Marketing on Facebook is fast becoming one of the most popular methods of advertising a business, but how do you go about this if you don’t know all that much about advertising in the first place? Is it enough to simply type out a quick message to your fans online? Should you be investing in paid advertising? The more you know about marketing via this medium, the easier your choices will become.

Marketing Effectively With Facebook

Become Someone’s Friend

First and foremost, when you are choosing to advertise via Facebook, you need to use this platform to reach out to people. Social media was first and foremost a way to stay connected with people that you know and possibly even to make new friends, and so this shouldn’t change just because the page is being used for business purposes; in fact, that’s the point, isn’t it? Before you put in any time or effort advertising to the public, you need to make sure that when they arrive on your page, they will “like” your business and this will eventually lead to a sense of brand loyalty, if you take the right steps.

Traditional Advertising

You don’t need to advertise on a billboard to get peoples’ attention; these days, you can market via Facebook and you will reach the same number of people, possibly even more.

Megan Marrs explains it this way;

Facebook offers its own form of advertising with Facebook ads, which appear in the side columns of the Facebook site. These classic ads are referred to more specifically as Marketplace Ads.

This option is a great way to get exposure for your business and it is much more effective because this sort of advertising is targeted based on factors such as education, age, location and even interests. Another big benefit is that you can set a budget so that you don’t spend more than you have on these sorts of advertisements.

Contests

In recent months, you have most likely seen an increase in contests taking place via Facebook; many of these give people the chance to win something advertised by the business. It should be noted, however, that it is against Facebook regulation to host a competition on Facebook itself in exchange for “likes”, for example, which is why people often need to make use of third party apps to run their competitions.

Offer Coupons Online

Whether you are advertising a store, restaurant or even a spa, a great way to get people interested in your business, the experts at Social Media Examiner state, is to;

Offer an incentive that drives foot traffic-offer a coupon or discount deal on a tab. To get even more long-term marketing value, integrate an email opt-in with the special offer.

You need to give people a reason to interact with your Facebook page, other than telling them how great your product or service is. With so much marketing already being thrown at people, they are not likely going to willingly submit themselves to even more without a good reason for doing so.

Word Of Mouth Via Facebook

Ask any business owner and they will tell you that the cheapest, most effective method of advertising is via word of mouth and Facebook is taking this to a whole new level with sponsored stories. These stories are created when people interact on Facebook, and they are shown on their news-feed for all of their friends to see.

Marketing on Facebook has changed the face of advertising, and this means that people need to get to know this whole industry all over again. Still, the ease with which you can market via the social platform means that laymen can be just as successful as professionals in advertising to the public, as long as they know how it is done.

Squeeze pages are able to generate a lot of business if they are set up correctly, but some people find it tricky getting this right. If it is set up incorrectly, this isn’t only ineffective in driving business to your company, but it could actually hurt the reputation of your business in the long run. There are a few tips that can help people in setting up their squeeze pages more effectively so that they can continue using them to their advantage while the owner of a business sits back and reaps the rewards.

Effective Squeeze Page

Choose Your Heading Well

The heading is the first thing that a potential customer will look at when they come across your squeeze page, so it should actually be one of the best things about this page.

According to Siddarthrajsekar.com, the heading is so important because;

This alone will determine if your visitors will even continue reading your text.

Because of this, every effort needs to go into ensuring that the heading is so captivating that a person simply cannot do anything other than read on. The information that you add to the heading will then determine whether a potential clients provides you with their email, but until then, you need to pay attention to capturing their interest and keeping it long enough so that they dedicate themselves to reading the rest.

Power Your Text with Emotion

Most of the decisions that people make in their everyday lives are powered by emotion, and it is no different when it comes to making decisions about a business. Most experts recommend that you place your text in bullet points, instead of in paragraphs when you start writing out your squeeze page so that people can get through this quickly and make a fast decision about whether or not to provide you with their email address. The main aim of the bullet points is to inform a potential customer why they should provide you with their email address, and if you focus on capturing their attention in the emotional sense, they’ll pay more attention to what you have to say.

Provide Problems and Solutions

The outline of any squeeze is to identify problems that people tend to face, whether this is in their everyday lives or in a business sense, and then provide solutions to these issues. Basically, the first part of the page should capture someone’s attention because they relate to the issues, while the second needs to hold their focus and convince them to provide you with their email address because you’ve listed solutions to these issues that make sense to them.

Freebies

People love freebies, whether they are something as small as a tube of toothpaste or the chance to enter into a prize to win a car. If you really want to grab someone’s interest, you might want to include a freebie on your squeeze page; this means you’ll be getting something in return for giving something away, and most potential customers will consider this sort of transaction to be fair. As the experts at Eric’s Tips put it;

The download page for your freebie can be monetized with offers for your own product(s) and with affiliate links.

If an affiliate is giving away a prize, all the better, because this means you won’t be footing the bill.

Email Is King

People might not sign up for RSS feeds easily, or like a page through their Facebook without carefully considering the pros and cons, but most will be willing to provide companies with their email addresses as long as they know this address will be safe. Ritoban Chakrabarti puts it simply;

Internet users can overlook Facebook posts, Tweets, and even RSS updates, but everyone checks their email.

These types of contacts can be very valuable to a business when they are used correctly. Some experts even refer to list of emails obtained in this way, “the money”. Most marketers prefer having email subscribers over Facebook fans, because ultimately, they tend to be more active customers.

Keep It Simple

People will most likely only take a couple of minutes to decide whether or not they want to become a subscriber, so if they come across a squeeze page that is difficult to navigate, or indeed complicated in the least, they might very well give up on trying to figure it out and people can end up losing a lot of potential business in the process. As Jason Fox puts it;

Focus on simplicity. The page doesn’t need complex design elements or large chunks of texts. The navigation should remain simple, as well. Visitors should know what to do as soon as they get to the page.

Trying to be too original or unique could end up causing you to fail at what you were actually trying to achieve.

Don’t Be Too Promotional

The basic premise of a squeeze page is to capture a person’s interest so that they make the decision to learn more by subscribing. If you are too promotional, you could end up losing their interest before you’ve really captured it, so don’t fall into this all too common trap. Focus on keeping things simple and getting a simple message across rather than trying to include your entire business plan in the page; this should work much better for you in the long run.

Make Use of Different Mediums

While many people stick to wording when they’re in the process of coming up with a squeeze page, there are a variety of mediums that work just as well for people who are looking to reach out to potential clients. Why not make use of images, video or even audio as you go about trying to sell an idea or concept; after all, these can be a lot more entertaining than just straightforward text.

Squeeze pages can be very effective methods of advertising, but you need to ensure you tackle them in the right manner. Always keep the aim of these pages in mind as you go about taking care of everything from the layout to the wording, as this will help prevent you from steering off course in the meantime.

The rise of the e-book has created an entirely novel market for writers of all kinds, and yet while many people might write a great story, this doesn’t mean they know how to market a product effectively. Most well known, published authors have entire publishing houses backing their books, advertising their novels and generally marketing their name, image and story, but if you want to market your e-book, you’ll most likely be working on your home. Advertising effectively isn’t just possible, however, it is straightforward when you know how it is done and it can greatly increase your sales when the time comes to begin reaping the rewards of your hard work.

Sell Your Kindle Book Like A Pro

Encourage Reviews on Amazon

Very few people are going to be interested in reading a book published by someone who is unknown in the field of fiction, or even nonfiction, particularly if no one has read the book, which is why one of the first things that you need to do to get your book off the ground is create some buzz. Professionals create buzz by having well known critiques read the books and publish reviews in very popular periodicals, but if you don’t have the money or the connections to have this service done, you need to get more creative. Start off by having someone read the book and post a review on Amazon. Once you have got the ball rolling, encourage others to do the same. According to the contributors of Krishnade.com, it might also be helpful providing a preview to potential customers, since;

A preview of your book which includes endorsements, the chapters of your book and a sample of your book gives your potential reader confidence in what they will be investing in.

Write a Great Book

You can’t sell a book that you don’t believe in, and it is next to impossible to market something that is poorly written. Before you invest in advertising an e-book, take the time to actually write something worthwhile. Tim Ferris says that you shouldn’t use this e-book to decide if you are good at writing, or whether you enjoy it. If you want to find out whether or not you are committed, start out by actually detailing the book so that you know what you are going to write before you jump into the book. He describes it simply;

Create a detailed outline of the entire eBook. Map everything out, from the introduction to the concluding paragraph. You should have a thorough outline detailing the style, tone and content of each chapter.

Only once you have a good start should you then proceed to writing the book; if you can’t finish this first step, you’ll most likely not have the time and dedication to finish the book. This doesn’t mean you can’t sell e-books, however, all it means is that you might want to outsource the project.

Choose a Good Title

People tend to pay attention to titles before they decide whether or not to purchase a book, so you need to focus on your title before you market your novel. You might want to take some time to go through the titles of some of the most popular books within your niche market so that you can compare them to your own ideas; if yours don’t match up, take some time to come up with a title that will.

Why Should People Read the Book ?

If you’re not sure why people should read an e-book, you won’t have a clue how to go about marketing it, so make this one of the first and foremost questions in your mind before you start coming up with an advertising campaign.

Marketing a kindle book can be a tricky task to undertake, but with some guidance, every effort you put in will be rewarded with positive results, and this makes it worth doing it right.

As a business, having a presence on Facebook is integral, particularly if you want to ensure that you have a way to reach out to your current customers, as well as make yourself known to many more potential clients. It can be slightly daunting finding yourself trying to navigate the ins and outs of this social media site if you don’t have the expertise of a professional to guide you along the way, which is why it might be a good idea to start out by determining whether you need a page or a profile when you sign up. The last thing you’ll want to do is publish a profile only to find out later that you’ve put all your hard work into the wrong option, so being aware of this from the beginning is a good idea.

Converting A Facebook Profile Into A Page

It Started as a Profile

Michelle Stinson explains that in the past, businesses had to choice other than to sign up for a profile on Facebook when it began, because pages hadn’t been created yet, but this has all changed. The problem, however, is that many businesses haven’t made the transition, and more are signing up for profiles without considering how they are going to affect their companies. As Ross puts it;

Over the years the connections have brought success, so there is little motivation to change a good thing. Lots of small business owners have only had time and energy to learn their way around a profile, so they stick with what they know and understand when it comes to their Facebook presence.

There are a range of issues that a professional might have to deal with if they stick to a profile instead of a page, however, and so it is definitely worth finding out a bit more about the differences between the two.

Violating Terms and Conditions

If you’ve signed up for Facebook, you’ll have accepted the terms and conditions that were required when you created your profile, but the chances are good that you didn’t actually read them. If you had gone through each and every one, you will most likely have realized that maintaining a personal account for a business is in violation of this agreement, and if you don’t make the switch, Facebook could end up shutting your profile down without any warning. This means that you will lose out on all of the hard work that you put in and there is nothing you can do about it afterwards. The company created Facebook pages for “commercial gain”, according to the user agreement, which means that businesses only have that option when it comes to setting up their accounts.

If you only have a profile and you’re looking for a way to make the switch, you will most likely be happy to know that there is a way to accomplish this. Not only will you be able to retain your username, but you will also be able to keep your connections in place. It will take a few minutes to make the conversion, but it will be worth your while to do so.

Tracking the Effectiveness of Your Page

A business constantly needs to review its effectiveness when it comes to anything from advertising to customer service, and while the Facebook pages provide people with the information they need to do this, profiles don’t. For example, visiting the “insights” section will help you determine what types of reactions you received from your various posts and allow you the chance to make each one more effective than the last.

If you are looking for some insight into your target market, you can use this data to determine who your “biggest fans” are, and even break down this information by location, gender and age. Remember, the more you know about your fans, the more effective your future advertisements will be.

Delete Duplicate Pages

If you suddenly find yourself with a Facebook page and profile, both in your business name, delete the profile. As Jon Loomer explains it;

That’s confusing!

You can merge the two profiles together so that you don’t lose important contacts or information, but you’ll need to learn how to accomplish this before you make the switch. Remember, everything you do should be for the benefit of your clients, so if you think that they will find something unpleasant or confusing, you will most likely want to take measures to fix it.

Make Your Business Visible

The entire point of establishing a presence on a social media site like Facebook is so that your business can become more visible to potential clients, as well as to existing customers. The pages on this site are optimized so that Google can display them as part of their search results, but this isn’t the case with profiles. The experts of Terra Ferma Media explain it this way;

Surely you would like as many potential customers as possible to find your company online wouldn’t you? Using a personal page to promote your company is hindering your chances.

Remember, with so much competition on the net, the last thing you’ll want is to be left behind because you made a simple mistake, particularly because some small adjustments can really make all of the difference.

People Will Share More Information with You

If you are using a personal page for a business, you might be turning customers off from sharing their information with you, and this is exactly the opposite of what you want. Customers see pages as being more professional, so they “like” and comment on these much more often than personal pages, or even groups. If you are looking to gain the trust of more and more clients, you need to know how they think and use this information to your advantage.

Facebook can help a business in a variety of ways, but it can also hinder a company from progressing if it isn’t used correctly. If you want to make this site work for you, be sure to take the steps that will help you make the most of the work you put in, rather than hinder your business from finding success.

Facebook marketing is a very effective method of connecting with potential customers and generally getting a foot in the door with regards to building a successful company, but just like any other type of marketing, you need to use it correctly. If you think that all it takes to advertise on this platform is setting up a page and asking people to like it, you aren’t only mistaken; you could end up causing people to have a negative reaction to your business, and that’s the last thing you want.

Facebook MarketingFacebook Marketing

Pay-Per-Click Advertising

If you are going to use Facebook marketing to your advantage, you’ll want to start out by getting to know your options as far as advertising is concerned. Certain options are more cost effective than others, but this will depend on how well known your business is, how much money you have to put into your campaigns and what kind of response you are looking to get from your advertisements. Pay-Per-Click advertising is very popular at the moment because it is easy and effective.

Karl Monson explains;

The easiest place to start is with Facebook Pay-Per-Click Advertising, you only get charged when someone clicks on your ad.

This means that only those individuals who have an interest in your business will be inclined to actually click on the ads, and this will give you a higher ROI, or return on investment. One of the best ways to make sure that you get the most of your PPC advertising is to target certain geographical areas; this means only those customers within a certain location will come into contact with your ads.

Make It Short And Sweet

No one wants to read a sales letter just to find out what you are trying to sell them. In fact, if you can’t capture their attention with a couple of words, you’re doing it all wrong. The experts of Pixpa have this to suggest;

So much is being posted in real time on the wall that you barely have a fraction of a second to grab attention. So, do spend some time figuring out what do you want to say and how to do you want to say it.

You can use images to say a lot of the things that you just don’t have the time to get across, and they actually work much faster in capturing the attention of potential clients.

Nurture Relationships

The whole point of having a Facebook account is so that you can interact with other people, so don’t ignore this facet of your social media page. Put aside ten or twenty minutes a day so that you can read through messages and reply to people who have been contacting you on your page; as you send messages in return, this will encourage others to do the same thing.

Make People Feel Included

If you are advertising a ballgame, for instance, you might only invite individuals who you are fairly certain will be able to make it to the game, but this alienates an entire potential customer base who will feel left out because they didn’t get an invite. At first, potential customers will most likely stand at the sidelines and not interact with a business much, but include them anyway because in time, all of this might change.

Never Stop Learning

Facebook might only be a handful of years old, but it is constantly evolving and this means that advertisers need to stay on top of all these changes. Don’t assume that a current trend is going to be around 6 months from now; keep updating your knowledge about how to go about marketing on this platform and you won’t be left out in the dark when it comes to the most effective methods of advertising online.