Posts Tagged demographics
15+ Facebook Advertising Tips - Part Four - Just Do It!
Posted by Matt McWilliams in Viral Marketing/Social Media on August 5th, 2010
Yesterday in our 15+ Facebook Advertising Tips Series we covered using demographic information to create the right images.
The day before we covered how to find demographic information and how to target effectively (gender, age, Likes & Interests, location, etc.).
And on the first day I encouraged you to use CPM bidding in your Facebook ads.
It dawned on me this morning that I never really actually addressed the concerns that a lot of people have about Facebook advertising. And I never really ever actually said to “Do it!”
That is the critical first step…doing. Set up an account, follow a few of these guidelines, read up on other blogs about it, and then start creating ads.
Here are the three most common holdups that people have about doing Facebook advertising in my experience:
- There’s not enough volume. Really? Facebook just passed 500 million users. There are 1.8 billion internet users, so that makes up almost 30% of the internet population.
- Yeah, but what about if I target small? Then the volume is almost non-existent.
- Conversions are too low. How can I ever make it work from a ROI perspective?
To put this into perspective, Facebook is approximately twice the size of the adult population in the United States.
It would be the third largest country in the world, behind only China and India.
It has 357 times more users than New York Times subscribers.
The volume is there.
See yesterday’s post about the number of people who list “learning something new” or similar phrases in their likes and interests. Certainly targeting certain demographics is wise. In fact, my average ad group has about 15,000 people in it. But I have 500 ad groups. Even with 50% overlap (a very high estimate) I am still reaching almost 4 million very targeted people. Start small and expand your targeting…I think you will be very surprised at who you can reach and what will be effective.
Keep reading…we will address conversions and ROI soon. But, if you want a quick glimpse, here it is: create specific landing pages for each large group. Apply the same rules of targeting to the landing page and mention Facebook on the page. Notice the plural…landing pageS. Test, test, and test some more. OK, you get the idea and there is so much more to cover on that.
But for now, just get started. Even if it’s $0.20 a click (or $0.20 CPM) or whatever. Even if it’s $20.00/day. In the words of Nike, just do it!
15+ Facebook Advertising Tips - Part Three - Images & Demographics
Posted by Matt McWilliams in Viral Marketing/Social Media on August 4th, 2010
Yesterday in our 15+ Facebook Advertising Tips Series we covered using demographic information, how to find it and use it effectively to target the right people.
Now that you know how to target them, how do you write an ad that will attract them?
Well, let me first say this: I suck at ad copy. There.
Seriously, I am not very good at it. Occasionally I will stumble on something that works though. So, trial and error is pretty much how I end up with any good ads.
Writing a good Facebook ad is similar (in my opinion) to writing a good PPC ad with a few caveats. We will cover that part tomorrow.
Today though, I want to cover specifically how to choose the right image.
Here are 8 tips to choosing the right image.
- Study the demographics and find the appropriate picture. People like to see people who look like themselves. If you are targeting middle aged men, show a middle aged man. Here is an ad for Learn & Master Guitar that has performed very well. It is for men ages 40-45.

- Sometimes this is not true as in the case of the best performing ad for men ages 20-28. Oddly enough, the best ad so far was very cartoonish and amateurish. Lesson: sometimes the audience is just weird. But, I did think the image would stand out enough to a younger audience that it was worth trying.

- Another lesson learned from #2 is to test various images with the same ad copy. This will be a recurring theme in this series…test, test, and then when you are tired of testing, test some more.
- People are used to images by now. They have to stand out and not be TOO professional. Sometimes something goofy actually works.
- Consider using an image that is not 110X80 (or has a white background or other color). Sometimes smaller works better because it is different.
- Consider using a border around the image. Something that contrasts Facebook blue, like red or orange.
- One thing that I have not had the chance to test yet is seasonality. Does it help to rotate the ads based on the time of year? Like a guy playing guitar on the beach in summer and in front of a fireplace in winter? Do the clothes they are wearing matter? Just a thought.

- Lastly, think hard about the audience. A 50-year old man has dreamt of playing for 20+ years most likely. A 25-year old guy just wants to learn how to impress his friends at parties. The picture and ad copy change significantly based on this.
And one last thing I forgot mention yesterday. Approximately 880,000 people in the U.S. alone have “learning,” “learning something new,” “learning anything new,” and similar Likes & Interests. Not a bad subset of the population to hit! Consider adding those to your targets as well.
Legacy Learning Affiliate Tools Section
Posted by Matt McWilliams in Affiliate Tools, Pay Per Click (PPC) on April 15th, 2010
Quick post since a lot of affiliates have asked me about it.![]()
Have you checked out the Legacy Learning Systems Affiliate Tools Section? If not, you should.
In it you will find ShareASale Video Tutorials, an article and news archive, keywords for Pay Per Click, FTC disclosure guidelines, content for your site, an archive of our Affiliate Insider Newsletter, course demographics, and more!
It is updated frequently and you can follow us on Twitter or stay tuned here for updates.
I hope the tools help you!
Three Affiliate ABCs Podcasts
Posted by Matt McWilliams in Affiliate Tips, Podcasts on February 24th, 2010
I was very pleased to be a part of three Affiliate ABCs podcasts last week with hosts Debbie Carkey and Vinny O’Hare.
In the first podcast, we discuss Evaluating Merchants for your Affiliate Site. This podcast is great if you are looking for other merchants in other niches. What should you look for?
I talk about how to choose merchants based on the customer perspective and the affiliate perspective covering topics such as “leaks,” navigation, the order process, commissions, cookie length, terms and conditions, banner quality and quantity, affiliate manager activity and responses, and more!
Check out this podcast here:
Affiliate ABCs #26 Evaluating Merchants for your Affiliate Site [28:22m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download
And you can also subscribe to it in the GeekCast podcasts in iTunes.
Next we did a podcast about communicating with your Affiliate Manager. Whether you are working with us or another Affiliate Manager, this podcast is full of great tips for working with your Affiliate Manager. While some Affiliate Managers are admittedly not very responsive or open to questions or giving tips, a lot of us are very open and WANT to communicate with our affiliates. Some of the highlights of this podcast include: asking for help with creatives, banners, etc., communicating with instant messenger, phone, email, and forums, and discussing commission rates.
Affiliate ABCs #26 Tips About Communicating with Your Affiliate Manager [31:05m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download
And the last podcast, Affiliate ABCs #27 is a spotlight on our affiliate program at Legacy Learning Systems. Unfortunately this podcast cut off at 25 minutes due to a bad connection, but thankfully we got through most of it.
We discuss the many ways that our courses can be promoted by affiliates and the different demographics and target audiences.
You can check out this podcast here:
Affiliate ABCs #27 Merchant Spotlight - Legacy Learning Systems [25:38m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download
Enjoy!
Facebook Advertising for Affiliates from Logan Thompson
Posted by Matt McWilliams in Affiliate Tips, Viral Marketing/Social Media on October 14th, 2009
| I have made it very clear that I believe in affiliates using Facebook advertising. The targeting is great for affiliates promoting a niche product like ours.?The cost is currently very low.?The conversions are good. It’s got everything you could ever want in an effective marketing medium.
Here are some previous posts about Facebook Advertising?from our blog: Facebook Targeting that Works with our Program |
Today, I had the fortune of reading a post from Logan Thompson, one of my favorite bloggers in affiliate marketing.
He gives 10 tips for How to Profit on Cost Per Sale Campaigns with Facebook in which he shares some of his successes?and errors with Facebook advertising.
I have to disagree with #5, which says: “Don’t Promote Expensive Products.”?Based on our own advertising and the feedback from others, if the targeting is right, our products can really fit our niche market.? Our niche is typically best targeted towards middle-class, middle-aged?people?who are actively interested in the product we are offering. So focusing on the right keywords and narrowing it down to our niche will get you some great results.
Currently, the 25-year old and up crowd only makes up about 30% of the users of Facebook, but that group is also growing at about 200% per year.? There is a sizable market there!
Overall, I give Logan’s post?two big thumbs up?though, so check it out.














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