socialfresh

While I don’t believe that Facebook advertising is right for every business, there are some that it just makes sense. After a quick trial run to make sure one of my clients would actually benefit from ads, I agreed to manage their advertising on Facebook as well as their conversation.

My first step was to get approval for eight ads that I would rotate through the program. My second step was to build them all in the Facebook advertising dashboard so I wouldn’t have to think about it much. My third step, a week later, was to cuss and think about crying when Facebook changed the size of their ad photos and eliminated my library of pre-built ads.

And they added these fancy schmancy featured stories things.

Have I mentioned that Facebook changes things? A lot?

In previous posts I’ve talked about how no one can be an expert on Facebook because of the constant changes. There are, however, dedicated students who work to keep up with the changes and how those changes impact business. I’m one of those students. But there are advanced students from whom I learn.

A whole gaggle of those advanced students have been gathered together for an Advanced Facebook Ads conference this month. And by gaggle, I mean 22 presentations by well-respected professionals who have studied and read and tried and failed and succeeded. If you’re curious about the value of ads or those sponsored stories, these are the people who can tell you the truth.

And, let’s face it, there’s nothing better than a conference you can attend in your pajamas, right?

Oh wait! There is!

There’s the conference you can attend in your pajamas at a discount! Mention “SOCIALFRESH” when you are checking out for $150 off your registration. I love a discount.

One of my favorite speakers at the conference is Jay Baer from Convince & Convert. He spoke at the Wyoming Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism. What I like about Jay is that he stresses the value of quality content and conversation before a gimmick to increase your “like”s. He also believes you should be very clear about what your goals are for any given page. Seriously, see this man speak ANY chance you have.

On a side note: Jay used to have a blog that consisted entirely of the bathroom faucets in the hotels he stayed in when he traveled. I find this hilarious. And brilliant.

I’m also looking forward to Jeff Widman from PageLever and about nine million other ventures. I love how Jeff’s brain works – it is 180 degrees opposite of mine. Which is a good thing, of course. You don’t get much from people who think just like you. And storytellers don’t get far without someone to think about the numbers and find those solutions for them.

And there are more! So many more!

• Justin Kistner from Webtrends
• Marty Weintraub from aimClear
• Randall Lloyd from Buddy Media
• Diana Plazas from Doubletree by Hilton
• Angela Leaney from the Harlem Globetrotters
• Jordan Franklin from Clickable
• Hussein Fazal from Ad Parlor
• Tim Bosch from Likeable Media
• Dan Slagen from HubSpot
• Chris Tuff from 22squared
• Amy Porterfield from AmyPorterfield.com
• Ryan Cohn from What’s Next Marketing
• Matt Monahan from AlphaBoost
• Dan Benyamin from Citizennet
• Katie Roberts from Walden University
• Maya Grinberg from Wildfire
• Mark Unger from PUSH
• Merry Morud from aimClear
• Erika Brookes of Vitrue
• Lucy Jacobs of Spruce Media
• Nate Riggs of The Karcher Group
• Roland Smart of Involver
• Chris Penn of WhatCounts
• Victoria Gibson of FB Ad Queen

From these speakers I expect to learn the latest in ads and stories and all things Facebook. And I imagine I’ll go away with a couple more advanced students to follow in the social webs.

And I’ll be bringing all that know-how to my clients.

Until Facebook changes it all again.