Like it or not, Facebook appears to be here to stay, and with it the social media revolution will roll along. It is now a foregone conclusion that the world will continue to become more socially connected, with concepts like privacy and oversharing taking a back seat. But for affiliate marketers, this is good news regardless of their individual opinions about Facebook. Marketers should be able to see Facebook as a potential gold mine for all kinds of prospects, from people looking to join their organizations to people looking to learn about or purchase their products or services. As an affiliate marketer you should also be getting on the Facebook bandwagon. Here are some tips for using Facebook as an affiliate marketer:
- Learn how to purchase Facebook Ads – Facebook has a number of ways to purchase ads including purchasing likes to a page, purchasing likes to an individual post, and paying for your ad to be displayed. Among the options of how to pay for your display ad are pay per click, and pay per impressions. All of these aspects should be carefully considered and tested before any major advertising outlay is spent.
- Build a Fan Base – This tip seems like a no brainer, still should be mentioned. One of the reasons for using Facebook to market is in order to build a captive audience which pays attention to what you have to say. It is important that you give people a reason to pay attention to you, your company, and your offer – so be sure to put useful information into their newsfeeds.
- Giveaways are still popular – Everyone loves to feel like they are getting something free or something for nothing. It is a great idea to offer your prospective customers a freebie, especially if your product is an information product. These kinds of giveaways helps your customers get to know you and trust the quality of your product before making the big purchase. Those offering a service could offer the first part of the service free, or give a free trial.
- Be real – Affiliates promoting certain kinds of businesses or products are going to have a more difficult time with Facebook than others. For example, those in the dating niche may have it especially hard. One of the keys to not getting bounced from Facebook advertising, which does happen frequently, is to not go black hat. Be real and position your product in a likeable manner. Think about things from the Facebook advertising moderator’s point of view, and obey the terms of use.
- Be positive but not obnoxious – Everyone appreciates a positive quote now and then. But simply posting a positive quote every day without context can seem like a cry for attention. Remember, the goal of Facebook for affiliate marketing is for your captive audience to pay attention to you, and eventually purchase your product. Instead of just posting a positive motivational quote every day, offer a brief 2 or 3 sentence true motivational story and then give a quote as the moral or takeaway.
Go international – If your offering can be purchased by people in other countries, target them in your Facebook campaigns. Not only may the clicks (or other actions) be cheaper, but you may find far less competition for the attention of customers in different countries.
