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In September’s E-Marketing article, we discussed Social Networking and why it’s important to the marketing health of your practice. Of all the Social Networking terms you are now becoming familiar with, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, perhaps Facebook can have the most impact to your bottom line.
* The fastest growing demographic on facebook is women 35-55
* Facebook is growing faster with women than men in every age category
* More than 3 million women across the country age 35-55 have a Facebook page |
With this data, the question becomes obvious – does your practice have a presence on Facebook?
Facebook is a marketer’s dream. It allows us to sift through a large audience with a bunch of selects, including state, city, town, age, gender, interests, education, etc., etc., etc. Now there are many different things to do with Facebook. At this point, this article will not deal with Facebook applications, as that’s an emerging area, but the basics need to be covered first.
1. Facebook Pages:
Your first and most important step is to set up a Facebook page. Businesses, bands, restaurants, products, artists, public figures and more utilize Facebook pages as a marketing tool (take note, this is different than a Facebook profile, which represents an individual). With pages, you have “fans” rather than “friends”. Pages are easy to set-up, customizable and, best of all – free! They can include videos, photo albums, discussion boards and many other features that will help facilitate activity, conversation and user interaction. In short, pages can help you socialize with the Facebook users, garner brand identity and build relationships.
2. Sponsored Story:
A sponsored ad with title, body copy and image that appears in the user’s news feed on the home page, and may link to a Facebook page or a website. It’s effective because it offers accurate targeting options based on real profile data. It also offers high visibility, since it appears on the news feed of the home page. Last, sponsored stories are less intrusive than “regular” ads because of the seamless integration within the news feed.
3. Sponsored Social Story:
Relevant only to advertisers with a Facebook page, as the sponsored social story directs to the Facebook page. It’s an ad featuring a Facebook user, the action taken, and the brand name when the action is taken on the Facebook page (eg: Angela Murnin is a fan of Albuquerque Vein & Laser Center). Just like the sponsored story ad, a sponsored social story ad also appears in the user’s news feed and offers the same benefits, plus the additional factor of having the same look and feel as organic stories in the news feed.
4. Video Sponsored Story:
Is a click-to-play video that plays within the ad and may link to a FB page or external web site. Like the two types above, it also appears on the news feed and offers the same benefits.
5. Box Ad:
Looks like a traditional online banner ad with a headline, body copy and image that appears on the right hand side of the FB page. It may link to a FB page or external web site. This is a run-of-site placement, meaning it appears all over Facebook and not just on the home page. It offers the same targeting options and can be bought on a CPC (cost-per-click) basis, similar to Google Adwords.
6. Display Ad:
Box ads such as skyscrapers and leader ads are also available and are bought through the MSN Ad Center. They offer much more creative flexibility, as you are not limited by character account or body copy. Targeting parameters include age, gender and DMA.
In order to keep your business current, you need to be familiar with and using the latest social media marketing techniques – especially Facebook. This instant gate opener allows you to maintain existing relationships with current “fans”, but also allows you to engage in conversations with new prospects and patients!
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learn more about Social Media Marketing go to our
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