In my last blog entry, I covered the “sparse but paid” approach to Facebook. If you missed it, the premise was simply that nonexistent organic reach makes the idea of saving time and resources by posting less frequently, but putting money behind every post, worth considering.
Logically, someone considering this approach, might think less posting means less work and less complexity. However, like many things in life, doing something simple extremely well is rarely as easy as it seems.
“That’s it? Why would I pay you to do something we can get an intern to do?” -Businesses Everywhere
The key to the “sparse but paid” approach resides in flawless execution of two components – Content & Targeting.
Content
First and foremost, if posts are only going live weekly (or biweekly) the content has to be amazing. Quality should always be top priority, but we’ll save that for another time. The point here is that understanding buyer personas and the type of content that appeals to them is paramount. Hastily thrown together content can actually be detrimental to your brand, particularly when you’re actively spending money to put it in front of more eyeballs.
Targeting
Here I’m talking specifically about the ad targeting being done once the content is ready to be published. Remember, this approach cashes in on Facebook’s pay-to-play model. It takes someone well versed in the right way to go about A/B testing to ensure your ads are getting the best results possible for the lowest price. Prior experience boosting posts here or there is not the same thing as working with Ads Manager, I promise.
The Takeaway
The key takeaway here is that you should really consider working with a firm or freelancer if you’re interested in reaping the benefits of this approach. Finding someone who is comfortable with content creation, copywriting and the ad creation process can make all the difference here. “Sparse but paid” can reinvigorate a stagnant Facebook page, but only if you put the right pieces in place.
Let me know what you think. Have you considered this approach? I would love to get your thoughts. Email me at nick@watchsm.com or reach out via my website here.