If I had $1 for each time someone asked me "How do I turn my Facebook 'likes' into dollars," I'd be a rich woman! So, I thought that I would write a blog about it, hoping to educate you on how you can get a return on your investment!
If you use these 10 best practices to run real, measurable social campaigns on Facebook, you should see an improvement in your social presence. They’re designed to drive the behaviors you want to happen — whether that’s more sales or donations; greater exposure, sharing a video, or other content; increased event attendance; or something else. In many ways, this is just applying basic marketing principles so you can get specific, measurable results. Applying them on Facebook? Well, that just kicks things up a notch and puts the power of sharing your great offer in the hands of your customers, clients, supporters, and fans.
1. Build a full campaign plan
Before you conduct a social campaign on Facebook, you should have a goal in mind, whether it’s the number of fans gained, documents downloaded, coupons redeemed, donations raised, or something else. After all, if you can’t measure it, how will you know if your campaign was a success? You can run your social campaign for as long as you like, but the most successful ones have a 2- to 3-week window where you can publish, promote, and drive action around it. Have a plan for how you will tell the world about your campaign, and how you will keep the momentum going. Consider how to do this on your Page, in your store, in your email newsletter, on other networks, and anywhere else you talk with customers or connect with those people you want to reach.
2. Create a dynamite offer
Whether you’re selling products, services, or promoting a cause, you want to build your campaign around something amazing that will get people to “Like” and share your Page with their friends. Think about what you can offer — whether it’s a discount, exclusive content, or the opportunity to make an impact through a donation. How will you know if your offer is good enough? Ask yourself if you would act on it if your favorite business or organization offered it to you!
3. Have a clear call to action
When people come to your Facebook Page for the first time, make it clear that you want them to “Like” your Page and give a good answer for their question, “What’s in it for me?” After they’ve “Liked” your Page, be clear about what you want them to do next — whether that’s to share your campaign with their social networks, download a coupon, join your email list, or give you feedback on your wall. While it would be nice for people to do everything you want them to do, focus on just one or two actions. This is the best way to get measurable results (and may even lead to additional actions happening on their own).
4. Promote your offer across all your communications channels
There’s no single guaranteed method to promote your campaign, so it’s important to tell your audience about your offer wherever you can. Include it in your email newsletter, promote it in your place of business, tell visitors in your trade show booth, post it on all of your social networks, share it on your personal profile, and write a blog post about it. If you really want to amp it up, buy Facebook Ads or Sponsored Stories to promote your Page and your campaign. They’re relatively inexpensive and an easy way to target exactly who you want to reach.
5. Check your stats
It’s important to understand what networks drive the most people to visit your Facebook Page, “Like” it, and share your offer with their own networks. You can see who is connecting with you, and where your time might be best spent to get the biggest return. You can also determine if your offer is as compelling as you had hoped it would be.
6. Keep your fans up to date
One of the best ways to keep your fans engaged in a social campaign is to provide them with updates on how it’s going. This is a great way to drive urgency, action, and increase social sharing.
7. Encourage them to join your email list
Once you have people coming to your Facebook Page, encourage them to join your email list by adding a “Join My Mailing List” block to your campaign. For each social campaign, create a separate custom contact list so you’ll know where the subscribers came from. This makes it easy to engage them on similar topics in your newsletter later on. The more channels on which you engage with your audience, the more likely they will be to hear your messages.
8. Say “thank you”
Social media marketing is all about providing something of value to your current and potential connections. In exchange they “Like” your Page and/or share your message with their friends. As in real life, if you are asking someone to do something and they do it, make sure to say “thanks.” For example, a nice Facebook wall post or email that thanks people for participating in and sharing your campaign can go a long way toward building strong, long-term relationships.
9. Have fun with it
Social Campaigns, and social media marketing in general, present a great opportunity to show the personality of not just the organization, but the people who work there. In most cases, you’ll want to be light in tone and have some fun, so your fans have a pleasant experience interacting with you.
10. Do it again
Good marketers have a steady stream of marketing campaigns ready throughout the year. Don’t do the same thing every time, but do keep engaging your audience and encouraging them to share. Offer something new every month – access to an upcoming event, an exclusive recipe, a holiday special, a limited time offer, or access to a special video for fans. Take a few minutes to come up with 12 ideas and you’ll quickly have a marketing plan for the next year.
When it comes down to it, conducting a social campaign may not be much different from how you’re already using Facebook. But focusing your effort around a specific campaign can help you find measurable results.
Want examples on how to use these tips in your own company? Call me for a Social Media Audit and I can brainstorm with you!
515-259-0577 - office
316-644-7029 - cell
renee@trioagency.comwww.facebook.com/trioagency
www.trioagency.blogspot.com
www.trioagency.com
About TRIO Marketing|Branding|AdvertisingTRIO is a full-service marketing communications company providing a wide array of integrated marketing services to meet all of your business and marketing needs. At TRIO, we understand that each client is unique; therefore we provide customized solutions based on your goals and growth objectives. All of our recommendations are made specifically for you and your business.
TRIO Marketing|Branding|Advertising delivers an effective blend of creative talent and strategic thinking, delivering results that increase the bottom line of our client partners. We utilize our network of local experts in the community to execute the campaigns on the basis of design, printing and mailing.
Our Services include:
- Marketing, Branding, Public Relations and Advertising Consulting
- Strategic Annual Marketing Plan Development
- Integrated and Interactive Marketing Services including E-mail and SMS Marketing
- Promotional Products
- Media Negotiation, Placement & Spot Traffic Management
- Print Design & Production
- Web Development & Search Engine Optimization
- Direct Mail Services
- One-on-One Business Development/Sales Team Coaching
At TRIO, we work hard to combine marketing talent and technology with outstanding customer service to build long-term partnerships with you and your business. Our strategies are delivered on time and in a cost-effective manner to achieve maximum response and grow your business.
** Portions of this blog post were written by Constant Contact. TRIO Marketing|Branding|Advertising is a Constant Contact partner. Want to use email campaigns as part of your marketing mix? Click HERE to sign up for Constant Contact!
How would you rate your organization’s online presence? Think that it is not that important?
How many of your customers are satisfied with you and your company? How many of those customers are engaged in your brand? At first glance, you might say "sure, I have very loyal customers who know my core business!" In reality, only a small percentage of many companies' customers are raving fans, or advocates for your business. Increasing numbers of your engaged customers, even by a small amount, is directly linked to growing your business!
Lights, camera, action! Video can truly bring your brand to life. Forward-thinking companies are utilizing video to better position themselves and give customers yet another reason to plug into their brand. Did you know that over 40% of consumers watch videos weekly? In addition, videos can significantly improve your SEO (search engine optimization) results. Overall, creating a unique presence through video encourages view, increases interaction and drives more 
they open their doors, whether it is a brick & mortar store, an online business or a home-based business, their customers will come flocking to buy their products and services. Yeah, right. There are SO many other businesses in the market place that are vying for the same customers. Remember that you have to ASK customers to do business with YOU, instead of your competition. 