Instead of having to create a video for your launch offer that involves hours of recording time and managing your posting at just the right time, why not try streaming a live counter to your Facebook page.

This is setup using ClickFunnels and OBS, so check out the steps below to create your own.

Tips

You can only record a live for 4 hours so make sure you set yourself a reminder otherwise you’ll need to go live again.

Step #1

Create a custom landing page, it doesn’t need to be anything too fancy and create a counter function.

Step #2

Open OBS (software for recording and live streaming) to edit. Make sure you have scene selected and under the sources category select Window Capture from the menu and the correctly labelled capture you are using. Then click ok. From here you can adjust or re-position your window to suit.

Step #3

Inside your Facebook page under publishing tools in the top tool bar, click create then select live video from the menu options. Once your live screen appears, click connect and you will see that Facebook gives you a stream key. Copy this key and go back inside OBS.

Step #4

Once in OBS, select settings and then stream in the left hand side of the menu. Click show and paste in your stream key. Click ok.

To note: Every time you go live (with a new live) or stream a live counter on Facebook you will need a new stream key.

Step #5

Click on start streaming and your live stream screen will show. You can choose to share it in a Group or a page and make sure to add any copy and a title (you can’t go live with video without one).

You can now push go on your counter will go live. You can continue doing any work or browse any sites on your laptop with no interruption to your post.

Links to:

OBS – Free software for recording and live streaming

If you’re working with clients, chances are at some stage or another you’ll want to be able to leverage their customer testimonials or influencer marketing efforts.

In the past – businesses would ask influencers to post to their pages and then get access to the ad account via Business manager (making things really messy and FB wasn’t a fan)… and then Facebook rolled out the Branded Content tool!

Using this tool, businesses can gain real insights into the organic reach metrics of a post, share the post to their page, and put ad spend behind it (and retarget a custom audience of those that watched from ad spend).

I scoured the web for hours on instructions on how to use Facebook’s branded content tool but to no avail so wanted to put something together for you guys.

Here’s how it works.

Step #1:

The content creator will need to have access to the Branded Content tool. If they don’t they can apply using this link (Facebook will normally approve within an hour: https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/1865970047013799)

Step #2:

The content creator should then go ahead and create their post as they normally would on their Page – except now, they’ll see a little handshake icon at the bottom.  If they select this they’ll then be able to tag your page or your client’s page into the post (will show up at “With – [Page Name]).

Step #3:

The Page that was tagged will receive a notification and can approve the tag.  You can also access any tagged branded content posts from your Page’s Insight tab (left hand column > Branded Content).

To run the post in an ad – at the ad level of your campaign select “Use Existing Post” > you will then see a brand new option called “Branded Content” and you approved post will show up here.

And that’s it – super simple yet super effective!

Facebook announced a feature – Facebook Appointments that allows leads and prospects to request appointments using the native Messenger platform – Facebook appointments 2 years ago, there are new things of it that works to optimize your Facebook lead gen in 2020. 

Currently, there are some limitations to the feature – such as the inability for the customer do just directly book in and confirm appointments, but one of the big drawcards (and a reason why this feature, once fleshed out a bit more, will be HUGE in the lead gen space) is the push notification reminders sent to customers from Facebook by using Facebook Appointments.

So let’s have a look at how to set Facebook Appointments all up:

STEP #1: Go to your Facebook Page

Click on the button bottom right on your cover photo and select ‘Edit”.

STEP #2: Click “Book With You” and then select “Book Now” – click “Next”

STEP #3: Select “Appointments on Facebook”

Note: you can actually choose to have your button redirect straight to your third party booking page (such as ScheduleOnce) by punching in the URL.  You can also choose to use integrated third-party tools (like MyTime) – the drawback here is that these won’t have the native push notification reminders due to the limit of Facebook Appointments.

STEP #4: Create a Service

You can add in the price of the service although payment won’t be able to be made at this stage via Facebook. Click “Finish” once you’ve added in the services.

IDEA:  Working with realtors?  Why not show all their active listings as separate services, that way when someone books in they can choose the listing they’d like to view.

How it Works

Once you’ve set up your Book Now button you can create a post to promote the new feature and invite your fans to book through Facebook Appointments in some time.  You can also run some ads to this post (just pull the post ID) – so, for example, if you wanted to retarget people in your funnel with the post you could.

Once someone clicks on Book Now it triggers a Messenger appointment request.  They advise you on their free time and once they send this off, you will receive a message or the request.  You then need to confirm the appointment (and you can add in phone numbers in the confirmation text box here).

Syncing Your Calendar

You can view all your Appointments by clicking on the top tab “Appointments”

If you go under your Page settings, you will also see “Calendar” on the left had column.  You can sync your Google calendar here so that when appointments are made they go straight into your calendar.

Want more?

For more live weekly training – check out adhacks.cathowell.com

It’s sad but true… marketers (& brands) usually completely overlook the most important people that drive the business – customers.

As in, existing customers.  Those that have already shown trust, affinity and preference over other products towards yours (or your clients’).  Individuals who have already been through whatever complex mind-blowing funnel you managed to concoct.

They buy – and I guess we kind of just assume they’ll buy again, or that the weekly email blasts will o their thing.

And if you’re in the ecommerce or online coaching/courses space, and you are guilty as charged of NOT having a funnel specifically for existing customers – you’re leaving money on the table.

On a recent FATC training call – Tom and I discussed some of the strategies, implications, and hacks behind re-activating existing customers.

WHY BOTHER

We all know it’s cheaper to convert a hot lead (aka: a customer) than to take a cold lead through an entire funnel.

Rolling out repeat purchase funnel strategies means you will lower the overall CPA, increase results, and have a happier client on your hands.

THE FORMULA

So how do it work? There’s pretty much two simple “formulas” to this approach. Please note, the specific date ranges will vary vastly depending on your product, consumption length and how extreme you want to get with your retargeting stacks.

But here is the basic formula:

So you create a custom audience of people that purchased within a specified timeframe and another custom audience of people that purchased over a another period of time.  You will basically deduct one from another to get to a specific timeframe of people that bought.

Here’s an example of what it would look like in your ad account:

In the above screenshot – we are basically targeting people that purchased 16-30 days ago.

WHAT DAYS SHOULD I PICK?

Well consider two important points:

1. How long does it take for product delivery or consumption – it makes no sense to retarget someone with a “buy another one” or up sell if they haven’t even received the initial first purchase (hack: you can actually create dynamic custom audiences of people that received their products by connecting this with DHL)
2. Consider the relevancy – if you are targeting someone that purchased a mini course about FB ads 180 days ago, it could very well be that the are no longer in the industry or space or interested in FB ads anymore.  Make sure you consider relevancy when assigning timeframe windows.

GETTING ADVANCED

Ok – so here’ where it gets fun.

To take this formula to the next level – either target or exclude a custom audience of people that have already purchased more than once from you.

You can set this up inside your Audience tab, here’s how:

Step #1: Create website custom audience

Step #2: Select “Purchase” event (r whatever event/custom conversion used to track sales)

Step #3: Click on “Refine By” and select “Aggregate Value”

Step #4: Select the frequency (so if you choose 2 that means people that triggered that event twice)

With this you can now ensure your retargeting campaigns is ONLY targeting those that have only bought once from you OR you can run a specific campaign targeting repeat purchase customers.

What could your creative be?

Here are just some examples, but whichever approach you choose, try to be a bit more informal with this audience – after all, they are your customers!

If you would like to listen to the entire training call replay with Tom & Cat – enroll in FATC private membership today.

In May 2017 Facebook rolled out a pretty epic update to the pixel – epic because it was a massive power play and showed just how intent the platform is to improving advertising, the user experience as well as encroach on the search engine/Google sphere.

You may have noticed Facebook Microdata already, and perhaps thought nothing much of it. I’m talking about Microdata and a new automatic event called “SubscribedButtonClick”.

In this post I’m going to walk you through the former a little deeper, what it is and how to start the process of getting yours optimised properly in 2020.

WHAT’S FACEBOOK MICRODATA

When using the Pixel Helper Tool, you may notice a new field called “Microdata” that triggers when the pixel loads on the site (see below).

This is essentially allowing Facebook to gain way more information in terms of what users are doing on your site, what they’re looking at, and how well your site is performing.

Facebook Microdata does this by looking at the markup data – essentially SEO information on the pages to discern that your site is about Barbecues (for example) and this particular visitor is very interested in this product (based on how they engage with the page).

Why should you care?

Facebook Microdata is actually pretty scary/intense/and amazing all in one.

What this is now allowing Facebook to do is to spot people most likely to perform the desired action and optimise advertising campaigns accordingly.

Facebook Microdata is also allowing you to tap into competitor traffic in a way!

Here’s an example:

Using the BBQ example above, if I am on a competitor website checking BBQs and you decide to run ads for your BBQ sale, Facebook will now know to show your ads to me as I am a very “hot” prospect and have shown interest in this type of product.

Likewise, let’s say I purchased the BBQ on that competitor site – well if you’re selling BBQ tongs or cleaning products, again Facebook will now have the data to tell it to show your ads to me as I am a likely customer.

In this sense, this VERY MUCH replicates the “search” function of Google.  Whereby Google targets ads to individuals already deep in the consideration phase of a marketing funnel.

Facebook was always able to do this type of ad targeting/optimisation – but not to this extent.  This is what Facebook microdata is enabling us to tap into.

Powerful stuff.

SCHEMA & OPENGRAPH

So what’s the difference between Schema and OpenGraph?

OpenGraph is what Facebook uses and Schema is a Google identifier that helps search engines to identify the category or property type of your site’s content.  Facebook taps into both of these so you’ll want to make sure they’re both installed correctly.

If you see a little box icon next to “Schema” this means it is NOT installed on the site or landing page in question.

TIP – pitch this as an up-sell to clients.  It will be highly beneficial for them to have this and drastically improve their FB campaigns.

HOW DO I SET IT UP

You’ll probably (like 97%) need a web developer to help you with this – especially if you’re not comfortable editing the CMS of your site. Try a find a dev that is ideally familiar or specialises in SEO – as they will understand Schema.

Step #1: Head to Structured Data Markup Helper

https://www.google.com/webmasters/markup-helper/?email=true

Step #2: Add in the URL in question and select “Start Tagging”

Step #3:  Start tagging your site

Step #4: Add all the Highlighted markup to your page’s HTML

Step #5: Click “Finish”

GOING DEEPER WITH SCHEMA

I’m posting this because I can remember, when I was at the starting point of shifting from freelancer to agency owner – right when I had cracked the system on how to onboard clients and was suddenly needing to hire a team FAST – thinking to myself – crap, WHO do I need to hire?

Just like everything else in the FB ads world – they don’t teach you this stuff in school!

Below are the five people you’ll need on your team in order to run a very effective/efficient and highly lucrative agency. With these five critical players, you should be able to build a $100,000/mth business. 

PLEASE REMEMBER: DON’T hire your team until you know how to onboard the clients and have consistent revenues. I made the mistake of taking out a bank loan to fund my team the first time around and it nearly took me under (if you want to check out how to scale properly, view the live training I ran)

CRITICAL TEAM MEMBER #1:  Your Account Manager

This person is usually the first one you will hire internally.  Why?  Because they will relieve you from the work you are  most likely dreading the most and that is consuming most of your time:looking after your clients!

Some of the tasks of the Account Manager include:

• answering emails & phone calls
• reporting (monthly or weekly)
• client meetings
• upselling/crosselling

In short – their role and how they are KPI’d is in maintaining retention of your accounts – basically keeping clients happy 😉

CRITICAL TEAM MEMBER #2:  Your Facebook Ads Specialist

While you would think this role is one of the most critical and important ones in your business,and it’s usually the first role most people hire for – the reality is that your FB marketer is usually the LAST person you would hire internally, simply as – with the right processes in place – it’s relatively easy to outsource this role.

Typically you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who is an expert at the tactical side as well as on the creative side (copy etc),especially if you are recruiting internally.

CRITICAL TEAM MEMBER #3:  Your Funnel/Integrations Specialist

With the exception of brand awareness type campaigns, success on Facebook will generally always involve funnels and integrations.  You know the stuff:

• connecting lead ads to client’s CRM
• ensuring SMS notifications are triggered
• ensuring landing pages convert where they need to
• and so much more!

This role is a pretty key role in your FB ads agency, if you can find one that already knows the FB ads side, even better but they are normally freelancers themselves doing their own thing (and can therefore be difficult to hire internally).

CRITICAL TEAM MEMBER #4:  Your Operations Manager

The glue that holds the team together.  Your Operations Manager will typically be the last hire (until you bring on a CEO or Managing Director to complete replace yourself if that’s what you’re after) and is what we free your time from your business!

Some of the tasks include:

• managing the team
• ensuring KPI’s are being met and targets are on track
• building processes to support the team and client results

CRITICAL TEAM MEMBER #5:  Your Content Marketer

Adding text to videos, gifs, and graphic images usually requires someone adept in the Adobe Suite or other program.  If you’re lucky enough your FB Specialist will have this creative and copy skills, but don’t count on it (typically, FB Marketers that are great at the data and analytics side aren’t so flash on the copy/creative side).

Your Content Marketer pulls together visuals and copy based on the client’s branding and assists in the ads and funnel builds.

_____

With the above team structure, you should easily be able to hit $100,000/mth in revenues (NOTE: this assumes you hired the right people and that they are all preforming well).

Check out the live training I ran on how to bring in that much revenue into your agency – click here: https://www.facebook.com/socialuplab/videos/1722795361064407/

Ad fatigue usually takes on the same symptoms as normal FB ad inflation costs, but whilst the latter is uncontrollable and unpreventable in many ways, FB marketers have a few key tactics up their sleeves when it comes to ad fatigue.

WHAT’S AD FATIGUE

Ad fatigue is quite simply an audience becoming blasé or “immune” to your creative and funnel. Meaning the audience has seen the ads so many times that it starts to lose its efficiency.

In the marketing world – they call this “billboard blindness” – and on FB – where users have complete control over what they choose to pay attention to  –   the effect is even more prominent than what you might see in the traditional marketing realm.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

It can be very easy to mistake ad fatigue with actual normal FB ad inflation costs (as more and more advertisers hit the platform, prices naturally go up).

The typical signs of ad fatigue include:

1. High CPMs – FB loves fresh content (makes sense as it’s main aim is to protect the user experience) and may try and stall you when your “stale” content starts to illicit negative feedback from your audience or result rates start to drop. One of the ways it does this is by increasing the CPM.

2. Stalled or lowered results – Where your campaign was crushing it for it’s first few months, results have seemingly started to come to a crawl and you’re still spending all your budget, but getting nowhere near the results you once were.

3. High negative feedback – Showing the same ad to the same person repetitively (that is NOT a warm audience) will likely result in people hiding or blocking your content.  Facebook is extremely sensitive to this type of feedback, and usually – if your ads are not balanced out with positive feedback, this will ultimately affect your ad account (you might have problems getting ads approved etc).  if you once had low to medium negative feedback, but suddenly have high negative feedback – it’s a telltale sign of ad fatigue.

4. High frequency – You – generally speaking – want to keep frequency at the top of funnel down to around 1-2.  In the bottom or end of your funnel – high frequencies are ok (and in fact, often work best).

How Can You Fix It?

So, there are a number of tactics that you have in your sleeve as a FB marketer. I’ve listed these out in order of “easiest” to implement, to slightly more “pain in the ass”… if you can get away with the former, all the better – but bear in mind you might need to go all in!

1. Exclusions – make sure you have ROBUST exclusions at the ad set level for your top of funnel campaigns.  Typically, you’ll want to exclude a custom audience of anyone that engaged with ads or posts in the last 365, and also exclude all those that already took the action required (such as made a purchase, or booked a call etc).  This will ensure FB can ONLY show you top of funnel ads to fresh eyeballs.

2. Rest your audiences/creative – Setting ad sets up for lifetime budgets and allowing ad sets targeting different audiences to “tag team” each other (ie: one is live, whilst the other is “resting”) is an advanced strategy (shared by Tom Hiscocks) to preventing abuse of audiences.

You can also try “dayparting” – running your ads at various times of the day.  So you’d have one ad set with one creative running from Monday-Wednesday (for example) and another ad set with a different creative running from Thursday-Sunday.

3. Two week refresh – Facebook recommends refreshing creative every two weeks!  I know, I know.  The last thing you want to hear as a busy FB marketer trying to juggle everything else on your plate.  But if your client is dealing with small localised audiences (ex: 40,000 people), frequent creative refreshes will ensure that audiences aren’t exposed to the same thing over and over again.

4. Different funnel – A last resort, when you have tried out the above two options without any luck – and ESPECIALLY if you are dealing with a small top of funnel (cold) audience), it may be time to test out a totally different funnel.  For example, if you were giving a free trial before, come in from a different angle – such as gamification.

Short of all of the above working, and depending on the timeframe from when you were first getting great results to it starting to dwindle, you may need to consider that the normal FB inflation effect is what is causing lowered and more expensive results.  A year or two ago – we used to be able to easily acquire webinar leads for clients for as little as $5.  These days, the average cost of a webinar registration is about $10-$15!  Facebook ads will continue to rise in prices and little can be done here except adopting a constant creative testing loop.

Think you may have ad fatigue? Tell me in the comments below…

NEED DIRECT HELP?  JOIN ME AND MY TEAM INSIDE FATC