Riding the Facebook Wave to Marketing Success

Everybody’s on Facebook! Indeed, the current estimated number of users has reached 400 million (and counting) – and these are only the active users. By “active users” we mean the users that are (to some degree) involved in updating their status and commenting on other friends’ updates. This also means that they post pictures and join in discussions. They may even have their own grandly designed farms and coffee shops.

And businesses have recognized just how powerful a platform Facebook is. That is why everyone is trying to get a share of this pie by way of Facebook promotions. And the power of “word of mouth” – or in this case, “click if you like it” or “show this on my Facebook feed” is tremendous. We can’t help but join contests to win a free trip or a DLSR camera, especially if one friend has already signed up or “liked” the promotion.

Facebook’s Take on Promotions

Due to the number of fake promotions and hoaxes, Facebook has set up a number of rules. This process of setting up the rules is still a work in progress. Also, the guidelines are primarily for those who are running sweepstakes-style promos and contests. (“Sweepstakes” are games of chance while a “contest” is based on one’s skill.) Trivia quizzes, giveaways, coupons and surveys are exempted from these rules.

As of November 2010, all promotions and contests given on Facebook should be delivered using a third-party app on the Facebook platform – the App must be approved by Facebook. One doesn’t need permission from the Facebook authorities to promote a contest (but it does if one administers the contest on Facebook). One also doesn’t need to meet a specified minimum ad spend on Facebook.

There are also certain kinds of businesses that are not allowed to use Facebook for promotions. You are not allowed to have promotions where minors and citizens of countries that are undergoing U.S. embargo can freely join. Facebook also does not allow promotions where people are required to buy the seller’s product first or that give guns, alcohol, drugs or tobacco as prizes.

Facebook Promotions Tips

So, now that we have the basic rules Facebook has on promotions out of the way, here are some strategies and tips to help ensure that your Facebook promotion is a success.

Build momentum. Understand that your promotion may take time to take off. So you need patience to continue with the promotion even if you don’t see any significant effects on the first few days the promotion is run. The key is to be able to build up a fan base.

Be creative. With so many things bombarding a Facebook user, you have to stand out to get noticed. There are two ways that can work – the humorous way or the “information source” method. You can run a contest or promotion that is unique and funny. One example would be a storage company’s “Messiest Garage” contest, where the winners are those who have won the most votes for having the most cluttered and unorganized garage. The prize, of course, would be several months’ free storage rental. Or, Southwest Airlines’ “Fans Fly Free” raffle. Facebook can also be used extensively by daily-deal sites to notify fans of the newest deals. One “controversial” promotion is Burger King’s Whopper Sacrifice – which gave away a whopper if one “unfriends” ten of his friends. The promotion was eventually cut down by Facebook because of violations of promotion guidelines.

Avoid spam. Nothing is more irritating than spam and having to deal with spam on Facebook is not an exception. Facebook will be the first one that will act to put a stop to this – and if Facebook gets wind of violations, you may find yourself summarily kicked out of Facebook.

Reach out to your fans. If you can try to interact with fans on a one-to-one basis. Build a rapport with every new fan that comes your way. Making the extra effort to build a connection with fans may very well be the start of a lasting relationship.

Entertain and Inform. Don’t use your newsfeeds only for announcements and promotions. You should tell a funny anecdote or joke (that is related to your business) or provide an information update. You can also share a relevant and interesting quote or statistic. This gives your fans something to look forward to and adds another level of interaction you have with your customers.

Use incentives such as coupons. Of course, it depends on your business. Coupons and other incentives help to drive customers back into your website to make purchases. You just need to be creative in formulating these incentives and be willing to experiment until you find the right incentive for your customers.

Adaptivity Pro and Your Promotions

If you’re thinking of doing a promotion or campaign on Facebook, you can look to Adaptivity Pro for assistance. Adaptivity Pro is a Salt Lake City Utah Web Design and Utah SEO firm. It also provides copywriting services and drafting of strategies for promotions, such as in Facebook.

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Daily Deal Site Marketing

Who can resist the temptation of getting a good deal? Why pay the full price when you can actually shell out just a fraction of the cost? This is the driving force behind the success of daily deal sites that have cropped up – all offering the best deals for food, services, hotel accommodations, massages, and so much more. As one daily-deal site (Wow.com) put it, they “offer up your bargain of choice… at an astronomically discounted price, helping you stretch your hard-earned dollar to infinity and beyond.” Who could say no to such a promise?

Ever since the phenomenal success of Groupon (a daily-deal site that has been valued at a whopping $1 billion), a lot of other daily-deal sites have cropped up like mushrooms. Aside from Groupon, some sites that have followed suit include Yelp, Living Social, Wow.com, Yipit, At Cost and so on.

How Do Daily Deal Sites Work?

The concept is basically simple. Most of these sites work by getting the customer’s location and emailing him with the newest and hottest deals in that location and nationwide. These deals are offered every day. For Groupon, the requirement is that there should be a minimum number of buyers for the deal to push through. There are also daily deal sites where the more people sign up, the bigger the discounts.

Other sites have similar approaches, with slight variations. But essentially, the customers are buying discount vouchers. Some sites also enable them to earn credit or points by inviting friends to join the site and buy into the deals.

As a merchant, daily deal sites can do wonders with drawing in customers to your business. This is done by posting your business’ deal offerings in the site. Usually, the site will target local subscribers specifically. A number of the daily deal sites will only require payment for every generated sale. There are also those that will charge for a percentage of the sales.

Local business owners may also benefit from other elements of a daily deal site: namely, easy purchase/distribution system (the customer can easily make an impulse buy and just charge it to his or her card), referral system and incentives, extensive use of social media such as Facebook, and vouchers that have expiry dates for use.

Will Daily Deals be good for your business?

The question is, is your business ready to jump into the daily-deal marketing strategy? Also, will it work for your business?

Let’s take a look at the advantages and the disadvantages.

Advantages of working with a daily-deal site:

-          Allows you to considerably direct foot traffic to your business. This is particularly helpful for small businesses that have yet to establish themselves and win a solid customer base. When compared with other advertising options, the return of investment in working with a daily-deal site ranks as one of the best.

-          Helps you win customers without considerable cost and effort on your end. Sites that have Cost Per Sale policies provide you with exposure and mileage even as you don’t have to shell out anything in upfront costs. Also, aside from providing you with very cost-effective advertising, these sites will require a little investment of time. All you need to do is create the offer, write the copy, design the online offer and set the limitations of the deal. The daily-deal site will do the rest for you.

-          Enables you to generate cash flow in a jiffy. Since daily deal sites end fairly quickly, you can easily generate cash if your deal offering turns out to be a success. You will certainly enjoy the cash flow that is raised in just a few days.

-          Allows you to study success of the deal offering since results are measurable. You can more easily determine how well your campaign is received by customers, something that other advertising options are not able to do (think TV ads, radio or print ads).

-          Increases your exposure and gain mileage in social networking sites. Get people to “like” you and “follow” you – in Facebook, Twitter and other similar sites, that is. People are quicker to click the “Like” button because of the deal you are offering. And the kind of exposure you get is exponential – people who see the deal may share it or re-tweet it to friends. This allows you to create more buzz regarding your business without spending a lot of bucks.

-          Helps you reach your desired customers. Mainly, people who join daily-deal sites are people who are ready to buy. They are internet savvy and are active online (as well as offline). They have the ability to share their experience about your business to their friends. This is the kind of customers you want to reach and retain.

Disadvantages of daily-deal sites

You should also be aware that there are disadvantages. Knowing these disadvantages can help you find a way to work around it.

-          Fewer profit per customer. Since you are already offering your products or services at a discount and there may be additional charges tacked on by the daily-deal site, you can potentially make far less than what you’d normally make had the sale had been generated in other ways.

-          Negative effect on the brand. Customers see your company in a certain way. Depending on your product, offering discounts may actually reduce your brand’s value in the customer’s minds – that you are somehow “inferior”. At the back of their minds, they may be thinking, “There may be something wrong with the product, since they are on sale.” Also, you may be lowering the price they are willing or expect to pay the next time they avail of your product. So, if you are offering a premium product or service, daily-deal sites may not be for you.

-          May give you customers you are ill-prepared to handle. Is your business ready to handle the influx of customers? If not, you may have a lot of dissatisfied customers in your hands. This will result in negative reviews which will hurt your business. There may be issues of overbooking and a decline in service levels.

-          May give your customers the wrong mindset. The thinking is, they’re there to enjoy their savings. This will mean that they will go to your business to redeem their deal and not spend for other items you have. For restaurants, this can also mean lower tips for your waiters.

-          Pressure to maintain exposure and retain customers. The exposure you have with daily-deal sites may be a double-edged sword. How do you maintain the interest of your customers after the deal? How will you ensure that your customers remember you and their experience with your business?

-          Reduced employee morale. With more customers (who tend to tip less), your employees with have more work.

Additional tips

Now, having seen the advantages and disadvantages of daily-deal sites, here are some things to remember if you want to work with daily-deals sites.

-          Work with the right sites. There are a number of daily-deal sites that cover a niche – determine if reaching these niches is also fit for your business. You also need to make sure that the sites have a good reputation so that you can protect yourself and the image of the company when the daily-deal site “misbehaves”. Also look for sites that have a considerable following.

-          Offer reasonable packages. Don’t yield to the temptation of giving “offer your customers can’t resist”. This may actually cost you more by way of lost profit.

-          Make the offer time-sensitive and set restrictions. If you don’t have a time limit for redemption, the vouchers will tend to just stay inside the customer’s wallet. Also, make sure that the customers understand the conditions and the fine print so that they fully understand what they’re buying and what they can expect.

-          Avoid having deal offerings too close to each other. The customer will just think, “I’ll wait for the next offer.”

-          Don’t sell too much of one deal offering. You may find yourself overbooked. Only sell what you can handle.

-          Follow customers up and provide great customer service. This will help keep your customers coming back to you so that you strengthen your customer base. The customers will come back if they are satisfied with what you had to offer – and they’ll be paying in full the next time!

How Adaptivity Pro can help

It takes a strong understanding of what makes daily-deals tick and how you can “make it tick” for your business. Adaptivity Pro can help you set up your daily-deal, as well as analyzing the success of the offer. Adaptivity Pro is a Salt Lake City web design company. It also deals with Utah SEO, Utah PPC marketing, copywriting and blog content services.

Adaptivity Pro is committed to providing more results (in terms of leads, traffic and of course, revenue) and websites and blogs put up in very little time.

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Marketing Ideas to “Like” on Facebook

Who else isn’t on Facebook? The popularity of this social networking site provides great potential that a savvy marketer can harness. After all, Facebook is one of the most visited sites in the world, second only to Google. Although Facebook is primarily a place where friends and associates can connect and get tabs on each other’s lives (via status updates, photos, etc.), you can also use Facebook to make connections to customers and help promote awareness and support for your business or brand.

The thing is, building a Facebook page for your business does not guarantee success. You don’t simply post a promotion and hope that people will come and “like” you. You have to give your promotions a bit of a push so that people will see it and share it with their friends. The key element in marketing through Facebook is having a definite strategy that will actively target customers and work to promote the exposure of your brand/company.

Here are some marketing ideas or tips for you to remember when you’re marketing on Facebook:

• No hard-sell sales pitches. Facebook is a social networking site and people will not view you to kindly if you come in to pitch your product. What you need to be doing is attraction marketing – drawing Facebook users into your site because you are offering rewards, something entertaining or something informative.
• Create an interesting profile. Fill up the bio, and regularly post wall status updates and photos. What you need is to have sincere and genuine participation. The bio will tell others about you and what you do. The regular updates will give you regular exposure to your market, if these allow your updates to come into their newsfeeds. You should also avoid looking too “corporate” – instead your profile should aim to show that your business is focused on its customers and that customers can come to ask questions or make complaints and expect a ready answer.
• Create a Fan Page and build your fan-base. Fan pages let others “like” your page by building a solid fan base. You can start by messaging your existing Facebook friends about your new Facebook profile. You can also use bonuses, discount coupons or a free e-book that Facebook users can get if they “like” your page. Once you have a fan-base, make sure that your profile content is always fresh, interesting and informative. For your Facebook updates, mix fun facts with your regular corporate news. Initiate discussions with your fans and get them involved, while letting them feel that they are important to your business. Work to ensure that your updates appear on your fans’ newsfeed since this is also another way to promote your page to other Facebook users.
• Create quality content. There’s what is called the 80/20 rule, where 80% of your content should be personal or instructional, with only 20% subtly speaking about your products. Post articles in your Facebook blog, as well as your other blogs (if you have these). Post a message that is valuable to the reader – whether it entertains or educates the readers. This can encourage readers to go to your website, where you can provide more information about the value of your product.
• Maintain the interest of your fans. Think up of ways to keep your fans involved and interested in your Facebook Fan page and your brand. You can make use of games, competitions, raffles, promotions and polls to maintain your fans’ interests. Be creative! Remember, the more entertaining the entries, the more chances that it will go viral – with existing fans sharing your link to others and saying, “Hey, look at this great stuff!” or “Hey, this is too funny you have to watch this.”

Some examples of promos/competitions include:

- For a self-storage unit: a contest for the top three messiest and cramped garages. Contestants will be asked to post photos of their garage and have friends like their photos. This makes great viral content, as contestants (and supporters) will post requests on their Facebook page, asking other friends to vote for his entry.

- Oreo Cookies: a bid to set a Guinness Book of World records for the “most number of likes in Facebook within 24 hours”. This keeps Facebook fans interested and involved.

- Target: a contest where college students use products found in Target to decorate their room.

- A local mall: Facebook contest of who has the best Halloween costume.

- News site: Offer of access exclusive to “Facebook fans only” or access to content that is not displayed in the website.

- For a clothing line: Competition on the best styling using the products or displaying pictures of fans that use the products. The promotion could also include content regarding fashion do’s and don’ts, as well as product galleries that fans can view, like and comment about.

- Other promotions may include discount vouchers, games and apps and freebies.

Of course, you have to think about what it the best promotion for your kind of business. When you have a promotion, post messages to your fan base: at the beginning of the promotion, during the promotion and a few days before the promotion is about to end.

One other avenue to explore is making use of videos on YouTube. This can help attract traffic to your Facebook page and eventually to your website. A classic example of a successful use of YouTube would be the “Will It Blend” videos by BlendTec, which went viral due to the fact that the videos were about trying to blend all kinds of stuff using the company’s blender. If your videos are compelling and interesting enough, your fans will be the one to spread the word for you.

• Link events offsite to your Facebook profile. Send event notifications and invites that fans can respond to. You can set up events such as parties or workshops about matters related to your business.
• Provide support. This includes other social networking sites such as Twitter, as well as your own company website. To ensure added visibility, you also should make use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques.

These are just some tips on how you can market using Facebook. If you want help in promoting your product, building your website and generating traffic, Adaptivity Pro is here to provide top-notch support, which includes providing Utah SEO-rich content. Adaptivity Pro is a SEO and Salt Lake City Web Design firm located in Salt Lake City. They have extensive experience in providing quality websites that are search-engine friendly and professionally designed.

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Social Media Optimization Google Analytics Filter

As social media marketing becomes more prominent for internet marketers one challenge is to determine how to track success of a social campaign. One easy way to gain some insight into your social media marketing campaigns is to setup a specific campaign in Google Analytics to track traffic from these sites. This will give you insight after you push social strategies online if they are bringing in more traffic to your website or not. Google Analytics already tracks visits from social sites but you can easily setup some filters to put them all together in one campaign so you can see the overall health of your social strategies without having to look at them individually.

Follow these steps in Google Analytics so setup social media marketing filters:

1. Click on ‘edit’ to the right of your website profile on the main login screen.
2. Click on ‘Add Filter’ in the ‘Filters’ section on the next screen.
3. Name the filter something like ‘Social Media Grouping’
4. Select ‘Custom filter’ as the ‘filter type’
5. Select ‘Advanced’ from the radio button options list
6. *In ‘Field A -> Extract A’ select ‘Campaign Source and enter the social media marketing sites you want to capture in the text box, see below for more information
7. ~In ‘Output To -> Constructor’ select ‘Campaign Medium’ or ‘Campaign Name’ and enter ‘social’ in the text box, see below for more information
8. Leave the rest of the ‘yes/no’ boxes as-is and save the filter
9. You will have to wait 24 hours to start seeing the traffic being filter in the manner you just setup

* Note: for convenience sake you can copy paste this text to add some of the most prominent social type sites on the internet to your filter: twitter.com|facebook.com|myspace.com|flickr.com|linkedin.com|Wordpress.com|blogspot.com|youtube.com|stumbleupon.com

~Note: this will change the ‘campaign medium’ from ‘referral’ to ‘social’. There is one drawback to this as you will not be able to see the referring website url from traffic coming from your tagged social media marketing websites anymore. There is an alternative to this. Instead of marking the campaign medium as ‘social’ you can mark the ‘campaign name’ as social. Then to see your social traffic you will have to go to ‘traffic sources’ -> ‘referring sites’ -> select a site -> filter by ‘campaign name’ to see your ‘social’ traffic.

Screenshot 1: Setting up the filter

Google Analytics Social Filter (above)

Screenshot 2: Viewing Social Site Traffic

Social Filter Website Traffic Screen

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Use Facebook Advertising for Awesome Online Marketing Insight

One major advertising advantage Facebook has over Google adwords and other ppc platforms is that Facebook has access to real demographic and user preference data that few other systems contain.  Since a user of Facebook enters in their demographic information and have the access to join groups and note their personal preferences this data is real; not assumed like other platforms.While I have not yet tried Facebook advertising yet for any of my clients (I am planning to this week though) I have heard that it is not super effective.  Hopefully with the recent changes they have made it will become more effective.   In the end it will depend on the industry you are in if Facebook can deliver value or not.  This is a whole other story though.

There is something you can utilize right now on Facebook without actually sending them a dime that can be of great assistance to your marketing efforts online, offline, etc.  When you create an ad you can choose different options of who you want to target your ads to on Facebook.   Through process of elimination you can gain some valuable insights of your target audience through this simple system.  For example – lets say you are a camping gear manufacturer and you think hikers are usually interested in camping as well – you are considering advertising in a hiking magazine for your company.  You could narrow your search down to those who are interested in hiking then AND camping with this method.  The results are as follows:

47,469,140  – Total U.S. Facebook users
980,840 – Those who have an interest in camping
1,036,800 – Those who have an interest in hiking
1,719,120 – Those who have an interest in hiking AND/OR camping
980,840 + 1,036,800 = 2,017,640 – Those who have an interest in hiking OR camping (including DUPLICATES)
2,017,640 – 1,719,120 = 298,520 – Those who have an interest in hiking AND camping
So about 30% of campers have expressed an interest in hiking as well on facebook.

You can also take this down to a much more simple level by simply finding things such as if males or females are more interested in parenting, if there are more dave matthews band fans in Georgia or California, if engaged people are more likely to be interested in photography, if more college graduates are associated with coke or pepsi, and the list goes on and on.

Of course this data is not taking into consideration the entire world but it seems to be a fairly good sampling, 47 million users in the U.S. alone is very impressive. If you have had experience with Facebook advertising I would love to hear your comments.

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