All posts tagged advertising

Using Facebook Ads to Build Holiday Business

Using Facebook Ads to Build Holiday Business

Facebook Ads can be a powerful tool in helping you build business during the holidays. For a rather small investment, you can specifically target people you want to reach with your message. Whether your message be related to sales or recruiting, Facebook Ads can help you reach the right people and build your business.

Facebook Ads to Build Holiday Business from http://dsef.orgThe easiest way to get started with Facebook Ads is to use Facebook’s built-in Ads Manager. To get there, click the wheel icon in the upper-right corner of any page on Facebook, and click Create Ads.

Next, you’ll choose an objective for your ad. If your goal is to increase the Likes on your Facebook Page so that you can build your community and engage them through a series of posts filled with content as well as promotions, choose “Page Likes.” You might choose “Clicks to Website” if you want to point your ad towards a sales or recruiting page on your site, or a custom landing page designed to capture visitor information. If you are going to be hosting a special event for the holidays (an open house, a table at a bazaar, etc.) you might want to choose Event Responses, and set up an Event on Facebook with the details of the event. If you’ve set up a special Offer on Facebook, such as a special discount on a product, you might choose Offer Claims. Choose the type of result you want for your ads, and select the objective from the list.

Facebook Ads to Build Holiday Business from http://dsef.org

 

Once you’ve made your choice, select the options that make sense for you. In this case, we’ve chosen Clicks to Website. Note that we are adding additional tracking by using bit.ly (a link tracking service) that will enable us to count the number of clicks that our link gets. (For advanced users, you can use Google’s URL builder in conjunction with Google Analytics to track the source and medium of your links, and tie it to specific campaigns that you can track within Google Analytics. Shorten the tracking URL that the URL builder creates with bit.ly, and use that URL here.)

Facebook Ads to Build Holiday Business from http://dsef.org

Next you’ll choose images for your ads. You can select up to 6 images, and Facebook will create up to 6 versions of your ad with each of the images.

Facebook Ads to Build Holiday Business from http://dsef.org

Now it’s time to write your ad. Connect your Facebook Page to your Ad, and then write your ad copy. (Depending on the type of ad you choose, you may have slightly different options here.) You can choose to place your ad in the News Feed, the Right Column, or both. By default both are selected. If, for example, you want to remove the Right Column, simply select “Remove.” For tips on creating your Facebook Ads, read this post. (Facebook has recently changed its ads interface, but this post still has some useful information.)

Facebook Ads to Build Holiday Business

 

Your next step is to make choices about who you want to target with your ads. You can choose geographic location, gender, age, interests and more. If your advertising budget is limited ($5 or $10 per day) try to keep your advertising target market small. You may also wish to target people whose friends are connected to your Page, as they may be more likely to engage with your ad because their friends already like you.

Targeting is the most important part of the ad process. Especially if your budget is small, be very specific about the type of people you want to reach. You may wish to limit your geographic area to where you actually live and can service customers, and be very specific about the interests, education level, etc. of the people you want to reach. If you’ve never done an ideal customer profile, now is the time to start. What does your most profitable target look like? What are their interests? What is their lifestyle? The more specific you can be, the more likely it is that you will reach them through your ad campaign. Experiment with this to see which target markets give you the best results.

Your final 2 steps involve creating a campaign and deciding how you will pay for your ads. Now mind you, you must have a billing source associated with your Facebook profile (personal account) in order to advertise.

First you’ll create a Campaign with a daily dollar limit associated with it. For example, you might create a campaign called “Holiday Sales” and add a daily spend limit of $10 per day for that campaign. All the ads you create will be lumped together under this campaign. You can create as many ads as you want for the campaign, but you will never spend more than $10 daily for this campaign. Once you reach that spend limit, Facebook will no longer display any of your ads that day.

Facebook Ads Campaign and Pricing

Next you’ll decide how much you want to pay for your ads. If you Optimize for clicks, you’ll only get charged for the number of people that click on your ad. This is our favorite method. If you Optimize for impressions, you get charged for the number of times Facebook displays your ad, regardless of whether or not someone interacts with your ad.

You may want to choose “Manually bid for clicks” and then enter a dollar amount you’re willing to pay up to for clicks. Keep in mind that this is a bid, not a set amount. You will never pay more per click than the amount you specify, but you may pay less. Facebook recommends a range for your pricing bid. If you want to ensure your ad is displayed, you may want to work on the high side of this bid.

After you have made these choices, review and place your order. Once Facebook approves your ads (can take up to 24 hours) they will begin to run within the Facebook platform. It is important to continually monitor the success of your ads, and write new ones as needed.

Facebook Ads can be an excellent way to build your holiday business by helping you connect with more people. Start with a small daily amount, and monitor the success of your ads daily. This can be an excellent way to grow your business.

Do you use Facebook Ads? How successful have they been for you? What advice would you give to someone trying them for the first time? Would love to read your experiences in the comments below!

6 Ways to Get in Front of More Customers this Holiday Season

6 Ways to Get in Front of More Customers this Holiday Season

6 Ways to Get in Front of More Customers this Holiday from http://dsef.orgIf you are like most small businesses, you are heading into your busiest time of the year. As customers look for holiday gifts, it’s important to remind them about your business, so that when you have what they are looking for, they shop with you. After all, it’s easy for customers to run to a faceless big box store and get a lot of generic gifts. It’s up to you to make it just as easy to shop with you. The bonus is that your personal attention will help customers find exactly the right gift, increasing both customer satisfaction and repeat business.

But this all happens when customers are aware of you. So this period is critical. What you do now will determine whether or not customers think of you when shopping for holiday gifts. Here are some tips to get yourself in front of customers and remind them that you’re there:

  1. Advertise – Even if you don’t advertise at any time of the year, it makes a lot of sense to advertise when the holiday season comes around. And thanks to online tools, there are many inexpensive options at your disposal. Consider running some Facebook Ads (even $5 or $10 per day can make an impact), check out local publications, and form alliances with local businesses to cross-promote.
  2. Sponsor – At this time of year, many communities hold and other events, and often they look for businesses to help offset the costs of these events. In return, your business is featured in literature about the event. Take some time to identify special events in your area, and sponsor a few. It’s a great way to promote awareness of your business.
  3. Holiday Fairs – Vendor events are another great way to promote awareness of your business. Although you may not make a lot of sales, these can be an excellent way to get contact information that allows you to market more directly to potential customers and prospects. So get a table at a few holiday events to build awareness and your mailing list. And then follow up! That’s the key to success for this type of event.
  4. Book More Parties – If you are in direct selling, you will sell more and recruit more if you do more parties. So especially at the holidays, book double (at least) the amount of parties that you normally do. People are more inclined to book when they know their friends want to do holiday shopping, and you will sell more. Best of all, all those parties will lead to additional bookings and a thriving business.
  5. Special Events – Consider hosting your own special events and inviting past customers, along with their friends and your community. Call it a “Customer Appreciation Party” or a “Holiday Mixer.” By offering your own event with lots of fun attractions, more people will become aware of your business. In your advertising, you can mention the event, which can set you apart from other advertisers that only talk about buying. You are offering something to people in return, which can be a competitive advantage.
  6. Donations – Remember that many non-profit organizations use this time of year to host events and raise funds for their causes. So find ways to donate that will promote your business. For example, if a non-profit is hosting an event where there will be a silent auction, consider donating a basket of your products. If a fundraising event is being held, find out how your business can be listed in the program in return for a monetary donation. You’ll be helping the organization and promoting your business at the same time.

Commit to making this your most profitable holiday season yet! With a little planning, you can get in front of more customers, which will lead to a bigger business.

How do you get in front of more customers during the holidays? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below!