This week I was invited, as one of eight founder trainers for Facebook’s ‘She Means Business’ campaign to Facebook HQ to discover all the new developments rolling out on Facebook and its family of related platforms. Obviously I want you guys to be the first to hear what I heard from the horses mouth!
Here are some of the highlights and what it means for your business.
We are all obsessed with Facebook and Instagram
Even I was stunned to discover that the average person checks their Facebook and Instagram accounts 80 times per day. That amounts to 3-4 hours on a mobile device. Moreover, one in four minutes of mobile usage is spent on the Facebook family of apps.
Facebook is Doubling Down on Search
Interestingly, Facebook has decided to invest in developing their search capacity function. This could add a new dimension for businesses with respect to advertising and location. My advice is to ensure that your business on Facebook is categorised correctly with clearly defined descriptions to maximise your search ability.
Instagram Stories is the Next Big Consumer Shift
Facebook is already seeing that Instagram Stories is the next big consumer shift – so much so, that there is even the possibility of stories overtaking the Instagram feed. This means that advertisers can get first mover by taking advantage of Story placements for their ads.
Start Thinking About the Fast, Frequent Environment – the mobile phone browser
Content in a mobile feed is consumed 41% faster than on a desktop. Hopefully as a business you are making use of videos in your advertising but because of the speed of which we move through the mobile feed (think hacking through a jungle at lightning pace) ads have a relatively short time to make an impact. Don’t bury the lead, think about exciting your audience with your message in the first few seconds of your video.
It’s all About Video
People spend five times longer looking at video posts than photos. We tend to use videos in our advertising because they go further and cost less. The time people spend watching them supports our decision to invest solely on video ads. Interestingly, the conversion rate on vertical videos (9×16) is 9% greater than that of horizontal video ads. Trial different formats to your audience to identify which are most responsive.
Facebook is Committed to Providing the Cheapest Ad Spend
Facebook is opening new ad inventory in a move to keep ad spend low and ROI high. Advertising via Whatsapp, Stories and Messanger will diffuse the issue of intense competition on traditional channels to provide the most effective advertising at the lowest cost. This is particularly good news for those of us who use social media advertising regularly to boost revenue.
Facebook’s changes open-up new opportunities for business to reach their audience at minimal cost. It’s important that you make use of these features to maximise your exposure on the Facebook family of platforms. I hope you’ve found this helpful and if you have any questions about Facebook advertising, send me an email.
