Top 5 Facebook Ads mistakes that could be costing you money...

We've all seen it- the notification from Facebook saying "Your post is performing 80% better, increase your reach to 800..."

It can be tempting to hit that Boost button. I get it. 

There's nothing more exciting than seeing the reach increase and getting more likes and comments than ever before. 

But- did you make any more sales?
Or did you just pay $20 to feel good about numbers?

Beyond that shiny and tempting Boost button, lives the Ad Manager.
Better targeting, better analytics and better bang-for-buck. 

Here's just some of the things you can do when you take your boost money and go through ads manager:

• Objective Flexibility

  When you boost a post, Facebook streamlines the process to make it as easy as possible. As a result, they never ask you to choose a campaign objective. They make assumptions. They look at the type of post and give you a few optimization options.

  The reality is though, that you may not want to optimize the way Facebook suggests. And you can’t...

WORD ON THE DIGITAL STREET...
(News about the Instagram Algorithm)

Before we get started- I think it's important to mention Instagram (or Facebook) doesn't release a lovely PDF of what's new with their algorithm changes. Our updates come from our testing as well as reliable sources who's job is to test and see what works.

Things change faster than fast, we do our best to see what's working now.

Here's what we've seen...

• Multi-word comments:
The algorithm doesn't favour posts with lots of one-word comments (Maybe too many 'Tag & Win' posts blew it?)

We're Kiwi's, we love doing things ourselves. 
Why pay someone to do something, when we can just get it done ourselves? 

Especially when we're short on cash flow- it doesn't make sense to pay people to do things we can do- am I right? 

To answer this fairly, we have to take a look at both sides of the argument. 

YES, you can (and should) do many things yourself in business. 
It means you stay in control, it encourages you to learn and upskill in areas, and it can save you money on some things. (which is crucial when you're in start-up mode!)

So why is there even a NO answer to this question? 

Doing things yourself can cost you more. 
(Ouch, that truth bomb stings a little)

Firstly, you can take too long to do things.
You can end up spending 3-6 months trying to complete something that you could pay someone $50-100 to do.
Time is money and when you look at the big picture- spending the money upfront to get things in motion is a cheaper option.
Things get...

If we're honest with ourselves, we're all probably guilty of this..
I know I have been...

Many companies that contact us have fallen into the trap of treating their social media channels as a constant sales pitch...aka reverting to sales posts as there's no strategy in place and they're an easy 'go-to' post.

See, here's the thing we forget about social media..

It's that 'people aren't on social media to be sold to'

What?? I know...sounds crazy huh?!

Unlike Google, people aren't 'ready to buy' when they're scrolling their feeds- they don't have an immediate problem that they need to solve.

They're on social media to interact with family and friends, and to consume content they enjoy.

It comes back to using social media to tell your stories.  Build trust with your audience and it'll give them an opportunity to get to know you, and one day possibly do business with you.

Below are a few ideas if you're caught in the 'sales pitch post cycle'

If you are a service provider..

Hands up if you've participated in any of the following...

• Follow then Unfollow with a bot
• Using apps to auto comment/like 
• 'Engaging' with hundreds of accounts by 'liking' their pics 
• Boosting or running ads and hoping they're gonna work with no clear strategy 

‍

We're probably all guilty of one or more of the above...but honestly guys, this is really doing social media the hard way.

Social media is all about giving people the opportunity to find a connection point with you. 

By digging a little deeper and thinking a little differently, you can use your socials to start to really connect with your clients and customers.

'People do business with people' and connections are made when people buy into WHAT you do and WHY you do it.

As a business, it’s important to really speak to the hearts of your clients – their hopes, fears and dreams.

Social media is a great platform for this as it allows your business to be...

We’re content creators ‍

So...when we're doing our site visits, and our clients see us coming along with our cameras.. they hide  

Seriously!

We get it..

Your staff don’t want to have their pics taken for your company's social media page.

Again, we get it.

Looking like a dork on social media can be social suicide to them ‍

True.

But here's the thing- to have a successful social media page, it need's to be engaging.

Posts with people in them get the most likes, engagement and reach

Getting your staff onboard with your social media strategy can make a huge difference. 

It doesn't have to be hard (or bad) 

You have to get buy-in from your staff, so here’s a few tips on how best to do this...

• Involve them.  Gather them round, put on a few drinks/pizzas, and tell them why you’re doing what you’re doing.  Talk them through how your social media strategy fits into your overall marketing plan.  When staff...

Did your business post content over the Christmas/New Year holiday break?

How did it go for you?  Did you get the results you wanted?   

Here's what we did with our clients and WHY...

It's called the silly season for a reason

Christmas and New Year are notorious for their general chaos.  That time of year quickly becomes a hot mess of people rushing around, gift buying, finishing off the year's end and advertising.

Advertising.  Yip, people trying to sell to you.
Constantly.
Especially through your social media feeds.  

Buy! Buy! Buy!  Posts seem to scream out at us.

We get it....as content creators, it's an easy trap to fall into. 

Firstly though...

Remember, people are on social media to be social.  

So how did we cut through the Christmas/New Years noise this year? 

We created targeted lifestyle FB and Instagram brand awareness campaigns for our clients....which resulted in our clients accounts being 'seen' by...

Wondering if you should have a page set up for your Business on Facebook?

It's hard to believe that in late 2018, some businesses are still questioning whether they should have a Facebook page. 

Sure there are some that won't need one (think some manufacturers or B2Bs) 
But if you're in the service industry, sell a product to the public or to other businesses, chances are you need to be seen to get business.  

The majority of people will check you out online before they decide if they will do business with you.  

Let's break it down.. 

1) It builds trust.

Social Media isn’t a sales platform.  It’s a marketing platform designed for telling stories and building relationships.  Use it for sharing content that people will find valuable, entertaining and informative.  If you make an effort to help your potential clients solve their problems, you'll start building trust with them.

2) It allows you to establish yourself as an...