Facebook Post Promotion - Opinions

[simpson7647]

Hi all, I know that next to all businesses have now moved onto social networking websites such as facebook and over the past year or so, we personally have moved the business onto facebook.

This new feature allows users to promote a post for a cost ranging from a few pound to around £30 to gain extra views they wouldn't usually reach but I have a few questions around this.

The cost is stated but is it per view or over a fixed period of time etc?

When choosing a promotion pack, it states the rough estimate of customer reach but does anyone have any data to back up how many customers actually view this?

All info and feedback regarding this is much appreciated,

Many thanks,

Kind regards,

Ryan,

 

[Thinehost]

Hi, Ryan - I've been wondering about this too - I have "promoted" a post or two but so far haven't seen any significant returns on that. I think the promotion only lasted for a few days (ie 4/5) so you've got to choose carefully.

Margaret

 

[Normansmith]

Yes i have used this type of promotion and it does let more people see your post.On Facebook day and time of posting changes the success of your posts/offers. With these low cost promotion you can try and see if it works for your offer, but it still down to the quality and the offer.
It basically shows your friends and friends of friends your post as they log in, otherwise if you post, but half your friends are out/ at work whatever, the post will not be seen on their timeline,with the promotion, it gets put in front of them when they next use the timeline !

 

[andygambles]

This new feature allows users to promote a post for a cost ranging from a few pound to around £30 to gain extra views they wouldn't usually reach but I have a few questions around this.

Depending on number of fans it can cost A LOT more than £30 to promote

How much would you pay to promote your Facebook Posts?

 

[seanxie]

The promoted post works best for large brands and organisations that have thousands of page fans. I personally think this tool wouldn't be very effective for SMBs simply because the ROI should be calculated based on larger audience and broader reach.

Cost wise it should be strictly Pay per fix number of reach. The reach should be an equivalent term to impressions i.e. how many times your ad was viewed. Since the post could be shared by users therefore potentially a view of post can be multiplied by users friends and their friends if its shared. As Facebook only loads 9-12 posts each time a user opens up his/her home feed, therefore a 'view' can be argued to be a reasonably effective metric .

However there is no way further to track clear cut users response or actions apart from getting 'likes', unless the post is to direct users to your website or a landing page (from earned media to owned media) where you can set up metrics and goals and track solid user actions/conversions

 

[simpson7647]

Hi, Ryan - I've been wondering about this too - I have "promoted" a post or two but so far haven't seen any significant returns on that. I think the promotion only lasted for a few days (ie 4/5) so you've got to choose carefully.

Margaret

Hi Margaret, many thanks for the reply. I believe I read somewhere that the promotion lasts 3 days (maybe someone can verify this) so I guess it would be better to advertise over the weekend (start Thur/Fri evening as apposed to the start of the week.

Bank holidays I'm sure would also be great when the potential customers have more time on the computer?

Thanks,

 

[simpson7647]

Yes i have used this type of promotion and it does let more people see your post.On Facebook day and time of posting changes the success of your posts/offers. With these low cost promotion you can try and see if it works for your offer, but it still down to the quality and the offer.
It basically shows your friends and friends of friends your post as they log in, otherwise if you post, but half your friends are out/ at work whatever, the post will not be seen on their timeline,with the promotion, it gets put in front of them when they next use the timeline !

Hi Normansmith, many thanks for the reply.

That's very interesting! I didn't expect the offer to remain there until the member logs back into facebook.

This brings me on to another question.

If I was to like other pages and groups and then promote a post, will the members in these pages / groups see the post at all?

Or is it simply people who have liked the page and /or friends?

Thanks,

 

[simpson7647]

Depending on number of fans it can cost A LOT more than £30 to promote

How much would you pay to promote your Facebook Posts?

Hi Andy, thanks for the reply.

Wow! I see what you mean! I guess as your page becomes more popular, facebook are after more of your money to promote your post.

Is the minimum promotional cost for you 1.5k then or was their options for lower view rate resulting in lower costs for you?

Thanks,

 

[simpson7647]

Hi Seanxie, many thanks for the reply.

So is it the promotion runs a fixed amount of time rather than stopping after a certain number of views?

I see how it would work better for large brands who have the funds to spends thousands to get x number of million potential views etc. I'm sure this can also be used for smaller businesses working their way up who can pay less than £50 to get a few thousand potential views.

Many thanks,

The promoted post works best for large brands and organisations that have thousands of page fans. I personally think this tool wouldn't be very effective for SMBs simply because the ROI should be calculated based on larger audience and broader reach.

Cost wise it should be strictly Pay per fix number of reach. The reach should be an equivalent term to impressions i.e. how many times your ad was viewed. Since the post could be shared by users therefore potentially a view of post can be multiplied by users friends and their friends if its shared. As Facebook only loads 9-12 posts each time a user opens up his/her home feed, therefore a 'view' can be argued to be a reasonably effective metric .

However there is no way further to track clear cut users response or actions apart from getting 'likes', unless the post is to direct users to your website or a landing page (from earned media to owned media) where you can set up metrics and goals and track solid user actions/conversions

 

[andygambles]

Hi Andy, thanks for the reply.

Wow! I see what you mean! I guess as your page becomes more popular, facebook are after more of your money to promote your post.

Is the minimum promotional cost for you 1.5k then or was their options for lower view rate resulting in lower costs for you?

Thanks,

That wasn't may page it was someone elses so I am unable to answer your question. But looking at the screenshot it would look as though the min spend is $1.5k

 

[simpson7647]

Oo okay, many thanks. Yeah it does which is a pretty dam high amount.

That wasn't may page it was someone elses so I am unable to answer your question. But looking at the screenshot it would look as though the min spend is $1.5k

 

[Garage Runners]

I tried to do the promote a post but find it doesn't give a good ROI
However doing the post on my page and sharing it in relevant groups has the same effect without the costs as you can join relevant groups to promote within

 

[seanxie]

Hi Seanxie, many thanks for the reply.

So is it the promotion runs a fixed amount of time rather than stopping after a certain number of views?

I see how it would work better for large brands who have the funds to spends thousands to get x number of million potential views etc. I'm sure this can also be used for smaller businesses working their way up who can pay less than £50 to get a few thousand potential views.

Many thanks,

Hi Simpson, the promotion should run till the number of reach has been met, as most online media owner (especially the biggest ones) would give you way too many user impressions by letting you run a fixed amount of time.

I think spending £50/month on Facebook is doable, you just need to make sure the audience targeting is narrowed down to the right group of people using its targeting settings. However as Facebook uses display advertising, it is a 'push' model which pushes the message to let people passively receive it. i would recommend spend another £50/month on the 'pull' model of AdWords paid search (or even google display network). The beauty of PPC is obviously the no click no pay format so you only pay for those people who interested enough and search the right terms. Only thing is the keyword match types have to be managed and controlled well to make sure you dont waste your money on irrelevant searches.

 

[Suzuki]

That wasn't may page it was someone elses so I am unable to answer your question. But looking at the screenshot it would look as though the min spend is $1.5k

The minimum spend for that specific account is $1.5k. That is due to the number of fans it has - bear in mind its the official Facebook page of an NFL team that has 2.5m likes.

If you just have a small Facebook following you can promote posts for as little as $5...

 

[simpson7647]

Hi Simpson, the promotion should run till the number of reach has been met, as most online media owner (especially the biggest ones) would give you way too many user impressions by letting you run a fixed amount of time.

I think spending £50/month on Facebook is doable, you just need to make sure the audience targeting is narrowed down to the right group of people using its targeting settings. However as Facebook uses display advertising, it is a 'push' model which pushes the message to let people passively receive it. i would recommend spend another £50/month on the 'pull' model of AdWords paid search (or even google display network). The beauty of PPC is obviously the no click no pay format so you only pay for those people who interested enough and search the right terms. Only thing is the keyword match types have to be managed and controlled well to make sure you dont waste your money on irrelevant searches.

Many thanks for the reply.

I see what you mean and agree, I will be looking to promote posts on facebook to gain exposure and run competitions to gain likes etc.

I will be looking into google adwords but what do you usually pay per click please?

Many thanks,

 

[simpson7647]

The minimum spend for that specific account is $1.5k. That is due to the number of fans it has - bear in mind its the official Facebook page of an NFL team that has 2.5m likes.

If you just have a small Facebook following you can promote posts for as little as $5...

Thank you for this reply.

I see what you you mean. I've currently run a promotion and noticed that if I wished to promote a post that has already been promoted, the costs are higher and the estimated reach is also higher. (minimum cost currently £10)

If I wish to promote a post that hasn't been promoted already, I can promote for as little as £4.

Would continuing the promote the post that has been promoted and then promoted again continue to cause the increase in cost and potential reach?

Many thanks,

 

[Suzuki]

I'm no Facebook expert, I don't have a personal account at all and very rarely use it for business.

I'm less inclined to use it for business with all the recent changes. Originally you could spend money acquiring Facebook fans (give-aways, blog posts or whatever on your own site) and then when you updated your FB page... all these people you had paid to get liking your page would see it.

Facebook then moved the goalpost - you now need to somehow get people to like your page in the first place, then you need to pay again to even make sure they see your updates.

How long will it be before Facebook are selling advertising space on my page, to direct competitors? At least if you do promotions on your own site you never have that issue. And if people think competitors on your page won't happen.... take a close look at Twitter as exactly that is already happening right now.

 

[simpson7647]

Thank you for the reply.

That's a very good and interesting point. I can see that happening in the future with facebook but this will of course provide you with opportunities as well as well as the opportunity to lose your trade to your competitors.

Thanks,

I'm no Facebook expert, I don't have a personal account at all and very rarely use it for business.

I'm less inclined to use it for business with all the recent changes. Originally you could spend money acquiring Facebook fans (give-aways, blog posts or whatever on your own site) and then when you updated your FB page... all these people you had paid to get liking your page would see it.

Facebook then moved the goalpost - you now need to somehow get people to like your page in the first place, then you need to pay again to even make sure they see your updates.

How long will it be before Facebook are selling advertising space on my page, to direct competitors? At least if you do promotions on your own site you never have that issue. And if people think competitors on your page won't happen.... take a close look at Twitter as exactly that is already happening right now.

 

[Doodle-Noodle]

I;ve done a couple of paid for promotion posts - I set a budget limit (a generous £25!) and a period of time I wanted to promote for (1 week) and targetted my audience (local people as I am a B&M shop without ecommerce). I did see a fairly significant increase in footfall, people coming in who didn't know we were here and lots of new likes - thought it was worth the money and will do it again.

 

[simpson7647]

Thanks for the reply, that's some good information

I am hoping someone with a little more knowledge can shed some light on what I'm about to say.

Earlier I was able to promote posts for the below prices :

£4 - 3.01k - 5.59k
£7 - 6.02k - 11.18k
£10 - 9.1k - 16.9k
£14 - 12.6k - 23.4k
£20 - 18.2k - 33.8k
£34 - 30.01k - 55.9k


I've just looked about promoting a post now (9pm, thursday evening) and I get these prices:

£4 - 140 - 260
£7 - 210 - 390
£11 - 280 - 520
£14 - 350 - 650
£21 - 490 - 910
£34 - 770 - 1.43k


Why do they vary so much?

Thanks,

 

[simpson7647]

I't really strange, I've now just looked at the same promotion options (on the same post) and now I get this :


£10 - 2.17k - 4.03k
£14 - 2.24k - 4.16k
£21 - 2.38k - 4.42k
£34 - 2.66k - 4.94k
£51 - 3.01k - 5.59k
£67 - 3.36k - 6.24k

I'm sure someone will explain all this?

Thanks,

 

[Suzuki]

Those are just ranges of between how many people will see it, and the corresponding prices.

 

[simpson7647]

Thanks for the reply.

There's a huge difference though so does it just depend on the time of day that you first post it?

Thanks,

 

[andygambles]

Thanks for the reply, that's some good information

I am hoping someone with a little more knowledge can shed some light on what I'm about to say.

Earlier I was able to promote posts for the below prices :

£4 - 3.01k - 5.59k
£7 - 6.02k - 11.18k
£10 - 9.1k - 16.9k
£14 - 12.6k - 23.4k
£20 - 18.2k - 33.8k
£34 - 30.01k - 55.9k


I've just looked about promoting a post now (9pm, thursday evening) and I get these prices:

£4 - 140 - 260
£7 - 210 - 390
£11 - 280 - 520
£14 - 350 - 650
£21 - 490 - 910
£34 - 770 - 1.43k


Why do they vary so much?

Thanks,

Is it for promoting different page posts? Also remember they are working out how many people are likely to log-in during your promoted post and how many other promoted posts they are likely to need to show as well. You are almost bidding against others but instead of as price on reach.

 

[simpson7647]

Thanks for the reply.

There for the exact same post but at different times so I would guess they work it out as you stated with how many viewers they expect to be see it.

Time I guess is also very important.

 

[rayvellest]

The important thing to keep in mind with social media promotion, be it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or any other social media website is that while they may work wonders for your brand you should not expect to make any sales out of them.

 

[seanxie]

Thanks for the reply.

There for the exact same post but at different times so I would guess they work it out as you stated with how many viewers they expect to be see it.

Time I guess is also very important.

Because all the numbers are calculated based on a set of fixed algorithms developed by Facebook's engineers. However in reality there are so many variables affecting the actual results, including significant seasonality changes of user behaviours, activities and competition level from other social networks, etc. Therefore the results are only estimation and the numbers they come up with can only be used sparringly.

The same thing happens to Google's traffic estimator. Earlier last year I ran a traffic estimation test for a big oil company twice on a Monday and Tuesday separately, with exactly the same set of keywords and budget settings, the result was around 10 - 20 times different (im talking about tens of millions of impressions here). Again it's all algorithms based on a particular date's prediction, you never really going to know what's gonna happen the next day with the current generation of science and technology.

 

[JamieM]

Thanks for the reply.

There for the exact same post but at different times so I would guess they work it out as you stated with how many viewers they expect to be see it.

Time I guess is also very important.

I have noticed this as well but the reach estimate generally isn't accurate. We have always had more. Facebook increased the price of promoted posts recently and it would seem they are still messing about with it.

In terms of engagement promoted posts are good but in terms of ROI not so much. It is too expensive at the moment.

Out of interest are you guys who have a GBP account seeing options to target the promoted post to people who like your page ONLY? I get this on my older USD account but my friend only gets the option to target to people who like the page AND their friends. Which is rubbish as it's pretty blind and the majority of views in the reach figure was from friends. At first we thought it was because he was doing an ad on a bigger page with 50k Likes but it was the same on another page with 2k Likes. Weird!

 

[andygambles]

Promoted posts always talk about likes and friends of likes.

 

[JamieM]

Promoted posts always talk about likes and friends of likes.

I have an option to target people who like my page. Or people who like my page AND their friends. But my friend only has the latter option.

 

[daud]

ive did this myself for a while

As soon i raised the bid price i got a few more likes.

However these likes were from complete randoms not local to the area. So then i started to question if these profiles were genuine.

I clicked on the profile of these people that liked the page, but there was so limited information on these profiles and the pictures looks abit weird so to say which made me question if it was a genuine profile again. Some had of their locations of where they were from and some didnt, but the ones that did were from different parts of the country.

I do wonder if Facebook just created these profiles and liked my page for their own gain...:|

Ive since stopped doing using these ad promotions.

 

[andygambles]

I have an option to target people who like my page. Or people who like my page AND their friends. But my friend only has the latter option.

I assume this is again all based on Facebooks algorithm.

 

[andygambles]

I have an option to target people who like my page. Or people who like my page AND their friends. But my friend only has the latter option.

That also looks expensive. I can pay £4.00 for a reach of 1.95k.

I wonder if it also looks at the quality of what you are sharing. Our reach v cost pricing is getting lower.

 

[JamieM]

That also looks expensive. I can pay £4.00 for a reach of 1.95k.

I wonder if it also looks at the quality of what you are sharing. Our reach v cost pricing is getting lower.

Yeah it's weird and not accurate. We recently promoted one for $15 and the actual reach was 2,644.

The estimate keeps changing all the time, the algorithm must be ****ed.

But I do seem to get better reach estimates on product pages, the other one is a musician/band page.