BP bids on “oil spill” related key words

You know it’s 2010 when after 50 days of spilling oil in the gulf, an oil company and starts placing ads on search engines to make sure you know what a good job they are doing handling the situation.

A quick search of terms such as “gulf oil spill” on any of the major search engines will turn up a paid advertisement from BP directing you to their oil spill response website.

Some additional digging around shows they are bidding on a variety of keywords relegated to the oil spill.  I can only imagine what sort of bill they are running up for paid search given that “oil spill” is now a top search phrase on all the major search sites.  That said, last week President Obama criticized BP for spending $50 million on TV ads while at the same time trying to limit their damages and liability in the Gulf Coast region.

Google AdWords Used for Real Time Damage Control

I’m sure the BP website has a lot of information about what they are trying to do.  And the point here is not to question those efforts, but really to look at how companies are responding to situations using the entire 2010 media trick bag.

On the BP website some of the things you will find include:

1. Twitter feeds with updates as they happen
2. A Facebook page link for BP
3. Links to their You Tube Channel
4. Photos they are sharing via Flickr
5. Various news stories that you can subscribe to via RSS feeds
6. Links to state specific spill websites (which BP manages)
7. Live video feeds
8. Opportunities to contact them and learn more

Remember How Facebook Helped Obama in 2008?

President Obama’s use of social media sites such as Facebook really helped create awareness and validity as to the power of today’s digital media.  And this disaster is proving, once again, that smart companies are using all of today’s opportunities to communicate in order to get their message out.

So no matter what you think of BP spending money on damage control, you have to admit they’ve done quite a good job in the online world with a well established plan.

It’s just too bad they don’t have their act together in the real world.

Business Pages for Facebook

One of the first things people ask me about these days when we talk about online marketing is Facebook.  They want to know if it’s really a tool for business and if anyone actually makes money from being there.  In short the answer is yet.

Now, if you are not currently on Facebook, you may not be aware that before you can get started on a page for your business, you must first create a Facebook page for yourself. When you create a personal page, it is important to remember that your business will be linked to the personal page.

Not quite what you might expect

This means that the personal page should be created with the image of your business in mind, and privacy settings should be carefully monitored to make sure that nothing is visible that you do not want to be seen. After all, a great picture of you and your friends at last year’s Halloween party might not be the image you want to project to customers!

How to Get Started

Once you have set up a Facebook page for yourself, you will be able to set up one for your business. You can load pictures such as an official logo or photos from recent publicity events as well as videos and other information. You can also begin to recruit fans and develop Facebook-specific marketing promotions or link the Facebook page to other social media tools such as Twitter or a blog.

A Word of Caution

Facebook is an easy to use, user-friendly interface, so once you get comfortable, you will be able to update and change your page whenever you have new products or promotions that you want to bring to the attention of your customers.

HOWEVER, with Facebook you are opening your business up to additional exposure and one to one interaction unlike any you may have seen before.  Be cautious to start slowly and learn the ropes before going crazy, because the last thing you want to do is annoy your current or potential customers into finding someone else.

Learn the ropes of social media slowly by listening, learning and interacting.  Add value when you can and look for opportunities to gently remind people of what you do.  Follow this advice and you’ll be off to the right start.

Reaching target audiences

One of the hardest parts of developing an advertising campaign is ensuring that it is seen by the right people – the ones who can turn into potential customers. The greatest ads in the world won’t do anything to generate business if the only people who see them are those who have no use for your products and services.

Facebook’s Advertising Platform

So what does this have to do with Facebook? Due to the nature of the information that people share on Facebook, you can display your advertisements to the exact demographic who is most likely to respond to them and become your newest customer.

For example, if you coordinate speed dating events and are looking for more potential attendees, you would want to put your ads where they could be seen by single people in your area. Since Facebook asks if members are married or not, their age, and where they live, you can display ads to single members who live within a certain radius of the event location and are in the target range of ages.

Or, if you have developed a product that would be appreciate by male sports fans between 18 and 35, you can put an ad on Facebook that will show up along the borders of their page during the almost one hour that the average Facebook user spends on the site.

Comparing Metrics

We suggest running a campaign on Facebook and comparing your metrics with those of ads on other networks such as Google, Yahoo and Bing.  Generally speaking you will probably find the number of clicks are less – but you should also find that the costs are much less to.  So you can usually get good “bang for your buck” so to speak.

And remember – at the end of the day it’s not about the amount of clicks.  What matters is the amount of visitors who convert – so keeping an eye on the conversions will better help you compare and contrast the effectiveness of advertising on Facebook

Too Much Information?

If you have a Facebook page but would rather have fun instead of running ads we can help.  Contact us today for more information on paid search marketing programs which will advertise your business on websites such as Facebook.

One of the best reasons to put your company on Facebook is that it offers unique opportunities to protect your brand, both on Facebook and on search engines such as Google. Often, people avoid bringing their businesses into online forum that they cannot control because they are afraid of the negative ramifications that may result.

Who controls your online brand?

The Internet is a very democratic place – with a few exceptions, anyone can put up a blog post, a video, a picture, or even a website about your company with or without your approval. However, if you set up an official company page on which you can control the content, the first thing that shows up when people search for your company name will be your page rather than someone else’s blog or a competitor bashing your products.

Why Facebook for Business?

With hundreds of millions of users, protecting your brand on Facebook is more than a good idea, it’s almost a necessity.

And now that Google and other popular search engines can access the information on Facebook pages, that brand protection goes beyond the social media or networking site and adds to your overall brand reputation on the Internet as a whole.

Protect Your Online Resume

When your Facebook page shows up on the first page of a search, it does so in addition to the company’s actual web site, giving the potential customer two opportunities to be directed to your company. It also pushes one more competitor off the page, allowing you to control that much more of the valuable real estate on Page 1.

Not just for kids anymore

Depending on what you have heard about Facebook and whether or not you are familiar with it, using it for business might sound like a crazy suggestion. However, no matter how much or how little you know about the biggest social networking site on the Internet, there are several reasons why you should learn more about how it can help your company:

-  Facebook is not a passing trend. There are over 400 million people around the world who are using Facebook. Can you afford to ignore this huge base of potential customers?

-  Brand protection. Establishing your company on Facebook will help to protect your brand, not only on that particular website but also on Google as well.

-  Reach more clients. Facebook offers a unique way to reach out to your customers and interact with them. The average Facebook user spends a little less than an hour a day perusing the website, offering you a great opportunity to reach out to them as customers.

-   SEO value. Facebook can also be used for search engine optimization, bringing more potential customers to your website regularly.

With all of these advantages, it’s hard to come up with any reason why you wouldn’t want to get your company on Facebook!  Visit our website for more information about social media consulting.