Facebook Marketing...Organic Reach is so 2015. How Do You Win in 2018?

We all know that Facebook is where many Americans spend some amount of time daily. It is also in a competition with Google for the top referrer to websites across the web. All that means - like it or not - even if you don't have a community to nurture, if you're in consumer marketing and you're not on Facebook, you're missing a very real opportunity for people to discover your brand!

So, what's changing? 

Organic Reach is So 2015. 

Throw away your editorial calendars for writing multiple posts a week. That was the winning strategy for Facebook marketers before the social network realized the gold mine of data and attention they were sitting on. Now in 2017, Facebook estimates that only 1% of your Page Fans see a given post without you investing some amount of money in them seeing it. They've even been running tests in some countries for a completely Brand Page free feed (unless they pay)!

2018 Pro Tip: No more daily posting. Or even 2 per week. Only update with information that is timely -- a new product announcement, "we're closed!" or other equally logistical type messages, or seasonal feature. Brand building messages should be pushed out via Ads Manager where you can control targeting, reach and frequency over a longer period of time, freeing up time and resources to invest in creating that quality content and making the most out of your content created as well.

Move Beyond The Boosted Post. Align Your Facebook Strategy With Business Metrics

And now we're not just saying what we said in 2016 to pay money to boost posts. We're saying to move past shiny metrics (Page Fans, Post Reactions) and invest in the Facebook campaign types that align with your business goals.

Why?

Boosted posts are optimized for "clicky users," says Facebook. "Clicky users are more expensive (typically 5.5x) – this is because only 10% of people on Facebook are clicky, and you're competing with every other advertiser on the platform who also targets this sub-set of users." If you're going to pay for a clicky user, pay to have them perform the action you really want -- buying your product, filling out a lead form, coming into your store, etc. -- all of which you can optimize for!

Despite clicky users being more expensive, there is no correlation between someone “clicking” or "liking" an ad and driving brand awareness or conversions (Nielsen study). In other words, not only are you spending more to target them, but it ultimately is driving no real value for your business.

2018 Pro Tip: Install the Facebook pixel on your website and set up the same Conversions/Goals that you track in your Analytics software in Facebook Ads Manager, so that you can create campaigns optimized for Goal Conversions - creating measurable alignment with objectives that matter most to your business from your campaign.

Facebook Ad Frameworks that Work

In the omnichannel world that we live in, your prospective buyer doesn't search, click, convert in one session on one device anymore. Countless studies show that a purchase journey can have sometimes hundreds of brand touchpoints. And social is often a discovery medium, a place where people will first encounter your brand and move towards consideration. BUT, Remember: Liking a post on Facebook doesn’t change behavior or increase purchasing. There is no significant correlation between a Facebook click and any Nielsen rated brand effect -- less than 1%.

So what to do?

Use multiple measurable Facebook ad types to create multiple brand touchpoints along the way to guide the purchase journey and nurture prospects. Layer in targeting and retargeting users for efficiencies of ad spend.

At the top of the funnel (awareness), consider more meaningful metrics for success vs the boosted post, like video views, upper level website conversions, or brand awareness. Then, further cultivate those target users who like to watch your video, or take the action you want them to take on your website with further brand messaging (consideration) before ultimately serving them ads that will convert to a sale (be it tracking website conversions, offline conversions or lead forms.)

2018 Pro Tip: Using campaign types with lower CPMs such as Video Views, Reach (for qualified audiences only) or Brand Awareness can help keep your upper level ad placements low, however to further cultivate leads, you'll want to use Video Views so that you have a measurable engagement.

Let's Talk Social

Facebook's monetization of their network is changing the game in terms of the old thinking about how to incorporate social into your digital marketing strategy. It is as important as ever, but the tools they've provided now allow for more business-focused advertising investments on their platform vs the old thinking of blasting out many posts, hoping one will stick and paying for social metrics Page Likes and Post Reactions that don't really provide business outcomes. 

Need help turning your social strategy around for 2018? Reach out to our social advertising team at Blue Sky Marketing and we'll be happy to set up a plan to meet your business objectives!