More Traffic More Clients Witty Content Better Results

FacebookIf you use social media to promote your blog, and you should be using social media to promote your blog, you have likely seen the little icon on your Facebook page that says “boost.” This little icon gives you the opportunity to pay Facebook to display your post on people’s pages who otherwise would not know that you exist. These ads can be effective… but are they worth your time and money?

 

 

Paying for Facebook Ads

Let me start this off by saying I have never actually paid for an ad. I have read about them, and I have looked into them, but at this point I have yet to actually use the service. But this is how it works.

You post your content on Facebook. After a day you will see that the content has reached X number of people. You decide you want it to reach more people, so you buy a campaign.

The campaign lets you set a dollar amount that you want to spend. Suppose you want to spend $50. Facebook will tell you how many people will be reached with that kind of budget.

After selecting how much you want to spend, you can then put in variables. You can display only to men, only to women, only to those in certain geographic regions, only those who have posts about certain topics, or those who have recently visited sites containing various cookies. The algorithms are actually pretty amazing, and you can easily target new clients that would otherwise be unreached.

 

The Dilemma with Ads

The problem with Facebook ads, however, is that they are never a “sure thing.” While this is one of the risks of marketing, it can be an even bigger issue when it comes to Facebook.

Most people pass up ads. They see an ad and they skim right over it; especially in print. Facebook is a little different and your ad will often just look like a page or a post that a friend shared. This means that people are more likely to click on it. If you have the demographic variables properly set up, then you will likely do incredibly well with your ad campaign.

However, many experts say that Facebook ads are very much not worthwhile. They don’t provide a large bang for your buck, and they often fall flat. In the end, you have just as much readership as you did, but you are $50 lighter (or more, depending on how much you invested).

 

How to Boost Your Page

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the like are great ways to boost your blog. In fact, if you are relying just on SEO and organic searches, you are missing a HUGE market that is essentially free.

Instead of boosting your page through ads, here is how you do it:

Write high quality work. This is not work that is pounded out on your iPhone during your lunch break. This is work that has been researched, and conveys knowledge. If I’m going to be honest, this article you are reading now only barely meets those requirements. By the way, if you’re writing quality content, you might as well optimize it too.

Share that content with your networks. Building a strong and interactive social network is not something that happens overnight, so don’t despair. You have to start with friends and family, and then eventually others will come too. The better your content is, the faster your network will grow. Post to Twitter and Facebook at separate times and with separate descriptions so your networks are seeing different content.

Promote your content with means other than ads. Instead of paying Facebook to promote your content, simply ASK your followers to do it. There is no shame in asking for a favorite or a retweet. Your page views can grow substantially if you ask your followers to share the page, and you should be engaging them in the comments.

To sum it up: high quality, unique, and useful content.   Post it to your social media accounts. Ask for others to share it. As your networks grow, more people will share and your networks will grow even more.

 

As a content writer, SEO expert, and social media manager in Billings, Montana, I understand that traffic takes time. There are a lot of moving parts to making sure your website stands out, and you need to take the time to make sure they are all functioning properly. If you don’t have that time, then that is where I come in. Give me a call or email me today and learn how I can help your business grow.

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