Improving Facebook Engagement: 5 Hours vs $5
No matter where you are in your career, there’s always more to be learned. And let’s face it, we could all use a motivation boost from time to time. I personally have started turning to self-development books, blog posts, and, my personal favorite, podcasts. (Full Confession: I’ve always been a bit of a junkie for self-development opportunities, and my discovery of podcasts is really taking it to the next level.)
A little over a month ago, I became a proud subscriber of a fitness instructor and businesswoman’s podcast, where she combines both of my favorite subjects (fitness and personal development) into one ongoing conversation about bettering yourself, your health, and your business.
Chalene Johnson? You might have heard of her? Apparently Chalene is pretty famous, which is something I’m only now learning (#latetoeveryparty), but I’ve seriously been listening to her non-stop–on my morning run, while I’m getting ready for work, and, really, any chance I get. This woman knows her stuff and is incredibly empowering!
Anyway, this isn’t a Chalene Johnson promotional blog. The real point I wanted to discuss came from something she said in the podcast I listened to this morning. The podcast was titled ‘Relationships First with Mari Smith.’ (Ep. 30). For those who are unfamiliar with the name, Mari Smith is a pretty big deal in the marketing community, well-known for her thought leadership in social media marketing, particularly Facebook marketing.
I’m not going to transcribe the entire podcast for you (because, honestly, you’ll get more from it by listening), but I am going to share the one line from Chalene that has really stuck with me all day:
You can spend five hours on Facebook trying to improve your engagement, or you can spend $5 on a Facebook ad, and let Facebook create it for you.
You can’t see me, but I’m doing a slow golf clap. This could not be more on point. Yes, posting on Facebook is a crucial part of your marketing strategy. Yes, you should absolutely find non-promotional (humanizing) ways of engaging with your followers. But, yes, you should also absolutely invest in Facebook advertising. Seriously.
It’s not just about “getting more likes,” either. One of the biggest things we’re constantly preaching to clients is that, while having an expanding audience is certainly important to your brand, having an engaging audience of real people (ahem, potential customers) is more important than any other number. You could have a skrillion Facebook page likes, and if not a single one of them is interacting with your page, visiting it for updates, or sharing it with friends, who cares? With Facebook advertising, however, not only are you able to increase the quantity of likes, you’re also able to increase the quality by targeting your custom audience.
I could go on and on about this, but I won’t bore you. If you have any more questions about how Facebook advertising could help your brand, but don’t know where to start, shoot us a message! We’re happy to help, and I promise I won’t talk your ear off about my favorite podcasts again. (That’s not a promise I can keep…)
