In 2014 Annual Conference, 2014 Conference - Monday

Nate_LongBy Kylee Pitts

Nate Long is a public relations PR master and has tons of knowledge on this topic. He is a strategic marketing consultant and owner of Nate Long Marketing. But, why
is Facebook marketing usually a terrible idea? And if you have the funds/budget should you do it anyway? My interest was piqued.

The Facebook world is a complicated one. And Facebook organics are at a low, with click farms in other countries at an all-time high. How true are your Facebook fans/followers to your company or brand? And if you are a nonprofit are your followers stewards to your cause? These are some of the questions Long asked attendees to think about.

Long showed us how Facebook reviews can sometimes be fake. Not only is he a consultant, but he also owns a wedding events/DJ company. After noticing a low rating and reaching out to whom he thought was an unsatisfied costumer, he found out about “Ghost Ratings.” Basically someone had hacked into this person’s Facebook account and completed the rating on their behalf.

Some big takeaways from this session:

• The first $100 spent on Facebook ads is spent on learning about your audience.

• Narrow your Facebook audience so that you can target the right people

• Utilize your employees.

• You should have social media policies in place for your employees.

• Organic Facebook reach is not for individual pages.

• No social media policy can cure stupid.

• In paying for social media reach, focus on ROI.

• Facebook is for social people, but not for brands unless they are paying to push content—it’s not a popularity contest.

• If you want real results on Facebook be prepared to spend the money.

• Facebook is a publisher, not a community

My biggest takeaway from Long is when he said “Do not let Facebook be your hub, use it to drive your audience to your own hub.” Basically saying that your website should be your hub and your Facebook page should drive people to your website.

 

n-longABOUT NATE LONG

Nate Long is a strategic marketing consultant who specializes in digital and social media marketing. He’s helped more than 100 businesses gain exposure, increase sales and build critical relationships with customers, while rebranding companies and their websites. He launched Nate Long Marketing in May 2013. Known to many by his Twitter handle @thePRguy, Long’s been included in the Top 100 Most Influential Tourism Professionals on Twitter and Destination Marketing Association International’s 30 Under 30 Awards.

While working for bio-tech startup Vascular Health Sciences, Long drove sales and grew brand awareness through dramatic social media growth and more than 1.4 million PR-related impressions. He pioneered VISIT FLORIDA’s consumer-targeted and B2B social media efforts and acted as a marketing consultant to VISIT FLORIDA’s nearly 12,000 industry partners, web affiliates and strategic alliances.

Long also owns Florida-based Amplify Entertainment, which received a 2012 and 2013 WeddingWire Bride’s Choice award, as well as a 2014 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice award in Tallahassee, while doubling growth three years in a row. The company was a finalist for an international EMMA for the innovative Hey DJ! Mobile Request System.

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