Interview with Social Times Pro, I: Facebook advertising for direct response

Why Facebook's Self-Serve Ad Platform Works

Social Targeting: Why Facebook's Self-Serve Ad Platform Works

I was recently interviewed for the report “Social Targeting: Why Facebook’s Self-Serve Ad Platform Works” from Social Times Pro lead analyst Tameka Kee (@geekychic). The full report is available for download to subscribers. Here’s an excerpt:

Case study: Facebook for direct response

Facebook’s self-serve ads may be effective at building brand awareness, and less intent-focused than search, but that doesn’t meant they can’t be used for direct response campaigns. Take coupons, for example.

  • Target audience: “Soccer moms”
  • Brands involved: CPG food brand
  • Agency/Developer: Bulbstorm
  • Flight time: Four weeks; April 2010
  • Cost: $5,000

Bulbstorm’s client wanted to position itself as a “cost-effective, convenient family meal.” The Facebook ad copy asked users to share tips about how they saved money for their families. The ad drove traffic back to the brand’s Facebook page, where users received a coupon after they posted a money-saving tip.

Outcome:

  • 8,000 new fans over the course of four weeks
  • 4,000 family savings tips submitted

Why it worked: First, Bulbstorm targeted the ads using age, gender and marital status. The ad also featured a call-to-action that focused on encouraging users to engage with others, not just promoting the brand. The addition of the coupon added direct response metrics to the “branding” benefits, since the advertiser could track how many Facebook users actually redeemed the unique code.

“We were especially proud of this campaign from a cost standpoint, because $5,000 was relatively inexpensive for such a competitive demographic,” Bulbstorm marketing director Matt Simpson said.

“These moms spend lots of time on Facebook playing games, among other things, and CPGs with huge budgets go after them. It’s difficult for smaller brands to compete, but the combination of smart targeting and compelling content made it possible.”

The campaign would have also been far more expensive if it had run via paid search on Google or Bing, given the competitive landscape.

Copyright 2011 WebMediaBrands Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission from SocialTimes Pro.

7 Tips for Landing Your First Social Media Job

Bulbstorm says Help Wanted in Social Media

Bulbstorm seeks smart guys and gals to work in social media. If you've followed these seven tips, drop us a line!

So you wanna work in social media? You’re not alone. Bulbstorm is hiring for multiple positions right now and it ain’t easy.

A lot of decent, smart people want to work in social media. But few can prove in a resume or interview that they can actually do it. It’s one thing to play with the tools. It’s quite another to apply them in a business setting.

Even employers are still trying to get it right. Last summer, Best Buy was ridiculed for requiring Sr. Manager of Emerging Media Marketing candidates to possess one year active blogging experience, 250 followers on Twitter, and an MBA.

So, how do you force your way into an industry that hardly existed five years ago and continues to evolve? Here are a few tips:

  1. Create an online brand. What’s your personal passion? Maybe it’s concert photography or fantasy artwork or ASU football. Build a brand around that topic – or around yourself – and market it like an actual business.
  2. Start your own blog. You have to go deeper than 140 characters. Prove that you can think critically and organize and articulate thoughts in posts unfiltered (and unedited) by your boss. Your blog doesn’t have to be about social media, but it has to be your own.
  3. Start your own blog (Pt. II). Get intimate with your blog’s backend. (Oy!) Play with different WordPress themes and plug-ins. Ditch the wysiwyg and write posts in html. Install Google Analytics and get familiar with the tool’s features. It’ll all pay off.
  4. Drive traffic. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. to drive eyeballs to your content. Don’t forget social bookmarking and niche communities. Familiarize yourself with SEO and/or PPC. Then use your Google Analytics to assess what’s working and what’s not.
  5. Go viral, or at least try. No budget? No problem. There are plenty of free tools out there. Customize a Facebook gifting app. Create a Twitter hashtag. Edit your own Downfall parody or Photoshop something silly.
  6. Keep learning. Your college degree is not enough. Neither is your current job. Read white papers and case studies and attend webinars and live events. You’ll need to dive deeper than 200-word blog posts to keep pace in a constantly changing industry.
  7. And finally, get real. Do not – repeat do not – apply for a social media job without social media experience. And please note that I didn’t say paid experience. Don’t ignore your professional experience. Just supplement it with your personal work in social media.

If you followed the steps above, you should have enough for a few bullets on a resume and a few talking points in an interview. Maybe you can join our team at Bulbstorm. Good luck!

So, what should hiring managers expect from a social media applicant? Two-hundred Twitter followers? An MBA? Let me know in the comments!