Andrew Macarthy's Blog, page 19

I Spent $3 Per Day on Facebook Ads Over 2 Months: Here's Exactly What Happened

I Spent $3 Per Day on Facebook Ads Over 2 Months: The Results May Surprise You

Do you advertise on Facebook, or are you considering it? In this blog post, I'll show you what I managed to achieve over a two month period between July and August 2015, limiting myself to a budget of just $3.00 per day. 

The aim of the ad

Plain and simple, I wanted to advertise the Summer 2015 Edition of my book, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips. When clicked, the ad would lead viewers to the product page for the book on Amazon.com. 

Note: The one considerable downside to linking the ad direct to Amazon is that it left me unable to track conversions with a Conversion Pixel, i.e. of whose who clicked, who actually went on to purchase the book? However, I was happy enough to spend $2.00 to give the ad simple exposure and, if clicks ended up costing little, all the better.

The ad design

People see hundreds of ads on Facebook every day (and ignore most of them), so the aim of my ad design was to keep it nice and simple. The main ad image - what people will normally notice first - tells people that the Summer 2015 edition of 500 Social Media Marketing Tips is out, and every other element is used to support this information, and drive clicks: get 10% off for a limited time, essential strategy, over 60,000 copies sold, etc. In the past, I have used the "Buy Now" call to action button. This time, I decided to experiment with the slightly less pushy "Learn More." 

Ad targeting options and placement

Using information about my audience gained from the 500 Social Media Marketing Tips Facebook Page, I narrowed my targeting down to the following.

People based in the US (since the ad linked through to the US Amazon website, this one was a given).Men and women aged between 25 and 55Interested in social media marketing and Social Media Examiner (one of the most popular social media for business websites)This gave me a potential reach of 1.1 million people, and an estimated daily reach of 91 - 240 people.The ad was placed in all available positions: Mobile News Feed, Desktop News Feed, Desktop Right Column, and Audience Network.Ad budget and schedule

Here's my daily ad budget of £2.00 ($3.12) per day, set to run continuously and optimised for Clicks to Website (my Amazon product page). I allowed Facebook to optimise my cost per click. If there was one thing I would have changed, I would schedule the ad to run at the times when my US audience were most online to see it, rather than having the ad run all day. This could have saved me wasting a portion of my budget.

The results

This image shows the performance of my ad between June 15th 2015 and August 15th 2015. Here's a quick breakdown of the results:

My ad reached 19,376 peopleIt was clicked 308 timesI spent £56.20 ($87.50), which worked out at an average of £0.18 ($0.28) per click.The average click rate was 1.03%.

I'm well aware that some marketers boast CPC results of as low as 1 cent per click, but considering I was targeting a specific group from the US - a more expensive market to reach in the first place compared, say, to somewhere like India - I was pretty pleased with the results. On several days, my CPC was less than $0.20.

Here's an interesting observation from the Placement results of the ad. The majority of my reach and clicks - a whopping 81% and 59% respectively - came via the Audience Network. The Audience Network automatically delivers my ad into relevant non-Facebook apps. Does this prove the increasing importance and effectiveness of mobile advertising or did Facebook just target those people more heavily on my behalf? Hard to tell, especially without conversion analytics.

Closing Thoughts and Plans for the Future

Many businesses are reluctant to advertise on Facebook, but for a couple of dollars a day - the same amount that many of us wouldn't hesitate to spend on a takeaway coffee or a quick bite to eat - it can prove a cheap and effective segment of your marketing spend. I'm fairly pleased with this summertime Facebook ads experiment, but I'm excited to tinker with the setup to see if I can improve its performance. For starters, I'd like to:

Find a way to track Amazon conversions from Facebook.Schedule ads to appear when audience is online to spend budget more efficentlyExperiment with ad images, copy, and call to action buttonExperiment with manual bidding to see how it affects performance.Over to You

What do you think about my Facebook ads strategy? How have Facebook ads worked (or not) for your business? What kinds of Facebook ads experiments would you like to see me perform in future? Let me know in the comments below!

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
http://www.fa cebook.com/50 0socialmediatips/
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I Spent $3 Per Day on Facebook Ads Over 2 Months: The Results May Surprise You

Do you advertise on Facebook, or are you considering it? In this blog post, I'll show you what I managed to achieve over a two month period between July and August 2015, limiting myself to a budget of just $3.00 per day. 

The aim of the ad

Plain and simple, I wanted to advertise the Summer 2015 Edition of my book, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips. When clicked, the ad would lead viewers to the product page for the book on Amazon.com. 

Note: The one considerable downside to linking the ad direct to Amazon is that it left me unable to track conversions with a Conversion Pixel, i.e. of whose who clicked, who actually went on to purchase the book? However, I was happy enough to spend $2.00 to give the ad simple exposure and, if clicks ended up costing little, all the better.

The ad design

People see hundreds of ads on Facebook every day (and ignore most of them), so the aim of my ad design was to keep it nice and simple. The main ad image - what people will normally notice first - tells people that the Summer 2015 edition of 500 Social Media Marketing Tips is out, and every other element is used to support this information, and drive clicks: get 10% off for a limited time, essential strategy, over 60,000 copies sold, etc. In the past, I have used the "Buy Now" call to action button. This time, I decided to experiment with the slightly less pushy "Learn More." 

Ad targeting options and placement

Using information about my audience gained from the 500 Social Media Marketing Tips Facebook Page, I narrowed my targeting down to the following.

People based in the US (since the ad linked through to the US Amazon website, this one was a given).Men and women aged between 25 and 55Interested in social media marketing and Social Media Examiner (one of the most popular social media for business websites)This gave me a potential reach of 1.1 million people, and an estimated daily reach of 91 - 240 people.The ad was placed in all available positions: Mobile News Feed, Desktop News Feed, Desktop Right Column, and Audience Network.Ad budget and schedule

Here's my daily ad budget of £2.00 ($3.12) per day, set to run continuously and optimised for Clicks to Website (my Amazon product page). I allowed Facebook to optimise my cost per click. If there was one thing I would have changed, I would schedule the ad to run at the times when my US audience were most online to see it, rather than having the ad run all day. This could have saved me wasting a portion of my budget.

The results

This image shows the performance of my ad between June 15th 2015 and August 15th 2015. Here's a quick breakdown of the results:

My ad reached 19,376 peopleIt was clicked 308 timesI spent £56.20 ($87.50), which worked out at an average of £0.18 ($0.28) per click.The average click rate was 1.03%.

I'm well aware that some marketers boast CPC results of as low as 1 cent per click, but considering I was targeting a specific group from the US - a more expensive market to reach in the first place compared, say, to somewhere like India - I was pretty pleased with the results. On several days, my CPC was less than $0.20.

Here's an interesting observation from the Placement results of the ad. The majority of my reach and clicks - a whopping 81% and 59% respectively - came via the Audience Network. The Audience Network automatically delivers my ad into relevant non-Facebook apps. Does this prove the increasing importance and effectiveness of mobile advertising or did Facebook just target those people more heavily on my behalf? Hard to tell, especially without conversion analytics.

Closing Thoughts and Plans for the Future

Many businesses are reluctant to advertise on Facebook, but for a couple of dollars a day - the same amount that many of us wouldn't hesitate to spend on a takeaway coffee or a quick bite to eat - it can prove a cheap and effective segment of your marketing spend. I'm fairly pleased with this summertime Facebook ads experiment, but I'm excited to tinker with the setup to see if I can improve its performance. For starters, I'd like to:

Find a way to track Amazon conversions from Facebook.Schedule ads to appear when audience is online to spend budget more efficentlyExperiment with ad images, copy, and call to action buttonExperiment with manual bidding to see how it affects performance.Over to You

What do you think about my Facebook ads strategy? How have Facebook ads worked (or not) for your business? What kinds of Facebook ads experiments would you like to see me perform in future? Let me know in the comments below!

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
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http://www.twitter.com/andrewmacarthy
http://www.youtube.com/5 00socialmediatips

5 Surprising Statistics About Customer Service Statistics on Twitter [INFOGRAPHIC]

Do you handle customer service issues on Twitter? According to new statistics lifted from Twitter's customer service playbook, handling customer queries and forging relationships on the site is marking the future...

5 Surprising Statistics About Customer Service Statistics on Twitter

5 Surprising Statistics About Customer Service Statistics on Twitter95% of consumers say they are influenced by what other people say  about companies on social media.83% of customers with a personalized interaction were satisfied by their customer service experience on Twitter.77% of customers satisfied with twitter customer service said they were likely to recommend  the brand to others.250%: the amount that tweets to leading brands have increased over the past two years.80%: the potential save per interaction using Twitter for customer service vs telephone.

My new book, Successful Social Media Customer Service is out soon.

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
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How to Shoot Shareable Instagram Photos: Real Life Good vs Bad Examples

How to Shoot Shareable Instagram Photos: Real Life Good vs Bad Examples

Do you use Instagram for business? Do you want to shoot photos that receive more likes and shares? The most popular Instagram photos evoke a strong emotion in viewers, are inspirational, aspirational, and eye-catching. With just a few simple tweaks, you can improve the quality of the photos you take, and drive more engagement with your content. Let's take a look, using real life examples to demonstrate. In each case, ask yourself which

1.  Context is important

Let's say you're in the business of selling accessories for the home. Customers will most likely be drawn to photos that show how your items fit into their own spaces. shop_juliecouch's photo is rather uninspiring (the lamp even still has its plastic packaging!), while hkliving's shot is carefully staged, colour co-ordinated, and eye-catching.

2.  Get the lighting right

Taking the time to light a photo properly (or improve the lighting in post production) can make a huge difference to the quality of your content. Both photos above serve to show off a printer, but Canon France's shot - lit well - is much more appealing to the eye.

3. Play with lines and shapes

Some of the most popular Instagram posts include arrangements, patterns, and shapes that are pleasing to the eye. In the above examples, jampaper's photo is colourful and neat, but there's something about the angles and composition of juliamanchik's composition that people find innately appealing.

4. Think about composition

When you publish a photo, it should be obvious to viewers what the main focus of the image should be. In kellygerland's photo, the black dog is lost against the dark sofa and dominated by the banner on the wall. Meanwhile, kaianatural's photo has the office dog as centre of attention (even looking at the camera lens!), with very little dead space in the rest of the shot.

5. Have fun and be creative

images: staples, poppin, sloanestation, fredaldous greengable

Above all, the most successful Instagram images from brands are those that connect with  your customers in a way that only you as a business owner know best. Fun, creative, and inspirational, or aspirational content - well planned and shot - is nearly always a winner.

Over to you

Have these pointers inspired you to look again at your Instagram strategy? Or do you already but these ideas into practice? Let me know in the comments below!

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

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5 One-Minute Strategies to Boost Your Facebook Ad Conversions And Increase Sales

Do you advertise on Facebook? Are you looking for ways to optimise your ad campaigns and boost conversion rates? 

In this blog post, I'll show you five simple strategies that you can use to improve your Facebook ads, hopefully saving you money and increasing your returns!

1. Use Custom Audiences to re-target existing customers

With Facebook ads, sometimes the temptation can be to shoot for a brand new audience of people, but for many brands,  targeting their existing customers will provide the most fruitful returns. After all, if they've bought from you in the past, chances are higher that they will do again. In addition, you will already be familiar with the make-up of these group, so in a better position to shape your marketing message and product offering. You can do this is through custom audience targeting. Facebook will allow you to target users by email (upload or import your own list), app user IDs, or phone number - and your ads will be fed to them if they are on Facebook. 

2. Use a CTA button to drive click-through rates 

When creating your ad, Facebook will ask you if you want to add a call-to-action button to it. These buttons - including Shop Now, Sign Up, Call Now, and Download - give customers a stronger indication of what the purpose of your ad is, and a precise course of action for them to act upon what they see. Make sure that you match the correct CTA button to your campaign. Doing so will help to drive click-through and decrease bounce rates from your website.

After a one-month review of AdRoll advertisers’ running campaigns with CTA buttons, the Facebook found that those ads experienced a 2.85x higher click-through rate compared to ads that didn’t have a CTA button. They're free to use, so definitely worth considering!

3. Experiment with video ads

Currently, video ads only make up small proportion of brand marketing efforts on Facebook, but with estimates suggesting that that digital video advertising will make up 15% of the total digital advertising market by 2017, there's never been a better time to get in ahead of the curve. And according to an analysis by Kinetic Social, a Facebook marketing partner, paid video placements maintained a higher clickthrough rate (CTR) than all other types of US Facebook ads served to desktop and mobile via its platform throughout 2014. 

Why are Facebook video ads performing so well? Putting aside their relative novelty, research shows that the auto-play ads in News Feeds - even if watched only for a few seconds - helps to drive value and purchase intent.

"...data shows that people who watched under three seconds of the video ad created up to 47 percent of the total campaign value, and people who watched for fewer than 10 seconds created up to 74 percent, depending on the metric. That means that while lift continued to increase the longer people watched, people didn’t have to watch a whole video to be affected by the ad."

Facebook recommends that brands experiment with short video ads, remembering that value increases the longer people watch. I would add that it is not always necessary to focus on product; use video to educate, inspire, bolster your existing content strategy, and overall brand awareness.

4. Run ads at the optimum time of day

image via adstage

It might sound obvious, but if your ads mostly run at a time when your target audience isn't usually online (or at least not actively in the mood to purchase), then you're pretty much throwing money down the train. Use the knowledge of your audience to decide when they will be most active, and willing to buy!  If you've set a lifetime budget for your ad, you can schedule specific times of the day or days of the week to run your ad by going to Ad Scheduling, clicking More Options and then selecting Run ads on a schedule. (you may need to click Show Advanced Options first.

5. Make your ad offering simple and specific

No one really wants to see ads in their News Feeds, but if yours are to be engaging and successful, they need to influence users after just a glance; keep headline, link, and main copy jargon-free. It helps to narrow the focus of your ad campaign to one specific offering. In addition, where your ad takes viewers once clicked, should be right where the customer expects. For example, if your ad promotes a 50% discount on one of your products, the landing page should be the product page for said item, not your website's home page. 

Over to you

Have these strategies given you some ideas about how to optimise your Facebook ad strategy? Do you already use them, or do you have any more ideas? Let me know in the comments below!

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

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How to Use Facebook Saved Replies to Answer Customer Messages in Record Time

How to Use Facebook Saved Replies to Answer Customer Messages in Record Time

Do you use Facebook to answer customer service queries? Do you receive lots of the same questions frequently? Facebook Saved Replied could save you lots of time and effort!

Launched on the quiet fairly recently, Facebook Saved replies lets you create and save a reply for later use , search through older replies to re-purpose it, and the ability to personalise replies instantly with your name, the customer name, your address, website, and more. Let's take a look!

To access Saved Replies, visit your Page's Messages tab and click on any of the messages you have received.

ou'll notice the conversation between you and a customer on the right, and the new Saved Replies section on the left.

Click on Manage Replies to edit your replies, or create a new one.

From here, you can saved your search replies, and click on them to edit. Let's create a new one.

Here, I've mocked up a reply for a fictional company with a "quick reply" for people who ask about its delivery window. It's looking a bit impersonal, though....

Click "Personalize" for a quick way to add some personal touches to your saved replies...

Here, you'll be able to add a a variety of automatically-generated "placeholder" elements to your messages. Importantly, you'll want to place your cursor at the part of the message that you want to insert the element, as that's where it will appear when chosen.

Here's how the personalization looks once it's been added. I've also uploaded an image from my computer.

The placeholders will show you the preview of a message - in this case, I've used person's last name (Clinton) and Admin's first name.

Over to you

I've outlined just one way to use Saved Replies for business above, but I'm sure you'll already be dreaming up ways that it could make your life easier when responding to frequently-asked customer requests on Facebook. Let me know how you plan to use Saved Replies in the comments below!

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

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3 Easy Ways to Use New Instagram Explore & Search to Grow Your Business

3  Easy Ways to Use New Instagram Explore and Search to Grow Your Business

Last month, Instagram rolled out two major improvements to the Search and Explore functions of its app; changes that confirm its ambitions to truly compete with rivals like Twitter. In a nutshell:

The upgraded Explore now surfaces trends as they emerge in real-time, connecting you to events and conversations both near you and around the globe. Meanwhile, the Search function now features a Places tab, which allows you to search for any location on Earth to find and interact with photos and videos that have been tagged there. On a related note, the new Top Search tab will return all the most popular content from any particular location.

What does this all mean for business?

Making the most of location-based tactics to engage with others and attract followers and customers is more important than ever. Here are 3 ways to help you do that:

1. Use Discover People to build relationships and boost exposure

The Discover People feature will suggest, people and places based on your previous Instagram activity. Use these curated results to follow and engage with potential customers, related businesses, and anyone else who might be interested in what you have to offer. Once they've noticed your effort to interact with their activity, hopefully they'll take the opportunity to look at yours. A simple and effective way to improve the discoverability of your profile.

2. Discover trending hashtags to incorporate into your posts

When you search for hashtags, Instagram will display the most popular related hastags into the Top section of search. Before you publish a photo or video, why not check out what's trending globally or locally, then add it to your caption for a potential bump in exposure? 

3. Use Places search to scope out a geographic area

If your aim is to target an audience within a specific geographic area, then the Places search tab can help you do that. As well as providing you the opportunity to engage with the Top and Most Recent posts from the location, use what you see as inspiration for publishing the type of content popular with people in the area. A stunning landscape shot, a unique take on a popular landmark, a subtle nod to your business and what it offers, etc.

Over to you

Have you taken advantage of Instagram's new Explore and Search tools? What kind of results have you noticed? Let me know in the comments below!

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

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3 "Sneaky" Ways to Get More Likes and Views for Your Facebook Page

Despite what you may have read, racking up the number of "likes" your Facebook Page has isn't the be all and end all of Facebook marketing. That said, more relevant, high quality likes - especially for little effort, and for free - is never a bad thing.

In this blog post, I'll show you three "sneaky" ways to get more likes on your Facebook Page. Let's get started!

1. Like and comment on other Pages' posts  as your Page

An easy way to get your business' name in front of untapped, relevant fans is to like and comment on the statuses of related companies. Don't spam; keep your insights genuine, thoughtful, and helpful. Generate a top comment and the amount of exposure your Page receives will increase, too.

Note: To comment as your Page on another Page, click on the "flag" icon below the status you want to comment on, and choose your Page name from the drop-down menu.

2. Invite non-fans who like your updates to like your Page

After you post on your Facebook Page and the status receives several likes, next to a couple of names of people who've liked your post, it'll say "X others like this" (X being the number of people who may or may not already be a fan of your page). Click that link to view a pop-up box that says "Invite People Who Like This Post to Like Your Page," and lists everyone who has liked the post in question so far.

Of those people, those who have already liked your Page will have a greyed out 'Liked' button next to their names, but those who have not will have an 'Invite' button displayed next to their name. When you invite these people to like your Page, they will receive a notification encouraging them to do so. Since, by liking your status, they've already shown some interest in what you offer, hopefully with a little nudge, they'll want to like your Page to view more in future. 

3. As fans to "Get Notifications" of your Page's content

As you'll be aware, competition for space in the News Feed means that not every fan will see every post you make in their own News Feed. You can't rely on people to manually visit your Page to catch up with your awesome content - at least not with a little reminder. This is where the "Get Notifications" button comes into play.

If you ask fans to click the Like button on your cover photo, then selecting "Get Notifications," they will receive a notification every time you post a new update, with the option to click straight through to it via the Notifications menu. This strategy can be associated with a whiff of desperation depending on the way the request is worded; I've seen some Pages say stuff like "Facebook is hiding our posts! Click "Get Notifications so you don't miss out...", so do be careful with how you request your fans' help, especially if you're a business that posts a lot. 

Over to you

Will you be using any of the strategies above? Are you using them already, and have they been effective? Let me know in the comments below!

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
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How to Use Facebook Place Tips to Hook Customers Who Visit Your Business

Do you own a bricks and mortar business or store? Do you want to encourage more customer engagement with your brands when they visit, or drive more interest in the immediate aftermath? Facebook Place Tips could be the catalyst you need.

In this blog post, I'll explain what Facebook Place Tips are, how to customize them, and how to ensure as many people see them as possible.

What are Facebook Place Tips?

Place Tips uses Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth to automatically show visitors to your location - on their mobile device (with Location services enabled) - more information about your business in their News Feed when they open the Facebook app, including:

Posts from your Facebook PageFriends' recommendations and check-insReviews, events, and photos taken at your business. A prompt to like your Facebook Page and check in,and more...

"Facebook Place Tips gives a unique way to connect with customers and get your Facebook Page in front of the people who visit you." [Tweet this!]

The type of business you have will determine what kind of Place Tips are shared. For example, a restaurant's place Tips may include menu information. Following a successful trial earlier on this year (Facebook reports businesses that have tried Place Tips have seen a steady increase in Page traffic from in-store visitors), it's now being rolled out more widely, starting in the US.

Tip! Add A Welcome Message to your Place Tips

An example of a page tips welcome note

A welcome note is a short, customisable message that appears in your Place Tips. Use it to welcome customers to your business, or share important information - a new promotion, a secret weekly deal, etc.

To add your Page's welcome note:

Click About below your Page's cover photo.Click Welcome Note in the left column.Click Edit and type your welcome note.To add a photo, click the box beside Photo and select a file to upload. If you don't add a photo, your Page's cover photo will appear by default.Click Confirm to save.Place Tips and Facebook Bluetooth Beacons...

While Place Tips, as mentioned, work fine with mobile Internet, Facebook is also offering free Beacons - small devices that automatically detect when a user (with Bluetooth enabled on their mobile) is nearby - and it will perform the same function. To request a beacon for your business, visit this page: https://www.facebook.com/business/a/facebook-bluetooth-beacons. At present, they're only being sent out to a limited number of businesses, but with any luck that will grow pretty rapidly.

Want a better chance of receiving a beacon?

Heed Facebook's words: 

"Because Place Tips are meant to offer people useful and interesting information about the places they visit, we’re prioritizing beacons for businesses with active Pages full of content—such as photos, check-ins and status updates—from both the business and its customers."

And when you do get one? Remove it from the package (it'll work automatically) and place it in a low-traffic, central location inside your business in order to reach the most people possible. Typically, Beacons can send place tips to anyone within 100 feet of the device.

Over to you

Are you going to experiment with Place Tips on Facebook, or do you think they are intrusive? Will you be requesting a Beacon? Let me know in the comments below!

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

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5 Awesome New Facebook Features That Your Business Need to Know About

5 Awesome New Facebook Features That Your Business Need to Know About

Are you looking for ways to streamline and improve your marketing efforts on Facebook? The site is always rolling out new tools and features to help you improve your business' performance on the site - hopefully leading to increased engagement and sales as a result. In this blog post, I'll show you five of the most recent Facebook features that your brand needs to know about. Let's get started!

1. Facebook Page Publishing Tools

Have you ever wanted to find an old post on your Facebook Page, but been left scrolling endlessly in order to try to find it? Fret no more! Using the Publishing Tools feature (the link is in the bar at the top of your Facebook Page), you'll find a list of all of your most recently published, scheduled, and drafted Facebook posts - and the ability to search through them. Handy!

2. Allow Fans to Subscribe to Local Facebook Events

Do you regularly launch and host Events via Facebook? If your fans are tired of receiving invite notifications for events that aren't being held in their area, you can now ask them to subscribe to your Events. Fans who subscribe are notified when you create events that will be held in their area - there's no need to invite them. Once notified, your Page's event will also automatically show up in the Subscribed section of that user's Upcoming Events page. Ask your fans to subscribe to your events by doing the following:

1.Click Events or More then Events below the Page's cover photo.
2. Click Subscribe.

3. Add "Call Now" and "Get Directions" Call-To-Action Buttons to News Feed Ads

We're all used to seeing call-to-action buttons on Facebook ads like "Shop Now" and "Learn More," but did you know that you can now add a "Call Now" button, allowing customers to call you directly from your advert in News Feed? When clicked, it will automatically dial your business. Another new call-to-action button is "Get Directions." When this is clicked, a user will be guided directly to your location from their phone.

Both of these call-to-actions are great for local, targeted ads, as a way to help drive more traffic and sales to your business.

4. The News Feed "Save Link" Feature

This one's been around for a little while longer than the features above, but it's so useful, that I had to include it. Whether you want to save a post to read later, or curate awesome News Feed content to share with your fans, the "Save link" feature within the Facebook News Feed is a nifty tool that makes it possible. To save a News Feed link, click on the drop-down arrow next in the top-right corner of the post, then choose "Save link" from the drop-down menu. To access all of your saved links, click the "Saved" link in the top-left section of your News Feed.

5. Create Instant Articles (Soon, Hopefully!)

Typically, the slowest loading content for Facebook users on mobile is external links like a blog article. Instant Articles makes your content load faster in the News Feed to deliver a better reading experience - a load time 10x the speed of standard mobile web - and hopefully a more engaged audience. Instant articles are also interactive and immersive. Users can zoom into high-res photos, watch in-article videos, scale into maps, and listen to embedded audio.

Unfortunately, Instant Articles are, currently, only available to a select set of large brands... but it's one to keep an eye on for the future.

Over to you

Are you already using any of the features listed above, or are you going to start? Let me know how you're getting on in the comments below!

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