Facebook Causes: Don’t Forget Main Street

Hugh Macken • Mar 25, 2011

I was hoping I could tout the wonders of Facebook Causes for small and mid sized businesses in their cause-related marketing efforts. Not so fast. The post Facebook Causes: Don’t Forget Main Street appeared first on VMR. Facebook Causes: Don’t Forget Main Street was first posted on March 25, 2011 at 6:30 pm.©2015 "VMR". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at hugh@vmrcommunications.com

I have to admit, I was frustrated. Very frustrated.

As a consultant who advises small and mid sized organizations, I was really hoping I could tout the wonders of Facebook Causes for small and mid sized businesses in their cause-related marketing efforts during my upcoming presentation at the Central Wisconsin Social Media Conference and in general when I advise SMBs.

I really took seriously Causes supposed embrace of the notion of equal-opportunity giving.

To quote from the Causes’ app description:

Because we believe there are infinite ways to positively impact our world, anyone can create a user-created advocacy group on Causes. This group, called a “cause,” is the building block for all activity on the site. We strive for equal opportunity activism, which means that causes created by nonprofits and causes created by concerned individuals share the same level-playing field.

This line in particular made me sure Facebook Causes would be the perfect tool for businesses with limited resources:

Unlike other models that favor organizations with large budgets, causes rise and fall based on how well leaders organize and keep their communities engaged and mobilized.

All of that is true. But it hides a disturbing fact:

Small and mid-sized businesses, precisely because of their smaller budgets, do not typically have anywhere close to the financial resources required (usually a minimum of $10,000) if they want to start a cause.

Jake mentioned that there are other Facebook apps out there for small business that are useful.

And that too is true.

But why should small business have to think smaller than the 100+ million users who currently use the Facebook Causes app? Why not create a turn-key solution (that would not cost a fortune for Causes developers to customize for each campaign as they do with the big brands) for small and mid-sized business to create true equal opportunity on Causes?

I really hope Causes will consider working with those of us in the small biz community who want to tap into the growing number of smaller businesses on Facebook who can and want to make a world of difference with what I believe is the best tool on the market – Facebook Causes.

The challenge is providing a solution that is profitable for Facebook Causes (which is actually a for-profit company) as well.

I believe that’s possible.  It will require some creative thinking on the part of Causes, the small business community and individuals like myself who admire their work and believe in dreaming big by acting…

….small.

Photo credit: “Main Street Vs. Wall Street” by   Eric Ortner of   Ortner Graphics

The post Facebook Causes: Don’t Forget Main Street appeared first on VMR.

VMR

Catholic Advertising Principles: The Cultural Benefits of Advertising

29 Dec, 2019
The best advertising, if aligned with Catholic principles, is always done with the public interest in mind.

Digital Advertising Impression Viewability Explained

By Hugh Macken • 15 Oct, 2019
This post explains viewability, vCPM the MRC viewability standard, the role ad servers like Google Ad Manager play in viewability measurement and why it's sometimes better to pay a CPM rather than a vCPM.

Introduction to StoryBrand

By Hugh Macken • 03 Oct, 2019
What is StoryBrand and how can it help you to improve your digital marketing and advertising results?

Top 5 Digital Advertising Mistakes & Lessons Learned

By hugh • 23 Sep, 2019
Here are five of the many digital advertising mistakes I have made over the last ten years and the lessons you can learn from them.

How to Improve Banner Ad Click Thru Rates

By Hugh Macken • 01 Dec, 2018
So you've been running a display ad campaign and you're click thru rate is lower than you'd like it to be. What to do? Here are three tips for boosting click thru rates on display ad banners: Add animation Add a clear call to action button Split test different creative variations Regarding 1 and 2, if you have a designer on staff, I highly recommend using either bannersnack.com or canva.com. Both are super easy to use. Bannersnack will allow you to create fully animated html5 banners with solid call to action buttons that are (this is very important) fully compliant with ad serving platforms like the one we use to allow proper click tracking.

Focus on Traffic Optimization, Not Sales CRO

By Hugh Macken • 30 Jan, 2018
It sounds simple enough but it's easier said than done: If you want to drive optimal conversion results for a digital ad campaign, focus on the factors that will help you deliver those conversion results. In digital advertising, like it or not, the most important factor affecting results couldn't be simpler. It's traffic and non-sales conversion events, not sales conversions. Read the rest on Medium here .

Facebook’s New Lead Generation Ad Format

By Hugh Macken • 27 Oct, 2015
Facebook just launched a new ad type called Lead Generation ads. I really like this because it makes the process of filling out forms much easier for mobile users in particular and Facebook has done a nice job of addressing the privacy concerns of people who see these ads. Regarding ease of use, if you […] The post Facebook’s New Lead Generation Ad Format appeared first on VMR. Facebook’s New Lead Generation Ad Format was first posted on October 27, 2015 at 4:41 pm.©2015 "VMR". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at hugh@vmrcommunications.com

Display Advertising: Is 0.1% a Good Click Thru Rate?

By Hugh Macken • 15 Oct, 2015
For a display advertising campaign, 0.1% is a respectable click thru rate. That works out to 1 click per 1000 ad displays. Facebook ads often generate click thru rates that are much higher than that but keep in mind that you need to take Facebook’s click thru stats with a grain of salt as they […] The post Display Advertising: Is 0.1% a Good Click Thru Rate? appeared first on VMR. Display Advertising: Is 0.1% a Good Click Thru Rate? was first posted on October 15, 2015 at 1:46 am.©2015 "VMR". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at hugh@vmrcommunications.com

Social Ads More Effective Than Search Ads For Product Discovery

By Hugh Macken • 27 Sep, 2013
A May 2013 research study conducted by Forrester Research and commissioned by Google Wildfire indicates that social ads are potentially more effective for brands looking to reach new customers. You can request a copy of the study by clicking here. Survey respondents were asked “Which of the following ways do you typically discover or find […] The post Social Ads More Effective Than Search Ads For Product Discovery appeared first on VMR. Social Ads More Effective Than Search Ads For Product Discovery was first posted on September 27, 2013 at 1:46 am.©2015 "VMR". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at hugh@vmrcommunications.com

A Discovery-Based Approach to Maximizing Social Media ROI

By Hugh Macken • 10 Aug, 2012
Companies large and small are often criticized for acting like inexperienced children or sophomoric students in their approach to social media.  But I’d argue that in some cases, the former, child-like approach, may not actually be as foolish – or childish – as it sounds. In fact I’d argue it can be a pure stroke […] The post A Discovery-Based Approach to Maximizing Social Media ROI appeared first on VMR. A Discovery-Based Approach to Maximizing Social Media ROI was first posted on August 10, 2012 at 9:35 pm.©2015 "VMR". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at hugh@vmrcommunications.com
More Posts
Share by: