Is it time to freak out? Not just yet.
By now, most everyone in the marketing world has heard the news that 83 million Facebook accounts are fake, duplicates or spam-bots.
Think about it. 83 million accounts represent nearly 10 percent of the total Facebook population. And, as you’ve probably noticed this morning, publications from TechCrunch to CNN are heralding the downfall of Facebook, the overthrow of King Zuckerberg, the collapse of the social empire.
Wow. It really is easy to get carried away, isn’t it?
When I logged onto Facebook this morning, I still see a long list of names on my friend’s list. There are still ads on the right side, and sponsored stories pop up on my news feed from time to time. I have a dozen likes from a photo I posted last night.
If nearly 1 in 10 Facebook accounts is fake, I certainly couldn’t tell.
So, I’m going to answer the question on every company’s mind: Is it still worth advertising on Facebook? The short answer: yes. The long answer: not if you don’t know what you’re doing.
While there are horror stories and amazing successes, the majority of Facebook advertisers can still expect consistent results with proper tracking and expectations management.
Tracking
Keeping an eye on any advertising campaign, whether its traditional advertising, PPC campaigns or Facebook ads, is marketing 101. Constantly evaluating the progress of your efforts is paramount unless you just enjoy throwing money at a screen and expecting results.
The one thing you absolutely cannot do is set an ad campaign and forget about it. By analyzing your campaign results, you get an idea of trends and growth rates, which help you manage expectations and revise goals.
Managing Expectations
It’s important to go into any advertising campaign, especially your Facebook campaigns, with clear goals in mind. Are you trying to get more fans on a page? Are you selling or raising awareness about a product or service?
Define your own success. There is no golden standard.
Let’s imagine that you want to gain more fans for your Facebook page. You run your campaign and at the end, you have 6,000 new fans. Let’s then operate on the assumption that 10 percent of those new fans are fake accounts. You still have gained 5,400 new fans.
For some companies, that’s fantastic; for others, that’s not so great.
If you have looked at your analytics and identified trends, you can decide for yourself if bots and fake accounts are ruining your campaign. Contact Facebook’s Marketing Team immediately if you feel like this is the case.
Having trouble understanding your analytics? Not sure how to set goals or what goals are appropriate for your company? Then maybe your Facebook advertising efforts need some help. Our experienced team can work with you and develop Facebook campaigns that receive consistent results. Request a proposal today.
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