Benefits of Boosting an Ad on Facebook

One of the main benefits of boosting an ad on Facebook, is the potential for increased visibility. By allocating a budget to a specific post, businesses ensure that their content reaches a larger audience, including those who may not yet follow their page. This extended reach is valued for brand awareness and can drive more traffic to your website or social media. The process itself is straightforward, designed for users of all experience levels. You select a post to boost, establish a budget based on your financial capabilities, and then specify your target audience by demographics, interests, and geographic locations. This targeting allows you to connect with specific groups more likely to interact with your content. It can also be a quick way to promote time-sensitive information, such as sales or events, capturing attention before it’s too late.

Cons of Boosting an Ad on Facebook

Despite its advantages, boosting posts is not without drawbacks. While it can help spread your message, boosted posts may receive lower engagement rates compared to ads specifically designed for conversion. This may be due to the content, which may not have been crafted with advertising goals in mind. As a result, spending on boosted posts can sometimes lead to a wasted budget if the post isn’t compelling enough to spark interest among viewers. Additionally, the analytics provided for boosted posts can be limited. You may receive basic insights, such as reach and engagement, but lacking deeper metrics makes it challenging to assess overall campaign effectiveness. In situations that demand more precision and control, utilizing Facebook’s Ads Manager for tailored ad campaigns may be a more strategic approach. This platform allows for comprehensive audience analysis and enables businesses to adapt their ads based on performance, ultimately leading to improved results over time.

Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads

Google Ads and Facebook Ads are two leading platforms for digital marketing, each with distinct strengths. Google Ads targets users based on intent, displaying ads when people search for specific keywords. This approach captures demand at critical moments, making it effective for direct response advertising. Facebook Ads, on the other hand, focuses on user demographics and interests, allowing brands to engage potential customers during their leisure activities. The visual nature of Facebook’s platform enhances brand storytelling and audience connection. Choosing between the two depends on campaign goals. Brands seeking immediate conversions may prefer Google Ads, while those aiming for brand awareness might find Facebook Ads more effective. Evaluating audience behavior and objectives is key to selecting the right platform.

When deciding whether to boost a post, consider the context and goals of your campaign. There are instances where boosting can serve as an effective tool. For example, if you have an important announcement, such as launching a new product or service, boosting the corresponding post can ensure it reaches a wide audience quickly. Similarly, for promotions or limited time offers, boosting can help generate immediate awareness and drive traffic. However, if your objective is long-term engagement or conversion, creating dedicated ads through Ads Manager can provide more robust options for strategizing and measuring success. Ultimately, evaluating your specific needs will guide you in deciding whether boosting posts aligns with your marketing goals or if a more comprehensive advertising strategy is necessary.

While boosting posts on Facebook can offer quick visibility and engagement for time-sensitive promotions, it’s essential to weigh its benefits against potential drawbacks. Boosted posts might not deliver the same engagement as tailored ads, and the limited analytics can hinder effective campaign assessment. For businesses looking to maximize their online presence, understanding when to boost and when to invest in a more strategic advertising approach is crucial. If you’re unsure how to optimize your Facebook marketing strategy, we’re here to help! Contact us today for your FREE, no-obligation consultation to explore the best options for your business.

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To make it seem more familiar, we like to say that building a new website is like building a house—with many of the same benefits and frustrations. The decisions that you must make when planning your new site are very similar to those you make when building a home. How many rooms do you need? What neighborhood will be the best fit for you? Prefab, or custom? And, perhaps most importantly, who will build it? You want a contractor who understands your needs.

Firstly, both a house and a website are a home base for their owners. A house provides a physical space for relaxation, storage, and creating memories with loved ones. Similarly, a website serves as a virtual space where you can showcase your work, share your thoughts and experiences, and connect with others.

Building From the Ground Up

The Plot of Land – Hosting

When you want to build a new house, you first need a plot of land.  When searching for one, many factors can be involved. Hosting is the land we’re going to build the website on. Choose the wrong hosting company and you could have problem after problem dealing with downtime and server security. No use building a beautiful home that gets flooded twice a week, right?

The Address – Domain name

Your address tells your visitors where you are located – from the street you live on to your exact location on that street. A website URL does the same thing for website visitors, telling them where to find your business online.

Your house’s mailing address determines where you can be contacted as well as which services are available to you. Certain electric or wireless Internet companies may or may not service your particular address. The same is true of domain names. This is where you can be reached online, and it may determine who can reach you and how visible you are. For example: which mailing address would you rather have? 1515 Anywhere Street or 473625 Harry William Mountbatten-Windsor the Third Street? It can make a big difference—one is easily remembered, the other is impossibly confusing.

The Foundation – Platform or CMS

A house will not stand without a solid foundation. So it’s incredibly important it’s done the right way. The same is true of a website platform, it’s the building block upon which everything else is erected. Even the most beautiful house will crumble at the first rain if the foundation is weak. A robust back-end infrastructure, built by an experienced website developer, will ensure that your site can weather the storm.

In the case of a housing foundation, it allows for walls to stand on top of it, flooring to lay evenly, etc. The platform we use at Frontline Web Consulting is mostly WordPress, a Content Management System (CMS) which is powerful but user-friendly. It is highly customizable and allows us to do everything else so much more seamlessly. A content management system such as WordPress – in combination with a theme, or template – form the structure and layout of a website.

The Framework

Guided by the blueprint, a framework forms the structure and layout of a house. We create a layout for clients to approve very early on in the process. This gives them an idea of the website’s layout, the navigation to move around the site, and how content and images will be displayed. We remain in contact with the client throughout this process because we want to be sure that the “blueprints” match their expectations and needs.

The Construction – Website Development Process

This is the part of the building process where so many people get shafted—both in homes and  websites. You can get something that is presentable but which is not structurally sound. Or it could be solid as a rock but as ugly as can be. You want a house built to stand the test of time and be beautiful at the same time. For that, you need to find professionals who know what they are doing and who respect the process.

We take great pride in our work and enjoy helping clients to create beautiful and functional websites. We respect the process. We know what we’re doing. Our website development team works hard to make this happen.They remain a resource even after the website launch, to fix little issues that might appear later on. Just like the construction phase of home building, website development takes time if you want it to be done right.

Interior Design – The rooms, paint and landscaping

People build homes to be comfortable and beautiful. They want homes to convey a sense of personality and style. This is true of websites as well—which is where our website designers come in. They take your wants, ideas, and little touches and turn them into design reality. Think of this as the phase of home construction where we’re painting walls, picking doorknobs, and deciding which windows we want. The exterior of a house says a lot about its occupants. Is their paint color bright, or subtle? Is their landscaping fresh and well-maintained? The appearance of your website says just as much about your business.

Moving in – Content Migration

If you had an old website, you will want to move in your old content, which can take time but needs to be done right. If it’s a brand new website, you’ll need content. We can help you “move in” with copywriting services, just ask!

Home Security – SSL Certificate

SSL Certificate is digital certificate that authenticates a website’s identity and enables an encrypted connection. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. The majority of website hosting services includes this. It makes the little lock icon appear next to your website URL. What it does is encrypts information passed from server to client, so anyone who might be peeking can’t read it. It’s essential for SEO as google will not rank an insecure site. It’s also essential for any site with login/eccomerce, to prevent that information from being stolen.

 GPS – Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Sometimes, just knowing someone’s address isn’t enough – you need directions to help you get there. So, you pull up a map or use your GPS. When it comes to websites, good Search Engine Optimization (SEO)  allows people to locate and visit your site with ease.

Upkeep & Repair – Website Maintenance

Without maintenance, even the most expensive home in the neighborhood will fall into disrepair. Website maintenance ensures that your site is safe and secure, optimized for search engines, and functioning smoothly.

Putting All the Pieces Together

In the end, each piece of your website ends up working with the others to create the site, and if one isn’t receiving top marks, the whole site isn’t meeting its potential. After all, it only takes one dealbreaker to turn a dream house into a fixer-upper. But you can make your dream house work for you and your business. Take a good hard look at how your website looks now and decide what work needs to be done. If you’re not the DIY home improvement type, don’t worry— we have “master carpenters” on staff, so reach out to us for help!

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How to Use Instagram Hashtags for Businesses: The Effective Hashtag Recipe

Hashtags – people either love them or hate them. However, did you know that Instagram posts with at least one hashtag has 12.6% more engagement than those without? Regardless of how you feel, there are benefits of hashtags on your Instagram posts if done correctly. Biggest one? Visibility. Discover how to use hashtags for maximum effect on your Instagram posts.

The Effective Instagram Hashtag Recipe

There are endless possibilities when it comes to choosing hashtags. You can use just about any to define your brand and connect with your target audience on Instagram. HOWEVER, much thought needs to be given when it comes to this strategy. Finding the right hashtags takes some time and research but with a well-crafted strategy, you can drive real conversions from adding followers, to closing sales through Instagram.

To begin, most people do not realize that Instagram has a limit of 30 hashtags per post. When you search a hashtag on Instagram, it will show you how many posts are associated with that hashtag.

For an effective Instagram hashtag strategy, you’ll need to combine hashtags from four different categories. When you find the proper combination of these hashtags, it will maximize your post performance and help you reach your potential customers. You will be able to easily identify 15-20 hashtags for each of your posts with this Instagram hashtag “recipe”:

1.       Extremely popular hashtags – they are the ones that have about 100,000 to 500,000 posts associated with them. Choose 5-7 of these ones. We don’t recommend using hashtags with more than 500,000 posts associated with them as those ones can invite bot activity and your content will be buried in their archives within seconds of being posted (which then becomes a waste of time business-wise).

2.       Moderately popular hashtags – they are the ones with 10,000 to 100,000 posts associated with them. Choose 5-7 of these types.

3.       Niche-specific hashtags – they are the ones that have fewer than 10,000 posts associated with them and are hyper-targeted to your core business industry, and the things your target audience is searching for. An example would be “jewelrywithintention” for a pay-it-forward handmade jewelry company. Choose 3-5 of these types.

4.       Branded hashtags – these are the ones you would use exclusively for your brand. They may be brand-specific and campaign-related.

The reason for this specific recipe of hashtags is related to how the Instagram algorithm sorts each hashtag. Instagram will review each piece of content (video or image) for performance – looking at its engagement from both followers and non-followers.

This is why when you use popular hashtags, your content will appear in searches for seconds into minutes. This will generate an immediate burst of activity on your post. When you use moderately popular hashtags, it will keep your content active in search results for hours, telling Instagram that your content has a long lifespan. When you use niche-specific hashtags, this is where you will stand out. There is a better chance that your post will appear as one of the top posts in the searches for niche-specific hashtags you choose because your followers are interacting with your posts, and the other hashtags you’ve used will continue to keep that post spiked with activity. In doing this, your content is now at the top of the hashtag search page for a very specific topic. The people looking at this search result are seeking this very specific thing and will see your content first, leading them directly to your post and your profile.

If people like your other content or your profile in general, there’s a higher chance that they’re going to follow you. If the products or services you offer is what they’re looking for, you can even close a sale from that post.

Ensure that you Hashtag Each Post for Maximum Visibility

With this Instagram hashtag recipe, you will then need to determine what are the best hashtags for your brand. All of the hashtags you use on your posts should be directly related to the content itself, as well as your industry or brand:

·         Content hashtags – ones related to the items in the post itself. This one’s simple – if it’s a photo of a cat, hashtags related to cats (eg: #Calicocats, #kittensinYEG, etc)

·         Niche hashtags are specific to the target audience you’re trying to reach. They are also digging deep into the solution that you offer

·         Branded hashtags are hashtags that you and your customers use to showcase and tag your content on Instagram.

·         Industry hashtags may not be directly related to what’s in the post but are specific to the industry and clients you serve

In the above example from @britjaye, she incorporates different hashtags related to both the content of the image and the target audience she’s aiming to reach:

·         Content hashtags include #bridetobe, #weddingceremony, #weddingflowers, and #weddingbouquet.

·         Industry hashtags include #weddingideas, #weddingphotography, #junebugweddings, #weddingphotographer, and #instawedding.

·         Niche hashtags include #ohioweddingphotographer, #ohioweddingphotography, #daytonweddingphotographer, #cincinnatiweddingphotographer, and #columbusweddingphotographer.

·         Branded hashtags include #britjaye.

For your brand, you want to create a list of hashtags to satisfy these various categories. Here are some tips to do so:

·         Content hashtags vary depending on the products or location in the post.

·         Industry hashtags, niche hashtags, and branded hashtags will be relatively consistent for all your content.

·         If you’re struggling to find more hashtags that work well for your brand, look at the suggested or related hashtags in the Instagram search results. This will allow you to research further

·         Look for hashtag inspirations from others within your industry – see which ones they use in their content and see if any of those would be relevant or work well with your brand.

Hashtag Overload

How many hashtags are too many hashtags? We know you may have a personal preference however when branding for a business, you want to consider what works best for visibility and your overall strategy on Instagram.

There are several options of where you can post your hashtags. You may have seen a few brands tend to separate their hashtags with dashes and dots to distinguish separation between your caption on your post and your hashtags.  If you do not want to come across as “spammy,” you can also post your hashtags as a comment instead (although fair warning, sometimes if the hashtag is content-specific and may add to your post, you may not want to put it into your comments – example: #thestruggleisreal in a customer post about solving a problem). You can also do a combination of both of these – put about 3-5 hashtags in your post and then the rest into your comments.

Hashtags can be quite effective when it comes to your content and visibility. To the untrained eye, many people may not realize the true use of hashtags and the strategy behind them. Now knowing the Instagram hashtag recipe, utilize these tips and then re-visit them every now and then to see the engagement and visibility your brand is getting!

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