Meet Kristine Evenson, president of CaptureHits and marketing strategist to midsize companies. With a specialty in online promotions and internet marketing, Kristine is shaping the way brands approach their virtual presence, particularly on Facebook.
By focusing on target audiences, Kristine Evenson is able to drive noticeable results that boost traffic, maximize sales, and ultimately expand profits. Because of her experience balancing social media into a brand's holistic online presence, Kristine understands how to effectively harness social power.
What's the most common mistake that you see people make on Facebook and their online marketing campaigns in general?
Actually I see several common mistakes when it comes to online marketing, including Facebook. The first is failing to identify what channels make the most sense based on your target audience, message and objectives. Sometimes smaller niche channels are more effective than a site like Facebook, so it's really important to understand your audience and match that data to the demographics and psychographics of each marketing channel.
The second mistake is failing to have a plan or strategy. Too many marketers jump right into online marketing with what I call dump and pour marketing. Sure, you can make great pancakes dumping and pouring a little of this and a little of that, but you need a recipe to be able to replicate success over and over again. Having a strategy, especially one that ties objectives to measures, provides consistency so that you can learn why something isn't working and fix it; or replicate where the magic happens over and over again to get the most from what works the best in your marketing channels.
Because many people are engaged in social on a personal level, they assume that they understand social media marketing, which is very different from being a participant in social media. Social media is really more comparable to a hearing aid vs. a bullhorn. It allows you, the marketer, to meet the audience on their terms, in a space where they are comfortable and at their level. It's about offering value everywhere and not being overly self-promotional... It's not always a breadcrumb trail leading to the gingerbread house. Sometimes it's more like a treasure hunt where you need to gather a number of metric clues to piece together the mystery.
How do Facebook ads compare to Google Adwords in terms of ROI or general effectiveness?
Ideally, ad campaigns on both platforms should run simultaneously. Statically speaking, however, Google Adwords generally outperforms Facebook ads. The real difference has to do with the technology that powers the two different ad platforms. Facebook ads work better for companies who want to build brand awareness. Google Adwords is better as an advertising platform because it has features such as displaying ads over its network of partner sites, and versatile advertising functions like retargeting.
What do business owners need to know about Facebook Graph Search?
Graph Search is really nothing more than Facebook's way to personalize search results. After all, the more personal it is, the better the odds are that businesses will want to stay within Facebook to help build their brand.
Graph Search assists people by making them more and more aware about what the people they trust (friends, family, colleagues, etc.) think about a specific brand. This helps brands gain more mindshare by influencing people's choices even IF a click through to purchase isn't taking place.
The most important thing that businesses need to know about it, however, is that social has changed and continues to change buying behavior. Those brands that have fans who consistently engage with them are more easily able to influence people's choices.
Do you favor any social media sites like Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook over another? Do certain niches fall into a specific social media platform or are they all equal?
No, not all social platforms are equal. Each has its own value so it's important to make marketing choices based on where you find your audience.
Personally I'm a big fan of Pinterest. It's still young and hasn't been entirely overtaken by trolls and spammers. I also love that it's more visual vs. text heavy. I find a lot of inspiration and ideas, and have connected with others who share the same interests.
There are a lot of great features that make Pinterest ideal for retailers and ecommerce since people who pin are statistically much closer to buying something. I also find it is a lot easier to build a following on Pinterest vs. Facebook because the main mode of interaction is repinning.
I like to look at social platforms (or channels) as bodies of water. Sure, fish (your audience) are present in all bodies of water - lakes, rivers, seas. But to catch the right fish, you need to know a lot about it so that you can identify the right rods and reels, bait and lures, techniques, etc. So a long answer to your question, but each channel has its own value and the key is knowing the kind of content best consumed by the audience in each channel.
If you could only choose between a "promoted" post or a paid ad on Facebook, which would you choose?
Which one I would choose would depend on what my objective was. If I wanted to increase engagement, then I would use a promoted post. However, if I wanted to increase exposure among a targeted group of people, then I would use a paid ad. The key to determining which I would ultimately use would rely on some small testing to see which performed better based on my objectives, or if they worked better in conjunction, which is often the case.
Thanks to Kristine Evenson for sharing her social media secrets with us! What lessons for your business strategy will you take from her interview?