Last week, I invested in my own self and went to a Facebook training day that was put on by Facebook itself so I knew I was going to be in good hands and get my information straight from “the horses mouth”. The presenter was Nick Blowditch, a SMB Marketing consultant from Facebook Australia who was a very knowledgeable, engaging character and a joy to listen to.
I know heaps about Facebook, after all, it’s my job to, so if I go to a workshop and come away with some great action points, it’s definitely been worth my time and investment.
So I want to share with you just a few of the snippets I picked up, some of which you may already know, and some of which will be news to you too. They are in no particular order so here goes:
- 3.5 billion posts and likes daily from 1 billion users
- Edge-rank does not exist – that’s a biggy and may shock you. Yes there is an algorithm, but no edge-rank.
- You are allowed to use product placement on your cover photo so think about your book, your widget etc. but definitely no call to action or contact details.
- The eyes love white space and primary colours so keep this in mind when you create ads and images.
- Facebook offers are a great way to be seen by a wider audience cheaply. You only pay for those clicks that “claim” your offer, not for their friends that see they have claimed it. Very cool.
- Custom audiences are available now.
- 77% of those answering your questions on your page are not your fans, but friends of fans. Ask more questions!
- Work for 25% PTAT engagement or higher (people that are talking about this)
- You need 5000 likes to get post targeting.
- You can change your page name if you have fewer than 100 fans.
- You need 400 fans to use promoted posts.
- The average ad click through rate (CTR) on ads is only 0.14.
Nick talked a lot about the importance of sharing, and working on getting your own content shared, which is something we will see a lot more of in the near future. Something big is definitely coming; I just don’t know what it is and Nick wouldn’t spill the beans as he has been sworn to secrecy. If anyone has any ideas what is could be, let’s hear your thoughts below.
Linda Coles is the author of “Learn marketing with social media in 7 days” (Wiley) and is a speaker and trainer on building relationships. She lives in New Zealand on a fig orchard. You can get a free sample of a chapter of her book by registering for her newsletter.
Item number 7 seems to be the hardest for Facebook users seeking to achieve business goals. They become so discouraged when they can’t create some self-imposed size of fans. The key is interacting with your community … which leads to a larger community.