Overall, 2017 has been a big year for the King of Silicon Valley – and yes, we’re talking about Facebook. They’ve made major moves offline like building their own village for employees and creating Facebook Community Boost, a program to help small business owners grow their skills to and compete in the new digital economy. But as usual, Facebook has kept themselves even busier online. The conglomerate introduced new features to make their network a one-stop shop for all social, shopping, and data collecting needs. To keep the updates straight, we’ve tracked Facebook’s new marketing ventures to compile our favorite features from 2017!
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Messenger Generates Leads
Facebook’s messenger ads are placed directly in your instant messenger (photo credit: NDTV Gadgets)
Facebook’s growing ability to create ads with ROI has positioned the website as more than just a social media platform. Marketers now have the option to land their ads directly into Messenger, Facebook’s instant message system. Here, open conversations can lead to sales, positive word-of-mouth, and new brand-to-customer relationships. Marketers can also optimize ads for replies, which means Facebook delivers your message to users who are more likely to start a conversation with your brand. Generating leads through discussion and awareness is a top selling point for many companies today. The results from conversations can lead to valuable personal insight and referrals, leveraging business success. Read more about how you can enhance marketing through Messenger!
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Live API
Facebook adds Live API to it’s platform, increasing viewership (photo credit: Adweek)
Live video is a new way for consumers to immerse themselves into a brand. In 2016, users watched more than 100 million hours of video per day on Facebook alone. This number will continue to grow as more companies integrate video into their marketing strategy. Facebook Live API allows users to create live content from a variety of sources and devices. Marketers can stream from their smart phones, professional cameras, or programmatic sources like video games to connect with their audiences. The more consumers learn about the inner workings of your brand, the stronger connection they’ll form with your company.
- Improved Canvas Templates
New Canvas ads allow customers to go to products to increase conversions (photo credit: Unbounce)
Facebook expanded their canvas templates to create a new lifestyle option. The new unit is aimed at driving retail sales by allowing ads to include one video along with a series of product photos. Marketers can use this template to design creative that drives curiosity and interest in their services. Consumers are now able to experience a product or promotion through a dynamic series of videos, photos, and links rather than a static post.
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Custom Audiences Through Event Remarketing
Facebook can now remarket events to increase engagement
Don’t waste time targeting consumers who have no interest in your upcoming event. Facebook now tracks invitation responses and relays that information to the hosts for better insight. With this feature, hosts have the opportunity to retarget consumers who responded positively to previous events. Enable the function by using the engagement feature to select an audience based on past user actions. This allows marketers to create a deeper bond with customers by sending relevant and interesting event opportunities. Facebook has become more than just a platform for high school friends to re-connect. It empowers marketers to create digital campaigns and prompts consumers to share or respond to the advertisement. Marketers can continue to create effective campaigns by keeping up to date with Facebook’s new features and tracking the progress of their advertisements.
Interested in creating a new social media strategy for the New Year? Email us at info@tailoredmarketing.com
