These simple steps will get you up and running in no time, no matter how small your budget might be.

Start with Your Facebook Business Page

1. Make sure you have an official Facebook Business Page.
2. Have plenty of content, nicely designed graphics and a professional look already on your page.
3. If you haven’t already done so claim your official Facebook URL, which you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/username

Here is an example of a nicely designed page header and thumbnail:

Setting Your Facebook Ad Up for Success

1. Determine your ideal target market for the ads you will be creating. (This could be your existing tried and true customer base demographic or, if you are launching a new product or service, a new demographic entirely.)
2. Determine where they live, what interests they have, where do they currently shop/spend their money, etc. (You can even target fans of others in your industry.)
3. Get creative images and copy for your ads created based on your research completed in items 1 and 2.

Facebook allows you to choose very specific demographics and interests as shown by this example below:

Campaign Objective and Facebook Ad Types

1. Choose your campaign goals. (It is best to determine your objectives up front as it helps measure your ROI.)
2. If driving people to your website make sure you choose a landing page with a clear call to action.
3. Facebook offers two types of ads: newsfeed ads and right hand column ads. Experiment with both to see which ones perform best for your product / service.

What You Need to Know About Facebook Ads

1. The Facebook advertising platform will let you run multiple ads at the same time. Run several simultaneously and delete the ones that are not performing.
2. Throw in a wild card ad with an image you would not have typically picked to see how it performs. (There are many sites that offer images at a relatively low price, so you don’t necessarily need to hire a graphic artist.)
3. Experiment with your ads by switching up the images with some featuring short text and some longer text. You can use up to six images per ad set.

Note: For each ad set you can either set a daily budget or a lifetime budget, and the time frame you want the ad set to run.

Assessing Facebook Ad Campaign Performance

1.  Test, test and more testing! (Consider running a contest in conjunction with your ads.)
2. You most likely will see results of which ads are performing best immediately through the ad campaign management platform.
3. Be ready for a surprise. The ad you think will get the most clicks vs. what actually does.

Example Facebook ad campaign report:

Don’t expect perfect results the first time out of the gate. Facebook Advertising involves testing, refining and more testing until you hit your optimal results.

Last, but not least, don’t hesitate to hire a professional to help with images or copy. A little bit of money and education can go a long way toward success. Want to know more about social media marketing for small business? Download our eBook.

The 1.2.3s for Launching My #Facebook Ad from @ZellaRubyMedia #RocksDigital #Marketing
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Just like going to the doctor for a wellness check up, you need to perform a wellness check on your business web presence.

If you are new to the online world, these steps will get you started on improving your overall web presence status. If you have been on the web for years, don’t assume everything with your web presence is healthy. The web is in constant flux and things change quickly.

How To Perform a Quick Web Presence Check On Your Business

Below are a few high-level steps to help your online presence make a good showing and consumers can easily learn more about you on the go!

1. Mobile Experience

Is your website mobile friendly? Can users find out more about you and your location quickly? Often this is a quick fix by simply contacting your web master to make this update.

2. Customer Reviews

Do you know the state of your online reputation? Do you have tons of happy customers but you never ask them to leave a review? Are there negative reviews you aren’t aware of? A quick Google search using your business name and the modifiers reviews, review, ratings, etc. can help you uncover things you might not be aware of.

3. Website

Does your website contain the most current information about your products and/or services? Are your “contact us” callouts prominent and easy to find on desktop and mobile views alike? Do you give them multiple ways to contact you? Make sure you are putting your best foot forward when visitors take a peep at your site.

4. Blog

Do you have a blog? Blogs are a great way to convey you and your business as a subject matter expert. If your product is a larger investment of time and or money for potential customers they often want to know a little more than the website copy.

5. Social Media Profiles

Do you have an active presence on the social media channels where your ideal target market spends most of their time? If they find your profiles but you haven’t posted in months or it doesn’t show an authentic personality, they are likely to pass you by.

6. Directory Listings

Do you have a retail location? Have you claimed all of your listings? If your competitors have claimed all of theirs and added robust content, chances are you are being looked over many times a day in favor of your competitors.

Potential customers make very quick decisions about your product and/or services based on information they find online. Don’t let your competitors get a leg up on you simply based on their ability to maintain a better web presence. You may have a superior product or service, but most consumers make snap decisions about you based on what you do or do not have online.

You only have one chance to make a first impression with prospects so make it a great one! Download Rocks Digital’s eBook An Introduction to Social Media  Marketing: A Guide for Small Businesses and stay ahead of your competition.

I’m doing a Web Wellness Check! Read WHY by @ZellaRubyMedia on #RocksDigital
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How often do you perform a health checkup on your business? Comment below and share what you have learned with us.

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Social media makes it easy to host and run a contest. There are some key elements you must include in your social media contest to make it work.

Launching a promotion, if done right, is a great way to introduce consumers to your brand in a fun and engaging way. You don’t have to be a big brand nor have a big budget to make it successful. It can be a quick way to create brand awareness, get more followers and hopefully convert new fans to customers!

The following elements below are key steps to building a promotion that has a higher likelihood of success and going viral.

Social Media Campaign Objective

Determine your number one goal for the promotion, is it: To grow your email database? Brand awareness? Acquire new fans & followers? Make sure you have thought through your goals and objectives prior to launching.

Who is the Target Audience?

Who are you trying to reach? Who would your promotion appeal to? Defining this precisely will help you determine the theme and prizes tied to objectives. Amassing a ton of new fans is great but not very helpful if they are not your ideal target market.

Type of Social Media Contest

There are several types of contests that you can implement from low effort to high effort for users. If the contest is chance-based then it is referred to as a sweepstakes; if it is skill-based then it is called a contest. The higher the effort is usually associated with a higher prize value so make sure you match expected effort with prize worth. Don’t make users jump through hoops for a small prize. The most popular social media contests are photo and video, which leverage Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Sweepstakes usually don’t require anything more than providing a name and email address for a random chance at winning prizes.

Social Media Contest Theme

Develop a fun theme around the contest. Don’t use a generic name like “Holiday Contest.” Brainstorm on topical/current pop culture trends. Do your research on contests that big brands have executed and garner theme ideas from those. They can inspire you to create a fun theme relevant to your contest. A fun theme can tie your sweeps or contest directly to what is popular with your target audience thereby creating a favorable impression associated with your brand.

Contest Prizes

The prizes don’t have to be one of your products/services, but you can throw those in as part of the prize package. Seriously consider the audience you are trying to reach and what would get them really excited. Studies show the more prizes you offer the more people think they have a greater chance for winning. The more exciting the prize package the more likely they are to enter, share and try to win! Consider bringing on co-sponsors that are trying to reach your same target market. They are likely to provide prizes and cross-promote on their channels in return for the inclusion. Pro-tip: Keeping prize values lower often keeps you from having to register in certain states (for sweepstakes) and providing tax documents to winners. Consult with your attorney if giving away larger prizes for advice.

Contest Design Elements

Don’t skimp on the design elements for your contest. Users will form an opinion within seconds if your contest is something they want to learn more about and possibly enter. If the graphics look second rate they may assume your contest is too. Make sure and put your best foot forward when launching your promotion.

User Experience

Make it easy for fans to enter and share the contest on their profiles. Don’t make them go through 20 steps to do so. Think about how easy you would want for it to be if you were the one entering. Also, don’t require them to give you too much information. Lastly, determine how long the contest should run but beware not to make it too long. This will help to keep momentum and interest going.

Contest Hashtag

Come up with a short but relevant hashtag and use with every post, and encourage users to also use when sharing contest content or as a method of entry. This will also help you measure impressions and contest traction during and post event.

Technology Platform

There are some good and affordable platforms you can use that directly plug in to your Facebook page as well as provide great real-time analytics and sharing tools. Gone are the days of having to spend thousands to create a custom landing page. Now you can host one directly on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and more. If you are hosting the contest on your website make sure you include instructions and make it easy for people to share on social media. If running a user generated contest it is advised you implement a gating mechanism to approve the content vs. direct entry. You never know what you might get when you open to the masses and better to have control than discover an R-rated photo AFTER it is posted.

Writing Contest Rules

Make sure you have thought through what would be a fair way to conduct the contest and consult an attorney if you are giving away a large prize package. The last thing you want is for a consumer to cry foul on how you have laid out your contest. Bottom line, make it easy and make it fair to all who enter. Take the time to think about how people might try to game the system and cheat. Allow for the language in the rules that anyone can be disqualified for trying to outsmart the system. Pro tip: refer to the contest section of the platform you are running the contest on to make sure you are following their latest guidelines. EX: Facebook Contest Guidelines

Fun Factor

Develop a contest that has a high likelihood of going viral. Encourage the competitive spirit in consumers making it more likely they will get their friends and family on board to help them win. One option is tournament style with preliminaries or American Idol where the audience is brought in to help decide winners via voting/tweeting/sharing and more.

Advertising Your Contest

If you want to reach an audience beyond your current fans and followers you should take advantage of advertising on Facebook and Twitter. It is an easy way to reach new consumers without breaking the bank. Facebook advertising allows you to use highly targeted methods to reach people based on their demographics and existing “likes” of pages you can directly target based on their interests. Don’t forget to send an e-blast to your existing customers and call out the contest on your website as well. Lastly, reach out to any influencers you think might want to enter your contest. If they like the contest, theme and prizes, the more likely they are to share, enter and promote!

Contest Success

Don’t forget to track your efforts as you go and post campaign to make sure you did indeed reach your campaign goals. Even if you missed the mark you can use the lessons learned for the next campaign. Maybe it is as simple as refining your outreach and advertising, tweaking the rules or adjusting the call to action the next time around.

Don’t be afraid to launch. Just plan as best you can with the resources you have and go for it. You might be amazed and delighted at the results!

Featured on #RocksDigital – 13 Elements of a Successful Social Media Contest by @ZellaRubyMedia
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