Facebook Marketing for Small Business

Image of a small team working around a table planning a design juxtaposed over a finished design.

When you think of marketing teams you probably envision a large corporation with a massive marketing team and a budget to match.

The reality is far different!

In the United States, small businesses that have fewer than 100 employees make up 98% of the country’s businesses. Marketing teams for organizations that are this size are typically between one and five individuals.

In other words, small marketing teams far outnumber the big fancy ones.

They also have their fair share of challenges. Marketing budgets are usually small and team members often must wear many hats in order to meet the sizeable expectations of the company. Small marketing team success is very doable though.

It just takes a lot of efficiency, and a little creativity.

This is why Facebook is an ideal platform for the small marketing team. And this is how to make it work for your business!

Automate Key Marketing Processes

Creating Facebook posts is pretty hands-on, but you can use tools – including the Facebook Creator Studio – to help you plan and schedule out posts in advance!

Then there’s the flip side of Facebook marketing that no one talks about – lead collection. Route completed lead forms directly to your sales team instead of processing them manually. Connect your database so that it is updated with lead information automatically.

Trim tasks where you can so you are freed up to focus on the things you can’t automate like clever Facebook posts and witty banter to engage your audience.

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Give Your Audience a Peek at What Goes on Behind the Scenes

Brands that bring humans into their social media mix and put them at the forefront do amazingly well with their audiences. People love to see the faces behind the products and services they love, especially when there is a fun story or goofy photo to accompany it.

After all, you don’t want to bombard your audience with strictly sales pitches all the time. That’s not what Facebook is all about. Mix it up with product info, industry news, customer testimonials, and these fun behind-the-scenes posts.

THEN you can sprinkle in the sales pitches.

Take candid shots of employees doing the things they do at work and post them to your social media profile (with their consent, of course). Take a picture of Jane working on a great new design, coffee cup in hand and pencil over her ear, seriously focused look on her face. Or get a shot of Tom and Mike bringing lunch for the whole team because it’s storming outside.

In other words, show both work and play because humanity is both. Tell stories that make your audience feel more connected to your brand through your people.

Turn Employees into Facebook Personalities

Instead of just one person creating all of the Facebook posts for your company, get the entire staff in on the fun. Encourage employees to create posts about the company, industry, behind the scenes, or what they are thinking about on that particular day. And always end the post with the person’s name – first, first and last, or nickname.

Use cool photos to support the posts and encourage employees to respond. If they aren’t comfortable responding with their personal accounts they can use the company profile and just end each comment with their name, so it is evident who is writing.

Facebook is a community-based platform and users are looking for connections. This type of interaction allows them to see the human side of your company and they will keep coming back.

Create guidelines for all employees, outlining what is acceptable and what is not allowed. If you have an employee who may be a loose cannon, you can assign a quality control lead to monitor all outgoing posts to ensure they are consistent with the brand requirements.

Hire an Intern

Creating an internship program is surprisingly simple for small businesses. You’ll need to brush up on the labor laws that pertain to internships and make sure that you are compliant, but after that, it is a pretty easy process.

First, you want to set some goals for your internship program, then plan it out carefully. Establish a method that you will use to review your interns and how you will work with them to best help them learn. Finally, develop your interview and hiring process as well as onboarding which includes training and orientation.

Once established, your intern can work with you, help your small marketing team, and get fantastic on-the-job experience in the process. Social media marketing, such as Facebook marketing, is a perfect job for an intern to perform.

They are close enough to the company that they are able to make in-depth, beneficial content choices that will increase engagement and compel visitors to visit your site.

Share Customer Testimonials

People will read your content and watch your videos. They will read about your products or services, and even give you some likes and shares. But they don’t really connect until you bring real people into the mix.

Posting customer testimonials on your Facebook business profile news feed is a great strategy for drawing people in and letting them hear from real people who have dealt with your company.

Customer testimonials are powerful.

Video the testimonials or write them or do a mixture of the two for maximum impact. Get permission from your customer, then post it for everyone to see. If the customer is OK with it, you can even tag them in the post.

Facebook has some wonderful tools for posting videos, photos, and text. Learn it and use it to your advantage. Recycle your content with other social media accounts so that people who aren’t on Facebook (is there really such an animal?) can have access to the information too.

Create a Referral Culture

One of the best advertisements your company will ever get is word of mouth. And on some level, that is what Facebook marketing provides. You put the information out there and your followers do the rest.

However, you can up that even more. Create a culture that encourages your customers to refer their family and friends. Offer rewards, discounts, and special products or services to customers who refer someone to you.

This is where Facebook comes in and is very useful. Say you are running a sale and you post on Facebook about it. In the text that is with the graphic, let your followers know that if they like and share the post they will get a discount on their next purchase.

If they refer someone to you, they can shoot you a message with the person’s information or the person can message you with their name. There are many ways to accept and encourage referrals – and reward them.

Create an Exclusive Group

Facebook is known for its groups and people flock to them. Create an exclusive Facebook group for your customers or for certain customers. Use the group to provide information and discounts that those outside the group aren’t privy to. Offer sneak peeks at new products or services and provide early access to sales or special additional discounts.

By making the group exclusive and only available to select individuals, you make it all the more enticing. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, send your customers a Facebook message or SMS message when they qualify for the group. If they are shopping online, it’s much easier because you can include it with the receipt.

There are so many different things you can do with a Facebook group. The possibilities are endless. But you will need someone to moderate it and you should post at least once a week. If you can post three or four times a week, that’s even better. You can always allow group members to start discussions within the group and assign your intern the task of moderating.

Hire a Freelancer to Pick Up the Slack

Freelancers come in all flavors and to fit all budgets so you should be able to find one who will fit yours. There are many different platforms out there that allow you to hire a freelancer to get the content that you need. If you don’t want to work directly with them or you don’t want to deal with billing and such, you can use a platform that has staff to do it all for you. You just tell them what you want, and they make it happen.

Of course, you can always hire a freelancer directly. Just make sure you have a contract, and you have a clear plan with solid deadlines.

A good freelancer can shape up your content, provide new content, repurpose old content, and write your Facebook posts. You can hire freelancers for content, graphics, or solely social media management. They can take your Facebook marketing and make it work for you.

The beauty of freelancers is that often you can hire them only when you need them or only hire them to do a specific job. For instance, if you want someone to take over the Facebook marketing for your company, you hire them just for that. They will likely provide a fixed rate, so it is pretty easy to work into your marketing budget each month.

Is your small marketing team feeling a little overwhelmed? Let Tailwind help you out. With tools to plan, schedule, and post to your social media accounts as well as create beautiful content for your platforms, Tailwind is your smart marketing assistant!

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Facebook marketing for small businesses is tricky with small teams and budgets. Here are some tips to help you tackle Facebook marketing!

The Top 12 Instagram Design Trends of 2021

Design swatches on an orange background

Design trends come and go, and every year we see new photo styles on Instagram. In 2021, photographers, influencers, and brands are changing the game by focusing on a few key design elements. 

If you’re looking to improve your Instagram posts and get noticed, we are here to help. To get you started, we have compiled a list of the 12 design trends to consider in 2021. While a few of our favorites include retro, animations, and spot color, we challenge you to try all of the suggestions on this list.

Don’t forget — the Tailwind app can do the hard work for you. In a flash, you can personalize your images, discover relevant hashtags, and schedule at the right time of day.

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Read on to discover how you can transform your Instagram profile like a designer:

#1. Gone Retro

What’s old is new again. In 2021 there is a feeling of nostalgia as posts have been going retro.

Some of the most iconic decades are making a comeback, including the ’20s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and even the ’80s! 

With vintage color palettes, big skirts, milkshakes, tapedecks, and some of the coolest cars you’ve ever seen, you are only limited by your imagination.

Want a quick way to put a retro spin on a modern photo?

Try the X-Pro II, Valencia, or Rise filters. These are available for free via your Instagram account!

#2. Mood Boards

Mood boards aren’t a new design trend, but they are more popular than ever in 2021.

Mood boards, also known as inspiration boards, combine different elements that complement each other! 

You can group items that are in similar colors or themes as this gives you a unique perspective.

Mood board posts can be purely for looks. For example, you can stack a pile of books that use the same colors on their spines.

Or you can match fabrics, paint swatches, and materials to give inspiration for interior design projects.

You can even make a longer, swipeable mood board by using multiple frames on an Instagram carousel post!

#3. Natural Wonders

For many, 2020 was a year spent in isolation.

This break has given us a chance to appreciate nature, and the beauty of the outdoors is regularly showcased on social media. 

Nature is where photographers shine, and influencers are embracing the environment as backdrops for their posts.

Be inspired by the organic shades of brown and green that are popping up on your feed.

Whether it’s a shot of an exotic location or a room filled with lush, leafy indoor plants, nature is one design trend we can’t get enough of in 2021.

#4. Clever Animations

Moving pictures stand out on Instagram, and we are all used to seeing Boomerang-style mini videos on our feeds.

In 2021, it’s all about animations. Use the Tailwind app to schedule cute, bubbly, cartoon videos to give your brand that “wow factor.” 

Keep your animations short and sweet, as you don’t want to overwhelm your followers.

Animations should tell a story with colors, graphics, and text that gets your message across.

For example, you might be ready to celebrate summer. You could choose a yellow and orange theme with an animated sun.

#5. Pastel Hues

Fashion and design can collide, and Instagram design trends often come from the catwalk.

Sweet candy pastels have become a 2021 staple in every fashionista’s closet, so it was only a matter of time before these light hues took over our Instagram feeds. 

Pastels aren’t just for clothing and unicorns. We’ve seen soft pinks, blues, greens, yellows, and purples featured everywhere. 

With food, furniture, decor, artwork, hair, and cosmetics in the mix, all we need now is a dedicated pastel filter.

#6. Text Only

Why use images when words can say it all? Most of us have short attention spans, and we can miss those carefully composed captions as we scroll, scroll, scroll.

If you have something to say, why not make it the focus by adding it to your image. 

There are a few simple rules you should consider if you want to engage your followers with typography. For example, your post should be easy to read, and because it’s Instagram, it should also be visually appealing. 

Whether it’s a funny meme, an inspirational quote, or a handy tip — make every word count.

#7. Geometric Shapes

Mathematics can be fun when you combine it with art. Geometric shapes use lines, patterns, and angles to create unique images.

This is an Insta design trend that is in vogue right now. 

Artists are sharing their work on Instagram with industrial geometric creations.

Others are promoting their interior design skills with closeups of geometric wall hangings, rugs, pot plants, bedding, clocks, teacups, and cushions. 

Geometric shapes can challenge the mind. If you look at some designs long enough, they can feel as though they are jumping off the page.

#8. Muted Tones

Soft, subtle, and color-less is the best way to describe this next trend.

Muted tones photography is about giving you just enough contrast to see the different elements without bombarding you with color. 

Shades are dulled down and often have a grey appearance. 

This style works well for homewares as off-whites, beiges, and other natural hues are often used for decorative pieces.

Instagram has a range of filters and brightness and contrast levels that can help you get the look.

#9. Spot Color

A creative Instagram design trend that can take a black and white photo to the next level is spot color.

A splash of yellow, red, pink, green, or blue can become a focal point in a greyscale image. 

There are a few ways to do this. You can start with a colored photo and use layers in your favorite graphic design program to change the background to black and white.

Or start with a black and white photo, and touch it up to include a bright spot of color. 

This trend is fun as it gives your posts an intriguing twist. If you really want to embrace this style, consider filling your entire profile page with this design theme. 

#10. No Filter

There are more than 280 million Instagram posts with the #nofilter.

In 2021, social media users are desperate for authentic, genuine content, and everything “real” is getting noticed. 

This is a body-positive movement, and brands and influencers are listening.

The no filter tag is commonly used by hair and makeup artists to give you an accurate picture of how their services might look.

Celebrities are also jumping on the #nofilter bandwagon, so fans can have a glimpse at how they live behind the scenes. 

#11. Voxel Art

Voxel art looks like virtual construction blocks have been pieced together to create an image.

This cartoon style has an 80’s pixel feel to it and has been made popular due to the video game, Minecraft. It’s cute, it’s simple, and Lego fans will get a kick out of it.

Technology has evolved, and now we can create our own graphics from the comfort of our living rooms.

This has led to people young and old testing out new design styles. The good news is, voxel art is relatively easy to master.

Voxel art is appearing on everything. For example, it’s on clothing, bedding, and coffee cups.

Instagram is a place where graphic artists can share their work, and in 2021 keep an eye out because it’s all about voxel!

#12. Golden Glam

Every year there is an emphasis on a different color, and in 2021 one of the hottest hues is yellow gold.

This glamorous metallic screams luxury, and you may notice it featured in photos, animations, and art.

Gold is for interiors, jewelry, clothing, and cosmetics, but regardless of how you use it, the rule should always be “less is more”.

Yellow gold can be paired with other colors depending on the mood you want to create. For example, a classic, understated look can be achieved with blacks or soft whites.

If you prefer something that goes “pop,” try accentuating gold with baby pink, light blue, or earthy green. Or, swap it for other much-loved metallics such as rose gold or silver.

The Most Popular Instagram Design Trends of 2021

Are you looking to build your Instagram followers? One way to do this is by keeping on top of current design trends. In 2021, there are 12 key Instagram trends to consider.

We told you about going retro, mood boards, natural wonders, clever animations, soft pastels, typography, geometric shapes, muted tones, spot color, voxel art, and metallic gold. How many of these design trends have you already spotted in your newsfeed this year?

Sign up to the Tailwind app and uploading, scheduling, adding hashtags, and designing will be easier than ever before. You don’t need a degree in marketing or a full time social media expert, because this is a tool that everyone can master.

With so many innovative trends to choose from, the only question left to answer is, which one is your favorite? 

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Need some Instagram design inspo? Take a look at what Instagram design trends are popular this year, and learn how to get the look!

5 Easy Ways to Level Up Your Instagram Content

An image of woman using a smart phone against a green background. A green arrow indicating an upward line slope is in the foreground.

With over 1 billion users globally, Instagram is now by far the most popular social media platform on the planet. Arguably the cooler younger sister of parent platform Facebook (which has 2.6 billion users worldwide), Instagram is growing bigger by the day, resulting in a constant stream of new Instagram trends and features. 

Instagram has become a key channel for marketers to engage potential customers, and is now a cornerstone of any digital marketing strategy. But, with the ever-increasing amount of content being posted on Instagram everyday, it can be extremely difficult to stand out. 

So if you want to up your Instagram game and ensure your content makes an impact in 2021, you’ve come to the right place! Including everything from content tips and tricks to the low-down on new features such as Instagram Reels and Instagram Shops, here are 5 easy ways to make your Instagram content shine… 

(Before we jump in, we have a feature that will make working Instagram content, particularly reels, much easier! You can plan, schedule, and post Reels with Tailwind – make sure to give it a go.)

1. Keep it High-Quality

Side-by-side images showing preset photo editing filters.
ARTA Travel Presets For Mobile and Desktop by artapresets on Envato Elements

Thanks to the evolution of smartphone technology, these days almost anyone can shoot, edit and upload high-quality visual content to Instagram. But, with so much content now being posted every day, if your assets aren’t up to standard they’ll stick out like a sore thumb. If you want your Instagram to stand out in the right way, it’s important to keep all your posts looking polished and professional. 

The first step in creating high-quality content is good editing. Adjusting levels using presets or adding an artistic flare with brushes and add-ons is the easiest and quickest way to take your photos and videos to the next level. But, if you’re lacking in high-quality pics or videos to post in the first place, a great way to source feed-worthy content is through user-generated content (UGC). 

UGC is any content — videos, images, reviews — created by your customers or users. One of the most authentic forms of digital word-of-mouth marketing, UGC can serve as a continuous source of assets and inspiration for your Instagram and enable you to become more relatable to your audience. However, if you don’t have piles of UGC at your fingertips just yet, there are plenty of unique and authentic stock photos, videos and graphics out there to choose from! Search for visuals that fit your brand look, feel, and color palette, edit and make them your own, post them on Insta, and voilà! 

2. Consistency is Key

Sample Instagram posts.
∑ on Envato Elements

Every marketer knows that the key to successful Instagram content is branding, and the key to strong branding is consistency! If you want your brand to get noticed on Instagram, you need to keep your content as consistent as possible.

Posting regularly, maintaining a consistent tone and messaging, as well as keeping up a clear and continual visual style means that your Instagram audience will become increasingly familiar with your content and, eventually, your brand. 

(Need a little help posting consistently on IG? Tailwind’s paying members post to Instagram 4.3x more often than those who sign up for a free trial and don’t upgrade.)

Customers are drawn to brands they recognize, so make sure all your branding aligns across every channel –  including your Instagram, your other social platforms, your blog, your newsletter, and your website. 

Instagram stories photoshop templates
Mutiara Instagram Story Template by peterdraw on Envato Elements

One of the easiest ways to maintain consistent content on Instagram is by using templates. Using Instagram templates for your Stories, IGTV and feed posts will ensure that all your Instagram content is aligned every single time. Instagram templates include a mix of graphics, colors, and placeholders for photos and other visuals so that you can easily add your assets and messaging.

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3. Connect With Your Community

Instagram link in bio landing page.
Connect with your community through your link in bio.

While building a strong brand is one thing, building a strong, loyal Instagram following is just as important! So, if you want to continue growing your Instagram audience, it’s absolutely crucial to connect with your community. 

With so many brands now trying to stand out on Instagram, consistent customer referrals and word-of-mouth marketing is absolutely key to building a loyal following. Don’t underestimate the power of social media for attracting customers and communicating with your community – a little bit of interaction goes a long way. 

Interact with your followers in the comments, engage with them on Stories by using Polls, Questions or Quizzes, and make sure to reply to all DMs in a friendly, yet professional way. 

Instagram link in bio landing page One Roof Women
Turn your link in bio into a one-stop shop for your brand like OneRoofWomen.

It also pays to make all your info and links easily accessible so your followers don’t have to go digging for your website, FAQs or contact information. A great way to do this is by turning your Instagram link in bio into a one-stop shop for your brand, featuring your website, contact details, products and online store in one easy-to-find location. 

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4. Create Engaging Video Content

Over the last few years, video has become a staple of our social media feeds. In fact, short snackable video has quickly become Instagram’s most engaging format, with videos now generating 49% more engagement than photos. Long story short – creating engaging video content is crucial if you want to stand out on Instagram.

Now with over 500 million daily users, Instagram Stories are perhaps the easiest way to create engaging video content on Instagram. Fun features such as filters, music, polls, and even swipe-up links are available to add to Stories, allowing you to post anything from polished, pre-filmed promos to raw and authentic behind-the-scenes snippets.

Going Live on Instagram is also a great way to engage your followers. In fact, live video has the highest rate of engagement of all content types, as it enables audiences to interact with their favorite people, brands or businesses in real time. 

In addition to Instagram Stories, IGTV and Instagram Live, Reels is Instagram’s latest video feature. Quick, fun, and super easy to use, Reels allows users to produce short, in-feed videos which can be edited with audio and music, similar to videos on TikTok. You can upload premade videos, edit multiple video clips into one, or even create content all within the Instagram app to create short, snappy and engaging videos every time. 

5. Try Out New Trends & Features

Instagram is a constant stream of new trends, features and formats, so if you want to stay on top of your Instagram game, you’ve gotta stay trend savvy!

Trying out new Instagram formats and features is a great way to stay relevant, and to show your followers that you’re across all the latest and greatest updates. First off, make sure you’re up to speed with Instagram Live, Reels, and all the latest Instagram Stories updates – such as Create Mode, interactive Stories stickers, trending filters or features such as Polls and Quizzes. Secondly, keep your eyes peeled for any new and exciting Instagram trends – you never know when they might crop up!

One of the biggest and most exciting trends to hit Instagram in 2021 has been social commerce. While this trend has been slowly infiltrating our social platforms over the last few years, the official introduction of Instagram Shops has truly solidified social commerce as one of the hottest trends to watch. 

Images of Instagram Shops.
Get a jump on Social Commerce with Facebook and Instagram Shops.

Perfect for brands and businesses wanting to create content that converts on social media, Instagram shops allow your customers to browse products, explore collections and purchase products all within the Instagram app using Instagram checkout. Shoppable posts are definitely the way of the future, so if you’re an online retailer, get ahead of the game with Instagram Shops to streamline your online shopping experience!

And that’s a wrap on our 5 easy ways to level up your Instagram content!

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Instagram is a cornerstone of any digital marketing plan. Apply these 5 easy strategies to make your Instagram content shine!

Author Bio: Kelsie is the Editor of the Envato Blog. Experienced in the fields of design, music and digital marketing, Kelsie is a connoisseur of all things creative. Editor by day and singer/songwriter by night, she is a dedicated writer, musician and pun enthusiast.

Clear and Simple Tips to Increase Facebook Engagement

A screenshot of a facebook live with lots of views and comments over an ombre pink and purple background

Increasing your Facebook engagement can seem daunting if you’re new to Facebook marketing. Heck, it can seem daunting to even the most seasoned of marketers, simply because the algorithms are always changing. No, that’s not to frustrate you, we promise. It’s done in an attempt to improve user experience and make good marketing even more effective.

However, it does keep you on your toes in figuring out how best to keep people engaged and interested in your social content. 

What is Facebook Engagement?

The short answer is that engagements are the actions people take on your social content. Note that this is true regardless of platform. 

Things like comments, clicks, likes, shares, and views all contribute to how engaging your content is to those who consume it. 

Facebook likes to rank your content on how engaging it is because it shows them how well you’re serving your audience and communicating with them. They use algorithms to help keep the ‘spammy-mcspammers’ at bay, so that the cream can rise to the top.

The reality is that your audience will engage with content they care about or that resonates in some way. If they don’t, well… you draw your own conclusions on that! 

Tips to Increase Your Facebook Engagement

Obviously, this list of tips isn’t exhaustive. You should also keep in mind that what works for one doesn’t always work for another. You have to discover what works for your audience through good, old-fashioned trial and error. 

1.Know Your Audience 

Before developing any marketing strategy, its imperative to know your audience. What they find interesting, what garners the most engagement, and what is typically poorly received. 

‘Facebook Insights’ can go a long way in providing useful information, but you can also assess some of your most well-liked and best-performing posts yourself.

Try to find commonalities in them to help pinpoint specific things your audience enjoys the most. 

A screenshot of a weeks insights on Facebook

2. Prioritize Quality Over Quantity 

Every time you have to choose between the quality or the quantity of your Facebook posts, prioritize quality. A lot of users notice an increase in engagement—by as much as three times!—when they post less. 

However, the main reason behind this is that it allows users to create quality content. Curating and/or creating quality content takes time and effort.

If you are a small business owner or a social media manager, it can be difficult to find multiple quality posts in one day, which results in a lot of low quality content. Always opt for quality over quantity to keep your audience hooked. 

3.Create Informative or Entertaining Content 

According to most studies, Facebook audience looks for content that’s either informative, entertaining and enjoyable, or inspiring in some way, without making them feel bad about themselves.

So when you’re designing and creating your own stuff for Facebook, or even just curating kick-butt content, it’s wise to keep these parameters in mind. 

Screenshot of Facebook Live video details in Facebook marketing

4. Choose Relevant and Pleasing Images

One of the easiest ways to attract an audience to your posts is to enhance them with images. Use aesthetically pleasing and high-quality images that are cropped and adjusted for Facebook image sizes

Make sure the image you choose is relevant to the post and content you’re posting. Facebook suggests for marketing purposes to attach a customer photo and/or a product photo, preferably a close-up.

However, keep in mind that not every post should be selling something (because that’s just tacky!) 

5. Remember to Post Consistently

One of the best ways to maintain engagement on your page is to post consistently, at targeted times. Times should be chosen depending on when you see the highest engagement from your followers. 

You can get this information from the ‘People’ option on your page. You can also schedule content on Facebook to be posted, so you don’t forget. Facebook suggests posting at least two times every week to maintain engagement. 

6. Choose Your Time Wisely

Depending on your local demographics, the times of the highest engagement on Facebook may differ. Finding the perfect time to post depends on numerous factors, including your target audience, where you are located, and what time that audience uses Facebook the most. 

You can get your hands on this data through your own Facebook ‘Page Insights’ in the ‘Post’ tab. This will help you pinpoint a time frame to gain the maximum engagement possible with your followers. 

A view into Facebook Insights "When Your Fans Are Online"

7. Use Your Facebook Stories 

Facebook Stories are another excellent way to boost engagement and attracting a new audience to your content and page. Facebook Stories give you the chance to post as many times as you want, even if the quality isn’t that high. 

Stories can be used as a personal outlet to share any content, from any source, that’s somehow relatable to your target audience. Moreover, sharing recent posts in your Facebook story can also allow it to reach more people, even if it doesn’t appear on their feed due to the Facebook algorithm.  

8. Try Using Facebook Live 

Facebook Live has gained quite a bit of popularity in the past year. Facebook has also changed their algorithm in such a way that it even ranks Live videos higher than other videos. Facebook reports that people spend almost triple the amount of their time watching live videos, compared to when those same videos are no longer live. 

Additionally, people comment more on Live videos, compared to pre-recorded videos. Going live more often also causes your regular content to receive more exposure, which then increases the audience that’s exposed to your page. 

9. Don’t Skip Uploading Videos

Current Facebook trends show that videos are the most favored post type, in terms of engagement and audience reach. According to one study, videos garner double the engagement level when compared to other post formats. To get the most out of your video content, post them directly on Facebook, instead of posting video links from YouTube, or other video sharing platforms. 

Additionally, for some reason, posting square videos receives on average higher views, more engagement, and a higher rate of watching to completion. Another study showed that most videos are watched by audiences without sound! That means it’s a great idea to add captions to help people understand your video content whether or not they listen to it.

10. Reply to Comments & Mentions 

One simple way to make sure your followers engage on your posts is to reply to their comments, tags, or mentions in the comment section or on related content. 

This not only makes your audience feel included and heard, it increases the likelihood they will personally engage with future content. Remember to personalize your replies with the commenter’s name.

11. Use Questions, Opinions, & Polls 

Everyone loves to give their two cents in discussions. Asking questions in your posts or Facebook stories is an excellent way to engage people and get opinions on various topics. 

A good way to do this is to share a relevant piece of news or information, depending on your page and target audience, and ask your followers what they think about it. Facebook polls are another similar way of asking people their opinions about things, and engaging the audience in a fun and easy way. 

12. Try Boosting Top Posts 

If there is advertising room in your budget, why not use it to buy Facebook ads? You can start by figuring out the top posts on your page that have the most engagement, and then use Facebook ads to boost them so more people see it. 

If you use the proper targeting, these posts will garner even more engagement and attention, and hopefully increase your follower count and engagement statistics. The nice part is that these ads aren’t very costly either. By spending a small cost on boosted posts, you can get up to four times more exposure than organic posts. 

13. Share High-Performing, Curated Content 

Sharing high-performing, high-quality content from other pages and sites results in a higher audience reach. People who like or follow those pages or sites, but don’t follow you, are exposed to your posts. 

This in turn increases your post exposure, and may also increase the number of followers you have.

This then results in a higher engagement rate on your other posts, too. It’s like the circle of life, with high engagement feeding additional engagement.

Shared post on Facebook from Tailwind

14. Recycle Top Posts

Once you know a piece of content has performed well with your target audience, you can recycle it at a later date. This will increase the value you get out of that particular piece of content. 

You could even repost old content after updating and making changes to it, if the information isn’t evergreen. It can then generate as much reach as the original post, at the very least. You’ve essentially created double the engagement from one piece of content. 

Some ways of changing the original post might be to add a new image, include a poll or question in it, or even add a video to the post. You could even change up or add to the written content. However, it’s prudent to wait a few weeks before reposting to make sure your followers don’t see the same or very similar post too often. 

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15. Leverage Your Employees 

Finally, if your page represents a brand, you could incorporate your employees into your strategy and encourage them to post tagged content. Sharing brand-related content on their personal pages will help your brand reach a separate demographic audience, and potentially increase the engagement on your post. That means even more exposure for your Facebook page!

There are really no hard and fast rules when riding the social media engagement beast. No single audience is like the other, and it will be up to you to do your due diligence, know your audience, and serve them up content they fall in love with. When they love your content, they will engage with it. It’s really that simple.

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Want to increase Facebook engagement, but you're not sure where to start? Try adding these easy to use tactics to drive engagement on Facebook!

How to Recycle Social Media Content (Platform to Platform)

An example of repurposing a facebook story onto an Instagram Story from Tailwind

Repurposing content. It’s one of the most common things you will hear marketers talk about. But this simple statement begs a much more complex issue: how do you reuse your content on more than one social platform effectively?

Fitness blogger Cassey Ho puts it perfectly in her interview with Morning Brew:

“It’s like talking to different siblings; they just need to be talked do differently if you want a certain result.

How I’m going to talk to someone on TikTok is different than how I’m going to talk to them on Facebook.”

Cassey Ho, Founder of Blogilates

So when you think about repurposing your content on different platforms, it’s not that your content has to be absolutely different.

But your presentation and how you get your message across has to be different, according to the users on those platforms. Sound pretty simple? Let’s take a deeper look.

Know Your Audience

Before you go creating yet another set of marketing personas, stop for just a second.

Because it can be tempting at this point to start (or assign) the task of creating personas for each platform, but honestly, that won’t change a thing about how you post online.

“Marketing personas are usually a boondoggle, but they don’t have to be.”

Rand Fishkin

The question to ask yourself is not who in your audience is on what platform and create a “Francine Facebook” and “Instagram Ira” along with “Tik-Tok Tracy” and LinkedIn Larry”.

Instead, social media personas need to be actionable, and to be actionable, they need to talk about two things:

  • What group or groups does that persona include, and how do they engage most often on a specific social media platform?
  • What specific problems does that particular group have if they are unique when compared to other social media personas?

In short, you only really need the data that helps you take meaningful action. In this case, those actions are modifying your content to reach a specific audience, and also knowing what source that data came from, so it can be verified and revisited as needed.

You’re doing less work than you would creating a more robust, (but less useful persona.) The good news is you can still give them clever names like TikTok Tracy if you really want to!

Know the Platform

Pinterest = visual. Insta and TikTok = short form video. YouTube = longer-form video content, tutorials, etc. Facebook… You get the idea. Each platform has a different focus for the kind of content users respond to, and if you simply share the same content from platform to platform, it doesn’t always work.

“Instagram users are eating up Reels because I think there is a sect that is not willing to go on TikTok.

So that’s one place where I’m able to use the same content on both platforms.”

Cassey Ho

This is simply one example. Facebook and Insta stories can and do cross platforms well. Content that resonates on your Facebook business page might work on LinkedIn, but it’s more likely that your blog posts, republished as LinkedIn articles, will do better.

The point is that you don’t have to make completely new content for each platform, but you do need to tweak your content to fit the needs of each platform and consider up-cycling your content in a different format for each.

For example, you can pull points from that blog post you just featured on Facebook as a short video on Instagram or Tiktok!

You can reuse content and reduce your workload as long as you do it carefully.

Test on One Platform Before Multiplying Mediocre Content

While the advice here is that you can reuse content, don’t reuse poor or mediocre content.

Think of it this way. You and your team create what you think is a clever little TikTok dance routine. Your marketing manager films it with his iPhone 12, and ta-da! Content! You post, and while you usually get pretty good engagement, with this post you get…nothing.

Worse, you get some negative comments. Should you put that on Reels and see if it does better there? The answer is probably no. The audience for Reels and Tik Tok are similar enough you’ll likely get the same reaction.

Do you have to scrap that content idea entirely? Not at all. Perhaps your execution was poor, or you need to do something different with the idea on another platform.

Here’s the key: get as many eyes on the content as you can before you post, preferably in your target audience.

You can even run a $5 ad campaign (in some cases where this is possible on the platform) to test the waters and see what kind of engagement you get.

A lot of those Facebook anger emojis might mean this one needs to head for the bin. Don’t be afraid to test a new content idea on one platform – this gives you key learnings to help you fine-tune your approach!

@blogilates

Need your help! Comment your bra size + fave cuts. My brand is @popflexactive thank u for ur feedback ❤️ ##bra ##bras ##girlythings ##sportsbra ##fitness

♬ original sound – cassey

Graphics Galore

Without going in-depth into the creation of graphics, let’s just take a couple of basic guidelines and spread them across more than one platform.

More importantly, let’s look at what is different, and how one graphic can satisfy more than one need.

At this point, you should pull out your recreated and very useful personas. Then revisit what each platform is about and look at your graphic in that light.

Pay attention to color – The psychology of color is well documented. Each platform’s users may react differently.

On Insta, with the right hashtags that red and yellow hero shot might do well. On LinkedIn, the same image, with different colors, might resonate better with a more professional audience. Note we didn’t change the graphic itself, just the colors.

Pay attention to message – A small change to ad copy on the same image could make it suitable for a new audience. That pun might do well on Facebook with a slightly older audience, but a hipper cultural reference might resonate better on Instagram. A similar image with a lighter punchline might appeal to Pinterest Penny.

Size Matters. So to translate between platforms you need to a different size of banner, ad image, or video size. Nothing says, “I’m not professional and have no idea what I am doing on this platform” than the wrong sized image. A corner cropped out, text that runs off the edge of the image, all of these can take your content from hero to zero on a different social media stream. Need help? You can find Facebook image sizes, Pinterest image sizes, and Instagram image size guides on our blog!

Color, message, and size, or CMS if you will, should guide your graphics translation. Don’t do one without the other, and make sure you have time and attention to devote to these details!

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A New Guy on the Block

First there was Clubhouse. Soon after, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and others followed with audio-based social media. Is this because of Zoom fatigue? Whatever the reason, audio appears to be here to stay. What should you do about it?

  • Don’t just read your content into an audio void. Unless you are a novelist and the next Toni Morrison, maybe reconsider! Audio is a discussion-type venue, so focus on being social and starting a conversation!
  • Repurpose your content by asking questions and inspiring discussion. Pick and choose. Some content will translate here. Others won’t.
  • Tread carefully. Live audio is tricky. You can’t just delete comments or shut down a discussion easily. Things can get away from you quickly, so avoid controversial content and what we call “hot takes” right off the bat!

You can reuse and repurpose content for audio. It’s new, so learn as you go. Early adopters could have a real advantage here!

The Power of Evergreen Content

What about recycling? Well, there is power in evergreen content or content that is timelessly relevant. For example, this piece on Establishing Trust Through Excellent Content is still relevant because the principles of expertise, trust, and authority are still relevant and have been made even more so by the upcoming changes to Google Core Web Vitals.

This is the type of content that works on more than one platform, can be posted over and over again, and still retain relevance, and even with small updates can keep bringing you web traffic for years rather than just weeks.

But you should strive for more than just evergreen content that will work for a number of platforms. You should shoot for evergreen, cross-platform content!

Yes, you’ll have to modify images and maybe massage copy text and your message from time to time, but the topic of the content will be relevant to a variety of audiences on a number of platforms.

How do you achieve this? know your audience, know the platform, and observe CMS as you work with your content. But there is one more thing…

Know Yourself and Your Why

For each social media platform, you should have a goal. And any content you reuse should fit that goal. Understand that not every piece of content will satisfy your goal—more specifically your why for that particular platform. Recycle and reuse wisely.

Ask yourself:

  • Why are we on this platform? What do we want our followers to do?
  • Does this content align with those goals and desired actions?
  • If not, can this content be tweaked to fit those goals?

If you can’t answer one of the last two questions with a resounding “yes” then don’t force it. That is a sure way to run into trouble.

Finally, remember, you will have audiences that cross platforms. Try not to over-reuse content! You don’t want to bore them, and you certainly don’t want to make it seem like you don’t have anything unique to say.

Being able to repurpose, reuse, and recycle content definitely reduces your effort and the time you spend on content creation.

But tread carefully. Know yourself and your why and align with those goals. Use CMS and create content that is evergreen whenever you can. Finally, know your audience and the platform. Consistent, relevant messaging is key.

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Want to work smarter not harder when it comes to social media? Learn the right way to think about recycling your content on social media in our easy guide!

How to Sell on Pinterest: 9 Strategies for Success

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If you’ve ever asked yourself, “can I sell things on Pinterest?” the answer is a resounding YES. In fact, you can multiply your traffic and sales by attracting perfect-fit customers with Pinterest!

And you’re in luck, because Pinterest and online shopping are a match made in Ecommerce heaven.

Using Pinterest to Sell More Products

With 200 million monthly active users, Pinterest is a place where people go to be inspired, to learn about new ideas and products, to plan their best life.

It’s not a social network where users curate a vision of how they want to be seen. It’s a discovery destination that helps people curate ideas to support their own vision of their best possible selves.

All of that inspiration and planning – along with Pinterest’s beautiful images, leads to sales.

In fact, 72% of Pinners say that Pinterest has introduced them to a new product or service and that Pinterest has inspired them to shop when they weren’t actually looking for anything!

Pinterest drives more referral traffic to shopping sites than social platforms do

Among those using Pinterest weekly, the numbers are even more compelling. Ninety percent of weekly Pinners use Pinterest to make purchase decisions.

And as for traffic, well, Pinterest drives 33% more referral traffic to shopping sites than does Facebook, 71% more than Snapchat, and 200% more than Twitter! Clearly, the potential for YOUR online store on Pinterest is huge.

Why Pinners May Be Your Perfect Customers

Then there’s the overall makeup of the typical Pinner. Seven in ten moms are on Pinterest – and we all know who makes most of the purchasing decisions at home!

If you feel like a bit of an underdog on other networks, Pinterest is for you! Ninety-seven percent of searches are unbranded, meaning Pinners are open-minded and eager to discover something new.

It also means you have an opportunity to reach people much earlier in their decision-making process.

Understanding this important difference in the way people search on Pinterest compared to say, Google or Amazon, is key to getting your products discovered and increasing your sales.

9 Strategies for How to Sell on Pinterest

The investment you make today in great images, compelling descriptions, and high-converting landing pages can pay off for months and years to come.

In fact, while most of your reach on social networks occurs in 24 hours of posting, on Pinterest “half of site visits take place 3.5 months after the first pinning, while half of orders take place 2.5 months after the pinning,” says Pinterest

This also means that when you decide to use Pinterest to sell more, you should be patient, realizing that, as in life, overnight success on Pinterest is the exception rather than the rule – but with consistency, sales and success WILL come.

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#1: Use Keyword Research to Find the Best Product Keywords

When people search on Pinterest (and there are 200 BILLION searches per month), they’re not usually looking for something specific. In one recent Pinterest webinar, the presenter said, “I don’t go to Pinterest to find Nike shoes. I go to Pinterest because I don’t know how to dress myself!”

So, if you are using the same keyword list for Pinterest that you use for Google, it’s time to branch out.

“Getting your business to show up online in unexpected, yet still relevant places, can increase the likelihood of people saving your Pin or clicking on your ad,” suggests Pinterest.

While you should certainly use your product keywords, you’ll find some less direct keywords will also be very helpful. Start with your typical words and work your way out. Need an example?

Let’s start with the example of Nursery Bedding. What’s one step beyond a search for “nursery bedding”? You could look at it from a couple of different perspectives:

  1. The expectant parent might look for this when they’re in a place where they’re ready to consider nursery bedding:
    1. Nursery ideas
    2. Decorate a nursery
    3. Baby’s room ideas
    4. How to plan for baby
    5. What to buy when you’re expecting
    6. First-time parent tips
  2. Someone looking for gift ideas for the parents to be might search:
    1. Baby shower gift
    2. Baby shower gift ideas
    3. Unique baby shower gift
    4. Ideas for new parents

Pinterest gives us a great tool in its guided search bar, which can help you expand your keyword ideas. Just enter a keyword, like “nursery ideas” into the search bar and hit enter.

Guided search for nursery ideas on Pinterest

Clicking on any of the relevant tiles will likely give you even more options. These are words that Pinterest says people search in connection to your original search term. Use this method to build out your Pinterest-specific keyword lists.

#2: Optimize Your Pinterest Business Profile

While more action happens in search than anywhere else, that’s no reason to neglect your profile. Especially if you are linking to your profile from your site, in email newsletters, and elsewhere, you’ll want it to look good.

Use your keywords when choosing your username. Remembering that 97% of searches are unbranded, unless you’re an unmistakably famous brand, consider leading with keywords. For example, rather than just “My Brand Name,” try “Home Furnishings | Nursery Bedding | Decor – My Brand Name.”

Use your keywords in your profile description as well. Write in natural language, not attempting to “keyword stuff.” Read more about the new Pinterest business profile, including how to set up your cover photo here.

There are a couple of simple, but important technical steps you can take to give your products and content a better chance of appearing in relevant search.

  1. Make sure you are using a business profile. Not only is this a requirement if you are promoting your business on Pinterest, but business profiles also provide certain advantages over personal accounts, namely:
    1. Access to analytics.
    2. The ability to claim your website (which gives you a distribution advantage).
    3. Access to Pinterest advertising.
  2. Confirm or “claim” your website.
  3. Apply for Rich Pins.

#3: Highlight Your Products with Pinterest Boards

Forget the “80/20” or “20/80” rule. There may be, in theory, no reason you have to Pin anyone else’s content to your Pinterest account. “Sacrilege!” you say?  It’s true. Sarah Hoople Shere, Head of Product Marketing at Pinterest, confirmed this for us.


Create One Board to House All of Your Content

You can and should Pin your content to more than one Board. It’s good practice to have one Board that contains all of your blog and catalog content and nothing else. You’ll likely find that Board, being a unique resource in the Pinterest universe, performs well in terms of engagement and traffic.

Create Niche Boards to Showcase Your Blog Posts and Products

Let’s say you sell and/or blog about vintage women’s clothing, accessories, jewelry, and home decor. You might have the following Boards (among others):

  • Unique Vintage Clothing and Accessories – Brand Name Here
  • Vintage Women’s Clothing
  • Vintage Women’s Accessories
  • Vintage Jewelry
  • Vintage Home Decor

When you add a new necklace to your site, you’ll share it to the most relevant Board first to give Pinterest the most specific signal about what your content is so that they can display it in the most relevant searches and feeds. So, in order, share it to:

  1. Vintage Jewelry
  2. Vintage Women’s Accessories
  3. Unique Vintage Clothing and Accessories – Brand Name Here
  4. Vintage Home Decor

To avoid giving Pinterest mixed signals (which could hurt your distribution and search placement), do NOT Pin your new listing to the irrelevant Vintage Home Decor Board.

Each time you create new content – whether product listing or blog post – make sure it has several relevant, specifically-named “Homes” on your profile. If you need to create new Boards along the way, go for it!

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This one is so important, and it’s worth repeating: Share new content immediately and to the most relevant Board first, then schedule it to go to the other relevant Boards over time. Ideally, for an SEO boost, you’ll change the description each time you share your Pin. Try to make it tightly relevant to the Board title.

You’ll want to make sure you schedule your new content to all relevant Boards right away so you don’t forget! Grab a [sc name=”free trial of Tailwind for Pinterest”] now and get your new content out and scheduled with Board lists and interval Pinning so it gets on to every relevant Board with natural spacing and at the best times for engagement.

Board Descriptions Matter – But Not For the Reason You Might Think

Have you ever searched Pinterest for a Board? If you try it, you might notice, as I have, that the first results are often Boards with no description at all. So, then, are they really important?

search for Pinterest boards

Yes! You see, Pinterest looks at several signals to determine where your content should show up in search and other feeds.

One of those is your Board description. Creating keyword-rich Board descriptions will help surface your Pins in applicable searches and feeds. So spend some time on them!

#4: Post Consistently on Pinterest

Pinterest favors content by Pinners they call ‘Active Creators.’ Aim to create new content weekly. Pin consistently – daily.

There is no maximum number of acceptable Pins per day, but aim to share quality content that will engage your audience, rather than aiming for an arbitrary number of Pins per day.

On the other hand, don’t let your Pinterest account become inactive because you’re on vacation – use a Pinterest-approved scheduler, like Tailwind!

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#5: Create Inspiring and Engaging Pins

Pinterest recently shared their findings from research looking into what works in Pin creatives by your objective.

They shared how Pins for awareness should be different from Pins designed to generate email signups, online sales, or offline sales. Really interesting stuff!

There are some Pin design tips that work well for all objectives:

  • Add your logo, tastefully. Added to the top or bottom center of a Pin, Pinners can make out your logo clearly (it won’t get covered by Save or promote buttons) and know this is an actionable Pin.
  • Set your product image as the focal point of the Pin – make it the main point of the image.
  • Add context. Show how to use your product.
  • Make your text overlay bold and clear. Go beyond what it is to add context. Make sure your text is at least 20pt – optimize it for mobile!
  • Optimal Pin size is 2:3. 600×900 pixels, for example.

When creating pins, automate your Pinterest strategy to save time and create the perfect pins to advertise your products. Try using Pinterest templates to quickly create beautiful and personalized pins.

Since we’re interested in selling more on Pinterest,  these tips will be especially helpful:

  • Lean into seasonal events and everyday moments. Whether you’re talking about a time-specific holiday or a recurring everyday moment (think dinnertime or bedtime stories with the kids), bringing in moments can increase your sales up to 20%. This also drives urgency for faster conversions.
  • Pins with CTA in the text overlay tend to have a 6% higher online sales lift.
  • Include pricing and feature information in your Pin descriptions for an average 28% sales lift.
  • Create consistency between the Pin and the landing page visually for an average 13% sales lift.

#6: Repurpose Your Content with Multiple Pins

Did you create a great Pinnable image for your newest product or blog post using some of the tips above? Fantastic! But, why stop with one?

Creating multiple images is a great way to increase the distribution of your content on Pinterest in a way that appeals to a wide variety of your followers and other Pinners.

Try with text overlay and without. Specifically, try a direct call to action in your text, such as, “discover,” “find yours,” “start now.”

Create a collage of products in a category. Share a lifestyle image with product images beneath (lifestyle images often convert better than a straight product shot). Turn user-generated images into stunning Pins that inspire!

Pinstances Pinterest account
Check out some of Pinterest’s Boards with examples of Pin styles to try.

When you save a new Pin or reshare one you’ve shared before, try switching up your description to target a new group of keywords for Pinterest SEO.

This will enable your images to appear in more search results!

#7: Collaborate with Other Business Owners

Tailwind Communities are groups of like-minded business owners – usually made up of those who blog about a certain niche topic.

If you have a blog, you can use Tailwind Communities to add in your best content, which your Community Members can then share out – potentially expanding your reach and growing your traffic.

If you’re not a blogger, you might use Communities to find quality content to share to your own account to keep your account active during times when you’re unable to create your own fresh content.

You may also find valuable partners for potential content collaborations in your Community.

#8: Engage Your Followers to Reach New Customers

Sounds a little contradictory, doesn’t it? But, if you want to reach more than just those who follow you, you need to make sure what you’re saving to Pinterest engages your followers. Why is that?

screenshot of Tailwind Pin Inspector

Pinterest serves up your Pins to your followers first. Their engagement – or lack thereof, tells Pinterest how fast and far to distribute your Pin – or not!

If your followers don’t engage, there’s a good chance your Pins won’t appear high in search and in other feeds.

If, on the other hand, it really resonates with your followers, Pinterest gets the signal that this is something worth spreading!

So, how can you engage your followers? Look at what you’ve Pinned that has already proved to be engaging.

In Tailwind’s Pin inspector, you can see which Pins generate the most Repins. In Pinterest analytics, look for the Pins which generate the most clicks.

Whether those Pins are for your own site or they link to other people’s content, you can learn something from each one! Look at the Pin image. Is there something about it that makes it especially appealing?

What about the Pin description? Do keywords or style of writing stand out to you? Maybe it’s a particular topic or trending style that you see over and over in your top Pins. Let that inform your content AND Pinning strategy.

Another key to engaging your followers is to Pin when your followers are most likely to be on Pinterest and engaging.

How do you figure that out? Let Tailwind do it for you! The SmartSchedule analyzes your content and the activity of your followers to generate suggested timeslots for your schedule. Try it out for free!

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#9: Advertise Your Products on Pinterest

In a hurry to get started? Pinterest Promoted Pins can help you get in front of a larger audience, fast. Targeting options such as keywords, interests, audiences, locations, gender, and more enable you to pay to reach your best potential customers right away.

Key to your success in Pinterest advertising will be installing your conversion tag so you can target website visitors, enabling tracking so you can tell how ads are impacting sales, figuring out how much to bid, and knowing how to interpret results in the dashboard.

How to Sell on Pinterest – In Conclusion:

The potential of Pinterest to help you sell more with your ecommerce business is enormous – and exciting!

The long-term success of your Pinterest marketing depends on consistent, quality Pinning which engages your followers. Beautiful and inspiring images, effective use of keywords, and niche Boards which showcase your Pins will help your content go far beyond your followers.

Prefer to learn in a webinar? We’ve got you covered. This one-hour, on-demand webinar will walk you through everything you need to know to sell more with Pinterest.

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Pin Me For Later :

10 Facebook Marketing Best Practices You Can Start Using Today

Woman reviewing marketing strategy board with her back to the camera on orange background.

With an advertising audience of 2.14 billion, Facebook is definitely a giant in the social media realm. Focusing your marketing dollars on Facebook marketing campaigns is just smart, especially when you consider that the United States and Canada generate 47% of the platform’s ad revenue.

Facebook may look like it could be a goldmine for the savvy social media marketer but keep this in mind. The average Facebook user spends about 34 minutes a day on the platform. So, that’s how long you have to grab their attention!

So how do you do that? We’re so glad you asked! Here are some 10 Facebook marketing best practices that you can start applying to your company profile right now.

1. Create a Facebook business page that really works

Preview of creating a new Facebook page

Setting up your Facebook business page requires several steps, but when it is done correctly, it will perform well. You probably already know how to set up a decent business page, but here are some specific tips that will help you make it great.

  • Fill out your profile with as much information as you can
  • Upload your profile photo
  • Set up the CTA button (Sign Up, Message, Learn More, etc.)
  • Set up your sidebar tabs
  • Choose your category – there are six categories for Facebook business pages. The two that you will probably need to decide on are Local Business and Company, Organization, or Institution. Each has it’s own set us special features so choose wisely.
  • URL – Set your URL so that it contains your company name or something easy for your customers and visitors to follow.

There’s a lot more to it, but this is a very good start. From here you can begin adding content and information to the profile.

2. Know your audience like they are family

Before you start talking about your product or service, you need to know who you are talking to. Create a detailed profile of your ideal audience or customer. Sketch out the demographic information on them such as:

  • Gender
  • Age
  • Language they speak
  • Where they live (region, state)
  • Relationship status
  • Children
  • Education
  • Homeowner or renter?
  • Job

Then there are the nitty gritty questions that help you really get to know them:

  • How often do they use Facebook and how do they use it?
  • Are they new customers or have they purchased from you before?
  • If they have purchased from you previously, what did they buy?
  • What do they worry about?
  • What makes them happy?
  • How can your product or service change their life?

Think about other questions that are directly related to your product or service. When compiled, this will give you a much better understanding of your target audience and how you can reach them!

3. Create an editorial calendar and automate most of your posts

Begin your Facebook adventure by defining marketing goals. What do you hope to gain from your campaigns?

Those goals will guide your content and help you stay on track. You can then use that information to create an editorial calendar. This will help you organize and plan your posts so you can stay on track!

4. Use Facebook text posts and photo posts the right way

Yes, video posts are hot right now, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Right now, let’s focus on Facebook’s text posts and photo posts. A text post is text only while a photo post has, you guessed it, a photo attached.

There are tons of things you can do with these posts, but to be honest, more people are drawn to photo posts.

However, there are ways you can use text only Facebook posts that do increase engagement.

They are great for announcements, but they do really well when you ask a question to spark a conversation. Photo posts, on the other hand, are great for communicating information to your audience through the photo, meme, or infographic.

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5. The Story about Facebook Stories

Facebook stories is a fairly recent addition to the platform and are very similar to Instagram Stories.

Photos and videos are loaded to the site. The photos are visible for five seconds while the videos are visible for as much as 20 seconds.

After 24 hours, the content disappears completely.

The good thing about Facebook Stories is that they are at the top of the page, above the News Feed and above the posts and are not subject to the platform’s algorithms.  

All you need to do is create content that grabs your audiences attention!

Facebook Story from Kendra Scott showing UGC

6. Get more play with a video post

Video posts get more engagement than photo posts, link posts, and text posts. On average, videos that are from 1 to 3 minutes perform best while those that are less than 60 seconds come in a close second.

And if you really want to increase your impact, add a call to action in the middle of the video!

Now, if you are wondering what kind of video you need to post, well, you have plenty of choices.

Explainer videos do quite well, as do customer testimonials. But a well done, compelling video introducing a new product or service can do pretty good too!

Just make videos that your audience wants to see. Think about the questions they may have or the struggles they are facing and solve them!

7. Build buzz with a Facebook Watch Party

The Facebook Watch Party allows you to screen a video in real-time and invite your followers and friends to view it with you! You can turn it into an event instead of just another Facebook video in the feed.

Say you are launching a new product. You can create a compelling introduction video about it and then invite your fans and followers to “attend” your watch party to see it.

That is a great way to build buzz and get people excited about your business!

You can also go Live on Facebook to do this as well! Tailwind hosts a weekly Live where we discuss marketing education, resources and new product launches.

Analytics of a Facebook Live marketing session from Tailwind

8. Give your audience a break from sales

When you start posting to Facebook for your business, it might be tempting to make every post about your awesome products and your company information with lots and lots of CTAs sprinkled in. But it’s a fast way to create burnout in your audience, and may result in a lost like!

In fact, this is a huge sticking point for Holly Homer, founder of kidsactivitiesblog.com and proud owner of a 3.5 million member Facebook page. She thinks we often lose sight of the fact that Facebook is a social network when we head to Facebook to promote!

Listen in to her tips on promoting ourselves the right way with organic Facebook marketing below:

Watch the full episode of How to Make Facebook Marketing Work Without Paying for Ads for more of Holly’s tips!

Instead, mix up your content a little. Many successful businesses use the 80-20 Rule. They devote 20 percent of their posts to brand promotion and the remaining 80 percent of their posts to entertain, educate, and inform their audience.

Sure,  you want to let them know how great your product or service is, but people get tired of that. People also don’t like feeling as if a company is constantly trying to sell them something.

Build relationships with the first 80 percent of the posts and the remaining 20 percent will ring loud and clear. Don’t worry, you will get their attention.

9. Put faces to your brand

Facebook is a people centered platform and for those who remember the (very) early days of this social media giant, it was designed to connect friends and family. It’s original intent really had nothing to do with business or at least advertising businesses.

Even though Facebook has grown and expanded tremendously, those people centric roots run deep.

Adding some posts on your business page that highlight your employees and show fun behind-the-scenes shots will attract attention and get you some likes.

Most of all though, it will bring the humanity of your brand front and center, instead of just pushing your product or service and showing the impersonal face of a company.

Your business is made up of living, breathing humans. Bring them out to play!

10. Create content by your audience, for your audience

Roundups are a fun, engaging, value packed content opportunity. It’s the flip side of putting faces to your brand in that it’s the customers who are getting the highlights. Testimonials as Facebook posts are great too, but this takes it a little farther.

Start with a post asking your followers to share their knowledge or experience. This could be sharing tips for using one of your products or it could be personal stories about how your service saved the day.

Collect the best and compile them into a blog post and share it in a Facebook post. If you really want to connect with your audience, tag your contributors and give them a heartfelt thank you, give them a coupon, or some other little reward.

Inject these tips and tricks into your own Facebook marketing strategy and you’ll see what a game-changer they are!

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Ready to take your Facebook marketing to the next level? Here are 10 beginner-friendly marketing tips to use on Facebook today!

5 Steps for Selling Your Products on Instagram

Shoppable Instagram Post on blue background

The days when Instagram was just an app for sharing photos with your nearest and dearest friends are over. Nowadays, the platform is a powerful tool for small businesses hoping to sell products on Instagram!

Just look at the numbers from this 2019 Facebook survey:

  • 83% of users say Instagram helps them discover brand new products and services
  • 81% say they research products or services on Instagram
  • 80% ultimately decide whether to buy a product or service with Instagram’s help
Results on a facebook survey about selling products on instagram

Not only do these stats highlight how important Instagram is for buying products, but also the importance of figuring out how to use it to sell your products!

And make no mistake, these users are taking action. After seeing a product on Instagram, users took the following steps:

  • 79% searched for more information
  • 65% visited the brand’s website or app
  • 46% made a purchase online or offline
  • 37% visited a retail store
  • 31% followed the brands account online
  • 29% talked to someone about it
79% searched for more information
65% visited the brand’s website or app
46% made a purchase online or offline
37% visited a retail store
31% followed the brands account online
29% talked to someone about it

So whether you’re brand new to selling on Instagram or are just looking for tips, tricks, and tools to fine-tune your strategy, the following five steps will help!

Ready to stop puzzling and start profiting? Let’s get to it!

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5 Steps for Selling Your Products on Instagram

Ready to fine-tune your selling strategy and make sales on Instagram?

It’s easier than you think. Before we dive into the five steps behind how to sell products on Instagram, there are some things you need to do before you begin!

Set-up Step: Convert to an Instagram Business Account

With the craze around Instagram’s Creator accounts, you may be a little torn on what kind of Instagram account you need. We strongly recommend you switch to an Instagram business account.

Not only do business profiles give you access to in-depth Insights and Instagram Analytics about your audience in the new Instagram Professional Dashboard, but they also enable you to use the following:

And if you use an Instagram planning tool like Tailwind, you can enable Auto-Posting on your Instagram feed! Plan days, weeks, and months’ worth of Instagram content and publish at the best possible times for your audience to see it. 

Think more hustle, less time! Curious to try it out? Get a [sc name=’free-trial-of-tailwind-for-instagram’] today!

Attach Your Instagram Business Account to a Facebook Business Page

If you plan to take advantage of new Instagram and Facebook Shops or want to begin dabbling in Instagram advertising, don’t forget to attach your business account to your Facebook page.

This will give you access to important tools and features, like Facebook + Instagram Ads Manager!

Now that we’ve taken care of those important to-do’s, it’s time to get to the strategy you’ve been waiting for. You’ll be figuring out how to sell stuff on Instagram in no time with these five tips!

1. Use Hashtags to Improve Product Visibility on Instagram

When used correctly, hashtags put your Instagram posts (and products) on Explore pages where people are looking for them! 

This is even more important now that Instagram has introduced a Shop tab, so if you haven’t perfected your hashtag strategy now is the time.

Instagram hashtag explore page for #planner

When you pick relevant hashtags for your product posts and Stories, you have a chance to appear to brand new Instagram accounts who follow that hashtag, use it, or simply search for it often!

Plus, if your post or Story lands in a coveted top spot for a hashtag, it’s likely to be seen by even more Instagram users who could easily become customers.

That’s why hashtag research is so important!

You’ll need to sift through all the available hashtagged keywords that relate to your product or service.

You’ll also want to look for hashtags that relate to people and interests that might go with your product and note how popular they are (and how much traffic they get in search).

Sound like a lot of work? It can be, unless you have an amazing hashtag planning tool like Tailwind! 

Tailwind’s Hashtag Finder tool allows Instagram users to save time on the drudgework of hashtag research and get back to doing what they love – connecting with people on Instagram!

Just upload your photo and begin typing your caption.

Suggested hashtags based on your text will appear next to your caption, color-coded by their competitive level!

You can select up to 30 hashtags and even save them in labeled Hashtag Lists to use again on a similar post!

hashtag finder for instagram

Want to try Hashtag Finder, Hashtag Lists, AND our Hashtags In First Comment Feature for yourself?

Get a [sc name=”free trial of Tailwind for Instagram”] – no credit card required!

2. Highlight Product Details in Posts and Stories

We now know that 79% of Instagram users who see a product on Instagram go to find more information about it.

You can boost the likelihood of closing a sale if you leave that handy information about your product within easy reach!

Instagram Stories and post captions are a great place to start. Here are some ways to use them to educate your followers on your products!

Use Stories to Highlight Your Product

Instagram Stories is the perfect place for quick, easy-to-digest content featuring your products, building brand awareness, and driving sales. Here are some ideas on how to use Stories for increasing sales on Instagram:

  • Film yourself talking about product benefits. Keep in mind that Instagram will divide your video into 10-second segments, and you’ll cap out at 1 minute – so keep it short, sweet, and actionable!
  • Repost user-generated content like product reviews, pictures with your product, and content that your previous customers have posted.
  • Include a swipe-up Link or directions to your Link in Bio – You can link to your product page (if you have 10,000 Instagram followers!). If you don’t have 10K Instagram followers just yet, tag your profile and direct viewers to the link in your Instagram bio.
  • Post a frame-by-frame explanation of key benefits – Check out the example below from Biossance! They introduce their product, explain key ingredients, use, and how it works.
Example of story from Biossance introducing their product
Instagram Story product explainer of Biossance rose oil
Story image from biossance with product explainer and swipe up link for selling on instagram

Show a Behind-the-Scenes Look Into Your Brand and Products

When highlighting your products on Instagram, give your followers a behind-the-scenes look into all the time and love that goes into creating your products. When creating posts and stories, here are some ideas for showing off your products in a unique way (without giving too much away!):

  • Give your followers a sneak peek into new products 
  • Tell your brand’s story and why you started your business
  • Show how your products are made
  • Invite your followers to vote on new products, designs, and patterns

Use Instagram Captions to Highlight Products

Having a good Instagram caption is just as important as having a great image when selling on Instagram. Plus, you have plenty of space to highlight important product information like:

  • Key benefits
  • Product uses and instructions
  • What’s included
  • Pricing information

The perfect caption supports your efforts to sell products on Instagram by artfully explaining exactly why they should purchase your product.

More importantly – it should explain how they can purchase your product!

Tailwind’s caption formatting can help you make a winning impression with several easy-to-use tools, such as the Emoji Picker to add engaging emojis to your Instagram captions.

Plus, you can easily add line breaks to your Instagram caption, different Instagram fonts and hide your hashtags in the first comment to keep your caption looking beautiful. 

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Sell Your Products on Instagram with a Call-To-Action (CTA)

A whopping 87% of users said they took action after seeing product or service information on Instagram. That’s amazing, right? To keep that momentum going, help users take the next steps.

When they finish reading your caption, do they know what to do next? Make it really simple by adding a quick CTA! Examples of straightforward and effective CTAs are:

  • “click the link in our bio”
  • “watch our Instagram story for more details”
  • “swipe up”
  • “leave a comment below”
  • “double tap if you agree!”

You can use a CTA to get more engagement or direct your users to where they can find more information or buy the product. Usually, that’s your website and product pages!

3. Be Strategic About Product Links

As of now, Instagram does not allow links in captions. That means to figure out how to sell things on Instagram, you need to find another way to direct your audiences to checkout!

You have several options, like Link in Stories. However, the most customization and ability to link to multiple products and resources is your link in bio!

Include a Link in Your Instagram Bio

link in bio highlighted in instagram bio to make selling on instagram easier

Adding a link to your Instagram profile bio is an easy way to get people clicking over to your sales page!

One link rarely cuts it, which is why a link in bio tool to house multiple URLs is so handy!

Smart.bio is a free, easy-to-use dynamic landing page for all your featured products. You can also include links you want to feature for a long time (like your website, email lists signup, and blog posts).

When you set up your smart.bio, you can create a branded URL with your company name or website. It looks like smart.bio/yourusernamehere!

Wellness for Womanhood smart.bio - an easy way to sell products on instagram/ selling on instagram

If you’ve ever seen or used another link in bio tool before, you know that you usually have to choose static button links OR Instagram post images to link all your content. With Smart.bio, you can choose both!

“This is simply PHENOMENAL. You guys have truly outdone yourselves. I’m convinced this is the best bio tool out there.

It combines the best features of all the ones I’ve seen, and the setup was effortless. Easiest and best thing I’ve done for my social media marketing so far. ❤️”

@shavonnemorrison, Wellness Blogger

Your static links will appear at the top of your landing page, while you can link individual product pages in the posts that talk about them. When you add a link to your Instagram post, it’ll automatically appear on your smart.bio landing page!

[cta id=’18007′]

Your link in bio tool makes all the difference in driving traffic from your Instagram posts to your website.

4. Sell Products Directly On Instagram with Shoppable Posts and Stickers

Shopping on Instagram is now global, and it’s easier than ever to set up product tags on Instagram posts so your customers can complete their buying journey in-app!

To nab this feature for yourself, you do need to meet some eligibility requirements:

  • 1. You must be in one of the United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, or Australia
  • 2. You need an Instagram business account
  • 3. You must be on the latest version of the Instagram app
  • 4. You must sell physical items that comply with Instagram’s merchant agreement and commerce policies.
  • 5. Your business profile must be connected to a Facebook catalog. This is managed on your business’s Page on Facebook, or through an approved third party!

You can find all the steps to setting up Shopping on Instagram in our guide!

If you are selling products through BigCommerce and or Shopify, you can set up product tags simply via their Instagram integrations.

5. Build Engagement on Instagram with Potential Customers

Growing your following will help you in selling your products on Instagram. Simply put, with more followers, you’re increasing the number of potential customers on Instagram who are regularly viewing your products!

In order to do that, you need to increase follower engagement as much as possible – in other words, the likes and comments you receive!

The key to unlocking engagement lies in developing a deep understanding of your audience, what they like to see and what is going to make them slow their scroll when they see your latest post in their feed!

Review Your Past Content To See What Resonates Most

You can start getting some valuable clues about what your followers are already responding to by visiting Tailwind’s Post Inspector in your dashboard.

sell your products on instagram by monitoring posts with high engagement - Tailwind's post inspector

Post Inspector allows you to view and sort your past posts by the number of comments, likes, type of image and even the filter you used!

Using these insights, you can determine what type of content your followers like the most and the types they’re scrolling past. That’ll help you make a strategy around producing content that your followers will engage with – and help you sell your products on Instagram!

Feature Reviews, Testimonials, and UGC from Customers

If customers are raving about your products on Instagram, make sure to feature them on your profile as a way to say thank you and to promote your products! Reposting your customers’ posts and stories is a great way to engage with your audience while also increasing social proof for your products.

By featuring your customers’ honest options on your products, you can increase your brand’s credibility on Instagram. This can help increase sales — especially for your most loved products. Here are some ideas for engaging with your customers on Instagram:

  • Repost stories and posts from customers featuring your products
  • Comment on posts reviewing your products
  • Encourage your followers to tag your brand in Instagram stories and posts

Use Attractive Images to Entice Your Followers to Engage

According to AdEspresso, there are several types of Instagram images that are performing well on Instagram, and the trend is likely to extend into 2021. These 9 types of images are:

  • User-generated content
  • Behind-the-scenes photos
  • DIY and how-to content
  • Artfully composed images
  • Content from Instagram influencers
  • Motivational pictures and quotes
  • Contest and giveaway promotions
  • Seasonal or on-trend images

You have a lot of flexibility and room to get creative – it’s simply important to note that grainy, poorly lit, or low-quality images won’t elicit as much engagement as high quality or artfully composed shots will!

In fact, a study devoted to the image qualities that can help increase engagement revealed the recipe for an engaging picture on Instagram:

  • lots of background space
  • one dominant color/hue (blues and cold shades often fare better!)
  • low saturation
  • texture (such as shadows or ridges)
  • increased brightness

Try experimenting with different styles of imagery to create excellent product photos, to see what appeals to your audience and receives higher engagement!

When creating posts for your brand accounts, you can use social media templates to easily create beautiful, eye-catching posts. By automating content creation and scheduling, you can save time and help grow your brand’s social presence.

Our Top Tips for Selling on Instagram

With Instagram users 25% more likely to be in the top income quartile, businesses and brands like you are trying to figure out new ways to capture the attention of their audience and perfect selling on Instagram!

With our five-step strategy (and Tailwind for Instagram’s time-saving features), increasing your sales is totally achievable! Let’s recap the plan:

  1. Grab more visibility for your products with the right hashtags – Tailwind’s Hashtag Finder makes research a breeze!
  2. Provide product information in your Instagram Stories and captions so curious shoppers don’t have to wander far to find out what they need to know
  3. Showcase your website and post links with Tailwind’s free advanced link in bio tool – Smart.Bio!
  4. Apply for Shoppable Posts with Instagram to make selling your products on Instagram easier than ever
  5. Prioritize engagement on Instagram so that you always stay top of mind (and top of feed!) for potential customers

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Use our complete guide to learn how to sell on Instagram, and how you can gain reach and visibility for your products!

Do you sell products through your Instagram? Let us know in the comments below.

Facebook Ads Design Tips Every Marketer Should Know

Facebook ads are constantly evolving. The “rules” change, as does marketers capacity to target specific users, and the type of creative copy that produces not just views but clicks and conversions.

But beyond the creative copy, visuals matter. So how do you use Facebook graphics and video to support your ad copy?

The first key is to understand the purpose of Facebook visuals. They draw attention, yes, but they must draw the right kind of attention.

This attention must work with your copy to earn engagement. And to be effective, the visuals must be on-brand. Graphics must also lead to, and support your call to action.

That’s a lot of musts – so what does that all mean, and how do you create the right graphics and video content for your brand?

We’ll go through some helpful tips to get all these things right with your ad visuals on Facebook. Let’s dig in!

Tip One: Identify Your Message

Your message comes across to your audience in a couple of ways. The first is your overall brand message. The second is the specific message of your ad.

A quick scroll through Facebook reveals a few brands that get it right.

Note this ad by Huel, one with:

  • brief and focused ad copy
  • hero message with “hero” visuals
  • brand message in the copy
  • product message in the image
  • compact CTA.

Huel facebook ad

Now, there are some things they could have done differently here. For example, the price message is repeated in the copy and the photo. It could have been left out of the image for a cleaner look!

But, the most important part is that the message itself is clear: we sell food that provides complete nutrition at an affordable price.

As this is a pretty focused brand with a limited number of products, the brand message and the message of the ad itself are nearly identical, and both are presented well.

Tip Two: Harmonize Your Visual Message with Your Copy

Once you have identified both of your messages, you need to harmonize your graphics to that message.

The best graphics in the world could lead your audience in the wrong direction. For instance, let’s look at this ad for Udemy.

First, the image is small, but second, the student looks a little, well, depressed about learning.

The brand message is that you can start learning anytime. The ad message is for a discount on that learning.

example of Udemy facebook ad

The image is generic, small, and doesn’t relate to either message well. 

This illustrates that while Udemy is usually good with their Facebook ads, even large brands fail from time to time, and you can learn from their mistakes. Remember, graphics support the message, not distract from it.

Tip Three: Pay Attention to Color

Nearly every course on Facebook ad graphics includes something about color. The reason is simple: studies show that users often click on an ad because of color alone.

In fact, 92.6% say their click choices are impacted by color

The most important thing for brands to understand when it comes to overall branding and ads is the psychology of color.

Users respond emotionally to color, and those emotional responses have clearly been documented by research institutes such as colorpsychology.org.

This is important when it comes to video ads as well.

Think carefully not only about your brand color palette, but the colors in the background, the scenery, and images that appear in the video even incidentally.

For example, think of the Red Bull logo and ads. What are they trying to emphasize?

Blue and red show strength and excitement, the foundation of the brand.

Facebook video ads often show athletes doing amazing things. Note the small detail in the screencap of the video below: the red wrist band the athlete is wearing contrasting with the blue of the ocean. As you watch the rest of the video here, note the frequent use of red and blue throughout.

video still of redbull facebook ad featuring an athlete in blue water with red wristband.

As a secondary note, see that the copy is a simple brand message.

Red Bull is well known as a brand, and the original “gives you wings” slogan works well, but it also harmonizes with the video as we see athletes “flying”. If you follow the brand on social media, you will see that in hero photos and video, athletes are often airborne in their various endeavors. 

This is an ideal example of graphics and video harmonizing with both the brand and the ad message, and using the psychology of color to produce a reaction in the viewer.

Tip Four: Show Users What they Can Do

Now let’s talk about a call to action. What is a call to action?

Your CTA tells users what you want them to do after viewing your ad: click here, shop now, etc.

But your graphics and video content can actually show viewers what they can do with your product.

While Red Bull may be a poor example of this (we can’t all surf or parachute from planes), a good example is this ad from MailerLite.

mailer lite facebook ad example

Note that the ad (a video) declares exactly what the product is designed to do: manage your email campaigns.

The reader knows what to do with the product, and the copy and CTA emphasize how they can get started. Remember, if you want the viewers of your ad to do something, you need to show them what to do and tell them what to do. It’s about graphics and your overall message combined.

Tip Five: Zero in On Your Hero Image

The importance of showing people using your product in the way it was intended creates recognition for your unique value proposition.

Let’s take the example of Seinhiesser and their ad for their version of earbuds.

The brand message is that of quality sound and always has been. In this case, there is also a savings offer included in the CTA.

However, the hero photo shows someone doing exactly what the product is designed for: immersing the user in sound.

It’s simple, and it includes colors that inspire friendly optimism. 

Example of Sennheiser facebook ad

The viewer of this ad can easily imagine the type of music the hero of the ad is listening to, something relaxing.

While each person might have their own idea of what relaxing music is, the unique value proposition of this headphone is illustrated clearly. 

Note that with every truly good ad, the brand message, ad message, and color all come together in one well-done package.

Tip Six: Follow the Rules

So as stated in the introduction, Facebook ad rules are always changing. For example, there used to be a text check, when too much text in a Facebook ad could cause the ad not to run. There were exceptions, where the text was part of the product itself (books and music albums, for example). 

Keeping up is a job in and of itself, but it is important to follow the rules.

That rule has since been changed (although it is still best practice to use less text in your graphics rather than more). But the political battles at the end of 2020 had ads and accounts being banned, shut down, and even the reach limited for a number of reasons.

The key is to understand that when it comes to graphics and video, playing by the rules is critical. 

If your graphic gets banned or your ad won’t run, look at why. What did Facebook say? Is there a manual review process, and is it worth pursuing? Most importantly, keep up with Facebook notices and changes. You don’t want to spend a ton of money creating an ad, only to develop something that won’t be run at all. 

Remember, to keep the potential Facebook ad ban at bay, keep your ads clean and in compliance.

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Interested in using Facebook Ads, but are unsure how to go about designing your visuals? Check out these Ad design tips (with examples!) to get you started.