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Killer Facebook Ads: Master Cutting-Edge Facebook Advertising Techniques by Marty Weintraub (Book Review of the Week-ish)

by Tim on November 10, 2011

Usually, the books I review cover strategic aspects of e-commerce and online marketing. Which makes Marty Weintraub’s “Killer Facebook Ads: Master Cutting-Edge Facebook Advertising Techniques” a bit of an anomaly.

But that’s OK.

There’s no question that Facebook remains both tantalizing and an enigma for many marketers. They know there’s “gold in them thar hills.” They just haven’t figured out how to get it out yet.

Read this book and you can expect that to change.

While Weintraub spends a little time explaining why you might want to market on Facebook, he assumes you’re already interested in advertising on Facebook—why buy a book called “Killer Facebook Ads” otherwise—and really just want to know how to make your advertising work better.

It’s a wise choice.

This book is a treasure trove detailing how to get the most out of Facebook Ads, whether you’re a novice at online advertising or an old hand. Each chapter covers one aspect of Facebook’s Ads platform and how to use those ads to reach the right customers, whether through improving your body copy, your headlines, or, most important, your targeting.

My favorite feature of Facebook Ads is their inherent targeting abilities. Weintraub recognizes this and more than delivers, spending two full chapters on the topic. Chapter 5, which Weintraub calls “…the crux of the book,” is worth the price of admission all by itself. And the detailed look into esoteric, but ultimately valuable techniques like Occupation Targeting and Country/Language/Interest combinations can make a huge difference in your results.

So, yes, “Killer Facebook Ads” is not focused on social marketing strategy. I say, in this case, don’t worry about it. If you’re planning on advertising on Facebook, you owe it to yourself to read those two chapters and the rest of the book, too. And, if you’re not planning to advertise on Facebook, read the book and ask yourself, “Why not?”

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Technorati Tags: book review, book reviews, books, e-commerce, e-marketing, ecommerce, F-commerce, Facebook, facebook, Facebook Insights, Killer Facebook Ads, Killer Facebook Ads book review, Killer Facebook Ads by Marty Weintraub, Killer Facebook Ads by Marty Weintraub book review

Tagged as: book review, book review of the week, books, f-commerce, Facebook, facebook like, facebook marketing, killer facebook ads, killer facebook ads book review, killer facebook ads by marty weintraub, killer facebook ads: master cutting-edge facebook advertising techniques, marty weintraub, marty weintraub book review

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Social commerce is hiding in plain sight

by Tim on October 26, 2011

in E-commerce, Facebook, Social Media, social strategy

Brian Solis, the author of the excellent books “Engage” and “The End of Business As Usual,” has a great piece over on Venture Beat, where he refers to social networks, Facebook in particular, as defining consumers’ “personal operating system.” But what stood out for me most was this statistic:

“250 million people engage with Facebook on external websites every month.
“

With its 800 million users, Facebook sometimes gets called “the third largest country in the world.” But, I think these numbers are out of this world, not in it. When a quarter of a billion people use something every month, that’s truly extraordinary.

For instance, take a look at the highlighted bit of this image (or, better yet, check it out on Amazon itself).

Notice the little Facebook button?

What about on Overstock.com?

Same thing.

What about travel?

And, yes, even plush dog toys on Walmart:

Social commerce is all around us, every day. Your customers are on social sites (often before coming to you). Social commerce may still have a ton of growing up to do. But that doesn’t mean it’s not already here.

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Technorati Tags: E-commerce, e-commerce, E-commerce strategy, e-marketing, ecommerce, F-commerce, Facebook, facebook, social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social search, social strategy

Tagged as: e-commerce sales, e-commerce strategy, e-commerce technology, ecommerce, ecommerce merchandising, ecommerce metrics, ecommerce strategy, f-commerce, Facebook, facebook like, facebook marketing, social, social commerce, social e-commerce, social ecommerce, social marketing, social media marketing, social network marketing, social search, social shopping, social strategy, social web

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Facebook, Ebay and Walmart want to bring you social shopping

by Tim on October 13, 2011

in E-commerce, Strategy, social strategy

Amazon may not “Like” Facebook. After all, the social giant seems eager to encroach on Amazon’s e-commerce leadership, announcing partnerships over the last couple of days with Ebay and Walmart to drive social commerce.

As Reuters notes about the Ebay deal,

“…Facebook’s so-called Open Graph — the map of connections that Facebook users create with friends and online content — will be integrated “seamlessly” into applications developed with certain eBay services and technologies.”

On the Walmart side, Forbes says,

“Any one of Walmart’s 9.5+ million Facebook fans can get local information from their store by clicking on the “My Local Walmart” tab on the retailer’s main Facebook page. “Liking” the stores nearest to them will enable shoppers to see specific offers and new merchandise geared to their area.”

Social shopping may be in its early stages, but as companies learn how to engage with their social circles more effectively, it’s only natural that Facebook wants to play in that space.

What do you think? Are your customers ready for social commerce? Or is the world not ready yet?

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Technorati Tags: amazon, Amazon, E-commerce, e-commerce, E-commerce strategy, ecommerce, F-commerce, Facebook, facebook, internet business, social, social commerce, social marketing, social search, social strategy, strategy

Tagged as: amazon, e-commerce sales, e-commerce strategy, ebay, ecommerce, ecommerce merchandising, ecommerce strategy, Facebook, facebook like, facebook marketing, social, social commerce, social e-commerce, social ecommerce, social marketing, social search, social shopping, social strategy

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Have you seen Facebook Insights For Your Website?

May 16, 2011 Facebook

Facebook Insights for Your Website helps you track your social media marketing efforts. And, just maybe, your search engine optimization success, too.

Read the full article →