Two months on from the release of Facebook’s slew of new advertisement tools, big brands have been experimenting with the new advertising landscape that the social network has laid out. More than ever, they’ve found that producing engaging content is the key to advertising success on Facebook.
If Facebook’s leap day announcements concerning the shake-up of its advertising have demonstrated anything, it’s that they now place more emphasis on brand Pages than ever before. Facebook wants brands to ensure that they are making the most of their brand Page to post consistently engaging content – or “Stories” as the term Facebook wants such ads to be known by. Their hope is that by offering the tools to achieve greater reach and engagement to brands with well-maintained and exciting profile pages, more advertisers will follow this example, lifting the overall quality of Facebook advertising in general.
Facebook Gives Brands Tools to Keep Engagement High
It’s easy to see why Facebook is so keen to keep the advertising quality high. With adverts popping up in users’ home page news feeds, in the right hand status update ticker and the increasing rate of mobile advertising (not to mention the new advertising innovation of log-out ads), Facebook is extremely wary about the potential effects of users getting fatigued and “spammed-out” by ads. The best way to avoid this kind of user discontent is to encourage engaging, high-quality ads.
To that end, a number of advertisers whose brands are heavily invested in Facebook have been experimenting with the new tools. Those who offered uniquely engaging content have been rewarded most. Sandwich supremo Subway recently ran a log-out advertising video with funny outtakes of their sporty spokesman, basketball player Blake Griffin. Subway spokesmen claimed that the brand’s reach increased 10 times during the week-long advertising campaign.
Similarly, Ford’s log-out video advert of the new Ford Mustang achieved more than 1 million plays and far exceeded Ford’s expectations.
Extend your Reach
Reach Generator, another of Facebook’s new tools, has been eagerly adopted too. Approximately only 16% of Facebook fans will see a typical post, and Reach Generator is designed to let the other 86% see that post through strategic news feed placements. Ice Cream brand Ben & Jerry’s managed to reach 98% of their sweet-tooth Facebook fans within a 28-day period with news of exciting new flavours.
While experimentation with different Facebook advertising tools is advisable – to follow Subway’s “test and learn” policy – engaging content is the new gold standard on the world’s most popular social network. Brands that can post consistently engaging and enjoyable content on their brand Page will find themselves in the best position to reap the benefits of increased likes, shares and comments from genuinely interested users.
