April 21st, 2011
Speaker: Dan Thut, Rocketer, attempts to demonstrate how to use Facebook ads to grow the volume and efficiency of a PPC campaign, using a case study.
Chris McDonagh, webcast producer/moderator of searchmarketingnow.com introduced Marc Poirier, the CMO of Acquisio. Poirier talked a little about their software and introduced Dan Thut of Rocketer.
The question many ask is can we use Facebook for lead generation? The implied answer was yes, though it was left hanging.
Facebook advertising can have some pitfalls:
- You can spend a lot of money very quickly, with not much to show for it
- Many challenger brands are adopting Facebook advertising at a rapid and commendable rate, so they are eating away at big brands market share because they are getting to grips with this new advertising strategy faster than the big brands are.
You need an agile team and lots of tools to handle everything thrown at you from this new medium. (This was the beginning of a subtle sales pitch).
One overlooked way that Facebook advertising can be beneficial is that a well managed Facebook ad campaign can help established a PPC campaign deliver more value and more volume.
CASE STUDY:
- Increased monthly conversions from 8k to 21k
- CPA – cost per acquisition – dropped from 23 UK pounds to 13 pounds
- 34% increase in ppc brand searches
- 47% increase in direct-to-url traffic
Rocketer already had some data that suggested that people who clicked on a Facebook ad later transacted via a comparable Google PPC ad, but they wanted to test it. They carefully chose a client to work with and made sure they had total control of client’s marketing, to ensure the numbers would be accurate and not skewed by other factors.
They tested a lot of ads, and managed them closely.
They targeted UK men aged 16-45. (12 million)
How many different ad variants are needed for 12 million users?
They broke the group down into smaller groups. 113 counties x 25 sporting interests x 15 newspaper readerships – splits the 12 million users into tens of thousands of different niche interest groups!
Obviously, to manage tens of thousands of groups, each using at least a hundred different ad variants, you need technology to handle it all. (More subtle sales pitching here).
The process: build ads specific to each niche user group, get the right message to the right person at the right time, identify the successful ad types, but don’t stop there.
It only takes one rotten apple (ad) to quickly spoil the rest. Facebook ads can degrade very quickly (CTR drops / bounce rates rise), so their quality scores get worse. That one bad infects the others in the group quickly, and a lot of bad ads can infect the entire advertising account. Within 24 hours, a few bad apples can destroy all the ads in your account.
Since Facebook doesn’t tell us the quality score of ads, we have to gauge it ourselves, which is both important and difficult. So we need to watch the successful ads like a hawk and remove the degrading ones before they affect the others. Obviously, a tool is necessary to analyze thousands of ads and alert us when bad ones crop up. (I bet you know that this refers to the sales pitch, right?).
Although the presenter showed a graph indicating that PPC spend decreased while the Facebook ad testing was going on, I can’t say he ever really explained the correlation. I don’t know how or why one affected the other, so I’m not sure I would know how to duplicate such success.
In any case, this was really more about subtly selling software than it was about educating me on how Facebook ads can augment a PPC campaign. I don’t want to imply that they overdid the sales pitches, because it really was pretty subtle, but at the end, all I really got out of this presentation was that I need tools to manage large Facebook ad campaigns.
Tags: advertising, Facebook, google, PPC, webinar
Posted in Facebook | No Comments »
April 14th, 2011
Anna Sposito, Sarah Coghill, and I, Donna Fontenot, attended a webinar presented by Victoria Ransom, Founder and CEO of Wildfire Interactive (@wildfireapp) and Mike Volpe, VP of Marketing, HubSpot (@mvolpe). We live-blogged it and collaborately put this summary together. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed the presentation.
Mike presented first and began with some statistics:
86% of television viewers skip tv ads and 44% discard direct mail without even looking at it . People went from filtering out advertising via TV and print, and now are also filtering out email as well. In addition, the spam filters that we are familiar with in email, are also now social, and social cues are used to filter messages. Where email used to be organized by date, and flagrant spam was sent to the bottom of the pile, social filters promote things you like (people and brands) to the top of the messages you receive, and demote things you don’t like or don’t know to the bottom of the pile.
What this means is that it is getting harder and harder to get into someone’s email inbox.
Though marketers are addicted to advertising , the traditional marketing channels are becoming less and less effective. The old methods include renting the capability of building an audience from someone else, such as renting an email list, or via outbound marketing such as traditional advertising, conferences/events, paid search / ppc, and cold calling. Instead of putting money into advertising that is being missed by your customer, in turn wasting money, a better thought presented by the speaker was to build your audience so that it becomes an asset to your company rather than an expense. Types of marketing that can be considered assets are blogging, SEO, free tools, opt-in email lists, and social media such as twitter and a facebook fan page. These assets are within your control, so these are the things you want to utilize.
(Note: Questions arose after the presentation about how things like Facebook fan pages may not really be an asset or within your control as Facebook could disappear or change things at any time. The presenter mentioned that Facebook’s interests are aligned with businesses’ interests, since businesses drive traffic and money to Facebook, so they will want to keep businesses happy. I agree, but also think it’s prudent to be prepared to switch gears if an outside asset that you don’t have full control over goes under at some point).
Competition: Your competition is not who you think it is. Our competitors are those that compete for the time and attention of your social media audience, and social media is only one piece of the new marketer’s puzzle. The funnel begins with social media marketing and search engine marketing, flows through to content marketing, then conversion marketing, then lead nurturing and sales support. It’s time to focus on inbound marketing and nurture the audience.
Some stats: Companies with a blog receive 97% more links. 85% of web pages have less than 7 inbound links. So just getting a few links can have a real effect. While links are still important, what’s new is that Likes are replacing links.
SEO/Blogging & Social Media
- Blogging often leads to higher Google search results rank
- More inbound links, the higher the rank
- More content makes you interesting
Coming to SEO: Likes are replacing Links
The Past: SEO Ranking Algorithm = Context + Authority
The Future: Ranking Algorithms = Context + Authority + Social Graph
Lead Generation and Social Media
Social Media = leads and sales , and is effective for both B2B and B2C. The evolution of the marketing database begain with the direct mail list. Then phone numbers were added to the database for telemarketing. Next, email arrived, and now, it’s social. Each new phase brought more touchpoints with customers, and now the marketing database is becoming a lot more social.
Branding and Social Media
The old way: Hire an agency > Agency makes creative > Buy ad slots in TV and print > Produce a sterile ad that tells people what you want them to hear, creating a one-way communication. Customers either ignored or accepted it.
The new way: Brands are whatever people say it is, so grow a brand by cultivation, not control. Allow people to state their real opinions of you, good, bad and ugly. For example, Domino’s “Show Us Your Pizza” campaign let consumers display how bad the pizzas looked when they arrived. Domino’s embraced those real opinions to let consumers control the brand perception.
Research and Social Media
Current Twitter stats: 110,000,000 tweets/day = 1300/second
Focus groups are dead, because the participants don’t act the same as they do in real life. Now we can see how people really feel and react in the real world because social media tools allow us to do that. This is great for research.
Advice for the Road Ahead
- Stop thinking like an advertiser.
- Start thinking like a publisher and socializer.
- Commit to the new inbound strategy.
- Don’t dip your toe in the water. Commit and jump in all the way.
- Showing customers you’re really interested will make them commit to engaging with you and will let your brand take up their time to do so.
Victoria takes over now with Facebook tips.
3 Aspects of Successful Facebook Marketing
Grow > Engage > Monetize
Facebook benefits for marketers: 92% of fans say that since becoming a fan, they are more likely to recommend that brand to their friends. 36% say that their desire to buy from the brand increased, after becoming a fan. 90% trust their friends, and only 33% trust online ads.
3 phases:
Phase 1: GROW
This is the time to grow your existing audience and build it up by obtaining fans. Use cross-promotions with your current newsletter and website. The idea is to encourage your existing base to become fans, and be sure to give them a reason to do so. Offer a prize, deal, or exclusive content to them. Encourage them to spread the word. Another way to acquire fans is with Facebook ads. 75% say they learned about a fan page because of an ad.
How to run effective Facebook ads:
1. Give them a reason to click.
2. Don’t drive people outside of facebook.
3. Advertise to friends of fans. Everyone who sees your ad will see that their own friends like your brand, right there on the ad.
4. A/B test and keep it fresh. For example, faces and beautiful scenes will usually work better than large crowds with indistiguishable faces on images, but testing will let you know what works and what doesn’t. CTR drops if people see the same ad over and over again, so use new images and new copy often.
Promotion: The #1 reason people become fans is to get deals, giveaways, contests, etc. Companies that run contests have twice as many fans as companies that don’t.
How to run effective promotions:
1. Simple, simple, simple – dont make them work hard to enter. Use short entry forms.
2. Consider how to make it social. Group deals, etc. make them want to share it. Normal sweepstakes aren’t social, because they won’t want to share with friends, as that will reduce their chances of winning. But if you give 2 prizes – a winner and a referral prize, then it becomes important to share with friends. Another idea: give a group prize (tickets to them and the 4 friends they share with).
3. Tap into their interests and passions. They’ll share something that expresses something about their persona. Run campaigns about sports, hobbies, pets, etc., They’ll share it more because it taps into their passions or causes. Have them share to have you donate to a charity. They’ll feel good about sharing for that.
Phase 2: ENGAGE
Facebook newsfeed: Communicate with your audience; tell fans what you want them to do. The algo only shows your posts to some of your fans, so the more engagement you get from your fans, the more the algo will show your posts to more of your fans.
Engagement means getting people to comment on or like your posts.
Ask Questions to get comments. Tell them about a sweepstakes, but in the same post, ask them a question about it. Keep it simple – yes/no, or just a few words to answer.
Ask for Likes. Example: “If you think this video is interesting, click the like button.”
Quality posts are better than quantity of posts. Even if one post gets 500 comments, if a bunch of the previous posts got very little engagement, the algo will factor in all those that didn’t do well and won’t show your future posts to as many fans.
Make fan pages better with deals, entertainment, and exclusivity. Also tie interesting content to holidays as well.
Phase 3: MONETIZE
Make the buying process fun and social, which is consistent with why they are on Facebook in the first place.
Example One: Instead of a boring coupon campaign, give it a fun element. For example, you could make the coupon a mystery, where they have to become a fan before they can see what kind of coupon they “win”. Make the campaign short, so there is a sense of urgency.
Example Two: Group deals.
Example Three: In-store giveaways. If a fan comes into the real-world store, they’ll get something small for free. This gets them into the store, and they almost always buy something else as well.
Presentation is over, now we’re on to Q&A:
Q: Do contests bring more or less loyal fans?
A: Over 95% are more likely to recommend and buy from a brand when they are introduced to your brand through a contest. Loyalty is increased because of this kind of introduction. Target your contest carefully to those who are likely to be interested in your product. Make the prize relevant to your product/service, so you attract the right new customers.
Q: Is this really right for B2B?
A: B2B generally will get less fans, but can still be very successful with a smaller, but targeted fan base. However, if your audience is only 50 companies world-wide, then you’re probably better off with a sales force, but if your business can sell to many business around the world, then Facebook is a good way to reach out to that diverse audience.
They ended with how to use Wildfire apps and Hubspot. Wildfire apps use a wizard, leading you step by step to get the campaign going. Most apps charge per campaign, and can be as low as 99 cents per day. Hubspot has a suite of marketing tools, such as software to blog, build forms, landing pages, seo tools, email marketing, analytics, etc. all in one marketing system.
Final thoughts from Donna, Anna, and Sarah:
Donna: This was great information, and follows right along with the kinds of information I keep up with on a daily basis. Much of it went into more detail in some areas that I haven’t previously focused on, so it was great to get that extra education.
Sarah: I thought the webinar was very interesting and it is always nice to hear something repeated to validate what it is that we do here on a daily basis!
Anna: I thought that the webinar was interesting. It confirmed the shift that is happening in marketing/advertising I had sensed coming. It was helpful to hear how to communicate this information to businesses in a way that is not intimidating but very straight forward and attainable for them. Ties into the needs that I feel BlitzLocal is trying to offer to its clients…very exciting.
Posted in Learning Center | No Comments »
March 3rd, 2011
UpScale Plus and UpScale Princess
3890 Kipling Street
(39th & Kipling)
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
Phone: (303) 420.5423
Email: christine@upscaleplus.com
Contact: Christine Metzger
christine@upscaleplus.com
(303) 420.5423
Websites: www.upscaleplus.com and www.upscaleprincess.com
An interview with Christine Metzer, owner of Upscale Plus and UpScale Princess, a local business in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
Company name: UpScale Plus and UpScale Princess
Location: 39th & Kipling in Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. We’re a suburb of Denver.
Website: UpScale Plus (www.upscaleplus.com) for plus sizes 14w-28w and UpScale Princess (www.upscaleprincess.com) for ladies sizes 6-16.
Years in business: Since 1993
Motto: “If you can’t lose it, decorate it!”
Describe your business in 50 words or less: A nurturing atmosphere for all size women to add to their wardrobe or find the “cash in their closet” Have fun trying on clothing, jewelry, handbags, shoes in like-new condition where we sell Cherry Creek brands for Kohl’s pricing.
What are your areas of specialty? From plus to ladies sizes
What’s your competitive advantage? We are Denver’s oldest and largest plus size consignment shop. We began doing smaller sizes (6-16) in 2009 because of customer request.
What’s the most unusual thing that ever happened to you at your business? An ex-Denver Bronco wife came in and sold all of her Bronco paraphenalia.
What’s the biggest misconception about consignment? That its the same as thrift. Items are accepted here according to our guidelines which means we got a whole lotta good stuff – not someone’s unwanted items.
What do you do when not running your business? Taking care of other businesses, or reading my Nook.
Where can we get more information?
Call me (303) 420-5423.
Email me: christine@upscaleplus.com
Facebook me: UpScale Plus
Come by and pick up a brochure.
Visit our web sites: www.upscaleplus.com or www.upscaleprincess.com.
Is there anything you’d like to add? We love new consignors and are very helpful if you’ve never consigned anywhere before. If you consign here, you can consign anywhere.
Tags: Colorado, consignment, local business, plus sizes, upscale, women's clothing
Posted in Business of the Week | No Comments »
