I've run literally many hundreds of thousands of dollars ($200,000+) of Facebook Ads, and I'm still experimenting.
Yes, I have a formula that works well... and it's called "experimenting".
See, even the most successful mix of target, photo, image, link, landing page, etc... that works this week will lose its effectiveness over time (sometimes in a matter of weeks!)!
So, what I do is religiously experiment... to do this right, I change just 1 variable at at time.
The hard part: measuring actual effectiveness.... to do this: I try to look not just at clicks, but also at conversions. There is a fine balance between conversion rate and click rate. Generally you want to optimize for conversions, but on Facebook, getting a click often means getting viral impressions as well.. and that can lead to 'pseudo-organic' conversion that you don't realize came from viral impressions...
Anyways, for those of you out there experimenting with Facebook Ads.. don't give up. Experimentation is the name of the game.
Harlan T. Beverly writes from Austin, Texas about Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Business for Engineers and Other Logical Thinkers.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Marketing CEOs vs Engineering CEOs
There are pros and cons to both/either.
Pros:
Marketing CEOs might be more likely to inspire market/customer orientation, differentiation, and brand equity focus. This kind of leadership might seek to inspire cooperation and collaboration across departments.
Engineering CEOs may empower development teams to be more creative, have more power, and reduce "feature creep". This kind of leadership might be more organized and measured.
Cons:
Marketing CEOs might put too much fluff into products, and not truly enable disruptive innovation. This kind of leader may also have trouble leading engineers, and other technical types.
Engineering CEOs may invest too heavily in non-market-driven ideas and be inclined to ignore customer needs in favor of their own ideas. This kind of leader may be too rigid for creative types.
Which am I?
Early in my career I would say I was definitely an Engineering CEO. I had a vision where I wanted to go; and the market be damned (disruptive technology is like that). Now, I lean more towards Marketing CEO... with a tighter focus on customer/market, and more faith in the power of brand. However, having experience in both, I think I also have a good ability to know when to be which. I can work with engineers or creative types equally well, and see a disruptive idea (and support it) when needed.
Best of both worlds? :)
Pros:
Marketing CEOs might be more likely to inspire market/customer orientation, differentiation, and brand equity focus. This kind of leadership might seek to inspire cooperation and collaboration across departments.
Engineering CEOs may empower development teams to be more creative, have more power, and reduce "feature creep". This kind of leadership might be more organized and measured.
Cons:
Marketing CEOs might put too much fluff into products, and not truly enable disruptive innovation. This kind of leader may also have trouble leading engineers, and other technical types.
Engineering CEOs may invest too heavily in non-market-driven ideas and be inclined to ignore customer needs in favor of their own ideas. This kind of leader may be too rigid for creative types.
Which am I?
Early in my career I would say I was definitely an Engineering CEO. I had a vision where I wanted to go; and the market be damned (disruptive technology is like that). Now, I lean more towards Marketing CEO... with a tighter focus on customer/market, and more faith in the power of brand. However, having experience in both, I think I also have a good ability to know when to be which. I can work with engineers or creative types equally well, and see a disruptive idea (and support it) when needed.
Best of both worlds? :)
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