2. @GRINER
TYPE-A PARENT CONFERENCE 2013
A T L A N T A , G A .
S P E C I A L T H A N K S T O :
K E L B Y C A R R , T Y P E - A P A R E N T F O U N D E R
M E L A N I E N E L S O N , T Y P E - A P A R E N T P R O G R A M M I N G
D I R E C T O R
C O V E R P H O T O B Y R E T O F E T Z / F L I C K R C R E A T I V E C O M M O N S
Originally presented at
#TypeACon
3. @GRINER
• About 20% of referral traffic to major
content publishers is driven from
Facebook
• Twitter is around 6%
• That said, it varies wildly by site
First off, how important is
Facebook?
#TypeACon
Source: ChartBeat/Alexis Madrigal, The Atlantic, 10/12/12
5. @GRINER
When your post does go viral on
Facebook, you’ll want to make sure
you’re ready to make the most of it
And you never know when
things might blow up
#TypeACon
10. @GRINER
1. Organic content
2. Promotions (Giveaways, contests, etc.)
3. Advertising and promoted content
So how do you build
a Facebook audience?
#TypeACon
11. @GRINER
1. Better images
2. Better coding on your site
Part I: Organic Content
Two ways to grow audience
#TypeACon
12. @GRINER
Recently, Facebook changed the way it
displays photos in post links.
The change is good, if you adapt to it.
1. Better images
#TypeACon
17. @GRINER
• Go horizontal. (Specifically, Facebook
uses a 1.91:1 aspect ratio.)
• Recommended minimum size is
600 px x 315 px
• Ideal is 1,200 px x 630 px or more
For ideal Facebook images
#TypeACon
18. @GRINER
No worries.
Now you can upload custom photos when
you’re posting.
Doesn’t work with your
blog layout?
#TypeACon
22. @GRINER
They’re built into the metadata of your
site in the same way that your post titles
and summaries are.
OG tags tell Facebook lots of info about
your site and your posts.
How OG tags work
#TypeACon
23. @GRINER
OG tags in their natural environment
#TypeACon
Woo, it’s gettin’ hot in here.
24. @GRINER
OG tags you already know
#TypeACon
OG:Title – Post headline
OG:Site_name – Name of your blog
OG:Description – Post summary (Facebook
recommends 2 sentences or more, btw)
OG:Type - Designates your content as an
article, opening up other tag options
(WordPress plugins typically cover all this.)
25. @GRINER
Other tags you SHOULD know
#TypeACon
Article:author – Lets you identify the
Facebook URL of the post author, which will
trigger a “Follow” button on posts
(Good for multi-author blogs.)
Article:publisher – Identifies the
Facebook page of your blog, which will
trigger a “Like Page” button on posts.
(This one’s super important.)
27. @GRINER
Right now, lots of blogs and even
mainstream media outlets are behind on
these new Facebook formats and options.
Taking advantage of them now can help
set your site apart and make the most of
your content being shared.
Subtle, but important
#TypeACon
28. @GRINER
As you probably know, Facebook has
eased up its restrictions on giveaways and
contests, but there are still lots of rules to
know about.
Part II: Promotions
#TypeACon
29. @GRINER
Until August 2013, Facebook required all
promotions be hosted on third-party
applications, usually in the form of “tab apps”
on your Facebook page.
Now Facebook has dropped this rule, allowing
pages to host giveaways that can be entered by
Liking or commenting on a post.
The big change
#TypeACon
30. @GRINER
Hosting a promotion in an application still
has a lot of benefits.
But just because you CAN
doesn’t mean you SHOULD
#TypeACon
31. @GRINER
Why still use an app?
#TypeACon
Using an app for
your giveaway or
contest makes it
easier to gather
contact information,
sign up participants
for future emails
and embed rules.
32. @GRINER
• The ability to measure analytics
• Fan-gating to require visitors Like the
page before entering
• Lots more design/image flexibility
A few more perks of
promotion apps:
#TypeACon
33. @GRINER
• Your attempts to contact winners privately
can get caught in their “Other” inbox or
blocked outright by privacy settings
• You’ll still have to include the line, “This
promotion is in no way sponsored,
endorsed or administered by, or
associated with, Facebook.”
If you do a giveaway on your
Facebook page…
#TypeACon
34. @GRINER
• “Personal Timelines must not be used to
administer promotions”
• That means you can’t allow entries via
sharing a post on a user’s own wall (or a
friend’s)
• Try to avoid violating this when running
giveaways on your blog, as well.
Giveaways on your wall also
include one big restriction
#TypeACon
35. @GRINER
If you’re going to be doing several smaller
giveaways, create a Facebook tab app that
makes it easy for winners to enter their
contact info. It can also include your rules
and disclaimers.
Then you can simply link to one app when
you announce giveaways or notify winners.
Here’s a good compromise
#TypeACon
37. @GRINER
When used in conjunction, promotions
and Facebook ads are the single most
effective way to build audience.
Part III: Advertising and
Promoted Content
#TypeACon
39. @GRINER
Daily fan growth example
#TypeACon
Giveaway w/ advertising
& email blasts
Contest w/ email blasts
(no advertising)
Giveaway w/
advertising
& email blasts
40. @GRINER
Daily fan growth example
#TypeACon
Giveaway w/ advertising
& email blasts
Contest w/ email blasts
(no advertising)
Giveaway w/
advertising
& email blasts
Despite strong daily engagement, fan growth
between promotions was essentially flat.
41. @GRINER
Advertising on Facebook comes in a lot of
flavors, but the two you should care most
about are:
• Like ads (Sponsored Stories)
• Promoted Posts
Facebook ad options
#TypeACon
42. @GRINER
If your site is well known, Like ads can be
an effective way to generate new fans.
Plus….
Like ads vs. Promoted Posts
#TypeACon
44. @GRINER
But if your content is your strong suit and
your name recognition is low, go with
promoted posts.
Like ads vs. Promoted Posts
#TypeACon
45. @GRINER
1. Create a budget and timeline, then tell
Facebook to promote your newest post
2. Manually promote your posts for any
dollar amount on any schedule
Remember: You can target your
promotion to any location, demographic
or fan base.
Two ways to buy
Promoted Posts
#TypeACon
46. @GRINER
If you’re promoting content, first be sure
any image you’re promoting contains less
than 20% text. Otherwise, Facebook will
reject your post.
Beware ‘The 20% Rule’
#TypeACon
49. @GRINER
While many people focus on complying
with the 20% rule, they don’t realize that
promoted posts also must abide by
Facebook’s lengthy ad guidelines.
So many rules
#TypeACon
50. @GRINER
“Ad text must include proper grammar
and the use of all symbols, numbers, or
letters must adhere to the true meaning of
the symbol.”
(Bless you for this one, Facebook.)
More Facebook ad rules you
should know about
#TypeACon
51. @GRINER
More Facebook ad rules to know
#TypeACon
• Can’t “position products or services in a
sexually suggestive manner.”
• “Ads may not contain content that
exploits political agendas or ‘hot button’
issues for commercial use.”
• Can’t imply the audience’s gender,
religion, age or sexual orientation
• “Ads may not promote the sale or use of
weapons, ammunition, or explosives.”
52. @GRINER
Keep an eye out
#TypeACon
Facebook is currently overhauling its entire approach
to ad units, scheduled to roll out “this fall.”
53. @GRINER
As frustrating as Facebook’s
ever-changing options can be, it’s worth
experimenting and adapting your
approach to audience growth.
(But you still have a Constitutionally
protected right to complain about it.)
How to keep growing
on Facebook
#TypeACon