Monday, May 11, 2015

Why Advertise on Facebook? My Customers Are On LinkedIn!

My clients are regularly asking me why they should consider advertising on Facebook when their prospects and customers are all on LinkedIn. The question makes perfect sense. After all, if you have invested time to establish yourself professionally on LinkedIn, creating contacts and building your authority, why would you then head over to Facebook to advertise?



Here are a few compelling reasons you might want to consider:
REASON #1 ­ They are on Facebook too!
Yes, you may have established your initial professional connections on LinkedIn, But chances are your customers are on Facebook too. In fact, the likelihood is that they are there even more off and then they're on LinkedIn. So taking advantage of the opportunity to engage with them while they're browsing pictures from family and friends, you have a high likelihood of standing out.

REASON #2 ­ LinkedIn ads aren't nearly effective enough (yet).
Let's face it, LinkedIn's ad platform just isn't as sophisticated as Facebook's. And that's understandable, because LinkedIn's primary revenue source is from subscriptions, not ads.

REASON #3 ­ It's super simple to reach your customers and prospects on Facebook
Did you know that you could actually target your LinkedIn contacts directly on Facebook? That's right, if you have a list of people you're connected to on LinkedIn, it's possible to export their information and then import it directly into Facebook's advertising platform.

Here's a quick breakdown on how that works:
STEP #1 ­ On LinkedIn, move your cursor over Connections at the top of your homepage and select Keep in Touch.
STEP #2 ­ Click the Settings icon near the top right to reach the Contact Settings page.
STEP #3 ­ Under Advanced Settings on the right, click Export LinkedIn Connections.
STEP #4 ­ Select the file type and click Export. In this case, you want a CSV file.
STEP #5 ­ Import Your customer list into Facebook as a "custom audience."

But here's the great thing. The magic doesn't end there. It's actually possible to import other things, like your customer list or prospect list into Facebook, so you can serve up customized ads directly to them as well. All you need are email addresses or phone numbers. Facebook designed their system to do just this. And they even outline this very process in their advertising tutorials.

REASON #4 ­ Find even more just like them
If you're not already convinced why Facebook advertising makes sense, this one should be the clincher. On Facebook, not only is it possible to advertise to a custom list of individuals, But it is also possible to identify tens of thousands, if not millions, of others who share similarities with those people already on your list. Facebook calls this a "lookalike audience," and, as you can imagine, its potential in helping your business grow is close to limitless.
MORE FACEBOOK TIPS AHEAD

So are you ready to start investing some time in Facebook advertising for your business? Great, but what you've just read is simply the tip of the iceberg. For more great tips on how you can leverage Facebook to further develop current relationships, establish new ones, and build your business with greater ease, check out my free guide, "Profiting from Facebook", which will supply you with some amazing ideas, plus a list of awesome tools you can use for even greater efficiency.

Brought to you by David Baer ­ Facebook ads specialist, passionately supporting small businesses and solopreneurs in their transition to more effective online marketing solutions.

By David Baer

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