(Newswire.net — December 3, 2018) — Steve and Evan Tan know a little about Facebook.
They’ve worked together for a long time—as brothers, they’re used to each other’s style. They’ve seen the ups and the downs of ecommerce, advertising and business together. Now they’re sharing their expertise with others.
And it starts with Facebook.
In 2008, before many saw the potential of Facebook advertising, Steve was already on board. Before many of the tools that advertisers take for granted now had even been invented, the Tans were finding ways to make Facebook’s unique reach work for them.
Since then, they’ve started a 50,000-member group called eCommerce Elites Mastermind devoted to sharing and comparing notes on marketing and ecommerce. I decided to reach out and find out where they thought Facebook ads were headed in the years to come.
“We make a business out of knowing what’s coming up,” says Evan of their early adoption. “That’s why we jumped on the Facebook train so early. Good marketers go where the people are. It’s a more mature platform now, but the potential was always there.”
Motivations stay the same, but techniques change. Steve and Evan think these hacks will stand even as the industry continues to evolve, though. Here’s what you need to know for the future of Facebook.
1) Retargeting Is King
Retargeting, or the practice of showing your advertising to your potential customers again, is a key tactic. It takes seven to thirteen touches to turn someone from a casual passerby to a qualified sales lead. Retargeting helps with that.
Users really aren’t nearly as bothered by it as you might think, either.
A Leadpages survey noted that people were generally receptive, and the numbers went up when the marketing was more subtle and less overt about targeting their interests.
“We’ve had great success with retargeting campaigns, both for ourselves and for others. It’s one of the biggest tactics we see making waves in the eCommerce Elites group, and I think that’s going to continue,” says Steve.
2) Lookalike Audiences
After retargeting, Facebook lets you take an already-existing audience and find others who share similar characteristics. They call this feature “lookalike audiences.”
“I like using Lookalike Audiences when we’re trying to spread our net a little wider, especially with something that has a fairly specific customer profile,” says Evan. “It lets us reach a group of people that’s probably interested, but that might never otherwise see what we have to offer. I think this one’s going to stick around.”
3) Reciprocity
“This isn’t just for Facebook—it’s a well-known principle of persuasion,” says Steve. “You give something to someone, they like you better. Be the first to give. Let it be surprising, too. Free giveaways, resources, anything like that.”
The important thing for invoking reciprocity is that it has to provide real value to the person on the other end. If you give them something that has real value, you’ll get them to pay more attention to what you have to say in the future.
It should be a win-win.
4) Ride the Wave
Remember Beanie Babies? Furbies? Pogs? There used to be fads with long lifecycles that could drive several sales cycles. That’s not the case any more.
“When you find something that’s doing well, put your resources into it immediately”, says Evan.
“The turnaround from the crest of the wave to the bottom is so fast these days, so you really have to be ready to leap before it ends. I think that cycle is only going to get shorter, so you have to capitalize on it while it’s there.”
Jump on things while they’re hot.
5) Use Scarcity
When you know you have less chances at something, you’re more likely to buy instead of putting it off to think about it and maybe reconsidering. Scarcity is a well-known principle of selling—remember all the “buy now” and “supplies limited” and “act fast” you’ve seen from regular advertising?
Nintendo has been known for this tactic for years now, with the most egregious example being the Wii in 2007. Even though in recent years they say the shortages have not been intentional, there’s still a buzz around their releases: either you buy your SNES Classic when it comes out, or you might not get it at all—or get it far later.
“Make people curious and force them to take action while they’re thinking about it. Don’t let it slip their minds,” says Steve. Use time limits and scarcity in your advertising to drive people’s interest—it’s a time-honored tactic that will stand the test of time.
6) Use Emotion
Emotion draws us in, making us more willing to listen to the message that’s being presented. People like people, as a general principle. “We try to use images that reach beyond just cold logic to people’s underlying feelings,” Steve notes.
“Faces often get better results than regular pictures.” Facebook ads and promoted posts have a fair bit of real estate that you can use to show people’s faces and present your message the way you want it to be crafted. Why not take advantage of that?
The Tan brothers so far have been ahead of the curve on the Facebook trend. With these hacks, you can be too. Make sure your Facebook advertising is up to snuff with these hacks and you’ll be well on your way to the same ecommerce success.