The million dollar question asked by many marketers relates to how to increase Facebook Likes.

But the key problem should be attacking how you get relevant Facebook Fans. It’s about quality, not quantity!

[Tweet “Starting a Facebook page? Here’s how to build a relevant audience from scratch…”]

The Featured Question

The featured question this week comes from Daniel Himel:

If you had to build an audience from scratch, starting tomorrow. Knowing what you know now….What would be the top 5 steps you would do with facebook?

I am taking Daniel’s question literally and assuming no viable email list, no established website audience and no other customer list or social media audience to leverage that could be used to quickly and easily boost Facebook Likes.

This is not done easily overnight. Normally you can leverage trust established elsewhere. But we need to build that trust along with the audience from scratch.

Here is how I would do it…

1. Establish a Content Publishing Routine

Make sure that the routine appeals to your target audience. This assumes, of course, that you first understand who your target audience is. You should be able to answer these questions:

• How old are they?
• Are they male or female?
• Where do they live?
• What type of content do they value?
• What questions do they ask?

Put together some structure — a regular content publishing routine — to regularly get into the News Feeds of relevant people with content they value.

Structure is important here. Establish expectations on what you’re going to post and when. Consider daily themes. Schedule out content to make sure you stay on top of it (I use PostPlanner). Make sure you post the types of content that will elicit a response.

The ultimate goal here is that you not only reach your current fans who like your content, but you get them highly engaged so that those Fans can naturally share your content with friends who also fit your target audience.

2. Use Graph Search

Graph Search isn’t getting nearly enough attention from marketers. It’s an awesome tool for learning more about your brand’s audience.

In this case, of course, you don’t have an established audience. So you can use it to learn more about the users who like Pages based around products or services that are similar to your own.

First, come up with two Facebook Pages that are either for competitors or products and services similar to your own.

Then, run a search to find out the Pages that their Fans also like. Here’s an example:

“Pages liked by people who like Jon Loomer Digital and Mari Smith”

Here are the top Pages that come up for me when I run that search:

• Social Media Examiner
• Social Fresh
• AllFacebook.com
• Hubspot
• Mashable
• hubze
• Facebook Marketing
• Gary Vaynerchuk
• Klout
• TechCrunch
• Marie Forleo
• Lewis Howes

Keep that info in your back pocket!

Now run a search to determine the favorite interests of this same group of people. Here’s an example:

“Favorite interests of people who like Jon Loomer Digital and Mari Smith”

Here are the results of that search:

• Social media
• Marketing
• Social media marketing
• Blogging
• Photography
• Traveling
• Running
• Search engine optimization
• Reading
• Internet marketing
• LinkedIn
• Web 2.0

Some of these interests are clearly more relevant than others. Stick the relevant ones in your back pocket.

Now, depending on the nature of your basis, there are endless other searches that you could run to pad your knowledge of your ideal audience.

Here are some other examples:

• Groups of people who like…
• Pages liked by [career like “marketers”] who like…
• Places in [city] visited by people who like…
• [Business type like “restaurants”] in [city] visited by people who like…
• Movies liked by people who like…
• Games played by people who like…
• Favorite music of people who like…

Get creative and experiment!

3. Run Highly Targeted Facebook Ads

So, you’re probably wondering what the heck you’re going to do with all of that information you learned in Step #2. Here you go!

When you’re running Facebook ads, you want them to be highly targeted. So make sure they are surfaced only to the people who fit your target demographic. You can control this with basic things like age, gender, location, career and a whole lot more.

But you can also do this by listing Precise Interests. Use the learnings from above here.

Something else you can do is run Sponsored Results ads (Facebook is phasing these out, but use them while you can!). Target people running searches for the Pages that overlap with your target audience.

Finally, you now know a whole lot about your target audience. Use this information to target by specific lifestyle and buying history traits through the use of Partner Categories.

4. Offer a Premium Piece of Content

Create something of value that appeals to your target audience. This could be a professionally done eBook or white paper. Offer that piece of content for free in exchange for liking your Page.

This is done with like-gating. Visitors to your tab are given different views depending on whether they are Fans or not. If they aren’t, they can be shown a preview of what they get for free if they like your Page. When they like, they are given the download link.

I use ShortStack (aff.) to do this. Use this piece of premium content as a carrot for your ads. Drive those ads to this landing page.

5. Use Hashtags

Facebook hashtags are still gaining traction. But they can be a great tool for reaching a broader audience.

Research what hashtags are currently being used in your niche. Start using those hashtags appropriately to categorize your content.

If done correctly, you will begin reaching more people who aren’t currently Fans but who are interested in your niche. This is great for discovery!

EXTRA. Network

Okay, I was only supposed to do five. But the thing is that there are far more than five ways to increase your relevant Facebook audience. And really, you should be looking beyond Facebook to increase that audience.

A huge one is networking. Look to guest post on the blogs of others with larger audiences who service your target audience. Comment on those popular blogs. Comment on their Facebook Pages. And offer to interview some of these top names in your industry.

While doing these things, make sure that you are always looking to provide value. Networking is possibly the most important key to gaining traction quickly and going from obscurity to authority.

Other Related Links

Here are some other links that I referenced in the video above:

• How the Pros Use Facebook Advertising [Free eBook]
• 11 Powerful Ways to Increase Relevant Facebook Likes with Ads
• 11 Factors That Drive a Facebook Content Plan That Works
• How to Use Facebook Graph Search to Learn About Your Fans
• How to Create a Sponsored Result Facebook Search Ad
• Facebook Partner Categories: Ad Targeting Becomes More Powerful
• How to Use Tabs as a Facebook Advertising Destination
• 5 Reasons You Should STILL Create Facebook Tabs for Your Page
• Facebook Hashtags for Brands: What You Need to Know
• Facebook Custom Audiences: Target Facebook Ads by Email List
• Facebook Lookalike Audiences: Target Users Similar to Your Customers

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The post How to Build a Facebook Audience From Scratch appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

Now that you can create Sponsored Results that appear in the Facebook search typehead, the overwhelming question is this: So, do the ads work?

According to early results reported by InsideFacebook, the clickthrough rate is spectacular. Ampush Social is seeing CTR between .5% and 1% while PageLever is reporting between .8% and 2%. These rates are higher than that of standard Facebook advertising by a factor of 10 (or more).

Sounds great, right? The problem is that the click doesn’t tell the entire story. When I tested Sponsored Results (for a mere $10), I also saw great peripheral stats. But the bottom line? Read on…

My Test

Ad #1: I targeted 18 countries outside of the US. I targeted users who weren’t already fans of Jon Loomer Digital who were searching for the following Pages:

• Facebook Pages
• Social media marketing
• Marketing
• Facebook For Small Business
• Facebook Advertising Tips
• Facebook Marketing Bootcamp UK
• Social media marketing
• The Social Media Monthly Magazine
• Social Media Examiner
• Facebook Marketing Bootcamp
• Boost Social Media
• Social Media Marketing Best Practices
• Mashable – Social Media
• HubSpot
• AllFacebook.com
• Facebook Marketing
• InsideFacebook.com

Note that some of these are well-followed Pages and some are not. In some cases, I wanted to reach people who were searching for a topic, but there was a Page under the same name.

Other than the targeting mentioned, I cast a wide net. I didn’t care about interests because I figured that if they were searching for these Pages, they were within my target audience.

This ad drove people to the landing tab for my Facebook marketing eBook. In order to access the eBook, they’d first need to Like my Page.

Ad #2: Same as Ad #1, but targeting only users in the US.

Ad #3: I targeted the same Pages and countries as in Ad #1, but this time I drove users directly to my Facebook Page. No carrot this time, just looking to get people to Like my Page.

Ad #4: Same as Ad #3, but targeted inside the US.

The Results

Ad #1 (non-US, eBook): 747 Impressions, 7 Clicks, .937% Clickthrough
Ad #2 (US, eBook): 5,847 Impressions, 16 Clicks, .274% Clickthrough
Ad #3 (non-US, Page): 732 Impressions, 7 Clicks, .956% Clickthrough
Ad #4 (US, Page): 5,682 Impressions, 19 Clicks, .334% Clickthrough

As you can see here, my numbers are consistent with what others have found. That said, my Clickthrough is far better outside of the US than inside, which is no surprise. However, I found it odd that so many more of my impressions were inside the US than outside. Also, there was no noticeable difference between my two ad variations.

But the flaw with the other reports is that they don’t go beyond the click. We know there are Facebook bots out there. We know they are click happy. Do these ads inspire action beyond the click?

For me, the answer is a resounding “No.” I won’t even show you the stats. I’ll just tell you that of the 49 clicks I received, only one resulted in an Action (a Page Like). Since all four ads were looking for the Like, I’d consider spending $9.55 for one Like (and no eBook downloads) a massive failure.

The Open Questions

Admittedly, the sample size of my test is as small as it gets. But the CTR is consistent with prior reports. It’s just not clear if my other results are also consistent.

So that leaves me with some open questions:

1) Are brands seeing that these ads are not driving Actions?
It’s possible that I am the exception here. But if brands are seeing a high Clickthrough rate and very few Actions, why? Is it a flaw with the ad unit? Is it because many of the clicks aren’t from humans? Is it because we as advertisers haven’t yet figured out how best to follow through on what we promise?

2) Are the other incredible results focused outside of the US?
We need to train ourselves to start asking this question when we see Facebook ad results that are too good to be true. There is a high concentration of bots and spam accounts outside of the US. If you want to focus on specific countries, you can get some eye-popping — though hollow — numbers.

3) Are these ads prone to bot clicks?
Yes, this is related to #2, but I’m curious about this. I realize that bot activity may be more sophisticated than I understand, but I had expected that this ad would be less prone to bot clicks due to the fact that users would first need to type a specific Page name into search. Granted, bot programmers would eventually work that into the code, but my expectation is that clicks on these ads would be somewhat clean out of the gate.

My theory is that bots will inflate clicks and they’ll inflate Likes if there is a Like link within ads. But these ads are different because there is no such link. Users are redirected and then must perform the action. That’s why my suspicion is that these click numbers are inflated by bots, and those bots drop off after that first click.

Am I wrong about this? Are these ads as susceptible to bot clicks? Maybe even more so?

4) Are my results an indication of a missed opportunity?
When I see 49 Clicks ad only one Action, I can’t help but wonder if I did something wrong. It’s certainly encouraging that the ads at least got clicks. If not, I’d be more willing to point my finger at the ad platform itself. But since it got clicks and only one Action, I wonder if the problem is me.

With only four different ads and two variations, I should split test more. There may be another angle that I need to take that would lead to success. It’s far too early for me to indict Sponsored Results in general.

What Are You Seeing?

The post Facebook Sponsored Results: More Click than Action? appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.

Facebook advertisers are now able to create Sponsored Results, a new form of advertising that appears within the typehead of Facebook search results.

Here is an example of a Facebook Sponsored Result when typing “Zynga” into the Facebook search typehead:

Following is the explanation of Sponsored Results from Facebook, as quoted by TechCrunch:

“Everyday, many people on Facebook use our search to find people, places, and things. We want to help them better find and discover the brands, products, and experiences relevant to them. Sponsored Results gives brands the ability to buy ads in search results, bringing more awareness and traffic to your App, Page, or Place. Sponsored Results give you:

1. Expanded distribution of your message, with placement in one of the most used features on Facebook.

2. The ability to target what people are looking for, by appearing alongside related Apps, Pages, and Places.

3. Flexibility to customize your landing destination, such as a specific tab on your Page.

Brands are not able to drive offsite using this product, but you will have the ability to drive to specific Pages, Tabs, and Canvas Applications.”

Note that advertisers are only able to target users based on the Page, Application or Place they are searching for. This is not a Google clone, where advertising is based on keywords.

This brings up a topic for another day. Today I want to focus on how to create a Sponsored Result Facebook search ad unit.

1. Use Power Editor

First, this functionality is only available through Power Editor or third party tools that utilize the Facebook advertising API. It is not available within the Facebook Ad Manager.

Power Editor is a Chrome plugin that offers the ability to bulk edit ads. Another advantage to using Power Editor over the Facebook Ads Manager is that you can also create mobile and News Feed ads.

For more information, read How to Use Facebook Power Editor.

2. Create a Campaign

When you create a campaign, you’ll need to provide the following:

• Campaign Name
• Budget (Lifetime or Daily)
• Type (Marketplace or Premium)
• Schedule
• Status

The Marketplace (Classic) and Premium (Multi-Objective) options just started appearing for me. I don’t know much about Premium yet, and Facebook hasn’t answered my questions. When I’ve tried selecting it, I get plenty of bugs. For the purpose of this tutorial, you need to select Marketplace (Classic) or it won’t work.

3. Create an Ad

Within Creative, make sure to click I want to advertise something I have on Facebook and select the Facebook Page you wish to advertise.

Within Story Type, select “Sponsored Result” from the drop-down.

Pick a destination tab. You don’t have to drive people to your Timeline; it could be a contest or free offer you’ve created. Just make sure you add context in the body.

Now, enter the body of your ad. You have 70 characters to work with, so make them count!

Within Interests & Broad Categories, you’ll want to list the names of Pages, Places or Applications that you want to target. I have a difficult time with this. Ethically, I do not want to steal Likes from others like me in my industry. For now, I’m instead sticking with searches of big brands related to my topic. I figure they can stand to lose a few Likes.

Within Connections on Facebook, make sure to list your Page for “Target users who are not already connected to…” so that you don’t throw money away on people who are already Fans.

Finally, you’ll want to select CPC and enter a bid under Pricing & Status. No other option currently works.

Fill out all other information as you normally would. Feel free to experiment. I’m keeping the net pretty wide and not entering in any Interests (precise or otherwise). I figure that if they are searching for a relevant Page, that’s all that really matters.

When you’re done, make sure to click the Upload button at the top right, and that’s it! As you would with any Facebook ad, feel free to split test. Try different things and figure out what works.

How About You?

The post How to Create a Sponsored Result Facebook Search Ad appeared first on Jon Loomer Digital.