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By Luis Chaluisan Editor WEPAwebTV-Salsa Magazine
Facebook Pages Are a Bad Investment for Small Businesses.
Once you set up your page, you need to get users to visit it and, hopefully, to “like” it. The reason you want people to like your page is that your posts will allegedly then appear on that users news feed. Over time this will allow you, according to Facebook, to start “building loyalty and creating opportunities to generate sales.” The first method to get likes is to promote it on your own website using Facebook social plugins. As this costs nothing, you may as well do it, but the percentage of visitors that click on these is typically very small. The second is to purchase Facebook Ads that persuade people to visit your page and to like it. The irony of spending money to promote a Facebook page instead of their site was not lost on us. After some experimentation one business we studied was able to create several ads that successfully generated likes on their page at costs that averaged from $0.27 to $0.57 per like. They spent some money and built up several thousand likes, all the while optimizing the campaign to better target likely customers. They justified the expense as it seemed to be analogous to building up a database of email addresses of people that wanted to learn about their site and their products. However, they shortly discovered their error. Once they started posting on their Facebook page, they were shocked, shocked, to see that not all the users that liked their page were seeing their posts. For example, with over 6,000 likes on their page, a typical post would only be seen by fifty to several hundred people. To reiterate, only 1% to 5% of the people that liked their page saw their posts. If they were justifying their expense as analogous to building a database of emails, then it was a database that only allowed you to access a tiny, randomly selected, subset each time it was used. Not quite what they had expected. Facebook, of course, has a solution for this quandary. Unsurprisingly it involves paying Facebook yet again. Next to each post is a small “Promote” button which innocently suggests that for the mere sum of anywhere from $5 to $300, you can have your post reach from 500 to 50,000 people. This is equivalent to paying from $6 to $10 CPM (Cost per thousand impressions (technically, “cost per mille), advertising rates typically paid for premium ad inventory, to have your post appear on the news feeds of people for whom you have already richly paid Facebook once before. Bear in mind that this is just for your post to appear fleetingly on their feed, with no guarantee that they will see it or click on it. The Page we studied has done over 20 promotions now at varying costs from $5 to $50, and the results in terms of users actions have been dismal. The effective cost per user action is over $2, and on some campaigns it can even reach $6 or $12. If we only look at “page likes” and “link clicks”, and leave out “post likes”, “post comments” and “post shares”, whose value is even more ephemeral, the cost per action goes up significantly, from $6 to $20 and in some cases $50. Compared to the alternatives, these are unreasonably expensive. Unless Facebook is charging other companies an order of magnitude less than the rates we are seeing, Facebook promotions are simply not a viable option for small businesses. The Page we studied biggest disappointment was their misunderstanding of how Facebook Pages work. Instead of building a database of users that they can contact at will, they were essentially paying Facebook to build a list of people that Facebook itself can then advertise to. Facebook, you can’t have it both ways. Either ask businesses to pay for likes, or ask businesses to pay for posts. But asking them to pay premium rates for both is unreasonable and drives the cost of marketing on Facebook into the stratosphere. Perhaps this model may works for celebrities or famous brands that can build up huge followings organically. But for small businesses that closely track their spending, Facebook Pages in their current incarnation are a bad investment. Facebooks latest "pay for play" twist is "Open Your Store on Facebook Today!" https://apps.facebook.com/aradium/…
According to "Ignite Social Media" Facebook Brand Page Reach is now Often Under 3% Facebook once said that brand posts reach approximately 16% of their fans. That number is no longer achievable for many brands, and "Ignite Social Media" analysis shows that roughly 2.5% is now more likely for standard posts on large pages. So, a year ago a brand could expect to reach 16 out of 100 fans and now that brand is lucky if they get 3 out of 100. Chilling news for brand pages who have invested resources to “build” a large following of fans.
How Direct Email Marketing Helps Your Small Business. If you’re wondering how email marketing can boost your business, you’re not alone. Plenty of savvy business minds have pondered that question. VerticalResponse is here to get you the answers you need. Like any smart business owner, you want to know the benefits of email marketing. There’s a whole list of benefits, which we’ll cover here, but one of the most compelling reasons to use email marketing is its return on investment (ROI). According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing brings in about $40 for every $1 you spend. That’s one of the highest ROIs for any type of marketing.
1. Email marketing can increase sales You want your email efforts to pay off in sales. By sharing information about your business through emails, you help customers see how valuable your product or service is, Bastian says. That leads to money in the cash register.
What kinds of emails bring in the most sales? The best way to increase sales through email marketing is to send a variety of emails to your customers, but there are a few types of emails that generally help drive sales more than others:
Promotional email Nothing entices a customer more than a great deal. Your customer saves a few bucks and your bottom line gets a boost. Not bad, right? Keep in mind, promotional emails aren’t reserved for only things like, “Don’t miss our 50% off sale.” A promotional email can offer other perks too, like free shipping or a free product trial.
New arrival email When a hot new item, service or update arrives at your site, an email spreads the word about this must-have product. In the email, include a link so shoppers can make a purchase instantly. While these emails can boost sales, you can’t sell 24/7. Your customers want more than that. Every email you send can get customers one-step closer to making a purchase, which is why a variety of emails is the best strategy. Emails help you build trust, establish a relationship, and improve brand awareness – all of which play a role in the purchasing process.
2. Emails keep your business top of mind Email marketing can help your product or business remain top of mind to your consumers. Emails serve as gentle reminders about your business. What kinds of emails keep your business top of mind? There are several actually. These emails are more about staying in touch with customers and less about selling. Here are a few examples:
Newsletters A company newsletter is a great way to update your customers about your business. The sky’s the limit for newsletter content. You can offer small history lessons about your business, talk about upcoming events or offer industry-specific news and tips.
3. Keep customers coming back with regular emails Emails help you build a lasting relationship with your customers. You don’t just want one-time customers; you want loyal customers who keep coming back again and again. Email marketing can make that goal a reality. By regularly reaching out to your customers, you encourage them to make another purchase. Just like bumping into a friend on the street can lead to meeting up for drinks later, an email works the same way. The email is the spontaneous meeting, and a purchase is the result. What kinds of emails keep repeat business booming? Again, a variety is best, but there are few emails, in particular, that help bring customers back into the sales cycle.
Reorder emails If you have a product or service that is consistently needed, a reorder email is an excellent way to remind customers that it’s time to purchase.
‘We miss you’ email When a customer has fallen off the sales grid for a while, you can send an email that encourages them to come back. The email can say something as simple as, “We miss you.” You might include a discount to entice the customer to come back again.
4. Use emails to establish your authority Email marketing can help you establish authority in your field. You want to show customers that you know your business inside and out. Through creative emails you can showcase your knowledge without bragging. The best way to do that is to send emails that provide value to your customers. Plus, emails that provide value get shared. It’s like virtual word of mouth. When you send a client an email that’s helpful, they may forward it on to their buddy. You’re establishing your business as a leader in the industry and gaining customers. There’s an array of emails that can establish your vast array of knowledge.
Product use tips Help your customers get more out of your product by giving them helpful advice. Offer maintenance tips or highlight features of a product. The email takes customers to a blog post that highlights winter maintenance tips.
Industry news Give your customers information they care about by highlighting news in the industry.
Newsletter A newsletter is an effective way to share news, tips, how-tos, events and even a promotion or two. The mix of information makes newsletters valuable and informative.
5. Establish and nurture relationships through email It’s human nature to rely on those you trust. It’s no different in business. You can use email to establish and nurture a relationship with your customers. Think of emails as a virtual handshake or a conversation between you and your customers. Emails give you a chance to make a personal connection. Whether you’re courting new customers or engaging with loyal members, an email campaign is one of the best ways to build a relationship. A variety of emails serve this purpose, but here are a few that are perfect for relationship building:
Welcome email When a new customer signs up for your email list, a welcome email can introduce them to the company and its products or services. It can be a quick welcome email with a promotion, or you can try a welcome email that offers more information, like the one below.
Newsletter Newsletters make customers feel connected to your company. It’s a big piece of the relationship puzzle.
Testimonial email Use email marketing to share customer reviews. By sharing a testimonial you reaffirm your customers’ choice in your business. That’s helpful when you’re nurturing a relationship.
Previous Report: The value of having 3,246,103 views on our main Google+ Pages. https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LuisChaluisan/posts 2,809,490 views https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LuisChaluisandoctoral/posts 436,613 views
Google+ versus Facebook Business Pages. While businesses have noted that engaging in Facebook advertising often raises the number of likes a business's Facebook page receives, it rarely results in conversions. Why Did GM Drop $10 Million Dollars Worth of Facebook Advertising? For example, General Motors decided they would pull their $10 million dollars worth of Facebook advertising because advertising on Facebook was not delivering the ad performance they hoped for. GM realized that people simply aren't looking to purchase cars when they are on Facebook. Why Does the Google Display Network have close to 3X the revenues as Facebook in their Q1 reports, when Facebook users see more pages with Ads? While Facebook advertisers sometimes have more page views/likes, their Click Through Rate CTRs are low and have a less of a reach across the internet as a whole since their ads only exist on Facebook. Posts on the Google Display Network have higher CTRs and a broader reach. Clickthrough rate (CTR) A ratio showing how often people who see your post and end up clicking it. CTR can be used to gauge how well your keywords and ads are performing. CTR is the number of clicks that your ad receives divided by the number of times your post is shown expressed as a percentage (clicks ÷ impressions = CTR). For example, if you had 5 clicks and 1000 impressions, then your CTR would be 0.5%. Here's how it's calculated: CTR calculation Each of your ads and keywords have their own CTRs that you can see listed in your account. A high CTR is a good indication that users find your posts helpful and relevant. CTR also contributes to your keyword's expected CTR (a component of Quality Score), which can affect your position. Note that a good CTR is relative to what you're advertising and on which networks. You can use CTR to gauge which ads and keywords are successful for you and which need to be improved. The more your keywords and ads relate to each other and to your business, the more likely a user is to click on your ad after searching on your keyword phrase
