by David Brown
SEO Consultant
Facebook is getting creative with a more user friendly option to promote a wider reach of posts beyond the primary fans news feed. At the time of this blog, they are testing three names and will most likely use the one that has the best response after the initial market test.
To use this as your own market test, plan a post that is designed to be engaging. A positive community event and link to the local newspaper's online page may be more engaging than a promotion of your own service or product. You are competing with a busy news feed and the image that comes up with the link should also be engaging as well as the topic.
What are the most engaging types of posts?
- Facebook Offers. Post an image of a coupon that people can print out and bring into your business. Some people may share this with their friends - to go to your page to get the coupon. . Saving money usually always gets the attention of fans or their friends. Consider a free giveaway. Bring the contest image kin for a drawing and when they bring it into your business put their name and phone number on it so they can be notified if they win.
- Photos and Videos. Eye-catching photos or graphics, even with some text embedded in the image can get a stronger response. Photos with people in them provide a better possible response rate. So place the post as text inside the image and have it be engaging.
- Questions. If you post a community good news or any post, consider asking a question. A question invites response and engages the reader. If worded in a way that let's people know that you value their feedback they will respond more favorably. Asking questions encourages interaction and tells people that their opinions matter. Watch the comments and respond as needed.
After the post is run watch the Insights in your admin panel to see if there is a real "boost" in the metrics of fans and their friends. If there is a noticeable boost then the market test could be used as a regular marketing strategy.
You have a spend choice on how much you want to spend and what the reach will be. The default is $15.00, but it can be lowered to a $5.00 minimum.
Combine all three of the above and leverage the engagement.
After the post is run watch the Insights in your admin panel to see if there is a real "boost" in the metrics of fans and their friends. If there is a noticeable boost then the market test could be used as a regular marketing strategy.
You have a spend choice on how much you want to spend and what the reach will be. The default is $15.00, but it can be higher or lowered to a $5.00 minimum.
You have a choice of only people who have liked your page and their friends, or anyone on Facebook.
After the "promoted post" ran for a few days there was noticeable bump in likes and one nice comment.
Of course results will depend on your post and your fans, but a small market test will provide excellent insights for a larger spend using the same post later.
Now that the test is almost over, I can look at other spend amounts. This is a great value compared to most advertising budgets and can be used to see what posts pull more likes. Here's the choices in the drop down menu. Reach 6600 for $45.00? That might be my next move to see what happens.
Visit the Facebook fan page where this is happening, become a fan, and watch what types of posts we use for ideas. Long's Meat Market, Eugene, Oregon
David Brown
Webmaster, SEO Consultant
Logion Web Design
www.logion.net
541-953-3360
