F2F Widget Style and Placement
- Are your F2F widgets above the lower 1/3 of your web page(s)?
- The higher on the page, the better it performs.
- Consider moving F2F content blocks from the right hand “advertising side” into the middle or left side of the page.
- Do you have F2F Widgets on every page of your website?
- The more exposure (page views and eyeballs) you provide your clients, the more value they receive and revenue you can bring in.
- Your home page is one thing but section specific content blocks are key for maximum monetization.
- Opportunities on other pages (including story pages) with examples from other sites
- Specialty widgets for different channels (pages) such as a widget for restaurants, theaters, dance halls, bars, etc. on your Lifestyles page.
- Dining, Entertainment, Auto, Real Estate, Main St. (downtown), Community Pages, Sports, High School, etc.
- Are your F2F Widgets in the right rail of your website? Do they need to be?
- Many publications are moving Widgets to the content side and seeing greater engagement. F2F Widgets that showcase the social media of your advertisers are constantly updated, like a Breaking News section for your advertisers thus they are consumed more like content than advertising.
- Make sure widget is big enough to display more than one post.
- The bigger the F2F widget, the more clicks it gets.
- Do you have a header? You can do one inside the widget or, better still, create a static header above the widget.
- Do you have “auto scroll” turned on? It provides more exposure to more posts in your F2F Content Block(s). We recommend an 8-11 second count between auto scrolling posts.
- Does the color of your F2F Widget(s) help it stand out from the content of your site or help it blend into the background?
- You can quickly and easily modify every aspect of the style of your F2F Content Block(s). Font, size, color, hover over colors, even your “add my business” features.
- Have questions? Please ask reinig@friends2follow.com
New Widgets = New Revenue and Engagement
*Most of these could be set up as self-service so you can email prospects.
-- Best of: Hard to nail down an example because it is seasonal, but PilotOnline.com has been very successful with it.
- Equal Voice content block with all nominees 1-2 months before the event. Day of the event, eliminate all non-winners and run the winners in the content block for a month or two
-- Politics: During Election Season, Herald-Dispatch.com drives new revenue and engages their readers with their Political Content Block.
- Sell during elections to political parties and PACs. We suggest using Equal Voice for this one as well. It keeps all sides on equal ground no matter how often they post. Show me a campaign that doesn’t use social media and I’ll show you a unicorn.
-- High School Sports: Hyper-local information equipped with revenue without deploying reporters.
- Friday Night football Hashtag channel with sponsorships. Pre-authorize people at each school to post about games, honors, events. You could use booster club presidents, equipment managers, student newspaper reporters, etc.
-- Chamber of Commerce: First “taste” is free.
- Create a content block on the section front of your business section devoted to the posts of your local chamber (In most cases, they usually focus posts on their members).
- Offer special rate to chamber members for full website access to your site for their social media.
- If using self-service, chamber can provide link to members and you will have a button within your content block.
-- Non-Profits: Excellent content, good cause inexpensive and easy.
- Give a discount to United Way and other charitable groups. Great way for them to publicize events, fund drives and news.
- If you have many local non-profits willing to pay a discounted rate, you can always create a content block devoted to not for profit posts.
- Non-Profits are a top 10 spending category on Facebook.
-- Higher Ed, Trade Schools: Lives on lifestyle page for targeted exposure but these advertisers love exposure on the home page and every page.
- This is a great way for the schools to get out their messages to the audience you serve.
- The Education Industry is a top 10 spending category on Facebook.
-- Every Section and Special Section of your Online Publication can have a unique set of advertisers: A&E section of CityWeekly.net, SentinelSource.com/news/health/.
- Health/Living, Real Estate, Dining, Sports, Arts, Entertainment, Business. If you have a section or create a special section, your advertisers want the targeted exposure you can provide for their social media.
- Create special pricing for advertisers in the section/special section. Should be packaged with home page/every page access.
- Organize a sales blitz for each section or targeted set of advertisers.
Social Media Powered Online Banner Ads
- These ads run in concert with the other ads on your website into the same spaces your ads already run. So, you can sell them the same way you currently sell online ads.
- The social media account(s) you schedule for your advertiser update the content of the ad automatically, which saves you money: no proof process, no artists needed to design new ads, no need for sales to reach out for new offer for new ads.
- NEW REVENUE! Charge a premium to existing advertisers looking to showcase their Social Media.
- Attract infrequent and non-advertisers with a unique, automatically updated social media promotion.
***Replace remnant ads “Google ads” with social-powered remnant ads by charging a flat fee upfront or a CPM buy with a range of cost for one or multiple bigger advertisers that are not paying you for online banner ads. Offer a discount and justify with a lower cost for the content i.e. social-powered banner ads.
- Hospitals and medical centers, auto dealers bigger “blue chip” advertisers are generally spending ad dollars on Google Ads not your local publication. Bring them back for a “buy local” discount all can live with.
Selling Strategy
- Use the Friends2Follow Leads Generator for prospecting.
- Unique login provided to Sales Staff
- Anyone on Facebook is either paying for audience or not reaching many people.
- Sales Reps need a way to quickly show and explain:
- Have a bookmark on cell phones with a link to pages with F2F content blocks.
- “Spec Ads” add advertiser into test page or real content block (FREE to you) using “7 Day Promo” and let them see how their post look on your page.
- POS can be used to illustrate product, show value and exposure for their social media.
- Package, Package, Package. Then go after non-advertisers.
- Our best practice is to provide an advertising solution that includes F2F if appropriate; based on a needs assessment of the advertiser. Or during a blitz, offer F2F as an included (and payed for) portion of packages offered.
- After the blitz and offering F2F to all advertisers that use F2F as part of the advertising solution you provide, target non-advertisers. If you show them success with this product, they will be more likely to listen to your pitch on a special section that will be perfect for them.
- Sell only as part of a package at one rate, then later for a higher rate to one-offs.
- Self-Service is key for some advertisers, include a link to self-service:
- In your content blocks, via follow up to in person/telesales, email blitz with a link to self-service.
- In the signature line of sales staff emails.
- On sales collateral and proposals.
- All emails from the ad staff. This could be done in the stationery set up.
- In-house ads online and in print
- Assign a champion to Friends2Follow and incentivize with monthly bonus.
- Daily breaking news, newsletter
Pricing Strategy
- Our partners charge a flat fee for access to one or multiple content blocks. Prices are from $50 to $400 a month depending on:
- page views of your website (more page views = more exposure for their social media)
- scarcity (limit to number of advertisers), location (one or more content blocks on targeted sections)
- how many streams per advertiser (how many sources of social media you promote) and
- frequency (limits to posts per day)
- Many partners charge different rates for non-profits, contracted advertisers and one-offs.
BEST Sales Targets: Anyone engaging with social media on a regular basis will be an excellent opportunity for your sales team. Use the F2F Leads Generator to begin prospecting.
- “2018: Reach of Business Facebook Posts continues to drop across the board.”
- Any business posting 3 times or more per week to their Business Facebook Page.
- USE THE LEADS GENERATION TOOL
- Restaurants LOVE this form of promotion
- Coffee/Cafes, fast food, slow food, fine dining, BBQs all are generally active on social which means they are a great target.
- Service Businesses:
- Wellness: Day Spas, Massage Studios, Medical Spas
- Barbers, Salons
- Local hospital or medical center. They are constantly offering classes, new services and equipment, top specialist they want to promote, new doctors. Using F2F they can get their message out every day without having to pester the overworked newsroom with press releases.
- Landscaper, Gardener
- Gym, Crossfit, Nutrition/Diet
- Professional Services
- Orthodontist, Dentist, Cosmetic Dental Arts
- Lawyers (DUI), Insurance, Financial Planning
- Malls & shopping centers don't do much print advertising but they heavily engage with social media.
- Entertainment
- Movie/Live Theater
- Attractions and Activities
- Seasonal Events, Festivals
- Education and Job Training/Employment Services
- Regular Advertisers
- Auto dealers are prime prospects. They can stream inventory every day, hot on social media, can be used as a “remnant ad” in place of Google ads.
- Automotive Dealers, Real Estate Agents, Retail, Banks.
- ANYONE using Facebook (use the leads tool in Friends2Follow)
- Partner with your advertisers, help your advertisers become better at social media
- Photo Posts get more clicks
- KISS: Keep It Short & Simple
- One of the most significant factors in Facebook’s ranking algorithm is engagement.
- You provide engagement to your audience for their Facebook posts.
- If your Facebook posts get more engagement, they’re going to be more highly favored in the algorithm, thereby increasing your reach. Increased organic reach means you have to spend fewer ad dollars to reach your target audience.
- Provide ROI info to your Advertisers
- Reports can be scheduled for deliver into any email inbox
- Revenue projections when Launching or Reengaging sales teams
- Insert graph of PVs, Strategy (every page/section specific), Price per advertiser, etc
- Link for CPC FB ads by industry: https://fitsmallbusiness.com/how-much-does-facebook-advertising-cost/