Integrated Facebook Marketing: Combining Pages, Apps, Ads and Sponsored …

The following is an excerpt of the first entry in a series on integrated Facebook marketing campaigns. The full version, available in our Facebook Marketing Bible, contains more detailed strategy and walk-throughs for each step of the campaign.

Businesses can market themselves by separately using Facebook Page posts, applications, traditional Facebook ads, and Facebook’s new social ad unit Sponsored Stories. For maximum impact, though, they can be combined to run “integrated marketing campaigns” designed to get users to take an action such as Liking your Page that benefits your business and triggers additional exposure for your Page through news feed stories and Sponsored Stories.

Here we’ll walk-through how to execute an integrated Facebook marketing campaign aimed at gaining Likes for your Page.

Introduction to Integrated Marketing Campaigns

The goal of Integrated Facebook Marketing campaigns is take advantage of all of Facebook’s marketing products and channels at once to gain the most conversions on a call to action at the lowest possible cost. These campaigns use paid and owned marketing channels to drive earned exposure.

• Owned – Your Facebook Page, which can post to the news feeds of fans and host applications
• Paid – Facebook Ads, both traditional ads, as well as Sponsored Stories that require a user action to trigger them
• Earned – News feed exposure, triggered when a user takes certain types of actions.

Integrated Page Like Campaign Walk-Through

1. Set up a Like-Gated landing tab

First, you’ll set up a special landing page tab application on your Facebook Page that encourages users to Like your Page. The tab should be Like-gated tab, meaning users who haven’t Liked your Page are shown one screen and those who have are shown another screen.

Those who haven’t Liked your Page should see a landing page explaining that if they Like your Page now, they’ll gain access to something valuable, such as a coupon or discount, the opportunity to enter a contest, exclusive video or photo content, or a fans-only application or game. Vividly describe or preview the content or opportunity — make it sound valuable enough to users that it’s worth exchanging access to their news feed for.

2. Promote Your Landing Tab with Shares, Page Posts, and Ads

Landing Tab Shares

Once users Like your Page from your landing tab, completing the Like-gate, show them a new version of the the landing tab thanking them, providing the promised content, and encouraging them to share with their Facebook friends a link to your landing tab and news of what they’ve gained. By getting them to share, you’ll drive traffic to your Like-gate from the friends of your new fans.

3. Run Page Like Sponsored Stories Ads

All the previous steps have been designed to get users to Like your Page, which triggers a news feed story that appears to the friends of your new fans. These stories are compelling and drive more traffic to your Page, but often aren’t shown prominently in the news feed.

Therefore, you’ll want to buy Sponsored Stories ads that convert these news feed stories into ads, amplifying the initial news feed story. Specifically, Page Like Sponsored Stories ads will appear to the friends of users who recently Liked your Page and encourage them to do the same.

The full version of this article, complete with more strategy, step-by-step walk-throughs, and instructions for promoting your landing tab with Page posts and ads can be found in the Facebook Marketing Bible, Inside Network’s complete guide to marketing and advertising through Facebook. Future installments of our series on integrated Facebook marketing will look at campaigns aimed at driving app usage and checkins.

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