Thread For Business Owners - Facebook Advertising & Other Internet Advertising

• metta
  
  Posts: 44200
  
  
  May 15, 2012 11:17 PM GMT

  UPDATE 2-GM to drop Facebook ads due to low consumer impact
  
  
  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/15/gm-facebook-idUSL1E8GFMB720120515
  
  I have been wondering about this. I use facebook but I don't remember ever using it to buy things. When I click on ads, I don't remember ever buying any of it. I tested out doing an ad for my business and I did not find it to be feasible. I have kept the ad but keep the bid low for now until I see a way to make it work.
  
  I get these calls from marketing people telling me how important it is to advertise on social media.
  
  I still think that advertising on search engines is much more effective for internet based businesses.
  
  Does anyone else here have experience with advertising on the internet and what they find to be the most effective cost effective way to advertise.

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  May 15, 2012 11:33 PM GMT

  metta8 saidUPDATE 2-GM to drop Facebook ads due to low consumer impact
  
  
  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/15/gm-facebook-idUSL1E8GFMB720120515
  
  I have been wondering about this. I use facebook but I don't remember ever using it to buy things. When I click on ads, I don't remember ever buying any of it. I tested out doing an ad for my business and I did not find it to be feasible. I have kept the ad but keep the bid low for now until I see a way to make it work.
  
  I get these calls from marketing people telling me how important it is to advertise on social media.
  
  I still think that advertising on search engines is much more effective for internet based businesses.
  
  Does anyone else here have experience with advertising on the internet and what they find to be the most effective cost effective way to advertise.

  
  
  What do you do?
  
  FB / google + / fourssquare / latitude, etc., has been next to worthless for me, mostly due to the demographic of my clients: ave. age 65. Pretty much 100% repub. Limited computer literacy: email, google maps, 1%ers, very limited texting. They don't get on the puter for fun, but only when they have to, type of thing.
  
  

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  May 15, 2012 11:37 PM GMT

  "I get these calls from marketing people telling me how important it is to advertise on social media."
  
  funny, I know I'm being seen out there because the telemarketing efforts by the 100mil or so, so called socia media experts are up hugely. I'm still not where I want to be yet, but I'm getting busy enough that I can't so all this shit myself anymore. I might even have to drop from RJ

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  May 15, 2012 11:38 PM GMT

  I do think demographics are key here. But I also think that a car isn't an impulse buy. I recently ended up buying a book (actually two in a series) that I heard about on Facebook. But those books costs me like $18 for the Nook version and were well worth it. When we bought our new car last year, we spent weeks looking at different models, then visited a few dealerships, etc.

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  May 15, 2012 11:40 PM GMT

  I get bombarded by "newsletters" and such screaming that anyone who doesn't devote at least 1 FTE to managing social media is going to go out of business. I'm pretty skeptical to begin with, but I simply don't have time for it. So I don't.
  
  I have been hurt by a couple of crazy people posting rants on Yelp or some such site. And even got a few blackmail threats. (Give me free stuff or I'll attack you in my blog!) But I just don't have time for it.

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  May 15, 2012 11:42 PM GMT

  mindgarden saidI get bombarded by "newsletters" and such screaming that anyone who doesn't devote at least 1 FTE to managing social media is going to go out of business. I'm pretty skeptical to begin with, but I simply don't have time for it. So I don't.
  
  I have been hurt by a couple of crazy people posting rants on Yelp or some such site. And even got a few blackmail threats. (Give me free stuff or I'll attack you in my blog!) But I just don't have time for it.

  
  
  Ugh. What kind of business?

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  May 15, 2012 11:44 PM GMT

  Christian73 saidI do think demographics are key here. But I also think that a car isn't an impulse buy. I recently ended up buying a book (actually two in a series) that I heard about on Facebook. But those books costs me like $18 for the Nook version and were well worth it. When we bought our new car last year, we spent weeks looking at different models, then visited a few dealerships, etc.

  
  
  I think metta 8 will get a bunch of good answers here with regards to what works, but I can't imagine FB doing too much good for much except I do know, or know of, quite a few residential realtors that do some real good from FB. Sure as hell not true on the commercial RE / development side of things. In fact the golf course is still as useful as it ever was.

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  May 15, 2012 11:52 PM GMT

  mindgarden saidI get bombarded by "newsletters" and such screaming that anyone who doesn't devote at least 1 FTE to managing social media is going to go out of business. I'm pretty skeptical to begin with, but I simply don't have time for it. So I don't.
  
  I have been hurt by a couple of crazy people posting rants on Yelp or some such site. And even got a few blackmail threats. (Give me free stuff or I'll attack you in my blog!) But I just don't have time for it.

  
  
  In fact I'm starting an old fashion snail mail campaign because no one is doing it anymore and I know there are a bunch of older, could be, sellers out there. If the dems win in November, I expect to have a bunch of folks wanting to sell, cash out, instead of doing an exchange and just go ahead pay the current 15% cap gains rate. This is not meant to be political at all, it’s just a fact of life that there’s a 60% chance of this happening and I want to positioned correctly for the potential business.
  
  So I’m starting a carefully directed mail campaign to the real names, numbers and addresses behind the LLC. The social media stuff is losing some effectiveness as everyone is doing it. The challenge is always coming with something little different.

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  May 15, 2012 11:52 PM GMT

  freedomisntfree said

  Christian73 saidI do think demographics are key here. But I also think that a car isn't an impulse buy. I recently ended up buying a book (actually two in a series) that I heard about on Facebook. But those books costs me like $18 for the Nook version and were well worth it. When we bought our new car last year, we spent weeks looking at different models, then visited a few dealerships, etc.

  
  
  I think metta 8 will get a bunch of good answers here with regards to what works, but I can't imagine FB doing too much good for much except I do know, or know of, quite a few residential realtors that do some real good from FB. Sure as hell not true on the commercial RE / development side of things. In fact the golf course is still as useful as it ever was.

  
  
  I could see that re: real estate.

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  May 15, 2012 11:55 PM GMT

  Christian73 said

  freedomisntfree said

  Christian73 saidI do think demographics are key here. But I also think that a car isn't an impulse buy. I recently ended up buying a book (actually two in a series) that I heard about on Facebook. But those books costs me like $18 for the Nook version and were well worth it. When we bought our new car last year, we spent weeks looking at different models, then visited a few dealerships, etc.

  
  
  I think metta 8 will get a bunch of good answers here with regards to what works, but I can't imagine FB doing too much good for much except I do know, or know of, quite a few residential realtors that do some real good from FB. Sure as hell not true on the commercial RE / development side of things. In fact the golf course is still as useful as it ever was.

  
  
  I could see that re: real estate.

  
  
  And non profit or not, your needs are probably pretty similar. Everyone markets their talents / skills regardless of what we do.

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  May 16, 2012 4:53 AM GMT

  A more comprehensive/relevant discussion of this here (by tech and entrepreneur types):
  http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3978440

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• metta
  
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  May 16, 2012 6:35 PM GMT

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  May 16, 2012 6:36 PM GMT

  For small business owners - the experience of one Pizza joint advertising on Facebook:
  
  http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3981548

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  May 16, 2012 8:16 PM GMT

  [quote]metta8 said[/quote]
  
  All joking aside (vid), I've invested a bunch of time in this and over a period of three years or so of working hard on this, I have made it work. However, I have a personal page plus two business pages on FB and that hasn't worked worth a shit.
  
  What FB does, if you want paid advertising, is really let you target your ads by any and all parameters that are in a profile. I think it can work, but I'm just in the wrong business.

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  May 22, 2012 3:32 AM GMT

  "I put my family business on Facebook. Here’s what happened."
  http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4002539

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• metta
  
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  May 22, 2012 5:42 AM GMT

  I have heard some things in regards to Amazon as well. If you are a retailer and Amazon asks you to put some of your items on their web site, I have heard that they require you to put the manufacture information on their and they use that information to contact the manufacture directly, then ask them to discount it, undercutting the retailer. So be careful what you put up on their site, especially if they are items that are not already on there.

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  May 22, 2012 6:18 AM GMT

  metta8 saidUPDATE 2-GM to drop Facebook ads due to low consumer impact

  Before becoming a pilot, I was an Electronics Technician in the US Navy (enlisted - not officer/pilot).
  After the Navy, I was a factory worker for over 12 years till I could afford flight school and get the fuck out of Arkanshit/sas.
  Knowing the mindset of many US factory workers, I'd rather buy imported.

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