(if interested in a custom Facebook page for your business, skip to the very bottom for samples)

Jim Ziegler recently posted a link to an article on his Facebook page by Command Partners titled "Why 99.5% of Social Media Gurus are Clowns." I couldn’t agree more and the article got me to thinking, Am I a Clown or a Guru? Every time I turn around someone is jumping on the bandwagon making the claim to be the best, brightest, smartest social media marketer, online reputation management master. From stay at home moms to out of work sales guys, everyone is a Social Media Guru or Clown depending on your viewpoint. So, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and see what Facebook could do for me. 

Now, how many of these gurus do you think have ever spent $1 of their own money on Social Media? My guess, zero dollars for most. They spend client money. They read articles, reports, and stats but never put a dime of their own money in to test this vast new media. So, over the past 6 weeks, I have not only spent my clients money but over $2000 on Facebook ads for my company to test and learn what works, what doesn’t and why.

I don’t care if you call yourself a Social Media Guru, if you don’t know or understand other forms of media, your knowledge is worth very little and you qualify as a Clown. It’s only in the context of all other forms of marketing such as direct mail, television, radio, print, cpc, display, outdoor, etc that you can comprehend the value of social media. If you’ve never placed an ad buy, if you’ve never had a campaign win big or fail miserably, how can you know what works and what does not? I’ve been at this media thing since I was 18 years old, half my life. I’ve got a good feel for what works, what doesn’t and I understand the context of social media relative to other forms of marketing. If you don't have that experience, you've got a lot to learn. 

So, let’s get real, people. Facebook has a pathetic CTR. That’s Click Through Rate for you guru posers. It’s hovering around .02% from my own experience. So, where is the value? Why is the media so valuable in your mind? Formulate an argument and let me know... here's my own. 

The only thing that will make FB or any other SM site extremely valuable is if you can amass a fan base so large that you can eventually market to them free. But how do you get that fan base? Leave that to the experts like me – who know how to drive traffic. Social Media Guru… come on. Car dealers want traffic. 

Over the past six weeks, I went on a "Fanpaign" and I generated 520+ likes to my own fan page at Facebook.com/ShippMedia. I have rarely advertised my firm to the broader public because I am not business to consumer but narrowly focused on businesses. So, for a company not widely known in my local region to get 520+ fans in a few weeks is not bad. In some of my ads, I used well-known local people to generate interest and establish credibility - even included a car dealer people around here know. Perhaps customer testimonials would make good ads for you.

520 fans are so valuable because when I place ads on Facebook I have the option to advertise only to “Friends of the fans of ShippMedia.com” In other words, I can serve ads to those who are only removed by one friend and they know when they see my ads that their friends like my page. It’s word of mouth on steroids - in this case 201,920 people will have an opportunity to be served my ads. The more fans I get, the more that number increases and exponentially multiplies. 

But does it really sell cars? I really can’t say "yes" just yet. But you can't say that about most advertising. Most advertising keeps your name in front of the public and should eventually reap rewards. What I can definitely conclude is if you get a mountain of fans, thousands upon thousands and you can post cars right into their Facebook stream free, now you’re getting somewhere.  

Your TV, Radio, Print, and billboard ads will cost you money no matter what. But your Facebook ads will cost nothing unless clicked. Your other forms of media won’t allow two way communication with your “fans” but Facebook will. I am covering an entire Nielsen Shreveport/Texarkana DMA market size 80 ish with $1800 for myself to basically own FB in this market. Cheap. Can you own local TV or radio for 100 miles with $1800? Not a chance.  

Guru gut check: If you don’t know what DMA is, find another line of work.

I have served up 24,010,381 impressions over the last few weeks on Facebook with all clients and me combined. My campaigns have produced 6225 clicks, 619 new likes and a poor .026% CTR but here’s the kicker, only .37 CPM.

Guru gut check: Do you know what CPM means? Is 37 cents a good CPM or bad? It means Cost Per Thousand – a standard advertising metric and it’s cheap as dirt. You qualify as a Clown if you don't know this basic term. 

If you want someone to help you who gets what you’re really looking for – more traffic and sales, call me.  In fact, call me 1-866-99-SHIPP for any marketing. Not a clown, promise. 

Below are some custom pages we've created for dealers. 

See lives samples at these links:

Orr Kia Facebook Page - launched three weeks ago

Toyota of Longview Facebook Page - redesigned and now marketing page for this dealer

Orr Auto Smart Facebook Page - just launched no fans, no marketed 

Shipp Media Facebook Page - launched in May

Tags:

ShippMedia.com, Shipp Marketing & Meida, Chad Shipp, Facebook pages, Facebook ads, automotive dealer facebook, car dealer facebook, shipp media reviews, car dealer direct mail, car advertising