How to get more Facebook fans with Sponsored Story ads

One way to acquire Facebook fans for your nonprofit is to use Facebook ads to promote your Page. But not traditional Facebook ads – Sponsored “Like Story” ads.

Facebook Sponsored “Like Story” ads are different from traditional Facebook ads in four ways:

1. Like Story ads can be targeted to friends of current fans. This will take advantage of the idea that birds of a feather flock together.
 
2. Like Story ads display the user’s friends who have already liked your Page (“John, Bill and Barbara like the National Wildlife Federation“). Facebook users are more likely to take action when they see that their friends have already taken that action (shown above).
 
3. Users can “like” the Page directly in the ad. This eliminates any abandonment that might occur between the ad and your Facebook Page (shown above).
 
4. Fans acquired are displayed in the user’s report in Facebook Insights. This allows you to see how these ads compare to other methods of acquiring fans.

How to hyper-target Facebook Page Like Story ads for your nonprofit

When you create a Sponsored Story ad, by default, you’re targeting the friends of your current Facebook fans. But you can refine your targeting even more:

Standard demographics – You can refine your target by age, age range, gender, marital status, and education. As you add these selections, you’ll notice that the “estimated reach” on the right gets smaller (as shown below).

Connections – This allows you to target connections of Pages you administer, Groups you belong to, Events you’ve been invited to and Applications you administer. These can be added by selecting “Advanced connection targeting.” You also have the option of targeting “non-fans” of your Page (as shown below).

Precise Interests – You can also target interests, activities, education, job titles, Pages liked and groups users belong to (as shown below).

A few more points about Facebook Sponsored Story ads

I tested Facebook Page Sponsored Story ads on both the Nonprofit Facebook Guy and my blog Inbound Zombie and found them to be at least 50 percent more cost effective than traditional Facebook ads.

The best thing about these type of ads if that you can set a daily budget and set a limit to the number of days the ad will run. If you’re new to Facebook Ads, limit your first run to five days and make sure you select Cost Per Click pricing.

Have you tried Page Like Story ads?John Haydon delivers social web strategy solutions for “the quick, the smart, and the slightly manic.” Curious? Then visit the John Haydon blog, follow him on Twitter or leave a comment.