A lot of web designers and business owners aren’t quite sure what to make of Facebook advertising just yet. On the one hand, it’s incredibly targeted and relatively cost-efficient; and on the other, it doesn’t yet offer the same kind of scope and exposure as some of the more-established programs like Google ad words do.

As a result, a lot of people are deciding to jump in headfirst or avoid it altogether. Those might both be mistakes.

Here’s why: There is definitely an opportunity to grow your company by advertising on Facebook. But, until some of the more prevalent strategies have been tried and tested, it’s probably better to start slowly and build up your Facebook advertising campaign from there. And besides, there might be a more efficient use that lots of people are overlooking – using Facebook ads to test markets and messages.

The one thing Facebook advertising is great for, and the one true advantage it has over the pay per click systems offered by Google, Yahoo, and Bing, is that it allows you to locate a market not just by the keywords they have entered into a search box, but demographic information they have supplied about themselves.

That means you can target a specific offer to a specific group of people in a way that simply isn’t possible elsewhere. Want to know how men in their 20s respond to a special price? Put up an ad and you’ll know within a couple of weeks. Need to see whether the language you’re using resonates with seniors? Put it on a Facebook ad and find out.

The real value of this kind of testing isn’t just that it could be profitable, but also that the lessons you learn could help you tighten up your marketing and advertising in other areas, like print ads, the landing page copy on your product pages, or even your other pay per click ads. In other words, using your Facebook marketing in the right way could help make every other dollar you spend on marketing – online or off – earn a higher return.
Online marketing via Facebook advertising is still growing and taking shape, but if you are looking for a great way to use it, why not try testing different markets and messages and seeing where they take you?

If you follow news about online marketing and Internet business, then you probably already know a recently leaked memo from Groupon showed that the daily deal site has been losing money and subscribers. This revelation follows on the news that Facebook is canceling their daily deal service.

Given that this part of the Internet marketing industry was growing so quickly only a year ago, what happened? And what does it mean for your business?
Here are three quick insights you can take from the current problems daily deal sites are having:

Going cheap hurts you in the long run. Slashing prices is a great way to attract customers… but only for a little while. After that, one of two things typically tends to happen: Either buyers are drawn away by an even lower-priced vendor, or you find that you are slowly losing money on each transaction. Building a website for customers that want a combination of quality and value is a better – and more profitable – long-term strategy.

Too much competition ruins almost any business. When you have a small group of local specialty retailers, such as nail salons, for example, fighting over the same group of bargain-hunting customers, the inevitable result is that at least a few of them will lose out. Think carefully before launching a new business, or jumping into a new market, without analyzing the competition. The pool of buyers might be too shallow to support everyone.

People don’t like to be bombarded with messages. One of the biggest reasons cited for declining interest in daily deal sites is that too many people already get more e-mails than they can handle. The last thing they wanted was another item cluttering up their inbox, so once the novelty of a daily deal wore off, they stopped receiving the specials.

No matter how much money you can save them, people only want to hear from you so often. Remember that, and you’ll have a lot easier time remaining profitable in the future.

If you had to read that headline twice, or a few times, to make sense of it, I apologize. But, as subtle as it might seem, there’s a big difference between a “professional speaker” and a professional who just happens to be a speaker.

Let me explain: There are lots of men and women who can give a great presentation – one that’s fun and entertaining – but if you want real value for your money, and your audience’s time, then it pays to look for someone who is an expert in some area and has worked on their presentation skills, rather than the other way around. Why? Because to put it in the simplest and most unrefined terms, it’s fun to listen to a lot of great stories, jokes, and motivational material, but at the end of the day a keynote presentation that’s made entirely of “fluff” doesn’t do much for you or your audience.

Likewise, there are thousands of experts across Canada who are filled with fascinating, insightful information. But, if they can’t present it in a way that’s interesting and compelling to your audience, then what have you really gained beyond a couple of hours of nodding off?

Since the long-term return on investment for vague happy feelings and naptime sessions is pretty close to nil, the key to finding an effective speaker is locating a man or woman who has a defined expertise in a particular area – like Internet marketing, or personnel management, for example – and has taken the time to make it relevant and interesting. Go without either of those ingredients, and especially the first one, and your speaking dollars will have ended up being wasted.

The question of whether you want a professional speaker or a speaking professional might seem trivial, but it’s probably the most important one when it comes to getting the presentation your group really wants and needs.

If you’re looking for a speaker that’s fun, humorous, and informative, look no further. David West speaks across Canada on business and technology topics. Contact us today to find out about his rates and availability.