5 Things You Need to Know about Facebook Messenger Adverts

Some of you may have already seen the little adverts popping up in between pictures of your friends on Facebook messenger.

Facebook messenger advertising has been around for a while, although dropping them in the middle of conversations is relatively new. Here’s what you need to know:

1. The ads will look similar to the ones you’re used to on Facebook

Adverts in Facebook messenger look nearly the same as the advertisements on the home page. They will have your page name, a short headline, an image, and then a button for people to click. That can take them straight through to ticket sales, album downloads, your website – whatever it is you’re trying to achieve.

Source: Facebook.com

2. You can make them personal

Photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels.com

You can send your advert to anyone that’s interacted with your page before with a personal message, or a series of them. So let’s say for example they’ve watched your videos, followed your page, and now you want to get them to come to your show. You can set up a Facebook Ads campaign that lands straight into the messenger inbox, telling them all about your awesome act.

What’s more, the number of people who click through from messenger is massively bigger than your typical home-page ads.

3. You can make it super specific

Photo by Burst on Pexels.com

The normal Facebook advertisements allow you to narrow down your audience. You don’t want to shout out to 12 year olds and 60 year olds when you know your shows are best for 18-35.

You can also set it up based on location. That means you can target people local in London for your London shows, Dublin for your Dublin shows, and so on.

It gaves you way more freedom than traditional Facebook ads.

4. It’s great for engagement

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Messenger is a taking app, right? And what better way to get to know your audience than by talking to them. When you pop an add into messenger, people are more likely to get talking to you. That’s great if you want to build your audience’s loyalty, or simply get them chatting. Because when they’re chatting to you, chances are they’re also chatting to their friends about you.

And we all know how powerful word of mouth advertising is!

5. There are free courses to help you get started

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Facebook advertising is daunting if you’ve never done it before. It feels like a million steps and you’re never quite sure whether you’ve chosen the right settings, or whether you’re taking a stab in the dark.

Facebook seems to realise this, too. Which is why they’ve got a bunch of free courses that you can take before you embark on any new advertising.

Super helpful if this is your first time using Facebook ads.

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Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com

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What’s The Difference Between A Facebook Profile and a Facebook Page?

Profiles and pages do the same thing, right?

Wrong.

They’re very different, and they achieve different things. Today we’re going to look at the difference between them and the pros/cons of having a page vs a profile when it comes to chatting with your fans and customers.

What’s a Facebook Profile?

A Facebook profile is your personal account on Facebook and you need one of these to create a Facebook page. It needs to be in your own name and you can only have one of them. If you have a secondary profile or a profile under a pseudonym, Facebook is liable to pull it down because it breaches its Terms of Conduct.

What’s a Facebook Page?

A Facebook page is less personal than a profile. People who aren’t your friends can view it and choose to like and follow the page and you can advertise through a page, which you can’t do on your personal profile.

A Facebook Page also includes more information for small businesses that its customers want to know: for example, the address, telephone number and contact details and can support links to external websites, ticket sales and blogs much better than a personal profile can.

Which one is better to use?

There’s a lot of reasons why you might not want to mix your profile with your public persona. For one, you’d have to accept a lot of strangers as your friend (or set your privacy to nil, meaning they can see it all without being your friend). Having a profile that’s separate from your page means you can retain your private life while still being a business owner, actor, comedian or someone in the public eye.

1. Facebook Pages also give you tonnes of advertising opportunities that profiles simply don’t support. You want to sell tickets to your upcoming show? On your personal profile, you can share a link. On your Page you can share a link and boost it so an extra 10,000 or even 100,000 people can see it. Which is obviously going to get you quite a few more clicks than the kind shares of your friends and family.

2. Pages also give you ‘Insights’ which means you can keep a track of how well you’re doing. You can see how many people are following you, whether they like the stuff you’re posting and whether they’re reacting to your Page in the way you want them to (whether that’s clicking on your website, purchasing something or signing up to a mailing list.)

3. Another thing is there’s no limit on the number of Pages you can manage, whereas you can only have one profile. Facebook’s Terms of Service are super clear about this. They want people to use their real name on their platform and they will actively delete accounts that they think are using an incorrect name or are a duplicate account.

4. Plus, Pages have more visibility. Everyone can see them, by default, without having to request access from you or anyone else. Which means Facebook is doing a lot of the hard work for you, your audience can find your Page without any trying on your part (although you might want to publish some cool stuff on there to keep them coming back.)

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Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com

Is Facebook Advertising Worth It?

For a long time, Facebook advertising was seen as the best way to spend your hard-earnt and painfully spent marketing pounds.

Not only did it reach your ideal audience with their trained targeting tool, but it also offered a higher conversion rate (ie. sold more tickets/got more clicks) than your more typical Google Adwords campaigns (those adverts at the top of google search engine). Well that was according to Facebook anyway.

However, with the new changes that have been brought in: is Facebook advertising still worth it?

The short answer is yes.

1. Facebook and Google are predicted to have a bigger market as large as $3 trillion (that’s about £3 trillion because of Brexit)

In a recent study conducted by Credit Suisse, they claimed that online advertising will be a bigger deal in the coming years than is currently predicted.

This has been put down to the ‘death’ (harsh) of traditional retail, with most shoppers going online to make their purchases rather than heading to their local shops.

This is a huge benefit to online companies because it means your audience online won’t dry up and it’ll continue to grow.

The $3 trillion figure is the amount of profit that is estimated to be sunk into online advertising in the coming years. That’s a lot of dollar! Staggering, right?

2. Facebook’s Targeting Will Only Get More Tailored

Facebook’s ability to draw in advertising money is due to the amount of data it collects on its customers. They use this to place your product in front of the people most likely to buy it: a service that Google also offers, but not down to the same amount of minute detail.

Not only can you target based on age but also down to interests, location and gender.

So if you know that the people who buy your tickets/product tend to be 20-somethings in the London area who love Peep Show: Facebook has you covered!

3. Facebook Allows You to Flex Your Budgets

One of the beauties of Facebook advertising is that you can achieve a lot for a little: and switch it off at any time.

Not that this is a comparison with Google (which also lets you do this) but Facebook has a much lower access point (you can spend less) than Adwords advertising does versus the amount of engagement and reach you’re estimated to get.

You’re just not battling the same algorithms you are with Facebook.

With facebook you can also set a lifetime budget, to make sure that you never unintentionally spend more than you can afford – so your two year old can spend thousands on your phone apps but not on your facebook ad account! Phew! This level of control is what makes Facebook advertising so attractive to small businesses with a tighter marketing budget.

4. You Can Get Creative

Facebook advertising can be as creative as you are, and there are only a few restrictions (such as text to image ratio) that you need to abide by.

This means you can let your flair and personality show a lot more than you can through Google Adwords, which requires some canny manoeuvring in terms of keywords and buzz terms.

As well as opting for image and video led campaigns, you can also run a collection campaign (using more than one image) or a canvas campaign, which allows users to have a full-screen experience of your ad (so it better be an awesome experience!)

5. The Numbers Say They Work

According to in-depth research conducted by Sprout Social 93% of marketers use Facebook regularly to advertise to their customers.

That means that there are nearly 3 billion businesses benefitting from Facebook advertising, earning Facebook nearly $8 billion.

Not only this, but 70% of these businesses were outside the US like us!

If that’s not reason enough, we don’t know what is! Want to talk about running a successful Facebook campaign? Contact us today! 

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com

Are You Ready For Facebook’s Pages Update?

Facebook announced 7 days ago what we’ve all been expecting for a long time: that Pages will be shown less to their users in the News Feed and instead their friends and family will be prioritized.

Source: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/01/news-feed-fyi-bringing-people-closer-together/

Adam Mosseri, who is Head of News Feed at Facebook, said:

With this update, we will prioritize posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people.

We will also prioritize posts from friends and family over public content, consistent with our News Feed values.

If you’re one of the many Freelancers or independent businesses that benefit from referral traffic or even sales through your Facebook Page, then you need to pay attention.

Will the update negatively affect my reach?

The answer to this is: probably.

Facebook has claimed it’ll only negatively effect pages that don’t consistently post content that their followers want to engage with. They’ve said:

Pages making posts that people generally don’t react to or comment on could see the biggest decreases in distribution. Pages whose posts prompt conversations between friends will see less of an effect.

If you’re one of the pages that consistently drives good reach – which means getting lots of tags or comments from your users, then the update won’t cause you so much of a problem.

If however you are like most independent business and your engagement is hit and miss, you may want to start working on your content to get the best engagement out of it. Check back soon for a post on this.

How will I know if my Page is still showing in the News Feed?

Pages will be prioritised based on how many posts ‘generate a conversation’.

This could be anything from friends debating in your comments to people tagging each other in them.

Facebook wants to be seen as a place that “brings people closer together and build relationships” and they’ve put that at the heart of their News Feed update.

The algorithm will change to prioritise the types of posts people typically interact with. So if you have a core set of die-hard, loyal fans who comment on everything you do, chances are high they’ll continue to do so.

Also, people who’ve selected ‘See First’ for your page will continue to see your Page’s posts at the top of their News Feed. 

If you don’t know what this is, it’s a handy feature Facebook added so people can keep track of their favourite Pages by having their posts always stuck to the top of their News Feed.

It might also spell an end for click-bait

Facebook has categorically said it will demote any content that’s deemed as:

“engagement-bait” to goad people into commenting on posts

This is because Facebook doesn’t think these types of posts constitute a “meaningful interaction.”

How do I make sure people can still see my Page?

The best way, it seems, to make sure your Page stats don’t suffer too badly is by making sure your Page is ticking those crucial Facebook boxes.

These are:

• Bringing people together by encouraging conversations
• Posting content that inspires ‘back and forth’ discussion
• Posting content that people want to share and react to

Facebook has a good tip in their press release as well: Live videos often get six times as many interactions as regular videos.

Facebook suggests that Pages that post more Live videos will tend to be the Pages getting more engagement, and therefore the Pages more likely to keep their spots in their customer’s News Feeds.

Check back for our next post on how to give your Facebook Page an engagement check-up and stop the negative effects of the update.

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com

Social Media for Actors

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/84753587@N00/13919893625″>Important call</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;

So you are an actor/actress and you are interested in social media, you might even have a Facebook or twitter profile but what social media channels should you be using?

You should be present on the 4 biggies: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn

1. Twitter – over 200 million members sending over 500 million tweets a day and the one every one is obsessed with. Great for people on the go – you can tweet anywhere if you have a smart phone. Perfect for starting conversations and finding opportunities.

2. Facebook – over a billion members! The Facebook membership is getting older so you will find more and more industry folk on there. Great for connecting, keeping tabs on your connections and finding opportunities. Remember to keep them separate from your friends and family by setting up a page or organising your friends into groups.

3. YouTube – the second biggest search engine after google (now owned by google)! In a visual industry like acting you should be represented on YouTube. If there is one thing you do today upload your showreel.

4. LinkedIn – widely known as the biggest lead generating social media network, which means that people make the most direct sales/money?work from this one. Great for keeping tabs on your connections. Take a look at What is LinkedIn? A Straightforward Guide for more info.

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing are some penguins with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact us any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com 

 Facebook.com/penguinintheroom 

twitter.com/prartsmarketing

or waddle over to the website: www.penguinintheroom.com

Top 5 Facebook No No’s for Actors

So most of us are on Facebook but a lot of people ask me if they should be on there as an actor? Yes! Facebook is another great way to promote yourselves and network and there will be people on Facebook that aren’t on twitter, LinkedIn etc so don’t miss out on connecting with them. So the next question I get asked is what are the commons mistakes you should avoid? Well, I am glad you ask because here are my top 5 No No’s for Actors on Facebook…

1. Personal profiles – make sure your personal profile (profile through which you add and accept friends) is not visible in google search and update your privacy settings, you don’t want Directors seeing photos of the last hen night you went on do you! Create a page (which people can like) to be the public face of your acting brand. (You can create a personal acting profile but you are only allowed one profile on Facebook so Facebook could shut this profile down at any time)

2. Fan page – Facebook pages are often called fan pages and this makes actors feel insecure about having a page as they assume they have no fans and get caught up in the amount of likes they have. However, it is not about securing fans it’s about making connections and promoting your news – think quality not quantity – if 10 people are engaging with your page regularly that’s much better than 1000 people who never read or like anything you post.

3. Headers – Facebook’s new look timeline has header images (the long thin image across the top) and this is a great opportunity to promote yourselves. Please resist the urge to have a picture of a nice view or a stock theatre image and use this space to display a screen/theatre shot of yourself. Let prospective employers see you in action! You can even put a current production poster there to promote where your followers can see you next.

4. Twitter messages on Facebook – we all like to feel special and if I see that you have clearly posted a tweet on Facebook eg. the post contains hashtags and @tags, I don’t feel special. Your Facebook followers want to feel like you are posting interesting news for them on Facebook and not just posting any old thing because its easier. So, do not link your Facebook account to Twitter and remove twitter language before posting on Facebook. Also, it’s a good idea to post some messages on Facebook that don’t go on twitter and vice versa – make it interesting for people who follow you on both social media channels.

5. News – by all means promote yourself but don’t be a broken record. We do want to hear your news but not just a stream of you related information. Break things up with interesting articles, links etc that are useful for your followers.

So enjoy yourselves on Facebook and I hope you make some wonderful connections out of it! If you are on twitter you can also check out my Top 5 No No’s for Actors on Twitter too.

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is one penguin with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping my way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact me any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to my website:www.penguinintheroom.com

FAQ’s from Surviving Actors: Common Actor’s Marketing Questions Answered!

Well I had a jam-packed two days at Surviving Actors this month leading a seminar with The Page UK, being on Fuse Creative Network’s stand and doing one on ones and met lots of lovely creative people! I had a lot of chats and answered a lot of burning questions so I thought I would look at the most common in the hope that it might help you!

Why should I be on twitter?

• Networking – there are half a billion people on twitter so its like going to a networking event with half a billion people and you don’t have to do the face to face stuff you can plan what you are going to say!
• News – If you follow industry professionals, companies, venues, twitter can keep you in the loop with what is going on in the industry.
• Jobs – Castings are posted on twitter.
• Profile – being present and engaging on twitter can raise your profile in the industry as more people will be aware of you
• Promotion – you can promote your shows, films, showreels and just generally your amazing self!

If I’m not working what can I post and tweet about?

Anything that is related to the industry and on point to your objective for being on social media! Post interesting things for your followers. Tell us about an amazing play you went to see, post an interesting article, promote a film company you used to work for, tell us who won the BAFTA’s in case we haven’t seen it yet.

What is LinkedIn?

I have written a blog purely on that subject! Here you go What is LinkedIn?

I have another business should I have two LinkedIn pages, twitter profiles etc?

This is a very personal thing. If you feel your businesses work well together eg. Director/Writer then keep it the same. If you feel that clients from one business might feel uncomfortable initially finding out that you are an actor keep them separate. In addition, you might be working in two very different fields eg. acting and architecture so it might be best to separate your contacts in each area and promote your jobs separately in their relevant industries.

How should I go about contacting Casting Directors on twitter?

Just connect with them. Sending a blanket message with your spotlight link isn’t going to do you any favours. Just think, if someone sent this to me would I click on the link (especially if I get bombarded by a similar thing via email every day)?

What are hashtags on twitter?

Aha I have written a blog on this too. Here you go Making the most of Hashtags on Twitter

How many tweets should I do a day?

6 tweets a day generally gives you the best engagement and outreach. But do not fear, that includes retweets and replies.

Should I have a fan page on Facebook because I haven’t really done much?

I would say yes and don’t think of it as a fan page. I would just think of it as a professional page on Facebook. It keeps people engaged with what is going on with you professionally as your personal profile keeps your friends engaged with whats going on with you personally. Don’t get caught up in the amount of likes either, just try to engage with people.

Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is one penguin with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping my way into the arts industry and helping creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.

Contact me any time for penguin chats via email: info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to my website: www.penguinintheroom.com