Tag: tools

7 Unusual Facebook Advertising Tools To Save Time And Get ROI on Ads

Post author By Jon Rognerud
Post date December 7, 2015

Whether you are a small business owner or an entrepreneur you must have used Facebook Ads.

…at least at some point, right?

If not – you really need to be considering FB advertising strategies and tools. Plus, the power of the pixel is here to stay. That’s true for many primary ad platforms (see upcoming posts).

It is one of the most cost-effective ways to bring laser targeted traffic to your website and offers, including apps and more.

However, we are not here to discuss the validity of Facebook advertising (but it’s obvious!).

We are here to find ways to streamline the process and make advertising quicker, easier, and more cost-effective.

Isn’t that about all we can ask out of life in general, let alone our advertising efforts?

The following are 7 Essential Tools Every Facebook Advertiser Needs To Try At Least Once.

Bonus Tool:

We really like the Facebook Video Ad Creator from Promo.com (Give it a try and start making engaging creatives that drive brand visibility and generate more clicks)

All these tools are designed to make your Facebook Ads experience more enjoyable and will help improve your overall return on investment!

1) Qwaya

Qwaya is one of the many paid tools on the market that have been designed to take your Facebook marketing campaigns to the next level.

A quick tour shows the depth of this power tool.

Qwaya was developed in my neighborhood country of Sweden, and is one of the best tools on the market if you are looking to scale up your current operation and also by automating the entire A/B testing routine, and advanced boolean logic.

One of the problems many marketers have faced with using Facebook’s Power Editor is its lacking ability to split test, and with efficient reporting.

With the use of Qwaya, you have the ability to test every imaginable aspect of a campaign.

In fact, it is very easy to lose several hours playing with this tool. You can mix the creatives, targeting, and imagery to find the absolute perfect ad …all automatically.

While Qwaya is highly powerful it does come with an equally powerful price tag. For an individual account, Qwaya will set you back $149 per month.

For a business to use Qwaya with up to five user accounts it is $249 per month at time of writing. In addition, Qwaya can be further customized to fit the needs of your agency.

This platform offers a generous 2-week trial period to give the system a good workout. But, this is not for beginners.

2) Ad Espresso

If you happen to be more of a visual marketer you will enjoy the set up and interaction with AdEspresso Facebook Ads Management.

It tries really hard to give the advertiser a good user experience that is not bogged down in trying to learn how to use the tool.

This would perhaps be my recommendation for users who are actually just starting out with Facebook Ads.

The interface and language is almost identical and it take very little time to get up and running with the tool.

With Ad Espresso’s platform, you can easily create multiple ads and see what they are going to look like in real time.

With Ad Espresso it only takes moments to have 4 separate ad groups with 64 different ads. Imagine trying to do all that manually! You would have ads floating in your head for the next week.

What makes Ad Espresso so user-friendly is its ability to give the user a full report on exactly what is working best and what elements would work better together.

By combing all this data is is very easy to create the super ad set.

Ad Espresso has a wide variety of pricing options starting at $49 and moving up to $299 per month.

This tool starts new users out with a 30-day free trial that offers full service. This can be a great place to start for you.

3) Ad Stage

Ad Stage is an excellent tool for advertisers who are looking to expand their horizons outside of Facebook. While Ad Stage offers excellent information for Facebook it can be used with multiple networks.

With just the simple inputting of accounts, you can have access to Bing Ads, Google Adwords, Twitter, and LinkedIn networks. This becomes a huge timesaver when everything you need is on one platform.

Ad Stage offers a unique feature of being able to target users by using both the “and” and “or” settings. (It’s not the only tool on the list, so read on)

For example, you can target users who follow the New York Giants and either Philadelphia Eagles or Pittsburg Steelers.

If those are not your teams, forgive the analogy! This can be a very popular tool for extreme targeting.

Ad Stage is available in three monthly plans starting at just $99 and will continue up to $399 per month.

The difference between the plans depends on the number of advertising accounts and the amount of ad spend on a monthly basis.

As with other tools, Ad Stage comes with a 14-day trial to evaluate the program.

4) Social Ads Tool

For those who run an online ad agency, Social Ads tool is one that should be investigated. This tool is designed for users who have a monthly ad spend of $10,000.

Unlike all of the other platforms on the market, Social Ads allows the user to create up to 5,000 ads in bulk quantity.

One of the best features of Social Ads is the page optimization function.

With this, a campaign is automatically created that will boost your most popular posts. This is an excellent way to make sure that your most popular content is always being shown to your audience.

While the price of Social Ads may make some individuals faint, it is important to remember that Social Ads is designed for large ad agencies who require a lot of advertising.

With that being said, service starts at $500 per month with a percentage of the advertising spend.

5) Facebook Ads Exclusion Targeting

One of the best in-house tools provided by Facebook for advertisers. This tool is designed to to help advertisers not target the same people more than once.

With this tool and functionality, you can also exclude specific audience members from new promotions in order to gain new leads.

This tool is designed to help reduce waste on ad spend and lower your cost per action or cost per click. There is no added cost to use the Facebook Ads Exclusion Targeting tool.

6) Facebook Ads Manager App & Power Editor

With the Facebook ads app, you will have the ability to revise ad budgets, edit existing ads, as well as track general ad performance.

“Power Editor is a tool designed for larger advertisers who need to create lots of ads at once and have precise control of their campaigns. To access Power Editor, you’ll need to go to www.facebook.com/ads/manage/powereditor in the Chrome browser on a desktop computer.”

One of the most powerful features of this app is the ability to create ads from previously published ads as well as photographs on your mobile device. The Power Editor is a must, but beginners should wait until comfortable with the ads manager.

7) Hootsuite Ads

One of the newer tools to the block is Hootsuite Ads which was just recently released from beta.

This tool is unique in the aspect that this tool will automatically create Facebook Ads based on your organic posts.

In addition, the tool will scan for the best amount to bid for as well as the best targeting.

This tool is designed to help beginners master the art of effectively advertising without having to do much work.

While the Facebook Power Editor is an incredible tool to get anyone started using Facebook Ads it becomes limited as you being to scale up (think big) your campaigns.

Check out a great power editor tutorial by the awesome (Twitter ID) Jon Loomer here.

The above tools are designed to help you effortlessly create more effective campaigns that are designed to increase your ROI.
FREE: Download the free Social Media Performance Handbook that will show you how to set up your social media campaigns in 7 simple steps. Includes 2 bonus strategies not found in this post.

Tags facebook ads, Social Media, tools

Categories
Content Marketing

13 Must-Have Resources To Curate Content Quickly For Your Content Marketing Launches

Post author By Jon Rognerud

Post date December 4, 2015

Content marketing is one of the most powerful techniques for garnering attention and attracting ‘hot’ leads, while you establish brand prominence and authority in your marketplace.

All this while you’re creating a lot of good will at the same time.

Yet, this cannot be done manually as some might assume.

Optimizing the processes is essential to ensure positive results continue to come in for a long time.

Content marketing is not all inclusive, however.

IDC talks about the different marketing mix, and what’s included in content marketing, and what’s not. A strategy needs to be built.

Types of marketing assets and differences as compared to ‘content marketing’:

Before launching a comprehensive content marketing campaign, it is essential to take a step back and find a collection of resources (tools) to maximize the process.

WARNING: Make sure to develop a content marketing strategy before playing with tools. It can be dangerous and addictive, and create more “busy work” than is actually valuable.

Here are 13 must-have resources (tools) according to experts in the industry who have been this for a number of years.

1) Feedly

Feedly is one of the more comprehensive tools on the market right now and a favorite among Internet marketers.

What does this tool do for the average user? It looks to pull as much content as possible which relates with blog content being put up by an Internet marketer.

This is a RSS Feed reader / aggregation tool – but is easy to use, and works perfectly for curation ideas and topics. (Read the “108 experts share favorite RSS tool”)

It is powerful as the sources it is able to engage are almost endless.

It would take a lifetime to go through the viable content being put up by this tool. It is truly remarkable to say the least.

2) Pinterest

Pinterest is a given among social media addicts.

It is as simple as this. Those who are not going on Pinterest when it comes to resources are missing out.

This is one of the most well-regarded tools in the world and it is free.

How could social media ever be a tool? Surely, this is a mistake, right?

Wrong!

It is not a mistake.

Pinterest is a powerful solution because people from all over one’s niche are going to be available to follow.

This alone leads to powerful ideas and content curation. It provides a whole new angle to look at.

3) Learnist

Premium educational content. Sounds fantastic doesn’t it? This is what industry leaders are able to serve on a silver platter for those who maximize the use of Learnist.

The name says it all about what this tool is going to provide. It engages the leaders in one’s niche with ease.

It helps ‘learn’ from them by showcasing the content they are putting up.

This is what content curation is all about at the end of the day. Being able to engage and learn the content inside and out before presenting it to the world.

It’s easy to set up ‘boards’ – and you can even use the Chrome Extension. (add-on)

4) iFlow

The next tool in the list would be iFlow. This is an exceptional tool in its own regard and should be appreciated for the value it brings to the process.

The ideas are always ‘flowing’ with this tool. It has some of the best filtering options one will find in the world of content curation tools.

The pinpoint accuracy is hard to deny and something any Internet marketer would enjoy and be able to benefit from.

5) Scoop.It

Want to scoop new content and be able to maximize its value?

Well, Scoop.it is the way to go without a doubt. This is almost a community of sorts with regards to content curators who are spreading information.

They will be able to tap into what you are presenting and vice versa.

The powerful spreading of knowledge leads to tremendous content curation across any niche.

It is something more and more Internet marketers are leaning towards because of how consistent the tool is and the value it brings to the process effective immediately. A ‘must-have’ with ease.

6) Storify

Storyboards are magical and this is what Storify relies upon. It is able to help build storyboards which are going to be the foundation of any well-run content marketing campaign.

What is the value of not having an all-encompassing plan with the curated content in hand?

With Storify, the tool is going to give the ability to engage the content being curated and help build it up to something that is going to convert.

It also helps find other content curators who are in the same boat and looking for a great fit with their own process.

7) ContentGems

200,000 RSS feeds. This is all that has to be said about the power of ContentGems and how wide-ranging it is.

This is quite a bit of content and something one will neve be able to get through in its entirely.

The gems are out there and this tool is going to find them for you.

It cuts the process into something that is quite manageable and easy on the mind without a doubt.

Imagine being able to gain access to all of this content and then searching through it with important keywords? Wouldn’t that be easy? Well, ContentGems gives you this ability. Yes, searching through 200,000 RSS feeds has never been easier.

8) Post Planner

Curating content is fine, but how is it going to be spread in order to engage the target audience? Postplanner to the rescue.

Isn’t that the goal in the end?

A content marketing campaign isn’t going to hold much leverage if it does not spread out and become the talk of the niche.

Well, if that is the aim, Post Planner is a must.

It is able to engage the content and set it up for FaceBook with ease. Post when the timings are best in your niche and watch as multiple posts go viral.

There is a science behind the process and this tool is able to unravel it for you and your niche.

9) Triberr

Tribes are divided based upon interests (niches) and enable you to gain access to some of the industry leaders in your particular tribe.

Triberr makes the process easier of being able to curate meaningful content.

These are some of the finest minds in the game and that is the type of content you will be able to get your hands on.

This is wonderful for those who need to be able to curate content that is substantial in its worth.

10) Curata

Curata curation software is a fantastic tool because it is going to take in a few keywords that you give it and build entire lists of content.

Yes, it is going to scour through the Internet and do the job for you.

The lists are not just tossed together, but meticulous with regards to quality control.

Only the best content is going to be put in front of you in relation to the keywords being given to Curata.

This is substantial for those who don’t wish to go through every blog in their niche in order to find a handful of articles.

11) Bundlr

It is one thing to find the content, but how are you going to organize all of it?

What if you have specific keywords, themes, and/or ideas that are going to be used to create content marketing campaigns? Bundlr can help.

If you have a lot of articles to work with, this is going to be challenging to say the least.

You have to use Bundlr in order to maximize the potential of this content. The tool is going to make it easier to save content and clip it into specific groups for later. It just organizes all of the content that is being curated and that matters a lot in the end.

12) Slideshare

The 12th tool in the list would have to be a famous one and an underappreciated option to say the least. Slideshare has a significant amount of content and is building its resources up by the day.

The best part about this tool would be its reliance on new information.

The content present on Slideshare is just not going to be found elsewhere.

It is always good to take a look at what it has to offer and then make a decision as to its ability to act as a great tool.

For most, it is downright awesome.

13) Trap.It

The final meaningful tool in this list would have to be ‘Trap.it‘. This is a powerful resource to say the least.

With a collection of 100,000 sources to tap into, Internet marketers are able to get their hands on real gems. Hard to find content is sometimes troubling when doing the searches manually.

This tool takes the stress out of the process as it automatically learns the requirements of the user. It begins to anticipate the market being targeted with the content and what is valued by the user. Imagine seeing a tool get smarter and smarter to a point where it knows what you want before anything is said?

This is what Trap.it provides. It is truly magical.

These are the 13 must-have tools for curating content in this day and age.

Those who are not making the most of these tools are not going to be able to build meaningful content marketing campaigns.

It is as simple as this.

The gap between competitors in the market is closing down and those who have the help of great tools can continue to push towards the top.

Those who refuse to do this will struggle. Maximize the help of these tools to ensure your campaigns are being in accordance with the standards set these days.

What tools did I miss?

What should I add to the list?

Please submit below:

Tags content marketing, curation, tools

Categories
Social Media

7 Critical Tools For Social Media Metrics Tracking and Management (#6 Is A Must)

Post author By Jon Rognerud

Post date November 19, 2015

There is no question about it, social media has become an integral part of your digital marketing strategy.

The success of your campaigns is more dependent on data and as a digital marketer you need to be able to identify the vital key metrics of your campaigns through social media analytical tools.

These tools help you to zero in on exactly what is work and what need to be improved upon.

While tools are only part of the play here, a more comprehensive strategy must be put in place to develop an approach to the top CMO expectations:

Take on top-line growth

Own the customer experience

Dig into data-based insights

Operate in real-time

Master metrics that matter

With any social media campaign, or marketing campaigns in general, you must also get answer to these critical business questions:

• What is our most cost-effective marketing channel?
• Which messages resonate best over Twitter (or your most topical social network)?
• What is the best channel for building awareness?
• What is the most efficient way to drive customer engagement? (Is it also the most effective?)
• Which campaign brought in the best return last year? Last quarter?
• How healthy is our brand? (reputation)
• What product or line of business drives the most brand value? (See 80/20 rule of business)

As you are well aware trying to keep up with the trends in social media can be a full-time job in itself. For your social media campaigns to be effective you need to be able to balance a combination of customer insight, entertainment, and timing. In short, you have to be an almost perfect human being, at the very least a really good digital marketer.

Since we are not all perfect, I have found some of the best social media tools that are going to help take your efforts to the next level. Without any particular order let’s begin!

1) Kissmetrics

Let’s start out by looking at one of the most popular analytical tools on the market, Kissmetrics. (Update Sept 2018 – domain was sold, try Tend.io instead! BTW, Ryan and team have top-notch support and very knowledgeable in this space!)

Kissmetrics keeps things easy to track all the visits on your website, as well as what they do and where they come from.

Through using this software, you have the ability to super focus in on what is exactly bringing visitors to your site and keep replicating it.

Unlike other analytical tools, Kissmetrics dives deep into the ROI of your account.

Some of the incredible features of Kissmetrics include reports of how many opt-in and outs, extensive A/B split test reports, as well as how people are behaving on your site.

Kissmetrics operates on a principle of volume as to cost. With the lowest of plans beginning at $200 and moving up the chain to $2000. Kissmetrics is the brain-child of super-entrepreneur Neil Patel and you can have the opportunity to try it free for 30 days.

2) Social Searcher

Social Searcher is a set of tools that believes in having some serious power under the hood! There is no sign-up even required and you can begin by entering in your brand name. It is literally that easy! The program offers an easy to use interface with simple side-by-side reports for Facebook, Twitter, as Google+.

Through Social Searcher, you can also generate detailed analytics. The free version will show you such information as how many posts per hour, day, or even week.

When you upgrade to a premium package you have many more options available to you. Included features of the premium package include email notifications as well as the ability to export data directly to Excel.

You can get started with Social Searcher for free or upgrade for around $30.

3) Followerwonk

Have you ever wanted to dive into your Twitter followers and learn more about them…if you are that brave?

By using this tool that was developed (bought out) by Moz, you have the ability to find out:

where your followers are from

when they are active

how long they have been on Twitter

Followerwonk presents all of this information in easy to understand charts and graphs. This allows you to connect with the most active users in your niche and follow the type of content that is being actively shared.

Followerwonk’s basic service can be used for free.

To unlock all of the features, you will need a Moz Pro account which starts out a $99 a month.

5) Sprout Social

Sprout Social is much more than your typical social media management software. You are able to create reports for multiple Facebook and Twitter profiles.

This enables you to easily follow multiple niche accounts. The reports give you more information than you could possibly use and is very user-friendly.

Sprout Social allows you to generate engagement reports that allow you to analyze response times, follow trends, as well as workflows.

This is a tool that will be used for multiple tasks throughout the day and will become the essential go-to tool.

Social Sprout begins at just $59 per month.

6) Google Analytics

Perhaps the granddaddy of analytic tools on our list, Google Analytics has superb social media metrics that will enable you to measure the conversion values of your social media efforts. (Note: make sure to use with Google Tag Manager)

The problem with Google Analytics is there is more of a learning curve involved with setting it up and understanding some of the terminology.

However, once you do get set up the information you receive will have a large impact on your social media efforts.

Google Analytics requires you to input more information than the other options on our list.

GA is best used to find out where your visitors are coming from and which social media channels are the most relevant.

For those who are on a budget, the free price tag of Google Analytics is highly valued, and can’t be beat. Some will not use it because of privacy concerns, but that’s not you?

7) SocialMention

Perhaps one of the very helpful social media tools on the market right now is Social Mention.

This tool will provide you with all the information you need to analyze your keywords and top influencers in the market. (Note: there are many others, like Radian6 (Salesforce) and buzzsumo that can be used for larger corporations and projects.)

SocialMention manages to combine all of these various metrics and give you everything you need to know about your target audience. It’s easy to expert keywords and data into CSV files.

This can be a huge time saver when trying to determine content needs and offers.

And searching and monitoring for your brand reputation is an important part of your ongoing digital marketing work.

This is another tool that has made it to the list, simply based on its ease of use.

If you are like us, you do not want to read a 100 page manual just to get started. With SocialMention all you have to do is type in your brand name and the software gets to work!

A tool like that you would expect to be paying for in blood, but this is another essential that is free to use.

Conclusion

If you have been struggling with keeping track of your social media accounts and overall market research, you can rest easier and become more productive with any of these featured tools.

You will now have all the data you need at the tips of your fingers, enabling you to make much more informed decisions as to what you should be posting and when among other issues.

There is a tool for every budget as well. Whether you are just starting out or already have several clients under your belt.

Do not leave your social media marketing tracking and management to chance, start using one of these tools today and see the difference they can make.

FAVORABLE MENTIONS: (we like both)

https://simplymeasured.com/
https://www.agorapulse.com/
FREE: Download the free Social Media Performance Handbook that will show you how to set up your social media campaigns in 7 simple steps. Includes 2 bonus strategies not found in this post.

Tags social media metrics, tools