OneCentLikes

Grow Any FB Page for Cheap!

By

Bill Guthrie

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Disclaimers

Copyright © 2013 by Billguthrie.co. All rights reserved.

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I'm Glad You're Here!

Thank you for purchasing One Cent Likes. The purpose of this report is to arm you with the knowledge and confidence you need to create your own wildly successful Like campaigns.

I have created many successful ad campaigns of my own and have coached dozens of marketers through their own campaigns, so rest assured that you're in competent, experienced hands.

For the most part, this report will be focused on the process of creating and running campaigns to grow your Page fan base. It is not meant as an overview of Facebook marketing, nor about specific models of monetizing your Page. (I cover that elsewhere.) There will be a few places where I take a 30,000-foot view, for the sake of perspective, but only when it relates to running a more successful campaign.

Facebook marketing, the way I teach it, is actually fun. Yep, I said it. More than any other type of marketing I've done in my 10+ years of online marketing, I get the most satisfaction from the Pages I run. I hope that is the case for you too.

While we are in the business of generating profits, don't forget to enjoy yourself along the way!

All best,Bill Guthrie

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Let's Get Our Footing

Before we jump in, I want to state a few things that I believe will serve you well moving forward. I've mentioned this elsewhere, but it bears repeating.

People are on Facebook to connect, not to be sold stuff. People will buy while on Facebook, but it's not the reason they're there.

People "like" Pages because the Page topic represents something of significance in their lives. These topics could be “passions” for some, or of general interest to others. The point is that your Page topic can serve as a badge for them to say to their network, “That's right...I like this topic!”

Building successful Pages through advertising is about asking the most relevant question to the most targeted audience.

When people "like" your Page, they're not opting into a promotional relationship with you. It is not a license for you to pound them with “buy this now” posts. That's the quickest way to lose your new fans.

And to state the obvious: Facebook is a social network, not a promotional platform.

If you're seeing a trend with what I'm saying -- that slamming your fans with promotions won't work -- good. I want it to be obvious. Too many marketers take the approach that a Page is just a way to get offers in front of people within a particular niche. These marketers don't last long in Facebook; they lose money with their advertising; and they look at their whole Facebook experience and say “Facebook doesn't work.”

These types of marketers, of course, are wrong.

Don't be that marketer! And if you have been that marketer, choose to stop being that person right away.

If you're insistent on aggressively selling things via Facebook, then don't bother building and promoting a Page. Just bid on ads that direct link to whatever you want to sell.

But if you want to target an audience, attract them to your Page, engage them with content, and establish a long-term relationship, then keep reading.

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4 Things that Make Facebook Like Campaigns Work

When we boil it all down, there are just four things that you need to succeed with Facebook Like campaigns:

1) A Well-Targeted Audience – You will be looking for “likes.” Therefore, you want your ad to show to the most relevant audience who are most likely to “say yes,” or “like” your Page when you ask.

2) An Attention-Grabbing Image – Your ad image is the key to getting your prospective fan's attention. It is the image that will draw them to your ad, so that they can read your headline and text.

3) A Logical Headline – The headline of your ad should serve as a qualifier. It helps to establish relevance and interest to your prospective fan.

4) An Appropriate Call to Action – You will seal the deal with your call to action, which occurs in the text section of your ad.

The remainder of this report digs deep into each of these four components.

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A Well-Targeted Audience

You could have the most amazing Page with the coolest content, but if you're not focusing on the most relevant, most targeted, and most logical audience, you will fail at Facebook advertising.

Furthermore, when I work with students, it is their audience targeting that normally needs the most work. In fact, I believe that a crappy well-targeted ad will always outperform an ad that looks better but is not targeting the correct audience.

So let's roll up our sleeves and dig deep into the “Choose Your Audience” section of your Facebook ad.

LocationCountry: You must choose at least one country to get started. If you're targeting an English-speaking audience, then your most logical choices are the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. You can start with just the United States, if you like, as it has the most users, or all of them. The only wrong answer here is that you'd target a country where your topic is not relevant, or that you'd target an audience that doesn't speak the language you're writing in.

State/Province, City, and Zip Code: Typically, you would not drill down to this level for a Like campaign. However, if you're running a Page for a local company, you should absolutely take advantage of this degree of location targeting.

Age & GenderAfter location, targeting by Age ranges and Gender is the next step in finding your ideal audience. You may be thinking that your topic is appropriate for all ages and either gender, and you may be right. But there is always a more targeted audience within the broader public. Here are some ways to find it:

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Media Kits: A publication media kit (or press kit) is what publications use to inform prospective advertisers and the news media. A kit typically has historical information on the company, biographies of key executives, past press coverage, and—what we are most interested in—statistics on their subscribers and audience.

Using existing media kits allows us to leverage key data and demographic data about a particular audience.

adsprouts: Adsprouts aggregates media kits from hundreds of publications. It's well-organized by various top-level categories. To navigate, find the category that your Page topic falls into, choose a few of the publications, and click the “media kit” link. This will take you to the publication's site. Many times there will be a downloadable PDF with all the information, and in other cases, everything will be right in front of you.

Here's an example of what I learned from the RunnersWorld media kit:

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This data gives me the median age, median household income (HHI), gender breakdown, marital status, percentage of children in household, and higher educational breakdown. Note: Facebook does not currently provide household income or “children in household” data.

This data shows me the type of content that is most popular on the RunnersWorld site!

Quantcast: A web-based demographics company, Quantcast does a good job of providing key data on many of the web's biggest properties. Here's just a brief example of what the audience statistics looks like for YogaJournal.com.

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Search Google: If you can't find what you're looking for on adsprout, or if you already know of a specific publication you'd like to explore, do a search in Google for “[topic] media kit” (remove quotes and brackets). This will bring back results of related publications.

Interests & CategoriesPerhaps the most powerful data available to us, targeting your audience by Precise Interests and Broad Categories allows us to truly present our ad to those who have already expressed some interest in our topic (or to a related topic) and fall into a particular category of user.

Let's have a cursory overview before we dig in.

Precise Interests – Uses terms users have shared in their timelines. This have been drawn from listed interests, activities, education and job titles, pages they like or groups to which they belong.

Using Precise Interests, you can target the fans of similar Pages, thereby showing your ad specifically to those who already like a Page in your topic.

Broad Categories – These categories have been created by Facebook, and Facebook uses every available scrap of data to segment their users into these various “buckets.” In other words, Facebook is often drawing conclusions in the Broad Categories, so we should not rely too heavily here.

Suggested Likes and Interest – As you add target people using the Precise Interests field, you may notice other Suggested Likes and Interests appear, which are terms that are most common among the people your targeting criteria already includes. This can help increase the size of your potential audience while making sure that you are still reaching people with relevant interests.

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Hashtags – As you search in the Precise Interests field, you will notice the first listing appear under a “Topics” heading and are preceded with a hashtag. The hashtag works as an aggregator for a subject's long tail.

For example, #Cooking lets you reach people who are also interested in cooking, cooking tips, and cooking and eating. When a topic doesn't have a hashtag, it's a Precise Interest. This means you'll only reach people who have an expressed interest in the specific topic. For example, cooking (without #) includes only people with an interest in cooking.

ConnectionsYou can further target by the connections your audience has to our Page. Since you are looking for NEW LIKES, it makes perfect sense to target “Only people not connected to [yourpage].”

(If you wanted to target your existing fanbase, for say, a contest you were running, you would choose the “Advanced connection targeting” option and target people who are connected to [yourpage].)

Friends of Connections: This option will show your ad only to friends of your existing fans. I don't recommend using this option, especially at first. Later, you could run a test to see how this segment responds versus the rest of your target audience, but it's not an essential feature for your success.

Advanced Targeting OptionsThe advanced targeting options drill into relationship status, language spoken, educational level, and workplace. Don't mess with these unless your Page is focused on segments that fall into any of these categories (ie., Single, Spanish-speaking college graduates who work at Dell).

The Necessary Rabbit's Hole of Precise InterestsHaving walked through a targeting features overview, it's important we revisit the Precise Interests section again, because this is where you can truly laser-in on your intended audience.

This process can be a bit of a rabbit's hole, but discovering all the Precise Interest opportunities available to you will set you up for a huge advantage. Because as I said, targeting the ideal audience is the most important factor for success in Facebook advertising.

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Let's use an example so you can see how things work. For this example, I've got a Page about Baking.

So I type baking into the Precise Interests field.

From these initial results, I'll choose #Baking, #Turano Baking Company, #Proofing, and #Biga from the Topics, and Pillsbury Baking, Baking, and Baking Life from the Precise Interests.

Brands: Notice that Pillsbury Baking and #Turano Baking Company are brands. If there are brand names associated with your topic, add them.

Specific Pages: Your best prospects are ones that are already connected to a similar Page. Baking Life sounds like a Page or website, so we can safely assume that they provide baking-related content, making them an ideal Page to target.Most folks would stop right there...DON'T!

We've just scratched the surface of finding our target audience. Here's a little trick that will help bring back a lot more results:

Type in your primary topic, in this case baking. Now add a space and the letter “a.” Then the letter “b,” then “c,” and so on, until you've gone through the whole alphabet. With each letter, different results will show...pick the ones that make the most sense.

Here are my results from baking d. Notice how we found a related word—desserts--that we can explore?

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Seeing desserts reminds me that much of baking is about desserts. So I can explore the word desserts for results, as well as explore different actual results, such as cake.

TV shows: In exploring cake, I came across Cake Boss, which I know to be a cable television show about cakes. I've decided to add it, because I'm thinking my Baking audience might very well watch shows such as “Cake Boss.” I encourage you to think about the TV shows that relate to your topic. As cable television explodes into hundreds of different niche channels, there is surely a show or two that attracts the very audience you're targeting!

Playing the alphabet game with your topic, make sure you don't miss the letter i. This typically brings up the “I love...” Pages, which are a goldmine for targeting your perfect audience.

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After a few minutes of searching, I created an audience that had 10,200,000 people associated with it (notice I'm not doing location, age, or gender targeting for these purposes).

And then I did something that I recommend YOU do as well...I began to delete some of the Interests.

I actually deleted the broadest term, #Baking, along with Pillsbury Baking, Baking Life (which turns out to be some sort of game), #Cake Boss, #Cake decorating, #Chocolate cake, Chocolate cake, and Dancing Deer Baking Co.

Here's why: whenever I can, I want to target Precise Interests over Topics. So even though #Baking is appropriate to my audience, if I can target at least 1 million without using hashtagged topics, I will.

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Here's what the updated audience looks like. 5,000,000 target audience without using broad topics? Heck yeah!!

Finishing this ExampleI figured you'd like to see me complete the Baking example, so here's what I did:

I went to adsprouts and found a relevant publication, Better Home and Gardens, and went to their media kit here: http://www.bhgmarketing.com/research.html

BHG's research tells me their audience is 80.4% female, and that 53.3% of their audience is between the ages of 25-54.

So I changed by audience targeting to focus on them, as well as adding some additional countries.

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So after all that, I have a target audience of 2,800,000, which is ample to launch with.

Ideal Audience Size? I'm often asked what the ideal audience size is, and to be completely honest, there isn't one. I prefer to target at least 1 million users, as that gives Facebook more room to maneuver in placing my ad.

But the real answer is this: your target audience should be as large as it is, while targeting as tightly as possible. In other words, don't make decisions based on the audience number Facebook gives you.

Make your decisions based on data (from media kits and Quantcast) and from a patient exploration of all the logical and relevant Precise Interests that your audience would be connected to.

I recommend that you start smaller (by removing hashtagged topics, as I did with #Baking), if possible, and expand to those #Topics if you need to.

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An Attention-Grabbing Image

Now that you've got your prospective audience squared away, what will you show them to instantly get their attention? This is where your image selection pays off.

While it's impossible for me to give you advice that will cover every conceivable topic, I will share with you some best practices that tends to work well for me and my students and clients.

Avoid Logos – Please don't use a logo as your ad image. Not even if you're IBM. Logos are impersonal, and they don't really give any information or create a connection with your audience, especially when you're running a Like campaign.

Portraits Over Still Lives – When you can, use a picture that has a face in it. Even the most beautiful, serene outdoor image can't compete with someone looking at you.

Look at these 2 examples for a Hiking/Backpacking ad.

While the image on the right is definitely a place I'd like to visit, my experience tells me that the picture of the actual hiker (on the left) will perform better.

Colored Borders Help – You can add a colored border to your image as well.

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See how this same ad has now been “kicked up a notch” by adding a red border? The color serves to add “pop” to the ad, to further draw your prospect's eye to your advertisement.

Avoid Blue on Your Borders – Since the color blue is Facebook's primary color, they tend not to approve ads with blue borders. So stick to reds, oranges, greens, and other non-blue colors that will draw attention.

Don't Just Take My Word For It! Don't base your long-term decision-making on anything other than results. While what I've shared steadily works for me – close-up pics of people with borders on them (yep, that simple) – you should be prepared to try different things over time.

Resources: For a quick web-based photo editor, I use http://www.ribbet.com/ or http://pixlr.com/. They're both completely self-explanatory, provide you with cropping, resizing, filters, frames, borders and a whole lot more. And they're free!

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A Logical Headline

Have you ever noticed the very top of a sales letter or the beginning of an infomercial, there's traditionally a question. Something like, “Tired of cleaning your floors on your hands and knees? Wish there was a better way?”

In the world of copywriting, that pre-header is used to qualify your prospects. It serves to remove from the discussion those people who don't experience the problem your offer solves.

If you've done your audience targeting correctly, most of your audience should say “Yes” to that question. “Yes, I am tired of cleaning my floors on my hands and knees. Please tell me more about this 'better way.'”

In your Facebook ad, you will be using some of the same psychology.

For Like campaigns—when the sole purpose is to increase the sheer number of fans to our Page—the Headline is meant to ask the most logical question to the perfectly targeted audience.

What's that question? Well, it's the one that qualifies your audience's interest in your topic.

We want to know if THEY (your targeted audience) really do LIKE/LOVE your topic.

Here are some of my most successful headlines, using this very simple, logical question format:

Like [topic]?Love [topic]?Do you like [topic]?Do you love [topic]?Crazy about [topic]?Like to [action related to topic]?Love to [action related to topic]?

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Want more [topic]?Can't get enough [topic]?

You see the trend? It's a simple, but powerful question we are asking.

Don't over think your headline. Just ask the most obvious question, as it relates to your topic.

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An Appropriate Call to Action

You've targeted the right people. You've pulled them into your ad with an attention-grabbing image. And you've qualified your prospect with a logical headline. Now's when you “ask for the order,” to borrow from my years in sales.

Many people turn the text section of their ad into an “about my Page” moment, saying things like “Keep up with the latest and greatest news about [topic] when you become a fan.”

Ugh. No, please.

Here's an appropriate call to action when you're running a Like campaign:

“Click LIKE if you love [topic]!”

Notice how simple that is? My call to action is focused on getting them to hit the Like button. I'm not asking for anything else, and I'm not giving them information.

Think about it for a minute...Our headline asks, “Do you like [topic]?” and our text then tells them what to do, “Click LIKE if you love [topic]!”

Sound too simple to work? (Cue evil laughter...) It's just that simple!

The rules are different when your campaign has a different goal (direct selling, list building, etc.), but for Like campaigns, we want to keep things as simple as possible, don't make our prospect think too busy (or at all), and present them with the most logical, compact ad we can offer.

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Odds & Ends

Determining Your Campaign BudgetI'm not here to spend your money, so it's entirely up to you how much you spend. My recommendation is to start small, say $5 per day, and increase on your winners. Increasing your daily spend will not improve your overall results, necessarily. So don't feel like you have to spend a lot of money to determine what works.

When to Make ChangesBy now, you have everything you need to create your own wildly successful Like campaign. And I encourage you to launch it. Don't just sit on this information. Take action! And what follows is some advice for growing, expanding, and changing your advertising over time.

You don't want to take a “set it and forget it” approach to your advertising. It's the quickest way to lose money in the long run. You should monitor your results daily (https://www.facebook.com/ads/manage/campaigns/) to ensure you're getting the results you want.

Think about your advertising as a continuing process of skimming fans from your larger target audience. Over time, 2 things happen:

1) The target audience diminishes as your fanbase grows;2) Your target audience has seen your ad multiple time and has not taken action.

It is not uncommon for your ad to be shown to a prospect 4 or more times.

What does this tell you? Change the image! The image is what your audience will connect your ad to, so change it on a regular basis.

Change your Target Audience: I like having at least 1 million users to target, but you can get away with more or less. If you've been spending $5 a day to target 4,500,000 users, try tweaking your target audience down to 1 million and spending the same $5. What happens? If it's good, then increase your spend. If it's not successful, continue tweaking the targets.

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Using Insights for Further TargetingAfter a while, your Page Insights will show a picture of your audience. You can use this data to change your targeting or drill in even further. Here's an example:

I created a general humor Page and ran an ad to all ages, both men and women. Here's what my audience looks like today:

72% of my fans are women! How could that be, when I wasn't targeting women? It was the image I was using...of an internet meme called Grumpy Cat. Turns out, women love Grumpy Cat, so while my targeting wasn't specific to a gender, my ad was pulling stronger with women than men.

To change this (if I cared to), I would first change the image. If the ad continued to perform well, I'd let it run a week or two, and then revisit my fan demographics. If the data changed, I'd know I was pulling a more male audience.

Or, if I wanted women as fans, I would change my ad to target only women. That would certainly improve my ad's performance, as the Insights clearly show me that women are fanning my Page in significantly larger numbers than men.

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Case Study #1

Topic: labrador retrieversDaily budget: $1030-day average cost per like: $0.0122452

Notice the big spike on 7/09? You want to know what I did to make that happen? (I bet you do.) The answer is NOTHING. I didn't do anything differently than the previous day. I didn't change the image, and I didn't change the audience targeting.

I find often that it can take several days for Facebook to “find its groove” with my ads. It's frustrating, because it can feel like your ad is limping along. I don't ever want to knee-jerk on an ad, because time and again I'm proven correct in my initial ad settings. Sometimes it just takes time for your ad to “take hold” with your audience.

Ad Preview

Image: a picture of my lab, Ranger, when he was a puppy. Notice how it's a face, looking straight at the camera?

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Headline: “Do You Love Labradors?” I ask the most logical question.

Text: “Click LIKE. Good.” I say “good” as a joke, like I would to my dog, like I've issued a command and I'm praising them for doing it right.

Targeting

Very straightforward targeting. 1,720,000 from English-speaking countries, focusing on #Labrador Retriever, labrador retrievers, I love labradors, labrador puppies, labrador retriever or labradors.

Notice I'm only targeting one hashtagged topic: #Labrador Retriever.

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Case Study #2

Topic: survivalists and gun enthusiastsDaily budget: $2030-day average cost per like: $0.02062019

Notice the big spike on 7/04? You want to know what I did to make that happen? Once again, nothing. My ad had been limping since 6/30 when I started the campaign, and then suddenly on July 4, all hell broke loose!

And without anything different on my part, the ad still averages 750-1000 new fans per day in a very competitive niche.

Ad Preview

Image: a picture of some sort of handgun (I have no idea...I'm not a gun owner). This breaks my “show people” rule, but I couldn't find a picture of someone holding a gun that didn't look menacing or dangerous.

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Headline: “Are you Pro Gun?” I ask the most logical question.

Text: “Click LIKE. To show your support for the 2nd Amendment!” This is more text than I like, but it works well because I'm making a somewhat emotional plea to the audience.

Targeting

Due to the nature of the topic, I set a minimum age of 18, and have focused strictly on Americans. My Interest targeting is a mixture of brands, gun styles, relevant associations and related pages.

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