08


Spring 2017


COVER STORY


target audience than someone who watched none of it. Most small businesses I’ve worked with don’t know this, and it saddens me. Facebook Blueprint (a training and certification program about marketing on Facebook and Instagram) has free video tutorials. Most dollar


ook and als. Most


people spend thousands of dollars on Facebook ads, but they don’t know what the know. Educate yourself


what they don’t


your team, use an agency, or even read case studies to see what other brands have had success doing.


brands ha had


Q: Do you have a few tips on the best practices for using organic and paid Facebook ads? And what if the company doesn’t have a budget for ads?


he best aid


MS: First and foremost, the best advice I can give for creating posts is to make them relevant in context. People are there for social feeds. Your paid content needs to feel relevant and not interruptive. If you can “edutain” them—educate and entertain—and do it using a video, you’ve potentially hit a home run. There is a start-up company called Chatbooks that allows you to print books from your Instagram and Facebook photos. They have about 120,000 Facebook fans, but they did a hilarious ad campaign that I sat and watched in its entirety—3 minutes and 45 seconds. It has 52 million views. If you are a small business with a limited budget, funny and original works well. If that doesn’t fit your brand or budget, look at how you can make real, authentic, and humanized content. Try spotlighting staff members or customers, as opposed to asking people to buy your product. And remember, once Facebook sees you are investing in Facebook ads, they will turn up the volume of your organic reach. You can raise that with a small investment of even $5–10 per day. One big mistake people make is that as their reach plummets, they start posting more and more. At that point, you are getting penalized because you post too much. Another tip: time your posts to go out during off-peak hours.


Q: How can companies grow by using Facebook? And how can they use Facebook to find audiences similar to their target profile?


elf, delegate to others on ncy


fication


I recommend an always-on campaign that gives people a reason to like your Page. That means using a variety of lead-generation tactics, such as contests, which are a wonderful way to convert likes into email sign-ups.


$1 million in revenue to $10 million by using custom audiences and look-alike audiences. And she is now on track for $30 million.


au on tra


Q: Do you


Q: Do you find companies have more success with an in-house person managing their social media efforts or by using an expert external agency?


th an in-h


social media eff external agency?


MS: love working with c social in-house but also bri y ha


I I lo


orlds. My friend C y fitness


For t o hour eate fit oad


co orking with companies that do their


MS: I recommend an always-on campaign that gives people a reason to like your Page. That meanse. T using a variety of lead-generation tactics, such as contests, which are a wonderful way to convert likes into email sign-ups. Try using F


commend an always-on campaign a r


f lead-g ation ta a wonderful using acebook to do some


granular targeting of your demographic. You start with your own customers in your email database, and that provides a prospect list. Facebook will match those emails to Facebook users, and you will get a 40–60 percent match.


Then, you can say to Facebook, “Create me an audience that is similar to people who buy my products or similar to people on my email list.” The owner of a company called Little Passports (which ships


monthly packages to your kids to help them learn about the world) took her business from


social in-house but also bring an outside trainer or consultant so they have the benefit of both worlds. My friend Chalene Johnson is a successful celebrity fitness coach and also a great marketer. For two hours every week, she sets aside time to create fitness tips and business-growth tips and broadcasts, using Facebook Live. Then her team comes in and chops the whole thing into multiple pieces of video, visual, audio, and written content across her social media channels. So, she is effectively repurposing the content she creates and getting more mileage out of it.


Q: With regard to telling stories, companies who aren’t natural storytellers sometimes struggle to do so. Any advice for them?


MS: The untold stories are the key. Acuity Insurance is the number-two most desired place to work in the United States, second only to Google. They have an extraordinary culture, and they treat people like royalty, but that was their best-kept


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