Advertising has changed drastically in the past decade.

Unfortunately, the way that businesses think about advertising is lagging.

Traditionally media ad spots were purchased through mediums like television, print and radio.

These ad spots had the advantage of guaranteed placement. Guaranteed placement means that when a magazine ad is purchased, everyone who reads the magazine will encounter it on the same page, and television ads are all experienced at the same moment.

Everyone participating in reading the magazine or watching the program is going to encounter the same ad in the same way.

In this way, social media changed the game.

There is no guarantee that a person is going to see your post, and that person will never experience it in the same way or at the same time as another person.

This is because of the Facebook news feed.

Rather than allowing pages to fill a news feed with a barrage of posts, Facebook only allows so many page posts in someone’s news feed at one time. For every page that posts, the chance that your post shows up in a given users feed declines.

This can be very intimidating, especially if you are well-versed in the world of traditional advertising. If you have questions on how to advertise on Facebook and social media, let the social team help.

How Do You Compensate for This?

Facebook’s business manager provides pages of useful information to help page managers understand what they are doing right and what needs work.

One of the insights provided is to post “when your fans are online.” Don’t let this metric mislead you.

The best time to advertise in traditional media would have been when the most people were watching, driving by or searching.

For Facebook advertising, however, knowing when your fans are online does not mean post at that time.

More competition makes posts more likely to get buried. Posting at peak times could lead to a smaller reach.

Ideally you should post engaging content prior to peak times. You will still reach a large audience with the opportunity to gain traction with shares likes and comments to propel your post into peak audiences.

Growing your Audience

First and foremost, the key to a successful Facebook page is content. Content is one of the top 3 reasons users go back to websites they like, this includes social pages.

Just like any other quality media outlets, interesting content is the best way to stimulate engagement and gain followers.

Additionally there are other ways to gain loyal fans on Facebook. This is the fundamental goal for Facebook pages; get likes and build brand loyalty/recognition.

Purchasing likes is one way to inflate your numbers. That is not to say that page likes are all that matter, or even that a page with more likes is better than a page with fewer.

This all depends on your social media goals.

Let’s compare Rolex and Coca-Cola’s Facebook pages.

Rolex is a luxury watch brand that is established world-wide not just for their quality and durability, but also as a status symbol.

Coca-Cola on the other-hand is a drink that hundreds of millions, if not billions of people have enjoyed.

With a simple evaluation you can see that these two brands are inherently different, while Rolex is exclusive in their marketing goals, Coca-Cola is inclusive. This is why Rolex is content with their three million Facebook fans even though Coca -Cola has nearly 90 million.

Do what fits with your brand.

The Right Followers

Growing your audience isn’t just about getting more followers; it’s about getting the right followers.

One of the most effective ways to do that is a great feature that often goes unused on Facebook.

It’s called lookalike audiences. After building a loyal following you can begin to market to people similar to your Facebook fans.

This is shown to be a successful way to gain the most followers for your dollar, and ensure that the new followers are interested in your content.