaches your conversion expectations. A 21-year-old doesn’t want pictures of 50 years old all drinking coffee chatting, they want a guarantee of a good time with their friends with drink offers, and entertainment planned. Bars want footfall so making the bar good fun and relaxed along with good offers appeals to that age group.
Really think what your goals are when starting your campaign, this allows you to visit the analytics after the campaign to see what works and doesn’t. Don’t just throw money at it and hope it works.
