Businesses on Facebook are posting things like this…
Come and get this (shirt, sweater, lunch or dinner, sale on this item, etc.) special today from 8am – 5pm at (our location).
That’s great, except some people who are scrolling through their feed may not see it until a few days later. So the deal is off, or is it?
If businesses post something like this for a specific day or for an event (sale or a festive event) it’s suggested that the date and the time be added – especially if it’s during a certain time.
We are seeing less and less organic reach, meaning you have to pay for someone to see your page content on their Facebook feed. The minimum boost you can do is $1 per day for either a boosted post or a page like ad campaign.
But then there are other rules as well:
- If the ad gets charged for clicks, Likes, video views or post engagement, its daily budget must be at least $5 a day
- If it gets charged for low-frequency events like offer claims or app installs, its budget must be at least $40 a day
Facebook says this about minimum budgets: “We require you to meet a minimum budget to help us try to deliver your ad consistently. Minimum budgets are calculated as a daily amount, but apply whether you’re using a daily or lifetime budget. If, for example, you’re using a lifetime budget for an ad that’s going to run for five days, the budget must be five times the minimum daily budget.”
We’ve found 2 example posts – not ads of sales or discounts – and we’ll tell you what they have done right, and a few things they haven’t done as well.
Example 1:
BeLoved Boutique is from my hometown in Hastings, Minnesota. I’ve never been inside their store, but it looks intriguing to say the very least and if I was ever in the area, I do think I’d at least stop by. I love downtown, locally owned businesses like this one.
What I think they did right: Using a few sparkles to mark the sale, the hours that the store are open – this makes it so I don’t have to go search & find it in their profile. Hashtags. While I’ll admit they are using a few more than my liking, they aren’t out of range and have chosen a few key ones like #downtownhastings and #shoplocal that make sense for their business.
What I think they could improve on: Stating the sale is ‘this weekend’ doesn’t claim which weekend it is, I as a user then have to look at the date that this was posted. I am less likely to visit this boutique if the sale has already passed. The photo is blurry, I’d rather see a clear photo of a few of the boots, rather than a blurry photo with a text overlay that was also stated in the text above.
I understand in marketing it’s okay to be repetitive, but with social media, it’s a tad bit different because you have approximately 3 seconds to capture someone’s attention. That’s not a lot of time, so let’s not be repetitive. Say it once and know that it’s important.
Example 2:
Now the other ad, it’s more of a regional brand, so there’s a lot of things that this company does – and does well.
What I think they did right: They have clearly stated the deal, the image is clear and crisp and fresh – as any produce should be. They state ‘Offer valid 12.10.18 only.’ This makes it clear to the viewer that they can’t come in on 12.11.18 and expect the same deal. They’ve also changed up their wording a little bit on the text and the image – this keeps it interesting. They’ve also created a link.
I noticed that it was posted about 8 hours ago – that means – it was posted sometime really early this morning – between 7am – 8am.
I also like the logo and saying of ‘Make My Mondays’ it’s very catchy.
What I think they could improve on: This is from the Hy-Vee Facebook account, so it’s not specific to one store. But, if they were to boost this post or an individual location would choose to boost this post, it couldn’t be done. There is to much text on the image – Facebook holds to their 20% rule (or less) of text on an image for it to do well – and they prefer no text – which is new as of December 2018.
Ultimately the idea is to get people out of their houses, off their phones and into your store for that deal or discount or event.
Facebook gets complicated and it can change week to week or even day to day. So something you try this week, may not work next week. Let our experts help you manage the back end or even the front solution of Facebook for you. Don’t let your sale or discount get lost in the shuffle that is Facebook this holiday season (or any time of year).
Media Specialist