If you own a business, then you definitely have an created and optimized your Facebook business page and run regular ads. Because if you’re not, you are definitely missing out on potential customers.
Pages tend to sponsor / boost their best offer, product or package that would grab attention & generate results.
Guess what! Well Facebook now lets you and basically everyone else spy on your competitor’s Facebook ads a page is running on Facebook. You can check all the running Facebook ads for any Facebook page.
How can you spy on the ads on your Competitors’ Facebook Pages in 1 Click & what can you learn:
All you have to do is open the Facebook Page, click on “Info & Ads” on the bottom left side of the page.
What this feature allows you to access:
- How many Facebook ads is a business currently running
- What the ads look like, text, content, image video, button, link…
- Where they are running ads, in which country.
What you can’t access:
- To whom is this ad targeting – audience profile
- The budget of the ads
- How long they has a certain ad been running
- The comments, reactions, and shares on the ads unless its a boosted ad.
Check how travel agencies in Lebanon are promoting their summer packages through Facebook ads and what can you, a travel agency owner learn from the below:
Running one ad in Lebanon showing multiple packages in one post. Packages are focusing on Turkey.
Suggestion for their ad manager: Feature each package alone. You can thank me later
Running 3 ads in Lebanon. A package focusing on Turkey as well.
Suggestion for their ad manager: It will cost you less to get likes by featuring one cheap packages then asking people to like your facebook page. You need a new designer.
Running 3 ads in Lebnaon. None focusing on Turkey. Packages focus on Rhodes, Limassol.
Suggestion for their ad manager: The ad in the image above is useless, it says stay tuned while everyone has almost booked his flights & why are you boosting a post without a link to your packages. The other ad has text that is cut…
This is the only travel agency with ads running outside Lebanon. Ads in Lebanon Honeymooners. None focusing on Turkey. Ads use albums with a number of photos per country.
Suggestion for their ad manager: Unlike other agencies, you barely add any details about the packages, so call whoever is responsible for the website & tell them it takes forever to load.
This is the number one agency in terms of number of ads running. Packages cover Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Paris.. Each ad uses one picture.
Suggestion for their ad manager: decrease the amount of text in the ad (the contact numbers)
Not promoting or sponsoring any packages, at least right now. However their Facebook page is pretty interesting. They are the first agency among the above mentioned to use videos instead of images.
Suggestion for their ad manager: PROMOTE YOUR VIDEO! Super cheap to do so, if done right you’ll get great results.
So if you are a travel agency based in lebanon, you should be doing the research i just did and then you’d notice your competitors are advertising packages for Turkey Mainly, Greece, & Cyprus.
A package that is costing less as little as 250$ to a range of 600$ is the most successful. Add the price on the image, add all the details in the description as most of the comments are asking for different days, Id suggest adding 3 packages same country longer days, & advertising the lowest price.
Use a lovely picture. If you have the right tools & you are a small agency go for a video, it will cost very little to reach out to users & is great for brand awareness.
The above study and analysis can be applied to any industry in any country. It will provide you with great insights to get ahead of competition.
Ready to upgrade your Instagram account? Instagram Stories Highlights covers is the perfect way to create an attractive layout, make your Instagram Stories stand out & helps build your brand on Instagram.
Regular Instagram stories disappear 24 hours after being posted while highlights are saved to custom categories on your Instagram account. The highlights never disappear and will be remain until you delete them.
The stories highlights section is a great feature to share information about you or your brand right below the bio section. So, it is definitely one of the main things a user notices when landing on your Instagram account.
Below are 3 steps to create attractive Instagram Stories Highlights Covers that capture people’s attention:
1- This feature allows you to save your most important content from stories into groups. You can group the stories based on topic, category, type or anything relevant to your account business. So your first step, is to decide the categories; how to group your stories.
2- You need to think about the design which includes the icons & colors or background image. The size of the stories highlights covers is “1080 x 1920”. Choose a title or icon for each.
3- Open Instagram, turn on stories archive. Post the images as part of your Instagram Stories. The covers in stories must be active in your Instagram Stories for a full 24 hours so don’t and delete them. After you’ve added your cover into your Instagram Stories, select the ‘Highlights’ heart icon on the bottom right to add your cover to an existing Instagram Stories Highlight, or create a new Instagram Stories Highlight.
Make sure to use the right hashtags as well! So if you want to show off your products, drive more traffic to your website, and make more sales, creating Instagram stories highlights is a must!
It’s so frustrating when you have to search the web for products featured on your favorite influencers or brands’ stories. Guess what, you will no longer have to do so!
Shoppable posts, the long awaited feature expanded to stories to help businesses sell their products on Instagram
Instagram announced in a press statement that selected brands like Adidas and Louis Vuitton will now be able to use the new shopping tags feature in Instagram Stories – Yes, shopping on Instagram is expanding beyond feed & becoming easier.
Instagram has been testing Shopping Tags since 2016 with certain partners in the US, as more than 300 million users are using Instagram Stories everyday.
Shopping tags includes a shopping bag icon will added on items in stories, Instagram users can click on the icon to view full details on the product & directly buy the item without having to leave Instagram.
However, the shoppable posts feature in both feed and stories sections is not yet available for countries in the Middle East. Its a very exciting opportunity for online businesses to grow in the Middle East especially those that solely rely on Instagram.
Once the shopping tags feature is enabled in your country, Lebanon, UAE, Saudi…, you will have to follow couple steps such as having a business acount, and a Facebook catalogue & receive the approval from Facebook prior to selling your products.
If you want to stay up to date about Instagram shoppable posts in the Middle East, Join my Newsletter & Facebook Group to receive social media news to grow your business & develop your skills
Instagram has recently changed its algorithm, and has been been releasing updates that made it harder for brands to generate engagement and reach.
These changes will help decrease spam and irrelevant content of certain Instagram accounts. If you manage an Instagram account, you would know that using the right hashtags can extend the reach of your posts which results in more followers, visibility and interaction.
Hashtags are placed either in captions or in comments. However, some users have been placing hashtags in comments to manipulate the system.
Testing different tactics is a strategy to success, but what works for a beauty brand might generate different results when managing an Instagram business account in the health industry.
If you are an active user on Instagram, you will notice a trend of adding hashtags in the comments section. This was considered a tactic to outsmart the Instagram algorithm & keeps the caption section looking nice and clean.
So, should you be applying this & add hashtags in the comments or stick to captions?
When it comes to working in digital marketing & social media, testing & evaluating results is the best strategy to understand the right tactic that works for you.
Below is some feedback from users who tested & analyzed placing Instagram hashtags in the caption and compared the performance to posts with hashtags in comments.
- Some users reported no different in engagement
- Some users reported better engagement when having hashtags in comments while others said the opposite.
- Some users reported received more engagement in the caption, but said it looks way too messy so kept using hashtags in the comments.
- Some users suggested adding 5 to 6 dots or 8 space distance then the hashtags and using the captions section.
Another study analyzed for a 30-day period, 51 posts with hashtags in the comments, in comparison to 66 posts with hashtags in the post caption. Each post in this study included 30 hashtags.
Posts with Hashtags in the Captions:
- 60.64 Average Likes per Post
- 2.84 Average Comments per Post
- 2.72 Average Profile Visits per Post
- 66 Average Reach per Post
Posts with Hashtags in Comments:
- 55.21 Average Likes per Post
- 3.39 Average Comments per Post
- 2.88 Average Profile Visits per Post
- 51 Average Reach per Post
So, if you are still wondering whether to add Instagram hashtags in the comments or the caption section. The answer simply is that there is no winning tactic here. But one important thing to highlight that some users noticed their account got shadowbanned when placing hashtags in the comments or revive old Instagram posts by editing & changing hashtags used in captions.
So if you are having an engagement issue then your account might be shadow-banned by Instagram.
Do I Really Need a Website for my NGO?
YESSS! Absolutely
You work so much for your cause — Doing good & supporting your community. Now it’s time to spread the word and share what you do.
A well-built website can:
- Grow impact, and increase awareness about the cause & NGO
- Increase number of visitors to the NGO’s website
- Get easier access to stories & facts that people can connect and engage with.
- Convert your website visitors to members or donors.
- Ensure your website meets your target market needs: users looking for support, members, volunteers & donors.
- Trust & reputation building: showcase projects, share accomplishments & activities, transparency & disclosure.
Users will visit your NGO’s website because they want to:
- know your core mission & values
- network with like-minded individuals
- access specialized educational resources
- instantly join & become members
- donate / support
- see an engaged community
- volunteer / provide free service
- know where their donations are going
- receive updates about projects & activities
Here are 3 things to consider when building your NGO’s first website
1- NGO Website Design
WHY IT MATTERS: The right design elements help engage website visitors. The website design is the first impression & one of the first aspects a website visitor will notice and remember. It takes 50 milliseconds for a visitor to form an impression of your entire website.
WHY IT INCLUDES: typography, colors, images, and other branding details
DESIGN CHECKLIST:
- Simple easy-to-read layout
- Welcoming design, friendly visual content
- High-quality images – avoid blurry/pixelated pictures
- Simple, readable font that contrast with background
- Consistent branding, a great recognizable logo
- Search functionality that is easy to find
- Big clear call to action button: Donate, Volunteer, Join
- Content that motivates & engages users to take action
- Responsive website to supports all devices
2- NGO Website Content/Pages
WHY IT MATTERS: The right pages will attract members & donors. 74% of visitors feel disappointed when the content of web pages are outdated or don’t reflect their interests — unfortunately a bad experience means that a website visitor will leave and won’t come back.
WHY IT INCLUDES: features that a page should include and the of content created in each that users want.
PAGES CHECKLIST
- A page showcasing current & upcoming events
- A page including members & participants testimonials
- A page that provides news / blog
- A page that includes industry reports / valuable content
- A page that includes an online form for new members
- A page for members-only
- A section featuring donation / online payment feature.
- A page that provides a “snapshot” of key financial info.
- A page that provides all contact information
- A page that provides all info about mission & vision
- A homepage that shows a summary & a clear CTA
3- NGO Website Optimization & Features
WHY IT MATTERS: Optimization attracts visitors, coverts visitors to become members & supporters, and increases overall engagement with your organizations activities and website.
WHY IT INCLUDES: tactics that increases the effectiveness of a website.
OPTIMIZATION CHECKLIST:
- Make sure your website is mobile friendly
- Add a personalized touch to all communication
- Add popups for users who spend time reading your content
- Perform A/B testing
- Clear resources: tools, information, assistance, direction
- Add an analytics code, and the Facebook pixel.
- Identify keywords to rank for. Apply SEO strategies.
- Test different content, collect emails & send newsletters.
- Create relevant content to fit goals, audience & tone.
- Train your staff to update your website.
Remember these website requirements are general. You can always optimize further your NGO’s website depending on the nature of its work. An NGO website for AI or STEM education will certainly differ than that for human rights!