Facebook made more shifts at the beginning of January 2015 that can impact Facebook Pages.
What should your business do going forward with your Facebook Marketing?
I address this with my solution in this podcast episode:
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Facebook outlined that they are targeting three types of posts to reduce reach for based on data from users. These include:
So what are Facebook marketers to do now? Give up? Move on?
The answer is that they must adjust and focus on a integrated marketing plan! Marketers should not focus on Facebook alone in their marketing. Gone are the days of “How can I develop a great Facebook strategy?” and they must be replaced by “What role can Facebook play in my overall online marketing strategy?”
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Facebook experts like Alex Houg and Dennis Yu of Portage outline this type of strategy as “omni-channel” marketing, where a three campaign system includes Facebook but also includes so much more. At the core of this type of strategy is content. Quality, helpful content is the driver from which all other aspects can then flow.
Content is what you create on your blog and in your resource center. It is primarily articles and posts that answer questions and offer resources. In integrated online marketing, your website content is your foundation!
Today’s Facebook marketers need to be producing content of value on their sites that they can share. Quality content is much more important than whether post reach is down by 15%.
Sharing Quality Content:
With regular, quality content being created, the sharing of this to social media networks, including Facebook, then becomes a key means of outreach and initiator for engagement. This helps a business build their audience and engage their audience around the content they have created, and, it helps drive traffic back to the website!
An integrated online strategy that includes Facebook will utilize Facebook to drive traffic to the businesses’ website. The website should be the “home base” and the core focus of one’s online strategy, and Facebook becomes an area to increase the exposure of your website content, as well as a way to interact with fans around your content topic. When that content is high quality and of value as resource, without being overly sales focused, it provides the foundation for the next step in new Facebook marketing: amplification.
The third part of the integrated marketing funnel is the conversion funnel. After building and reaching your ideal audience with quality content and bringing them to your web properties, then using lead capture methods to move fans and visitors to your email list is the next step. When this occurs, marketing automation with automated email nurture campaigns can help solidify the relationship with the potential customer, build further trust, and ultimately allow for the sales offer.
Lead capture methods can vary by industry as to what will work best. It can be coupons or ebooks, webinars, or other resources. Read more on Lead Capture options >>
In this example below, the blog serves as a resource center for outdoor living design. While the products they offer are lattice to use with fencing, decks, railings, pergola’s and more, the content is of value to many, it is then shared on Facebook, and when visitors come to the site they have opportunity to receive a free download that adds them to a email nurture campaign.
This model shows the steps of an integrated online marketing approach that includes a thorough strategy connecting content on the website with Facebook posts, lead capture, and email nurture. (Read more here) In combination, this provides a powerful online means to reach and connect with potential customers. I recommend that businesses using Facebook also use two of the best tools that are available now, Facebook Ads and Facebook video, to help increase their post visibility and getting in front of their exact ideal audience.
So what about you?
Are you moving on from targeting only fan growth and watching reach, and integrating your online marketing where tracking leads capture and website traffic from Facebook become more powerful measures of success?
I do a lot of writing, including having articles published with leading blogs including Social Media Examiner, AllFacebook.com and with Mari Smith.
As the co-founder and manager of TabSite, I understand the small business and start-up mindset. With over 7 years of consulting experience for small and medium sized businesses, I understand and can speak to those wanting to increase in-store traffic, elevate their online footprint, and those battling the challenges of juggling multiple priorities.
I speak the language of business. I understand the challenges – what it is like to meet budgets, to go out and get customers, and to keep them. I spend my days as President of Digital Hill web agency helping our team develop plans for solving client online challenges from responsive sites to digital marketing plans.
Those who hear me and follow my blog value my skill for simplifying technology and social business ideas to make them practical and useful.
You can view my complete bio at the About tab of this site.
I’m a Indiana Hoosier native where basketball is the top sport. Every team heads to the locker room at halftime to evaluate the first half and create a updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn't.
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