Play to the Platform

No matter which advertising platform you choose — whether Google, Facebook, or some other — you need to understand how each platform wants advertisers to engage with its users.

They want you to play by their rules, and speak to their users in a way that is congruent with the experience and expectations of the platform.

To illustrate this, consider that Google exists primarily to match search terms to relevant content. We use it whenever we have questions we don’t know the answer to. To give Google what it wants, we need to make sure our content is answering these questions, appearing in the most appropriate searches, and that the experience is a net positive for the person consuming our content.

This is why Google openly opposes the traditional “squeeze page” model. These types of pages are usually thin on quality information and Google considers that to be a barrier between a user’s question and a useful answer. It doesn’t matter if the answer is the best in the world, 100% accurate, and beautifully designed — if that answer is hidden behind an opt-in, Google is against it.

Why? 

Because it undermines the entire point of what Google was made for: ask a question, get an immediate answer.

Note: When it comes to Google (or any search engine), specificity matters as well — to the point that their platform doesn’t operate a purely cost-based advertising auction. Instead, Google analyzes your content algorithmically and then applies a quality score which affects where your ad ranks and the cost to advertise through their service. Most of the factors they analyze for are about relevance and user experience.

When choosing keyword phrases for search advertising on any platform, we need to ask ourselves: “Is my business (or offer, or service) highly relevant for this search?” If the answer is “not really” or “I’m not sure” then we need to reconsider advertising for that term, at least until we’ve exhausted all search phrases that elicit an immediate “yes” to that question.

Conversely, Facebook wasn’t originally designed with marketing or commerce in mind — it is a social platform. When we advertise on Facebook, our ads appear alongside posts from the friends and family of our audience, as well as any specific interests that user may be following, and ads based on those interests.

The primary purpose of Facebook has changed a number of times in its evolution. Originally, the platform (when it was called Facemash) was designed to rate the attractiveness of one’s classmates. When it gained in popularity, the platform was renamed to “The Facebook” and the purpose shifted from rating people to connecting with people.

As it continued to grow, that purpose slowly shifted again, this time catering to advertisers who wanted more access to this growing audience.

Today, the primary purpose of Facebook is entertainment. The whole point is to keep users in the ecosystem through attention-grabbing content.

Knowing that, we can safely say that effective advertising on Facebook requires us to think in terms of edutainment — meaning, entertainment that also educates. Instead of the traditional “buy now” style of advertising, we want to shift into creating ads that are interesting to our audience.

We avoid overly direct language and big promises. Instead, we present the audience with a perspective they may not have considered yet.

To us Wabbits, the best approaches to Facebook ads are those which change perspectives by demonstrating a new way to think about something the prospect is already thinking about — or providing expert insight, or commentary. This is a favorite because of how much more likely it is that the ad will be shared.

When you can give someone a flash of insight, they are much more likely to spread your message around by sharing it within their network — especially if the act of sharing will make that person seem more intelligent and well informed within their peer group.

Thus, the single most important question to ask yourself when writing ads for a social platform is:

How likely is it that someone will share this ad?

Your final exercise for this series has two parts.

1. Identify 2-3 questions you’re well-qualified to answer (professionally). Or, a slightly different way to think about it, what are the 2-3 perfect questions you wished prospects would ask you? These questions should be the starting point of an effective paid search campaign. You may have to rephrase them to better match how prospects search — that’s OK. What matters is that you’re thinking in terms of questions and answers because that’s how search works.
   
2. Take the Facebook ad you wrote in “Work that Pays Dividends” and look at it through the lens of edutainment and shareable value. Start with these prompts:

• • Is it interesting to read?
  • Is it conversational?
  • Have you clearly articulated a few insights that are not the common, conventional wisdom for people interested in your expertise?
  • Does it intrigue the reader?
  • Is it authentic?
  • Is there an moment in it where the reader is given a flash of insight which shows a new (to them) perspective?

Pick 1-3 of these questions and look at your ad copy from those perspectives.

Lastly, I want to thank you for your time. You’ve taken in a lot of complex information, and it may take a while to digest everything.

From all of us Wabbits, we admire and appreciate you.

We are stronger together.