May 2022 - Digital Marketing Devon

How to grow your Facebook page organically

Last week, I published a blog that gave some hints and tips on how to run a paid ad on Facebook. One of the comments I received on FB was, “it’s a waste of time, better off sharing it to groups”. Thanks, random person as you’ve given me the inspiration to write this blog! Growing your Facebook page organically will make you the office hero. Let’s delve in…

Growing your page, the organic way

I’ve had a lot of experience in using paid ads at various companies, including my own side hustle. My first foray into paid ads didn’t go well, I gained nothing from it, so I did it again with some major changes and, hooray, I got exactly what I wanted from it which was Page Likes, better engagement and resulted in actual sales! Paid ads do work, but you’ve got to work at them.

All that said… I actually prefer sharing to groups! Not only because it saves me or the company I’m working for some pennies, but it is very effective. It gets your business name out there to people who are already interested in what you do.

Whenever I bring a new client on board at Function28 and they want to focus on Facebook, one of the first things I do is check which groups they are part of. Secondly, I spend some time on scouting out groups that are related to their industry or groups that have an interest in that product and join it as the business page.

Here’s an example…

I have a client who runs a gorgeous B&B in Devon. On Facebook, their engagement was low, their reach was terrible, they weren’t getting enquiries… They were basically shouting into the void and not getting any responses back. All they wanted was more enquiries and bookings.

Having done my research into their page, I found that they were not part of any groups on Facebook AT ALL.

The owner of the B&B wanted to target those who wanted a countryside break, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. She also wanted to target families. I joined several groups, local and not so local. I joined ‘Staycation’ groups, ‘Holidays in Devon with kids’, ‘Last minute breaks’. Every time I post, I share to these groups.

My client’s social media posts have gone from reaching a handful of people to over 1,000 since taking over the account in March.

Enquiries and bookings have gone up which is exactly what my client wanted, she has also gained a new, bigger following too – winner, winner!

Content, content, content…

Now, sharing to groups isn’t the be all and end all… You’ve got to have good content to make readers interested. Those in the know say your social media content should be 80% educating, informing and entertaining, 20% is reserved to promoting your product. A good stat to keep in mind when you’re thinking about what content you should be putting out there! (See here for my previous blog which includes content ideas.)

To grow your page organically, sharing to groups is something you should definitely be doing as part of your social media strategy on Facebook. It’s such an underrated tool!

Need some help with your social media pages? Contact Gemma on gemma@function28.co.uk.

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How To… Run an Ad on Facebook

Have you noticed that your newsfeed on Facebook is almost always full of paid ads by companies? Well, there’s a reason for that!

Because of changes to Facebook’s algorithms throughout the last few years, businesses found that their organic reach declined. Companies were sending out the same content but basically just shouting out into the wilderness. Savvy businesses soon sussed out that paying for ads on this platform gets them the reach they want.

If you have never run an ad on Facebook before, or perhaps it didn’t work for you the first time round, this is the blog for you. Let’s get into this…

1. Get Targeting

There are almost 3 billion Facebook users who use the platform daily. That’s a lot of people, but you’re obviously not going to reach all of them! I personally find Facebook’s ad creation really straightforward. The platform allows you to really hone in on who precisely you want to target. Here are some of the ways you can target your ads on Facebook:

– Location – local, or further afield, you’ll be given the option
– Custom Audience – you can specify age, interests, location, key words, education. Targetting people in the local area, people who like your page and similar to them. The possibilities are endless.

2. What do you want your ad to achieve?

It’s vitally important that you have in your mind what you want your ad to achieve. Would you like more visitors to your website, more messages, calls, page likes, leads? You can select your goal when setting up your ad. Alternatively, Facebook can select a goal for you automatically.

3. Looking Good

Having great images on your ad will help big time. Facebook will automatically select the last few pictures that you’ve taken, but you can choose which ones you’d like to have displayed. It’s a great way of really showing off what you have to offer so choose wisely (you can have up to 5 images).

If you don’t want to go down the picture route, then choose a video. Customers are 1.81 x more likely to make a purchase after viewing a video compared to an image ad. There isn’t really a time limit of how long your video should be (you can use the full 240 minutes, but I wouldn’t advise it!). Videos in ads that are up to 30 seconds long will get you the best result.

Take a look at some of these great Facebook Ads here for inspiration.

Top Tip: Bit stuck on how to make a video? Try Canva for free. I’m in this app pretty much my whole working day. There are so many templates and videos you can choose in here, it will truly revolutionise your social media pages.

4. How long and how much?

Schedule a start date and time, and when you’d like to ad to finish.

As to when is the best time to get the ad out there, it varies. It all depends if you’re B2B or B2C. If you’re targetting the former, run your ads during the week, the latter, during Friday’s and the weekend. Most people are on Facebook at midday, so start your ad then.

The Daily Budget for your Facebook ad depends on how many people you’re looking to target (and of course what your business has set aside for social media). The higher the budget, the more people you’ll reach.

Once you’ve done all of the above, hit that Promote Now button!

5. The Do’s and Don’ts

There are the do’s and don’ts when it comes to creating an ad for Facebook.

– Don’t write lots of text – this will definitely switch people off
– Don’t be deceptive – not only will this annoy customers, it could get you banned from the platform
– Do proof read before you hit that promote button – check that spelling!
– Know your audience – this is key. This will help you target the right people, and also set the ‘voice’ to the ad.
– A clear call-to-action – Facebook will ask what button you want to go onto your ad (i.e. Get Messages, Call Now, Find Out More, etc.) but also put this in your text.

6. How did it measure up?

To find out how successful your ad was, focus on the following metrics under Insights:

– Actions
– Cost per Action
– Spend
– Frequency
– Revenue

Don’t focus on these “vanity” metrics:

– Click Through Rate (CTR)
– Clicks
– Cost per 1,000 impressions
– Reach
– Impressions

Whilst these figures look great, Actions and Revenue is showing you exactly what you’ve made from the ad.

There you have it, some tips on getting a succesful ad on Facebook!

To keep up to all the latest news at Function28 and best practice tips, take a look at our blogs or find us on social media.

How To… TikTok for Business

I’m going to fess up now… I am OBSESSED with TikTok! It took a while, but now I go to look at the app and 2 hours later, I’m still on there! (Might have overcooked the dinner the other night…!)

It seems that I am not the only one. Studies have shown that 35% of TikTok users say they spend less time watching television and listening to podcasts since joining the platform.

TikTok is popular with teens and Gen Z but there are influencers of all ages on there too. The average age of a TikTok user is between 15-25 years old. If your business is looking to target a younger audience, this is the platform for you.

More and more businesses are now jumping on the bandwagon with captivating and creative videos to get their brand noticed in a new way.

If you’re creative and want to find new ways of engaging a new, younger audience, it’s definitely worthwhile. With 1 BILLION active users, it’s the fastest growing social media platform and one that you should explore as a business.

1. Setting Up and Research

Setting up an account on TikTok is pretty easy. My advice with all of these blogs is to use a profile picture that your customers will instantly recognise.

You’ll be asked if you want to switch your account to a Pro Account and what category you fit into (particularly useful for when it comes to looking at the analytics). The usual fields of website, email address will need to be filled in, along with Instagram and YouTube accounts you’d like to link your Tiktok account to (optional).

If you’re completely new to TikTok, I would definitely recommend doing some research first before posting anything. Resarch your competition, but also what everyone else is doing – what are the latest trends that people are jumping onto? Play around with the editing features and latest filters too.

2. Planning and Goals

TikTok isn’t a social media platform that as a business, you can just post whenever you want saying whatever you want. It needs careful planning and goals set out from the very beginning.

What do you want to get out of TikTok?
What kind of content would you like to post?
Live videos, funny videos, educational, promotional?
Who is your target audience?

A content calendar is a good way of making sure you’re on top of all the important dates you don’t want to miss. Having written those down, you’ll have plenty of time to think about and create a great video.

3. Best time to post

You’ll notice on TikTok that there will be a ‘For You’ page which is personalised to your specific tastes, based on content you’ve interacted with. This means when your followers or potential followers login, they’ll be presented with your content if they have liked something similar in the past.

The For You page means it’s not really about when you post but actually how often. TikTok recommends posting 1-4 times a day which fits in with their algorithms and gets your content infront of more people. Making a video takes time and posting this amount might not work for every business. Make sure you keep an eye on engagement to see if this is right for you.

You are able to tell when most of your followers are online to make doubly sure you’re going to get their attention. This information can be found under your Profile, click the three lines on the top right, Creator Tools, and Analytics.

4. Leave the corporate image behind…

This platform is VERY different to the likes of LinkedIn and Twitter.

TikTok users want to see what a brand is all about. This means bringing the vibe of the company to the fore and being authentic (yes, I know many of you will be going, “ergh” at this phrase, but it’s so true!).

Check out Duolingo’s TikTok page. They make really entertaining and funny videos, going viral everytime they post.

Showing a different side to the company is one that will get you great engagment.

5. How to tell if TikTok is working for your business

With all social media platforms, you want to know if it’s worthwhile.

You can measure your brand awareness by the following:

Post Reach – how many people have seen your post since it went live
Followers – how many followers have you gained over a certain time period
Mentions – how many people are mentioning your brand compared to the competition

If your goal is to increase traffic to your website, has this happened since joining the platform?

6. Talk to your audience

As with all social media platforms, it’s vital that you are engaging with your audience. People love it when they get a reply from a company they follow, it shows there is a human being behind the posts and shows that you genuienly care about their opinion.

Not only do your followers get something out of this interaction, the business does too. Through this interaction, you’ll find out what content is working best and what they love most about your brand. Having a following that is completely engaged with your business is great for when you are about to launch a new product.

There you have it – some tips on how to get TikTok working for your business.

Check out the other How To blogs in this Social Media series here.

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The world’s most expensive vanity project or the protection of free speech?

Ok, so things have calmed down enough for us to take stock about what the heck happened to Twitter last week!

On Monday 25th April, news broke that Twitter’s board of directors had accepted Elon Musk’s offer of $44 BILLION for control of the social media platform. The South African has apparently acquired Twitter to make sure the platform adheres more closely to the principles of free speech.

The board at Twitter at first resisted Musk’s offer, taking the ‘Poison Pill’ defence to shield themselves from a hostile takeover just days before they accepted his offer.

What has been the reaction to this, and why has Elon Musk bought Twitter? Let’s delve in…

The Reaction

Musk’s takeover of Twitter was met with a mixture of shock, fear, and humour by Twitter employee’s. The fact that Twitter is now protecting its source code from potential disgruntled employees kind of says it all. Remember when an employee on their last day closed down Donald Trump’s account? That’s one way to leave your job…

A number of celebrities have left Twitter because of the Musk takeover. They cite various reasons, namely because of opinions he’s shared on the platform ranging from politics to the use of pronouns.

There are those who don’t see the takover as a bad thing. Even the former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey tweeted his support of Musk and his plans to transform it.

According to a recent poll, 58% of marketers aren’t worried. Musk has said that he will eliminate harmful bots by verifying accounts. Marketers like myself are happy that the Edit button might actually be on the horizon now.

Many express they are happy about the potential changes to the platform when it comes Musk’s campaign on free speech. Some think will help broaden the audience.

This leads us nicely on to the next topic of this takeover…

Free Speech

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,”
Elon Musk

The other 42% of marketers from this poll are worried for about the future of Twitter. With Musk’s crusade on free speech (he describes himself as a “free speech absolutist”), some worry that the platform will be flooded with dubious consipiracy theorists and ‘alternative truthers’. They are concerned that the billionaire will “turn a blind eye to harassment, hate speech, disinformation and other vile expressions”. Potentially, this could turn off many big brands who no longer will want to be associated with Twitter.

Some people on the Right see Twitter as being more left-leaning compared to other platforms (this research shows otherwise), as a number of big names on the Right have been banned from Twitter, including a former president of the United States. Maybe Trump et al will make a comeback now Musk is in charge?

Musk is well-known for blocking “haters” on Twitter when they tweet negative opinions about him, so how can this person really be for free speech?

Some journalists and business owners think it’s not about free speech at all. So what is it all for?

Other factors at play

Amazon founder, and second richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos shared his opinion on Twitter about Musk’s buyout:-

Could China now have an influence on Twitter now that Elon Musk has bought it? It’s certainly an interesting take on the whole thing and one that could absolutely lead this author down a rabbit hole! But I won’t get into this today…

I’ve seen a few jokes on Twitter about this being one of the most expensive mid-life crisis ever. It could well be, but of course, this isn’t the first big company that Musk has splurged out on.

We’ve also got to think about the actual character of the man. A word that is often bandied about is, ‘Narcissist’. Has Musk come to the conclusion that money can really buy you love? Searching through Twitter comments about this subject (aka, the cesspit), you will inevitably come across Elon Musk ‘Fanboys’ who idolise the man as some sort of saviour of the “Deplorables”. All the Likes, Retweets, Replies and Follows are just fuel to Musk. Why not buy a platform that makes him feel like King of the World?

The Future

My initial reaction to the news was, “another rich man spending money on things that he shoudn’t be”, followed by “hmm, it could work, Tesla is doing ok! Hey, an Edit button!” to, “I’ve got a really icky feeling about this”.

I’m on the side of the 42%. I worry about what this white, billionaire, middle-aged man can do to the future of free speech on social media.

The last thing we need right now is for someone of privilege to start polarizing the world even further by allowing the floodgates to open on hate speech, misogyny, and racism.

We’ve all seen what impact Rupert Murdoch has had on the world by purchasing multiple media outlets. I don’t see this as any different, Musk is now effectively a modern-day media tycoon with this purchase. We don’t need another Murdoch, that’s for sure.

Hey, I could be completely wrong and Musk will throw away his toy and move on to something new, and maybe help solve climate change with his billions…

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