by Katie L | Mar 7, 2019 | Business Essentials, Facebook, Marketing
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been blogging about Facebook Ads. Each day, the average Facebook user spends 35 minutes on the platform. So how can the average mom and pop shop leverage this? While posting regularly is crucial, utilizing Facebook ads can also get more customers through your doors. Since we’ve already cover the why (why you should use FB ads) and the how (how to actually create the ad). Today, we will touch on what your ad should contain. While there is so, so much that can be written on this topic, we know that busy entrepreneurs are looking for the Cliff’s Notes version, so here it is.
Here are four key components to what your Facebook Ad should include:
- Relevancy: Relevancy means that you have targeted the right people with your ad. You want to target your ad to your “ideal customer”. If you don’t know who your ideal customer is, this article is a great place to start. For instance, you probably aren’t going to advertise an upcoming ballet performance to men interested in monster trucks. It’s not to say someone can’t like both, but you will probably be wasting your advertising dollars. Take some time to think about who your target audience is and then utilize this audience on Facebook. You want your ad for your product to be relevant to the people who will see it (hence the name relevancy). In fact, Facebook gives you a relevancy score. So, think about your ideal customer and target your ad to that person. The great thing about FB is that you can see how your ad performed and then adjust your audience accordingly the next time around.
- Appearance: Visually appealing Facebook Ads get more clicks (because who wants a closer look at something that is ugly?). There are several free options to create great looking ads. Canva is one of our favorites. If you are in need of photos, Unsplash is another great (and free) resource. There are several resources available to create great looking ads with little time or money. Since, appealing ads are more likely to be shared and remembered, it’s important to make sure you don’t skip this step. Looking for some tips to create great looking ads? You can find some here.
- Value Proposition: What exactly are you offering and why should someone buy it/learn more/set foot in your store? Basically, if someone is your ideal customer why should he or she buy from you and not your competitor? For instance, you may not own the biggest home improvement store in town, but you may own the most helpful. Your value proposition could be something like this, “Home improvement products without the headaches,” “Personalized service for your Saturday project,” or in the words of Ace Hardware “The Helpful Place”. If I’ve got a complicated project, I don’t want to be scouring a big box store for the right size bolt. I want to be able to ask someone (or even call ahead) and have the part I need within minutes. If that’s your competitive edge, then let your potential customers know it.
- Call to Action: What action should an interested person take? Should they contact you, visit your website, message you for more information? Your call to action will vary based on your business. Taking the hardware example from above, you could either use “learn more” to drive traffic to your website, or even “contact us” to get your project started. Whatever you do, don’t forget the CTA. A call to action motivates a person to take action and gives specific steps on what action to take.
There you have it. Four items every Facebook ad should have. While it may seem a bit daunting for a busy entrepreneur, taking time to implement these four items will ensure that your advertising, both online and offline, gives you the best return on investment.
by Katie L | Mar 1, 2019 | Business Essentials, Web Design
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been working with some clients to spice up their resumes. That got us thinking. When an employer looks at resumes, what causes one go into the yes pile, while others go into the no? In order to answer this question, we did a little research and reached out to employers from South Dakota, to Minnesota, to Ohio. These employers gave some general advice, and some advice specifically for ministry related jobs. Here’s what they said below:
CONTENT:
- Highlight what you’ve done. Don’t just regurgitate your job description. How have you excelled at it? Maybe you’ve found a way for your organization to save money by switching suppliers. Say that. Don’t just put, “Ordered supplies,” but rather, “Saved the organization 20% on paper by switching to Dunder Mifflin.” If you were a employer, who would you want to hire?
- While education is important, people care a lot more about what you’ve done than what you’ve learned. Unless you have little to no work experience, keep your degrees for the end of your resume. Employers across the board wanted to know what you would do in the position, how you will advance the organization, not just what you’ve learned. Show them what you’ve done in your past or current positions so they know that you will do great things for them in the future.
- Follow the application instructions and if possible, go above and beyond. One employer specifically mentioned a major job posting site. Candidates have the opportunity to fill out a profile and upload their resume as a PDF. However, some seekers simply used a cut and paste feature and put their resume info into a box instead of uploading it. This meant that the employer had to format resumes, which didn’t always happen. Follow the directions thoroughly.
- When in doubt (or if not otherwise noted), use a PDF format! Not every computer has Microsoft Word and not everyone uses Google Docs. PDF is a universal format that all computers can read. Neglecting to do this may mean that your resume doesn’t get seen.
- Longevity and stats do matter (even in the ministry). Jumping jobs year after year, or simply completing your job’s minimum requirements doesn’t make you stand out as a candidate. If you want your dream job, you’ve got to put in the time and the work.
- Use action verbs. Did you write a policy or did you spearhead the creation and implementation of it? One sounds a lot stronger than the other. Of course, be honest. However, through our research we found that people went one of two ways. Either they embellished their accomplishments with action verbs, or they didn’t give themselves enough credit. Take an honest look at what you did and use words that match that. By the way, here’s a great list of verbs to get you started.
- And finally… it’s probably a good idea to make changes to your resume for each job you are applying for. Canvassing employers with a generic resume will probably land yours in the trash.
DESIGN
- Use PDF if no other format is specified. (Do you see a theme here?)
- Consider sticking to black and white. While color can give it a nice pop (and is expected in some fields), some employers print resumes. Churches are especially known to do this since they are often distributing resumes to several committee members. Chances are, they aren’t going to print it in color. Black and white (or grayscale) is always a safe bet.
- Proofread, proofread, proofread. You may have an employer who doesn’t care if you have a typo, but do you really want to chance it?
- Keep it clean, use easy to read fonts and do not make your font so small that someone can’t read it. (We’ve all been tempted to do this so that we can fit as much as possible in thanks to our last piece of advice).
- Last, stick to two pages. Your resume shouldn’t be more than two pages long. That means you may have to condense or cut things, but if you were looking at 20-30 resumes at a time, you probably aren’t going to flip through ten pages.
Hopefully, our research will give you a leg up on your job hunt and help you get an interview. Here’s to landing your dream job!
Do you have any job hunting tips? We’d love to hear them! Comment below to share.
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