Viral Advertising and TARGETED Traffic

Friday, March 28, 2014

Facebook - Is A Social Networking Website With Huge Benefits

Today I will be talking about Facebook and the huge benefits you can get when you use it the right way.

This is one thing I want to make clear, Facebook is a social networking website first. The reason why I say this is because it is a site where you can connect with people all over the world and keep in contact with your loved ones and friends.

I believe this is what Mark Zuckerberg intentions was in the beginning. As time passed and he saw how great it was going to be, he saw new things that came to his attention and saw the potential to make big money with it and he has accomplished that.

Facebook Friends (Status Updates) - Don't make post that are boring, they should be natural and fun because Facebook is fun community. Nice writing and engaging post will get instant action from people and they will interact with you. As a social networking website, Facebook wants to be the number one digital newspaper. It is a great idea to use images because they attract readers and they are better than videos, links or text updates.

Now speaking about text updates, do make your post short (80 characters or less will result in more engagement from people).  The shorter the better and make sure it makes sense. Make post that are commentary, persuasive and they get shared around a lot when you do it right. People are emotional, so it is a smart move to BE EMOTIONAL because it sells and attract readers. Your post is an invitation to discussion and interaction. Get comment by asking questions. People love to express their opinions so make your questions easy to answer. Posting quotes are very popular on the social media sites.

People love to see inspirational quotes by great people because they can relate to things they say. It is a good idea to have images with your quotes to attract attention to the quote you are sharing with your Facebook friends. Don't be tempted to ask people to like or share your  post because Facebook doesn't like this. You might find yourself getting penalized by their algorithm.

I see a lot of people using shortened URL's and don't realize they will get less engagement (as much as 3 times less). I recommend using full links when posting from an external website link. Be yourself and be for real.



Facebook groups - Are very effective because it can benefit you in so many ways. One benefit is the viral exposure you will get when making a post. These days the majority of people are using it the wrong way, they mainly post about their business opportunity. There's nothing wrong with that and the majority of people who join groups use apps like Hootsuite to make their post. This means they don't have to visit the group and just want to post their business links in as many groups as possible.

Over time the results will not be favorable and very frustrating. Any success you may have will be temporary. Facebook groups are a great way to meet new people to interact with so you can get to know them better. You should follow the guidelines I listed above on making post in groups.

When a person in a group leaves a comment on a post you made, be sure to follow up with a comment back to them. If several comments have been posted between you both, this will be a great time to send a friend request. They will accept right away and send them a private message.

A word of caution, don't pitch on your new friend about your business. It's just not good business to do this and many people will pitch on you right back or unfriend you.

When people pull up chat on me and all I see is a long message with a link, I usually close the message with no response. I don't unfriend them unless they continue doing this on a regular basis. I just chalk it up as an inexperienced person who don't know what they are doing on Facebook. Perhaps they will see a blog post or one of my status updates that will trigger them to stop doing that because it doesn't works for you to do this.

As a group member you can go and look at the post that offer something beneficial and you can leave a comment which they will see in their notifications. If you want to see if someone has commented on one of your group post, simply check your notifications after logging in and you will see any comments and if they are online. You should respond back. Most people will respond back when they get the notification. Now you have started a conversation and this is the beginning of growing your Facebook friends.

Building your network of friends will give your status updates more exposure as the number of friends grow. This is better than doing what new people are doing and you won't get in trouble with Facebook by getting yourself blocked from sending too many friend request at one time. Facebook doesn't like when you add 20 or more people you don't know. They will warn you and if you continue doing this, they will block you from sending friend request. When you join a group, you can socialize with people that you have met in the group and by commenting on post in the group (this is interaction among members).

This is what I am doing in my groups that I created and they all have a large membership base. Think of groups as a list because every post you make in the group is being sent to every member's newsfeed and if you make an engaging post then it has the potential of going viral and getting a lot of shares and likes, which is a social signal for the search engines. Virality is very good and the benefits are so great on Facebook. Also this is another way people will learn about your group and ask to join. All you have to do is approve them to join your group. Be sure to welcome each new member because they will always respond back and you will have interaction going on with your new member.


Facebook Fan Pages - Your cover and photo profile is the first thing people see. Make the most of it and look outstanding. Make sure to keep it to 20% text on your cover and photo. Your about should be engaging and be very descriptive and include your link too.

Get your tabs set up, start with a contact form and be sure to customize the tab image.

Now that your fan page is up and ready to be seen, you need to get likes for your page so people can see your updates. I will share with you how you can double your Facebook likes in 5 minutes per day.

The list below takes about five minutes per day and will double your likes on your fan page.

1. Connect with other fan page owners with similar demographics to your and then cross-promote with them.
Example: Manicure/Pedicure shop owners can connect and cross promote with a beauty shop owner near them since they likely have the same customer base.

Invite your email subscribers via email, give a good description and incentive to like your page 

2. Share original content with photos that will attract attention and make sure it is appropriate for your audience. Post something newsworthy and relevant for your readers and they will share it with their friends.

3. Get busy and be active. You can start by liking other pages and watch for their post in the pages feed. Make a comment on other pages where your target audience are already having conversations. Your comments should add to the conversation and help you build relationships. Offer specials or discounts.

4. Link your fan page with your Twitter account. Your post will be automatically tweeted on Twitter. You can choose what gets posted. Keep your post to 140 characters to fit on Twitter because if it's not Facebook will shorten it for you.

5. Promote your Facebook fan page online, in emails and on your website. Also promoting offline is important too. You should promote your fan page everywhere (business cards, marketing material, newspaper ads, radio and TV).

Facebook Ads - can maximize your exposure and get your message seen by a massive customer base. Advertisement on Facebook is flexible meaning that you can customize your advertisements so they appear on specific groups or segment of people based on information contained within their profile or based on gender, location and personal preference. It is wise to create a highly targeted ad to get a high click through rate (CTR). If you CTR drops too low, it could be automatically paused or removed by Facebook, so you must pay attention to the CTR- 2% or higher is great.

Additionally you should pay attention to the times of day that your ads appear. You can decide to run your ads all day or have them appear at specific times (or even specific days). Keep in mind the time zones of your target market, so that your ads are running based on the most active time of day or night.

You definitely want to stay within Facebook guidelines. They are pretty flexible with the type of ads that are allowed to be displayed within their community. They don't allow images or text they consider to be  offensive.

The maximum daily bid that you are willing to pay. The higher your bid, the more exposure your ad will receive. Start off with a lower bid since you are new to Facebook advertising. You can increase your maximum daily bid to increase your exposure for more better results.

You can pay for impressions or based on number of clicks your ads receives. If this is your first advertisement, I recommend cost per click (CPC) so that you can accurately test your ads while paying for responses rather than just views. You can always change it to impression based later.

I decided to write this post to help people get all the benefits from using Facebook and build their network of friends so they can get to know them. As for internet/network marketers, YOU must build those relationships to be successful online.

I encourage you to leave your comments below and share with your friends on your favorite social networking website. Be sure to like my fan page located in the sidebar to the right.

Terri Pattio
MLM Coach
Mentor with a servant's heart

Follow me on Twitter @TerriPattio

19 comments:

Unknown said...

Facebook with all the changes is still the platform that I am comfortable with but I am exploring Google+. Since the IPO FB has changed to a pay to play arena which is ok I understand business. You post provides clarity for those not familiar with how to use if appropriately. Thanks

margur2000 said...

Nicely covered topic. I think you covered everything including how not to annoy people. Thanks Terri.

Carolyn Coleman Grady said...

This is an excellent Article packed with important information. Very useful content. Thanks for sharing, I shared too.

Carolyn Coleman Grady said...

This is an excellent Article. Packed with great information. I learned a lot reading this on fan pages linked to twitter, commenting and dislodging with others. Befriending and respecting the connection are also important. Liked and shared for you.

Terri Pattio said...

Thank you my friends and I felt like this post was very necessary. I keep seeing people using Facebook the wrong way. They will not get satisfactory results if they continue to do it wrong.

Unknown said...

Outstanding article regarding Facebook. You've given a clear understanding of how Facebook works and how you should work it. Thanks for sharing these insights with us. Liked and Shared.

Don Sabelhaus said...

A great read Terri, I agree 100% I see so many misusing the great social media, relationship building opportunity that Facebook offers gratis.

Unknown said...

Terri. Thank you for writing this article. I have read and bookmarked it for future reference. Many people will learn from this. So many people do not know how to use FaceBook properly. Wow very good. I understand far more now.

Money Land Ideas said...

Hi, Terri thank you for this content and I am agree with you how people do not using facebook on the right way. Have nice day.

Money Land Ideas said...

Hi, thank you for this great information. Have nice day.

Unknown said...

Excellent material Terri. Anybody looking to use Facebook to for marketing would do well to review this information and bookmark this blog.

Thanks so much,

Pastor Ced

Unknown said...

Hey Terri, you've done an excellent job with this blog post on Facebook Marketing. I've been an ardent facebook marketer for more than 2 years now and facebook is simply one of the best social media marketing platforms.

Terri Pattio said...

Thanks to all who read and commented on my post. Facebook is a great site and will work when you do it right. I felt that I had to put this out so people will know what to do so they can have success using the site.

Unknown said...

This is an excellent blog Terri, and you clearly presented the benefits of Facebook for small & home businesses. Good job!

Unknown said...

Lots of detailed information. These are good tips to help your Facebook marketing, and fanpage.

Unknown said...

Great article Terri, thank you for sharing these Facebook tips for Marketers, liked and will share for more to benefit. Have a great weekend.

Divorce Diabetes said...

I agree. I can see where it would help in Twitter since we only have so many characters to broadcast at a time. I guess pictures would "fill in the blanks" on that platform. But for all other platforms, like FB as you suggested, the URL contains valuable information and searchable terms.

I think shortened URLs can hide advertisements and I really can't stand that. But that's just me. =) What a helpful post. Thank you for sharing, Terri.

Dennis of Lisech eMarketing said...

In the past two years not much has changed. You were my mentor when I started my groups.

The most important part remains the same. Don't annoy people. That sends the wrong brand image.

Rieke said...

Very informative article on the correct use of FB. Wise words "don't annoy people". I love wise words but I realize that a lot of people are using those quotes in nice pictures and after some time it gets annoying.

Therefore Terri your article inspires to think about some changes.

Thanks for sharing this here with us.