In the world of digital marketing, optimisation is key. Whether it’s audiences, content or copy, knowing which aspects to focus on and which to avoid is crucial in creating an effective campaign. Because of this, A/B testing is one of the best tools at your disposal when you need copy that leads to high conversions and results.

If you don’t carry out the proper testing, then your campaigns will be uninformed and nowhere near as effective as they could be. For that reason, you need to constantly test to find what works for your brand. In this blog, we’ll detail how you can successfully carry out A/B testing on ad copy.

What is A/B Testing?

Essentially, A/B testing involves testing specific aspects of an ad or campaign, making variants of it to see the individual performance of each part. To illustrate, let’s imagine you are running an ad with three main components: copy, creative and a CTA.

If the ad is underperforming, you will obviously want to know the reasons why and also seek to replace it with messaging that will perform better. However, if you switch up all of the elements at once, then you’re not actually solving anything.

While you may see an increase in conversions, it won’t be clear which element of the ad that you’ve changed is the cause of the change. To carry out true A/B testing and truly optimise campaigns, you need to run multiple versions of an ad, with one specific aspect change.

So for one campaign, you would have several ad texts running, but with the same creative and CTA in each. This will allow you to refine your campaigns and run only the ad copy which performs best.

This can be hugely beneficial for a number of reasons, the most obvious being it can provide a huge increase in terms of your conversion rate. However, it also helps keep your campaigns fresh and relevant for potential audiences. By consistently carrying out A/B ad testing, you’ll be able to avoid ad fatigue.

How to A/B test ad copy

When it comes to copy, A/B testing is quite simple. You just need to test every element of your copy. This includes headlines, CTAs, copy length etc. Essentially, you need to make sure your copies are distinct enough to make a real difference in the audience’s eye. By doing this, you’ll end up with a comprehensive set of high performing ads.

Another crucial aspect of this is testing your landing pages. Ultimately, this is where your ads will drive prospective customers to. If you’re landing pages aren’t up to scratch, then this will decrease the chance of those visitors making a conversion. While there are a few general tips for making effective landing pages, such as ensuring they align with the messaging shown in your ad copy, the best ones will only come as the result of repeated testing and optimisation.

How To Carry Out Effective A/B Testing

Measure your Metrics

Of course, the whole point of A/B testing is to boost results and understand the data that’s driving the increase. So, before you begin testing, you need to first decide which metrics to measure and how to monitor them.

Let’s take conversions for example. If you’re tracking these, then the first thing to do is determine what conversion rate is ‘good for the brand. Some industries will see a lot more conversions than others merely based on the back of what they are selling, so there is no universal conversion rate.

After that, you need to work out how much it is costing to generate each result and whether that is a sustainable level for your business. To put it simply, it doesn’t matter how many conversions you are generating if they are costing more than you can afford. Because of this, Ad spend and ROAS, or Return On Ad Spend, are things you need to consider.

Give Tests as Much Time and Resources As Possible

Sometimes, businesses can neglect A/B testing, as they don’t view it as a true campaign, even if they generate results. This isn’t helped by the fact that many brands have to be meticulously careful when it comes to their budgets, so some don’t see testing as a necessary expense when compared with other components of the business.

The biggest issues come when campaigns don’t immediately produce results and are paused as a result, or if they aren’t afforded the proper spend in the first place. For A/B testing to be successful, you need to run them for around two weeks, with a decent budget. Stopping a campaign early or not meeting the necessary spend will just waste resources.

Test CTAs

CTAs are often overlooked in copy, despite the fact they are potentially the most important part of any ad text. Those few words at the end of your ad could be the final motivator for a potential customer to make a purchase.

It might sound obvious, but your CTA should tell the reader exactly what to do once they’ve read the ad copy. For that reason, you should be as specific as possible, but also keep it short and snappy, as this is much more engaging for potential audiences. Testing different CTAs, in both the content and copy, should reveal which ones will resonate with your audience.

Structure your Pricing

While you can’t change the price of your products in copy, you can test the structure of those figures. The easiest way to do this is with finance options. If your brand offers the ability to split the cost of a purchase with a platform like Klarna, then instead of saying a product costs £75, you could instead write it as ‘three interest-free payments of £25’.The price remains the same, but the audience interprets it as a great deal because of the phrasing.

This can be extended to discounts, promos and other financial incentives too. For example, if you have a bundle that offers a significant saving on a collection of products, you can use pricing to highlight the saving, e.g ‘Order now and get £100 of luxury cosmetics for just £50!’ It’s a relatively simple thing, but one that could see your conversion rates increase immensely.

Find Messaging that Resonates with Your Audience

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you need to test certain words or phrases to see which ones perform the best in your ad copy. These are known as power words and are used to elicit certain emotional or psychological responses from audiences.

The ones to use will depend on the industry, audience and brand itself. While some generic ones work, the best will be specific to the people you want to market to. A great way to test these is by coming up with a decent batch before starting work on any campaigns. After that, test them in several ads, combining them as you see fit. After a while, you will be able to see which power words perform best.

Let the Experts Help

While A/B testing is incredibly important, it can a time-consuming, difficult task to do on your own. You not only need to run the campaigns and track them, but you’ll also have to supply the copy and content variants required to do this effectively.

If you need help with A/B testing in marketing, then Social Nucleus can help. We have dedicated account managers, who will constantly test and optimise your campaigns, ensuring the ads are seen by the right audiences. We also have an expert creative, with copywriters and graphic designers, who will make killer creatives to be used in ads.  Get in touch with us now and level up your ad campaigns!

Another month down and so many great moments to look back on in the world of online marketing news. Today’s post is going to explore our favourite picks from the latest marketing news this month and hopefully you can take some inspiration from our choices to vamp up your next campaign.

The Bumble Brew

Earlier in July, Bumble opened their very own cafe named ‘Bumble Brew’ in New York. The stylish and on-brand cafe is said to combine the “convenience of casual all-day cafe by night with ambiance of an intimate restaurant and wine bar at night”.

The cafe was borne off the back of the success of their multiple bumble pop ups around New York and London in 2017.

Head of Brand Partnerships, Julia Smith said “At Bumble, we’re fueled by bringing people together to build genuine connections — both on and off the app… We’ve seen a resounding response to the Bumble Hive pop-ups we’ve hosted around the world and noticed a clear appetite for a permanent space where people could connect.”

After a year and a half of lockdown, this is the perfect time to launch something like this. People are keen to connect face-to-face after spending so much time apart, making this a very clever marketing technique.

It also highlights the importance of a multi-channel strategy. When it comes to marketing, brands often think online marketing is the way to go and often neglect other, more traditional forms of advertisement. Offline marketing is a powerful tool and should always be utilised where possible. Doing so successfully can have multiple online benefits that elevate brand awareness.

Kanye West Premieres New Album

Rapper, fashion designer and all-round enigmatic superstar Kanye West unveiled his latest album ‘Donda’ this week. West, who is never too far from controversy, has had an interesting few years musically, having cancelled the much anticipated ‘Yandhi’ amid a switch to a gospel-inspired Christian project.

West is known for his unconventional releases, often delaying or outright cancelling many projects, and this latest project has been no different. The rapper officially announced the album by teasing a song from it on a Beats by Dre ad featuring Sha’Carri Richardson, who has been in the headlines herself recently.

This followed weeks of teases by other artists, such as Tyler The Creator. The hype has steadily been building for a while now and it’s culminated in a huge event streamed live from Atlanta. An array of prominent rap artists appear on the album including Travis Scott, Pusha T and JAY-Z.

It’s safe to say this is one of the most anticipated albums of the year and it’s been a masterclass in marketing from West. While many had assumed a new project was on the way, the official announcement set social media ablaze and now there are legions of waiting fans, eagerly refreshing Spotify, Apple Music and more to see Kanye has dropped it.

To say all this anticipation has built up in just one week is extraordinary and shows just how effective a well-thought campaign can be. By unveiling the album alongside a recognised brand like Beats, followed by one of the biggest musical live events of the past two years, West has cultivated the kind of hype most brands can only dream of.

Adidas’ Liquid Campaign

In celebration of Adidas’ commitment to making the future of sports as inclusive as possible, they revealed the world’s first-ever liquid billboard in Dubai.

Ladies were invited to take a jump “Beyond the surface” wearing their new Burkini collection which aims to give a greater choice of swim apparel for all.

Amrith Gopinath, Adidas’ Brand Director said “Our belief is that nobody should be prevented from enjoying the benefits of being in and around the water, hence the recent launch of our diversified product offering for all women and our Burkini Collection”.

After commissioning a YouGov survey in 2021, Adidas revealed that only 12% of women in the UAE feel comfortable wearing a swimsuit in public. Adidas’ liquid billboard campaign is a great example of reactive marketing, benefiting from the support of thousands of men and women across the globe, whilst also inspiring women to feel their best in what they wear… of course driving sales.

Domino’s Pizza, Something To Shout About?

The phrase ‘there is no such thing as bad publicity’ has been heavily debated by marketers since time immemorial. This month, renowned pizza experts Domino’s have put that adage to the test, with their latest ad campaign.

The adverts in question revolve around their new group ordering feature on their app. This is presumably in response to the easing of lockdown restrictions and in anticipation of large orders from gatherings, parties and other social activities now permitted.

While the service sounds like a great new feature for Domino’s, the ads themselves have caused quite a stir. In them, a group of friends yodel to each other across a city, asking what they want to order. It’s a novel and fairly amusing idea on first viewing, but after just a few weeks, some are already tired of it.

Many have flocked to social media to voice their disdain over the ad, particularly viewers of shows like Love Island, where the ads have been played repeatedly.

On the one hand, trending on Twitter because so many people hate your ads isn’t the ideal response Domino’s would have wanted. On the other, this has probably brought the brand more visibility than any other marketing campaign they have ran over the past couple of years.

While there are no sales figures to analyse as of right now, the ads have certainly thrust Domino’s into the limelight. The sheer number of people who have engaged with the ad, coupled with the convenience of the new group ordering service, will surely translate into more conversions with the brand.

Boost Your Own Marketing with Social Nucleus

While you may not have the resources for pop-up cafes, live-streamed mega events or yodelling supergroups, you can still have engaging marketing campaigns for your own brand.

At Social Nucleus, we have dedicated account managers and creative teams, we’ll craft bespoke campaigns and target them to the right audiences to boost engagement and conversions. Get in touch now and take your marketing to the next level!

For businesses, running digital ads can be hugely beneficial but deciding which platform is right for your business can be tricky if you don’t know the specific benefits of each. Ideally, you want to run Google Ads and Facebook Ads, as they can work in tandem at every stage of the customer journey.

 

However, if you only have the resources for one of these, then you need to know the differences between them, as well as understand the specific marketing needs of your business. In this blog, we’ll go over everything you need to know about Google and Facebook Ads and guide you towards the one

 

The Difference Between Google Ads and Facebook Ads

 

When looking at these two platforms, the key difference we see is that of Google’s paid search vs Facebook’s paid social.

 

When advertising on Google, businesses must ‘bid’ on keywords, search terms and queries inputted by users. This will then see their ads displayed on relevant search results, with the aim of attracting those users to their brand. For every click generated, the advertising business will be charged. This is PPC, or pay-per-click, advertising and it’s a complicated field in its own right, but also a hugely important aspect of any marketing campaign.

 

With Facebook Ads, you’ll be engaging in ‘paid social’, i.e running ads on a social platform. Facebook is full of advertising opportunities, with a huge user base that logs on every day. Here, ads are displayed based on user’s interests and their engagement with a brand. This can cover a comprehensive set of targeted audiences, including retargeting those who have interacted with your brand but have not yet made a purchase.

 

In essence, the difference between Google Ads and Facebook Ads is that the former can be used to spread awareness of your brand to a broad range of new audiences, while you can use the latter to target prospective customers who are actively looking for something related to your business.

 

The Strengths of Each Platform

 

As we’ve already mentioned, the best campaigns will utilise both Facebook and Google. However, if you don’t have the resources to hand for this, you’ll need to decide which one is best for your current goals based on their unique benefits. With that in mind, let’s examine what each platform offers.

 

Facebook

 

Facebook is the largest social platform in the world, with over 2 billion active users every month. Because of this, it’s tempting to think that the greatest benefit this channel can off is the sheer size of the user base. However, while this can be hugely beneficial, Facebook Ads’ greatest strength is its granular targeting capacities.

 

With this, you can target incredibly specific audiences. Facebook users share a vast amount of information with the site, from life milestones like promotions and relationships to personal interests like hobbies. Brands can then target their ads towards appropriate audiences with near unparalleled precision.

 

For example, the introduction of lookalike audiences gives advertisers more powerful tools than ever before. With this, brands can upload information based on their own customers, which Facebook will then match with users on the site. This allows businesses to target new audiences that have the same interests as their current customers, which can generate new leads and purchases.

 

Google

 

While Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, Google is the most used search engine and as such, offers a similarly massive audience to cater ads to. PPC ads are an extremely effective way to market your business to people searching for related terms.

 

One of the best aspects of Google Ads is that it isn’t necessarily the highest bidder or those with the largest budgets that are the most successful. This is because Google values ads that are relevant to the user’s search query over those who merely spend the most. To make the most of Google, you need to make high-quality ads optimised for the specific terms and keywords you’re targeting. Google uses Quality Score to determine the quality of advertisements, based on a variety of factors.

 

In current times, Google Ads blend into the SERP, or Search Engine Results Page, with only a small ‘Ad’ label in the top left to differentiate them from organic results. Because of this, many users simply assume the top links are the most relevant to their query. With that in mind, it’s clear Google can be a vital part of any campaign.

 

Which is Right For You?

 

The truth is that these two platforms should be viewed in tandem, rather than opposing or conflicting applications. To get the most out of your marketing, you should do everything possible to utilise both, as their inherent benefits are crucial in the modern age of digital marketing. Neither is really better than the other, so it’s down to personal preference when it comes to which you should use. If you want to target specific audiences precisely, then Facebook Ads is probably the way to go, while Google can help draw in people searching for things related to your business.

 

Manage Google and Facebook Ads with Social Nucleus

 

If all this sounds rather complex, that’s because it is! Determining which platform to use is one thing but knowing how to effectively market your brand on each is another matter entirely. At Social Nucleus, we can manage both Google and Facebook Ads for your business, from audience targeting to killer creatives and engaging copy. Get in touch now and take your campaigns to the next level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it comes to your marketing strategy, it’s always important to remember one thing. Your customers aren’t on one channel. Which means you shouldn’t be either. Today’s post will cover what exactly a multi-channel marketing strategy is, why it’s so important and some multi-channel marketing benefits.

What is multi-channel marketing? 

Multi-channel marketing, or omnichannel marketing, is the process of utilising marketing communications across multiple channels to engage your customers. The purpose of a multi-channel strategy is to reach your customers across multiple platforms, whether that be social media, direct mail mobile, etc, to push conversions and increase your ROI. Unfortunately, marketing your products and services on a single-channel isn’t enough for today’s consumers.

Consumers have so much choice when it comes to purchasing. People are becoming increasingly engaged on numerous devices and social media platforms daily. Therefore, marketers are challenged with providing a seamless customer experience by remaining accessible.

Therefore, it is more important than ever to understand your consumers and how they interact across different platforms. Let’s look at some benefits of adopting a multi-channel strategy.

• Connect with consumers on all their favourite channels

Consumers today, as mentioned, enjoy multiple platforms. They engage across various devices, channels, and apps. Each one serves a unique purpose and explains customer preferences and behaviours.

It is reported that the average digital consumer owns 3.64 connected devices, so if you were to deliver ads to only one channel, your interactions would be severely restricted.

Showing ads across multiple channels also shows that you, as a brand, are making efforts to adapt your marketing to their preferences.

• Increase consumer engagement and conversion rates

Multi-channel marketing will also bring in a higher engagement rate. Multi-channel B2C campaigns see a 24% greater return on investment compared to single channel campaigns.

Customers will see your ads continuously across multiple platforms, so chances are, they’ll interact with them.

• Stay ahead of your competition

Staying on top of customer behaviour, and delivering effective and engaging ads across multiple platforms, almost guarantees you stay ahead of your competitors.

Your marketing remains relevant, engaging and most importantly, increases your ROI significantly.

• Drive relevant content to the best customers

Knowing and understanding your customer behaviour, and what platforms they interact with, allows you to create craft effective creative strategies around them. A data-driven strategy empowers your marketing campaigns to send the right content to the right people in the right places.

It provides a full view of your consumers, allowing you to drive the most relevant content to their favourite channels.

• Provide a positive brand experience and build lasting relationships.

To conclude all the above, the better you understand your consumers and target them on the right platforms, the more likely they will enjoy seeing your ads. Chances are that most of the time they won’t even realise they’re seeing an ad.

 

Hopefully, this post has given you some inspiration when it comes to your marketing strategy. Remember, it’s all about seamlessly integrating your marketing into consumers’ devices and creating a positive brand experience for them. That is how you build long-lasting brand-consumer relationships.

Feel like you need help with a multi-channel marketing strategy? Get in touch to find out how we can help your business today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When looking to make Facebook ads that convert, it can be a little tricky knowing where to start. One of the key things to remember is that there is a comprehensive set of considerations to make, from visuals and copy to analytics and tracking. In this blog, we’ll detail a few tips and tricks that can help boost your Facebook conversions.

How to Boost Facebook Conversions

Conversion Events

Let’s start with the absolute basics; setting your conversion events. This means deciding what it is you want people to do after seeing your ad. Generally speaking, you’ll pick one of the types Facebook offers, whether that’s adding to cart or following through with a purchase, though you can set your own if there are specific goals you want to meet, such as lead generation.

Of course, you’ll need different ads for different conversion events and ensuring you target the right one is vital in meeting your objectives. Conversion events are the first step in boosting Facebook conversions.

Killer Creatives

With any Facebook Ad, you want to get the audience’s attention as quickly as possible. One of the most effective ways to do that is with high-quality visuals. This is the first step in boosting conversions as, the more attention your ads get, the more clicks you’ll generate, and these should ultimately lead to better conversion rates.

Bespoke content always performs better than generic, stock photos. You want your ads to speak to audiences, letting them know that your brand is the one they need. This requires a huge amount of testing with different types of content, from photos to GIFs and Videos. You’ll also have to experiment with the format content is delivered and find which works best for your brand or product.

For example, carousels can be a great way to show off a variety of products in a specific range, while a single image ad will centre the focus on one image and might be more suitable for a single product as a result.

Whatever form you use, you have to make sure the imagery is the best quality possible. If the sizing or resolution is off, then this will give a poor first impression to prospective customers. While killer creatives can be the thing that initially attracts people to your brand, poor ones can have the opposite effect.

Engaging Copy

While visual content is the thing that will immediately catch your audience’s eye, ad copy is the thing that will get them to click the link. There is no universal formula for creating engaging copy. What works for your brand will depend on the industry, the audience you’re trying to speak to and many other factors. However, there are some general rules and tips that can help.

One of these is to keep copy as concise as possible. When it comes to ads, short and snappy sentences tend to be much more effective in conveying values and key information than long paragraphs. Try to get your message across in as few words as possible and it will be more easily digestible for the audience.

Speaking of audiences, another important thing to keep in mind is who you’re talking to. For example, if you’re a B2B brand marketing towards other professionals, then it may be appropriate to use lots of jargon and adopt a fairly authoritative tone of voice. However, if you’re speaking to a consumer audience, then going into technical detail might not get results.

They don’t have to know all the ins and outs, just the key points presented in an approachable way. Identifying your audience and knowing what language to use when speaking to them is vital in getting them to click that all-important link.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, incorporate clear CTAs into your messaging. No matter what it is you’re selling or where you are trying to direct the audience, Calls To Action are absolutely vital. Combining this with an incentive can make them even more effective, for example ‘Shop online now and get 5%!’ contains both a directive for your audience and a reason for them to follow through with it.

Landing pages and destinations

One of the most important things to consider when making Facebook Ads is your brand’s landing page. Even the best creatives and copy won’t mean anything if this isn’t up to scratch.

For example, if your page takes over a minute to load, looks visually unappealing and doesn’t direct them to products or range mentioned in the ads, then prospective customers are going to be put off. Facebook Ads merely direct users to a destination, the strength of your landing pages is what determines whether they will convert or not.

There are several things you can do to boost your chances here. To start, consistency between your ads and landing pages is key. If you’re advertising for a certain product on your site, you need to make sure users are directed to that specific page.

This is because customers want to get to their purchase in as few clicks as possible, not browse your site looking for the item. If they are immediately brought to a good product page, with clear calls to action and enticing USPs, then they will be much more likely to make a purchase.

Another important thing to remember is that you will need to implement FB Pixel to track the purchases on the chosen page. Accurate stats are massively important, as they will show you which ads are working, and which are not. From there, you can begin to optimise your ads and get the best results possible.

Get Help From the Experts!

These are just a few tips that can help boost your conversion rates, but the reality is it takes a lot of work to fully optimise this. Often, this is too much to do alone, as you will need dedicated copywriters, designers and more to get the most out of your Facebook Ads campaigns.

At Social Nucleus, we have the resources and teams that can help take your brand to the next level. We’ll craft effective campaigns and ads and display them to the right audiences. We use analytics and data to optimise these, ensuring you’re getting the most out of your ad spend. If you’re interested in boosting your conversion rates, get in touch today!

 

Making sure you’re measuring and analysing the correct data is vital to success when it comes to the effectiveness of your Facebook advertising campaigns. The big one we marketers need to keep an eye on, is ROAS. Keep reading to learn what exactly ROAS is, why it’s important, how to calculate and how to improve it.

What is ROAS?

 When launching a new campaign, it’s important to keep track of certain key performance indicators (KPI’s), in order to assess the campaign’s effectiveness and make improvements where needed.

Most people like to monitor click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and cost per conversion and whilst these metrics are meaningful on their own, collectively they don’t give you an understanding of the overall success of your campaign.

ROAS does.

Return on ad spend (ROAS) Is the marketing metric that measures the revenue generated per pound (or dollar) spent in your campaign. Measuring this provides you with a complete understanding of whether or not a campaign is working effectively.

Your ROAS calculation is pretty straightforward. It is simply the cost of your campaign revenue divided by the cost of the campaign.

ROAS is more often than not expressed as a ratio. For example, if you generated £400 in revenue from your Facebook Ads campaign, and it cost you £100 to run, your ROAS would be 4:1, conveying £9 for every £1 spent. Are you keeping up?

Why does ROAS matter?

Tracking your campaign ROAS is one of the easiest things to do, but if you’re wondering why bother, let us explain.

Without tracking your ROAS, you might end up making decisions based on limited information. You should always treat revenue as the ideal outcome for all of your campaigns unless of course, you are focusing on raising brand awareness. Without correctly calculating and tracking your ROAS, you won’t be able to keep track of how much revenue each campaign is generating.

Tracking your ROAS also helps you analyse you’re the performance of your campaigns over time more effectively. You will be able to see if said campaign is performing effectively and whether you should renew the campaign or not.

Overall, ROAS helps you determine which campaigns are truly driving strong results and how you can improve upon your future campaigns.

4 ways to improve your ROAS

Optimising your ad spend is easier said than done and requires a lot of time and attention. However, there are a few things you can do to give yourself a head start when it comes to improving your ROAS.

• Implement a marketing funnel

Marketing funnels are a great way to raise your ROAS. Remarketing efforts and creating lookalike audiences (to name a few) are great ways of implementing a funnel marketing system to your campaigns. Understanding where each ad set falls in the funnel and what each ad needs creatively to fit is sure to see an increase in your ROAS.

• Run Dynamic Ads

Dynamic ads are a great way for potential customers to view unique ads based on their browsing activity on your site. It’s a much more personalised and targeted approach that We see dynamic ads bring in plenty of success for our clients and is definitely something we turn to when looking to raise ROAS.

• Solve Problems

When it comes to your ad creatives, there are a few things you can tweak in your copy to raise your ROAS, one being solving your customers’ problems. In order to do this effectively, it’s important to understand your audience. This involves effective customer profiling and understanding their pain points so that you can target them in your ads.

• Understand Ad Formats

One final thing that’s important to consider when attempting to raise your ROAS is your ad formats. Understanding which ad format best fits your content is crucial to converting. One way you can do this is to do your market research and lots of A/B testing!

Raise your ROAS with us

Feel like you need help raising your ROAS? Get in touch today and find out how our expert team can help grow your Facebook Ad Account.

What are Facebook Stories and how can they elevate your marketing?

The advent of social media has completely changed the way businesses market themselves. While big brands command huge departments and mass resources to manage their campaigns, in the age of digital, a single piece of engaging content targeted at the right audience can be just as effective. The ever-evolving toolset offered to businesses by social media platforms means the methods of delivering messaging are more diverse than ever.

One such mechanism that has dominated as of late is the ‘story’, which has been implemented on Facebook, Instagram and more. In this blog, we’ll answer the burning question… ‘what are Facebook stories?’, whilst also giving you some specific tips on how to make the most of them in your social media marketing.

So, what are Facebook Stories?

Facebook stories are a special form of post that allows you to share pictures and videos with your followers, with the catch being you can only see them for 24 hours. After that, they’re gone!

So why is this disposable messaging such an important aspect of social media marketing then? To start, stories appear at the top of newsfeeds whether the individual is viewing on a desktop or a mobile device. This means that they’re immediately noticeable for potential customers; instead of scrolling through long-form posts that blend in with the rest, they’ll see your icon highlighted at the top.

With over 500 million people using Facebook stories a day, there is a huge audience to cater to. If you can manage to draw people in initially and they like the look and feel of the content you’re putting out, then this can prove to be an incredibly effective marketing tool.

How to post a story on a Facebook Business page?

Facebook stories can be created on either a desktop or a mobile device, unlike Instagram, which only allows you to make them on the mobile app. However, the Facebook app offers a more comprehensive set of tools and customisation than its desktop counterpart, so we would recommend using that when making a story.

If you’re managing multiple business pages on Facebook, you first need to pick the brand you’re creating the story for. Then simply head to the newsfeed and click on the ‘+’ sign that borders your profile picture in the upper right of the screen. This will bring up several options, but ‘create story’ is the one to choose for this purpose. Want’s that is done, you’ll be taken to the story creation menu.

The Tools

When you first look at the story creation menu, it can all be a bit overwhelming. There are several options to pick from and deciding which to use is paramount. The first you will see is the ‘gallery’ tab. Here, you can choose from all of the photos and videos that are already on your device.

On top of that, there is a variety of recording options to choose from. You can take new photos and videos, or even make a Boomerang, which takes a number of frames and converts them into a short, animated clip. Polls can be created too, which is a great way to interact with your audience and potentially garner customer feedback.

You can add custom text and edit the fonts and backgrounds, pick backing tracks from a wide selection of music too. Collages are another format to pick, with the ability to choose how many photos and how they are positioned. There is even the option to include your own custom buttons, directing viewers to specific landing pages. In short, there is a huge number of tools to utilise when creating a story.

How to use Facebook Stories for Businesses

Facebook can offer you all the tools in the world, but if you aren’t crafting engaging copy or content, then the stories are never going to produce results. One of the best things you can do is to utilise the unique parameters of the medium. Stories only last for 24 hours, so they are the prime place to push time-sensitive content, such as sales, where urgency is a key factor.

With the options on offer, stories can become a much more interactive type of content for you to test on your audience. Don’t neglect the custom buttons, poll options, and other tools at your disposal; by creating content your customers can actively engage with, the strength of your messaging is boosted and becomes far more effective as a result.

Let the experts help

Making a story sounds easy, but do you know how to craft an effective tone of voice, or edit a clip to make it really engaging? You have to remember that Facebook stories are just one element of social media marketing and, while they can be effective on their own, can’t match the reach of a carefully coordinated campaign. At social Nucleus, we can help with every aspect of your Facebook marketing.

We’ll help you determine which specific audiences to target, determining the best age ranges, genders, and locales for your brand. We’ll also work to create killer creatives, with our team of copywriters and graphic designers who can truly elevate your messaging. If you want to level up your digital advertising, get in touch and organise a consultation with one of our team.

What is iOS14 and how does this affect you?

In June 2020, Apple announced its fourteenth system update to the world at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference. The update caused a lot of stir amongst the wider community. Why? Well, for one big reason.

App Tracking Transparency (ATT).

ATT, put simply, introduced a prompt to users requiring permission for apps to track their activities, such as website searches and the use of other apps. Most users before this update were likely unaware apps had the power to do this. It’s important to remember that Apple hasn’t blocked this feature completely. They’re simply asking your permission now.

Why is this happening?

Well, we don’t know for sure, but what we do know is that the answer is somewhere between Apple wanting to protect users’ privacy, and them wanting to capitalise on a new opportunity for profit.

Facebook has argued that they have their own data collection and that they still retain the dominate market position for advertising.

So, what’s the impact for Facebook advertisers?

You may have noticed that your iOS14 Facebook ads look a little different in recent months. This is because Facebook’s apps, including Instagram and Messenger, can no longer track users due to mass opt-outs. IDFA numbers, which are used to market to very detailed and specific audiences, are now going to be hidden if users decide to opt-out.

As a result of this, personalised ads and performance reports have become severely limited. Your advertising could be less effective, due to a loss of ad personalisation and small businesses are now finding it harder to reach their target audiences.

There could also be delays with reporting from Facebook, in relation to real-time data no longer being supported. It has been reported that it may now take up to 4 days before the report will populate. This includes data such as overall conversions.

This delay in reporting will often mean certain sections are off the mark and are not in line with the backend sales reports. Alongside this, important details and collective data such as age, gender, regions, and placements will no longer be available.

This means another key change is happening… retargeting efforts overall are going to be affected. Audience pools are going to be smaller and less refined, as the details are not going to be as accessible as before.

As a result of these changes, the Facebook pixel will also be affected by this update. Custom pixels will be limited to eight and the data it collects will be more generic.

Digital changes you can make

The good news is, there is a way around these changes. Some immediate actions you can take include

1. Complete your domain verification

Whilst this is recommended anyway, Facebook recommends doing to keep your account and assets safe. This will give Facebook permissions to run through the website and check the its validity Doing this will promote the likelihood of an improved account, a smaller chance of a genuine website being pulled down, and smoother operations.

2. Explore alternative routes for attribution

We recommend exploring alternative routes for attribution and tracking. There have been various ‘quick-fix’ hacks surfacing, but as a successful eCommerce business, you need to be looking at long-term solutions for attribution and tracking. This is the only way you will be able to achieve accuracy within your ads. So, make sure all accounts have UTM embedded within the ad level or manually input them onto each URL script ending.

3. Prepare for no cookies

In light of the iOS14 release, the digital world is beginning to understand campaign performance based on modelling. If implemented correctly, it will encourage smarter decision-making.

4. Platform Diversity

Connecting to your audience is still going to be possible, as that audience is still there. You just need to be able to reach them differently. We recommend a multi-channel strategy, ensuring you have multiple traffic sources alongside Facebook.

Creative changes you can make

Putting the digital aside, there are also some creative changes you can look at making going forward. These include:

1. Make your content product-centric.

With a broader range of users seeing your ads, making your content hugely product-focused is going to be key to getting the right customers to convert. By making our product the star of our content from the first glance, whether this is a video or an image, our most relevant customers are likely to see this and know this ad is of interest to them.

2. Use the target customer in your content (UGC)

We know user-generated content has always been hugely effective and it is going to be now more than ever. By using your target customers in your ad content, your audiences will find your content more relatable and are therefore will be more likely to engage.

3. Copy should address the target customer directly

With us now having to speak to a broader variety of users with each ad than before, it is important that you now use your copy to speak directly to the people you actually want to convert. Treat your copy as a space to get across the key details of your product or service that the right customer will understand and care about.

How we can help

 The good news is, you’re not alone. Millions of advertisers across Facebook are also being affected in the same way.

If you’re still concerned about how these changes will impact your advertising efforts, why not get a helping hand on board?

Our in-house team of Facebook and paid media specialists, copywriters and graphic designers have worked tirelessly here to get ahead of these changes for our clients to minimise the impact on their results.

We’re already seeing these efforts pay off.

Book in a FREE 15-minute strategy call with one of our team and let’s talk about how we can help your business!

When it comes to marketing communications, your brand’s tone of voice is one of the most important aspects to consider. It’s not just a tool used to appeal to potential customers. It’s an integral part of your business that conveys your values and makes your brand stand out to everyone from prospective partners to the rival brands you’re competing against.

In this blog, we’ll cover what a brand’s voice is and the reasons why establishing a strong one is so vital.

What is a Brand’s Tone of Voice?

Before we look at why this is such an important part of your marketing, let’s delve into what a tone of voice actually is. Put simply, your TOV is the way in which your brand conveys itself to the world, both written and spoken. It’s not necessarily about what you say, but more about how you say it and the impression this will have on your audience. To craft an effective, engaging tone of voice, you need to know who your audience is and what they want to see in a brand.

For example, a B2B brand operating in the engineering sector will target fellow professionals who know what they’re talking about. Colourful language, colloquialisms and other techniques you see in broader marketing won’t be applicable here. Instead, a mature, technical tone of voice is required, one that speaks the same language as those who are reading.

This encompasses everything you put out, both spoken, written and even visual content. Whether it’s Facebook ad copy or internal presentations, consistency is key. Your voice needs to be distinctive and present in order increase brand establishment. Trying to be as broad as possible and change the tone of your marketing for different audiences could be a hindrance and set your brand development back significantly.

Why is Brand Tone of Voice so Important?

Personification

Imagine for a moment that the audience isn’t reading your copy on a phone or laptop, but that they are instead listening to a person. If there is no recognisable personality or consistency to what they are saying, do you think your audience is likely to trust them or take on the message being conveyed? No.

When you have a strong, recognisable voice, your audience will build a character and view messaging as a conversation, rather than a piece of standard advertising.

In short, it makes your brand more personable. People don’t want to feel like they’re just getting information relayed to them or, on the other end of the spectrum, that they’re being fed lots of unnecessary filler. By creating a distinctive tone of voice, you’re making it easier for them to relate to your brand and ultimately see themselves become a part of it.

Reliability

We have already touched on the idea of consistency. When building a tone of voice, you have the chance to bring stability to your brand’s messaging. If your audience sees conflicting messaging, then they will view your brand as fractured and lacking any identity.

However, if consumers can see a clear ‘theme’ in your messaging, then this will reassure them that you know what you’re talking about. The importance of consistency in the type of content, ad copy and the way it is delivered cannot be overstated.

Authority

Tone of voice doesn’t just help to make you appear reliable in the eyes of potential customers, it can also make you seem more authoritative. However, this requires both personality and a deep knowledge of the subject or industry you’re working in.

When we talk about authority, this doesn’t necessarily mean bombarding your audience with a lot of jargon and technical talk. Instead, it’s about being confident in your messaging and having the intuition to know when and when not to use specific terminology.

Originality

This is quite basic, but it is still a hugely important part to consider. When you have a good tone of voice, it sets your brand apart from the rest. As we’ve already mentioned, it’s a great tool to help craft a unique identity, making both copy ad and content instantly recognisable as belonging to your brand.

This can be incredibly valuable, as once you have set a tone that connects with your consumer base, it means they’ll remember your brand. You won’t just be a random company in the field, instead, you’ll be a name they link to your industry. The important thing to remember is that, while you can of course take inspiration from competitors, you shouldn’t try to emulate them. You need to craft a truly unique voice that represents your brand.

Communication

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, tone of voice can massively improve your relationship with the audience and how you communicate to them. An effective tone of voice can cut through the endless sea of online content available, clearly conveying your message in a way other brands can’t.

It can also help focus your campaigns and marketing angles. Instead of coming up with loads of content and copy to test that might not produce results, you can follow a theme and slightly adjust what’s working. Don’t be afraid to turn away from the broad appeal, some of the most successful campaigns work because they operate in a niche.

Build a Better Voice with Social Nucleus

Knowing that tone of voice is important and being able to effectively craft one are two very different things. If you’re struggling to convey your brand in the best way through messaging, why not get help from the experts. At Social Nucleus, we work to establish a consistent tone of voice from the get-go that can be used in all aspects of your campaigns, from ad copy to email marketing and beyond. If you’d like to take your advertising to the next level, get in touch and start connecting with your audience now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5-Step Guide to Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses

 

Social media marketing for small businesses can be a tricky thing. For a start, you may not have the dedicated departments of the big brands. If you’re the sole voice of your business’s social media presence, then it can be very difficult to work out a strategy that is both efficient and cost-effective. At times, you might be tempted to think the whole thing is pointless. That couldn’t be further from the truth though; social media is a vital tool in boosting your brand’s optics, increasing acquisition and getting your name out there.

While you might not be able to match the might of powerhouse marketing departments, there are several things you can do to strengthen your current strategy. With that in mind, here is Social Nucleus’ 5-step guide to social media marketing for small businesses.

 

Different Methods for Different Platforms

Let’s start with the basics; don’t put out the same type of content on different platforms. For example, Facebook is a great way of connecting with prospective customers more colloquially. Here, those that have liked your page are looking for product updates, promotions or even just a witty post!

However, if you’re making a post for LinkedIn, then the audience is going to be very different. LinkedIn is the ‘professional’ social media, those using it are often looking to make business connections or find work. Here, you might find avenues for B2B marketing or raise engagement through posts that give a deeper insight into your own business.

You have to consider the constraints of certain platforms as well. While Twitter may afford a lot of versatility in terms of the content you can put out, you only have 280 characters to deliver it effectively. Posts will have to be short and snappy, but you may find it difficult to convey your message with such limited space.

Then you have the more visual platforms, like Instagram and YouTube. Here you’ll have to navigate the difficult realms of photo and video content, which require completely different skillsets. The production value and consistency of posts will determine your success. While you can get away with unstructured posting on Facebook and Twitter, you’ll need a carefully planned routine for these platforms. If your followers are used to seeing a couple of posts per day, plus stories, and you suddenly stop, this is going to negatively affect your engagement.

This might all seem like a lot to take in, but it is only a very brief outline of what you need to do for different platforms. The reality is that it takes a lot of work and time to craft engaging content that leads to conversions, especially on such a wide birth of social channels.  

 

Tracking and Optimisation

This isn’t exclusive to social media marketing, but it is an important point nonetheless. When running any campaign, you need to ensure you are constantly monitoring its effectiveness. There are a variety of metrics to consider like reach, click-through rates and bounce rates.

If an aspect of your campaign is underperforming, then it’s time to review what is and isn’t working and optimise. You may only need to make a few tweaks, but the results could be seismic. Constant analysis and action are needed if you want to consistently hit your engagement and conversion targets.

 

Scout the Opposition

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas, then there is no shame in looking at your competitor’s strategy. In fact, this can be immensely beneficial and is a widely used practice across digital marketing.

A good way to do this is to identify two or three brands you consider to be your top competition and examine the type of content they’re putting out. You need to look for reoccurring themes in the language used and the way the messaging is delivered. For example, if all your copy is presented in block paragraphs, but the competition is using bullet points or listicles to break up the information, this could be an indicator that you need to switch up your style.

Similarly, you’ll be able to see specific keywords or phrases they are using which could spark inspiration for your own messaging. It’s not about copying, or even emulating their strategy, but if your biggest competitors are all using the same language in the same way, then that is something you need to consider.

 

Social Media Management Tools

One thing that will make your job infinitely easier is a social media management application, such as TweetDeck and Hootsuite. Instead of manually creating each post when you need it, these types of software will allow you to schedule whole campaigns well in advance.

They also let you manage every page or brand you’re overseeing without having to log in or out to switch. Using these won’t make or break your strategy, the onus is still on you to create engaging content after all, but they will prove greatly efficient.  

These tools go back to our earlier point of analysing and optimising your content. Some applications will allow you to precisely track your engagement and conversion rates, as well as a slew of other metrics. These are invaluable in identifying campaigns that are running well and those that are underperforming.

 

Know your Audience

This might seem a little basic, but you would be surprised how many brands use generic messaging. While targeting a broad audience with your ad copy and content can produce results, creating specialised sets for certain crowds and angles is absolutely essential. 

Before the start of any campaign, whether it’s paid ads or trying to drive traffic organically, you need to identify potential audiences to target. A good way to do this is to imagine a customer that would be drawn to your product and ask yourself a few questions; where are they from, how old are they, etc. This is a creative exercise that can help visualise the type of person your messaging needs to appeal to.

 

Call the experts!

Just because you don’t have the resources for a dedicated department, that doesn’t mean you can’t enlist professional help when looking for social media marketing for small businesses. At Social Nucleus, we offer a variety of services that can bring out the best of your brand on any social platform. We will craft an effective launch strategy for your ad campaigns based on analytics and information provided by you. On top of that, we’ll work within your budget and regularly update you with key information for your campaigns, where you can improve and recommendations for scaling. Get in touch with us today and take your digital presence to the next level.