Goodtree & Company :: Blog » social networking

Advertising on Facebook

Hal — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:23:20 +0000

Our roads and bridges may be crumbling in America, but our information infrastructure is growing like kudzu. One of the most interesting new developments is the expansion of advertising opportunities on Facebook.

THE FIRST STEP

The first thing to do if you want to advertise on Facebook is get yourself a profile. It’s free. Ads are used to promote Facebook Pages. Pages are associated with your profile.

You can build an unlimited number of pages on Facebook. But you can only have ONE profile. The rules and regs are very specific. You cannot create a second identity for your business.

MAKING AN AD

Once you have a profile and have created a page for your business, you’re ready to advertise. Select Ads & Pages from the menu of the right side of your Home.

On the top right, select Create an Ad.

The process involves four simple steps (and is a wonder of user-friendly design):

Select a target (where do you want the ad to link)
Create the ad (text and picture)
Choose a target demographic
Set a budget (how much per day, how much per click)

STEP 1 - TARGET

When viewers click on your ad, they are taken somewhere on the web. In step one, you selected where you want to send your traffic.

You can send your audience to an external web page, a Facebook Page (as we’ve selected) or you can copy an existing ad.

STEP 2 - CREATE AN AD

Creating an ad is as easy as writing a headline and a little body copy, then uploading a picture.

Help is always available on the right side of the page.

STEP 3 - DEMOGRAPHIC

Here’s where it gets interesting. Choose the region or city you want to reach. Add keywords that target your audience. Watch the audience size change as you alter the variables.

STEP 4 - BUDGET

Advertising is a relatively new thing on Facebook. Rates are pretty cheap and the site is not yet over-run with competing promotional messages. $25 gets you started.

Once you create a campaign, you can edit the budget and schedule. It’s a little counter-intuitive, but works ok in practice.

REVIEW YOUR CAMPAIGN

You get one last chance to review the campaign.

Change the ad or place the order.

WHY FACEBOOK IS A GOOD PLACE TO ADVERTISE

Lots of people want you to advertise with them online. What’s different about Facebook is that it’s like being invited to advertise in someone’s home.

The process is easy. The rates are cheap. The channel is relatively uncluttered. Why not give it a try?

Advertising on MySpace

Hal — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:30:48 +0000

Both MySpace and Facebook have beefed up their offerings for advertisers. Today, we’ll talk a little about M/S because it has the more robust interface.

First of all, you don’t need a myspace account or a myspace profile to advertise. Even if you have a profile, you need to create a separate account for advertising.

Ads can be targeted by geography, gender, age and interest.

As well, MySpace ads offer interesting stats, just what you’d expect from a Google company. But maybe the best feature is Build an Ad:

Build an Ad has an easy-to-use interface that offers a lot of creative options. You can build a box ad or a banner. Use a pre-made template or upload a picture. Size, scale and color your fonts. Experienced designers and novices will like this feature.

AUDIENCE

Finally, a word about the audience. Every social portal has it’s own vibe and character. Here’s what we think:

MySpace is like a bar
Facebook is like the YMCA

If your product or service targets the party crowd - 21 to 30, not married - then MySpace has a powerful new way for you to reach your elusive audience. It’s not just for brewers of beer - MySpace is a great channel for reaching young adults interested in fitness, fashion, health, culture and more.

If your audience is adults 30 and up, tune in again for our upcoming post on Facebook advertising.

Social Networking - the Big Three for Business

Hal — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:10:28 +0000

There are thousands of social portals on the internet, from massively mainstream to fantastically fringe. But lately, three social networks have emerged as must-haves for business people in a Web 2.0 world.

From start-ups to superstars in five years, social networking on the internet has swept across the planet, embracing the youngest users (teens) and washing upward like a tide. The tide has finally reached the baby boomers.

Last year, adults started watching YouTube in large numbers. This year, Facebook has surged since it opened it’s ranks to everyone. And Linked In, which was always about business, has added some significant new features that will advance it strongly into the future.

Every business has a story to tell and web video is the most powerful, persuasive way to tell it. YouTube is far and away the preeminent channel for serving and sharing video online.

It started as a network for students. It’s had its share of controversy. But in 2008, adults have been joining Facebook in a stampede. Reasons why FB is a must-have for business:

More wholesome than MySpace - FB feels like a giant picnic for family and friends. MySpace feels like a bar.

Real Names, Real Friends - With its emphasis on real names, FB lets you re-connect with your real-world friends, relatives and colleagues. These are people who already know you and trust you.

While not as mature as the first two, Linked In has become a very popular network for renewing business connections. It’s skewed toward people with longer careers - they tend to have more connections, recommendations and better resumes than younger workers. Today, LI rolled out some huge new enhancements to Linked In Groups. More about LI’s new features next week.

Participating in social networks increases the reach of your personal and professional message. It raises your rankings in search. But it’s also a time consuming process.

That’s why it’s good to see the dust settle a little, and three networks emerge as clear winners for business. Other portals have their charms, but people in business need to be on The Big Three In to stay relevant in a Web 2.0 world.

DMB&B Alumni Unite!

Hal — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:43:09 +0000

We just started a DMB&B alumni group on Linked In.

The group is for all former employees of DMB&B, its predecessor companies (such as Benton & Bowles, DMM, etc) and affiliates (like Medicus or Ted Colangelo Associates).

Are you a former DMB&Ber? Join us here:

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/122649/0AFCC059949F

It’s just like the good old days. Without the long lunch at PJ Clarke’s.

The Best Web 2.0 for Business Bookmarks

Hal — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:35:04 +0000

We’re always finding new sites that inform or inspire us. Now it’s time to share.

For some time now, we’ve been saving the best Web 2.0 sites to the social bookmarking portal del.icio.us. It works like this:

We come upon a site we like and click on a link or icon in our browser to “post to delicious.”
A little window pops up and we can add notes or keywords or even rename the link (some people give their web pages unfortunate names like “home,” so we change ‘em).
Presto - a new link is added to our collection.

We have over 250 links; more than 40 of them are tagged “Web 2.0.” They include design sites, color sites, good examples of Web 2.0 business sites, online tools and touchstones every modern enterprise should know.

Is it really the best collection of Web 2.0 links ever? Well, we’re working on it. If you have any great sites to share, post it in the comments or email us.

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Start your own social bookmarking site and share it with others:

Del.icio.us