Social Media is arguably one of the most – if not the most – valuable marketing tools to date. The pace of the web changes quick and changes often, which leaves us with no choice but to adapt with it. Until something more innovative pushes it’s way through the market, social media will continue to be a major focus to build a band through creative techniques.
Social media was once a highly regarded platform for organic growth, reaching consumers with no given charge. A post to the news feed typically had a high scan rate of viewers. However, Facebook has recently changed the method of how many viewers see our posts in a “pay to be noticed” technique. Some posts result in less than an eighth of impressions compared to the number of likes per page. This is where the value of promoted posts come into play. As organic growth slims, paying for promoted posts is beneficial to your business with the right content.
Content matters
If you choose to pay for a post, try and view the content through the eyes of your customers. Does this post affect you in a beneficial way as a consumer? If the answer is yes, the content is worth the paid promotion. Begin by setting aside a monthly budget specifically for social media promotion in Facebook and Twitter.
Metrics
You can observe the metrics of your paid reach following by viewing the analytics and insights to your post. Measuring the percentage of engagements will help you decipher what content is working and what isn’t. With that, Facebook gives you more control of who you want your selected ad to reach. Knowing who your target audience per content can be more important than selecting the “People who like your Page and their friends” option. With this option, some posts may come off as unwanted and could be considered dollars wasted.
Instead, direct it to an audience who will benefit from your posts and choose the “People you choose through targeting” option. This allows you to choose your location within zero miles to 50 miles, as well as specific keywords that may pertain to your audience. After you narrow your search, choose a total budget. From here, Facebook will tell you the estimated people reached within that budget. Note, the estimation gap can be quite large depending on your chosen budget and your target. It will not always remain consistent. Next, click on the number of days you will boost your post for (allowing between one to seven days). Facebook sets a minimum budget of $1.00 per day and posts can be boosted for a maximum of seven days. Set your budget and you’re set to go.
If using a graphic, note that Facebook has a 20 percent text rule on photos, otherwise it will be deemed non-promotable. When creating graphics, keep it clean and simple and if necessary, save the heavy text for the post itself. Otherwise, try and steer clear of text heavy posts as most viewers will find this unappealing.
Once it’s all said and done, you can view the analytics. Facebook’s insights are fairly in-depth per post. Once your paid post ends, you’ll be able to view the total organic/paid reach, post clicks, likes, comments and shares per post. Overall, boosted posts reach your audience by a long stretch rather than relying strictly on organic reach. You will see a massive difference of views per paid post versus views per unpaid post.