Welcome to episode 387 of Hit the Mic with The Stacey Harris.
All right, this month to start off instead of just talking about the three things that I want you to know about social media, we’re going to talk specifically about Facebook. Now some big changes rolled out in January to the algorithm and to Facebook as a whole, and so I wanted to talk about the implications of that and what it means.
Before we jump in, as always, this episode is brought to you by Hit the Mic Backstage. It is your next step for this podcast. We have a brand new training that just came out last week on the first, all about Instagram content strategy and building your plan. Of course in January we launched the Rockstar Guide to Instagram, which is a six module program all around how to use Instagram. And then in December of course we launched a brand new version of the Rockstar Guide to Facebook, which is a six module program all on Facebook.
So for $40 a month you get access to those two programs and to other programs and talk about podcasting and Periscope, plus literally dozens of other trainings. So absolutely anything you could need is in there. In addition to that, there are monthly member masterminds, where you can get hot-seat time with me, get your questions asked live. It’s a good time. Plus we’ve got two private communities, so there’s really no excuse. Get the support you need today, all right?
All right, let’s jump in.
Here is first and foremost what this algorithm change does not mean.
This algorithm change does not mean you start using your profile instead of your page. Now let’s define this for anybody who’s unclear. When I talk about your profile I’m talking about the private profile you automatically get when you open a Facebook account. This is where you connect via friends. When I’m talking about your page I’m talking about your business’ page, which is setup as an additional step, and anyone can like it without approving the connection, like you do with friend requests.
We need to be marketing from our page. It is actually against Facebook’s terms of service to use your profile primarily, and I’m using their words here, primarily for commercial purposes. Facebook gets to define what that means, not you and I. So don’t do it, it’s just not allowed. Also, it’s shady and it doesn’t work. Just stop.
So, page versus profile? Page. But then we get into this other gray area of, “Well, should I be ditching my page then for a group?” No. You shouldn’t, because you can’t run ads with a group, and you can’t target engaged people with a group, and you can’t target videos created inside of a group. I can do all those things with a page. So no, don’t ditch your page.
However, you might find you’re changing the way you’re using your page.
For example, if you look at my Facebook page right now, you’ll notice that most of the content that’s come out in the last several weeks is live video. Because for me it’s all about getting engagement, whether that’s views or likes or comments, whatever. For me it’s about getting engagement up, and engagement comes for me most often via live video. So I’m putting my eggs in that basket.
Now, you will note occasionally a link or something like that going out, because I’m not going to put all my eggs in that basket. But most of my eggs for right now are in that basket, because here’s there deal, my ads are going to do better when I can target them to an engaged audience. My ads are going to do better if they’re coming from a page that people are looking like they want to spend time with. Facebook factors that in when they’re delivering things. So live video, that’s what I’m going to be doing a lot of.
We’re going to talk more about live video next, but I can’t … when I do a live video on my page I can target an ad to somebody who’s watched three seconds or 50% or all of it. Even better, I can target three different ads to those three different viewer types based on what they need, nurture, warm up, sell.
I can’t do that with a group, so no I’m not ditching my group. I know there’s a lot of different opinions about whether groups attract the right clients. I think it depends on who your clients are and what your industry is. For me, it doesn’t make sense to have a free group, because if you want my attention in a group, if you want my information in a group format, join Hit the Mic Backstage. It has two, a Facebook group and a private forum on the site. Mostly because I won’t be subject to if something drastic changes with groups. I want to know there’s a community where you guys can get support either way, no matter what Facebook does. That’s why there’s both.
However, to have a free group kind of devalues that element inside of Backstage. So for me, it doesn’t make sense. That may not be the case for you. However, if having a group is your gem and it’s going to be a big part of your strategy in 2018, that doesn’t mean your page becomes irrelevant. That doesn’t mean your page becomes useless. That’s not true at all.
For me, page is where I choose to be. Because I can’t use my profile, that’s against terms of service, and a free group doesn’t make sense for my strategy. So figure out what are those pieces, pages and groups, not profiles because that’s against the rules, pages and groups, which makes sense? But if it’s groups it’s got to also be pages. If it’s pages, groups are optional. Makes sense?
All right, number two, live video.
Facebook loves the live video, and also engagement is better on the live video for pretty much everybody I’ve been talking to, and certainly for my clients that we coach with.
Here’s the deal though. Live video isn’t the only thing. Think about what makes sense for you. If live video doesn’t make sense for you, for whatever reason, I would encourage you to find out how you can make it make sense, but if you really can’t find a way to make it make sense, then look at recorded video, upload it to Facebook. Again, that does not have to be you on camera, that can be tutorials, same thing with screen-casts. But guess what guys, live video doesn’t have to be you on camera either, that can be a screen-share too.
Figure out how to make video work for you. If you need feedback on how to do video, inside of backstage we’ve got a great training with Holly of Holly G Studios, and that Holly has a ton of resources on her site and her YouTube channel. So check those out.
But figure out how to make video work for you. If you can’t, figure out how to make live video work for you. Because it’s becoming more and more important. I know this is about Facebook, but even LinkedIn has a native video option now. We can actually upload video directly to LinkedIn. You’ve got to be paying attention to this stuff.
For me, live video is all about the engagement though. It’s all about having an option to really connect and have a conversation with the people watching. So find ways to make that engagement standout and happen and be something that is a no-brainer for your audience. Ask questions. Say hello to them as they comment. Respond to them when they ask questions. Make seeing those comments a priority.
One of the things we’re doing is I tend to share the comments on the screen when we have questions. I actually highlight them on the screen, just because it’s fun. Everybody wants to be recognized, okay?
All right, the third thing is yes ads are important. Especially with these algorithm changes.
It’s time to start investing.
We’ve talked about this and we’ve talked about this and we’ve talked about this, but today I wanted to talk about specifically your easiest way to start with ads. And no, it’s not the boost button. It’s retargeting.
That’s where you can really get the fastest ROI with the smallest budget, because you’re targeting people who have already decided they want to hear from you. So you can actually target ads to your email list, target ads to people who like your page, target ads to people who’ve your videos, target ads to people who have spent time on specific pages of your site using your Pixel.
If any of that didn’t make sense, go check out Hit the Mic Backstage. There’s an entire module on Facebook ads in the Facebook Guide that walks through all of this stuff. Building custom audiences, installing your Pixel, all of that. That’s your lowest barrier to entry. That is where you are going to get the most bang for your buck. So if nothing else, start with retargeting ads, okay?
Next week you’re going to want to make sure you mark this down if you’re not an every episode listener. We’re actually going to be talking about how I’m using Facebook ads right now. We’re going to talk more about retargeting, but we’re also going to talk about what kind of cold ads I’m running right now. So pay attention to that next week.
But that’s all I’ve got for you this week. So again, you’ve got to be using your page guys. Live video, it’s a critical part of my strategy going into 2018 with Facebook. Number three, ads. If nothing else, start with a retargeting ad. It’s really simple and it’s great way to get a real good bang for your buck, even with a low, low budget.
If you want to know more about any of this stuff, all of this stuff is in the Rockstar Guide to Facebook, and you can ask me questions any time Backstage.
I will see you next week.
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