I’ve written in the past about Facebook ads and how much of a boon they are for small businesses and nonprofits.
For instance, I created the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s first digital marketing program by purchasing ads that helped connect our diverse programming with appreciative audiences. These ads in turn put our programs in front of thousands of prospective ticket-buyers in the metro area who might not have otherwise heard of us.
One thing that I think is really important for a fledgling effort is building up a base of “fans” to consume and interact with the content you post. That’s why if you’re just getting started, I’d strongly suggest that you post an ad that asks for “likes.” You’ll find you can drive up your fan count really, really quickly with highly qualified individuals and prospects.
Now there’s even less reason to weigh the pros and cons of Facebook advertising — because the social network is giving away ad credit for FREE!
The Facebook Small Business Boost contest is great encouragement to get out there and start racking up the fans. If you have at least 50 fans and are based in the U.S., you qualify. Plus, if you are able to get 100 more fans during the duration of the contest, you win even more credit!
Here’s the gist, from Facebook:
What you need to participate:
- A Facebook Page for your small business
- Your business must be based in the US
- Your page will need at least 50 likes[?]
How It Works:
- Get $50 in free ads if you have at least 50 likes on your Page
- Get $100 more in free ads if you add 100 more likes to your Page before April 1, 2012
- Win $10,000 more in free ads if you are one of the top 10 pages that gains the most new likes before April 1, 2012
I believe the adding 100 more likes goal is completely attainable — here are some tips on how to do it.
Some things I discovered while participating:
- Make sure you have at least the city and state of your business filled out on your profile page. I found that most of the pages I manage do not have this info filled out. This contest only applies to businesses in the U.S.
- Make sure you select your fan page from the drop-down of the ad creator (I accidentally selected an “app” I had made that was called Jellybean Boom, making for an unfriendly user experience for the first few days the ad ran). Then, the “like” button will appear with your ad, which is essential for racking up fans.
- Make the copy simple and engaging. For instance, if you run a catering business, you might put “click “like” if you love cupcakes.” That will rack you up new fans very, very quickly (with a hat-tip to Brian Moran).
Get out there and start advertising your business — it’s a powerful way to gain more visibility in 2012!
