HOW TO ADVERTISE ON FACEBOOK SUCCESSFULLY Create a ‘comic strip’. A series of fr

HOW TO ADVERTISE ON FACEBOOK SUCCESSFULLY

Create a ‘comic strip’. A series of frames (posts). No less than three to five. No more than twelve to sixteen. The second points to the first. The third points to the second. Then, the first to the second if it’s published. The second to the third if it’s published, and so on. Then release a new frame every few days. And try very hard not to repeat the same frame to the same people. You can then repeat these series every six to twelve weeks, without annoying your advertising base.

If you can create characters who the user can become familiar with then that’s even better.

This method is so effective that FB should create a tool to assist advertisers in doing it. (I suppose I could put a company together that did that without too much difficulty. But I’m kind of busy at the moment.)

This method a form of narrative ‘gamifaction’ that won’t invoke the “I’ve seen this image before in my thread and it’s annoying” response from the audience, and will encourage them to explore and reward them for exploring. It will actually work as long as the FB model/medium combination works for its users.

Static pages, or static magazines, require static ads. Video requires the user enter the time space of the video, and is too demanding of his attention (and bandwidth). We have been using the comic frame format for a very long time, and it is a structured equivalent to the facebook news stream, rather than an interruption of it (video) or an abuse of it (static ads that repeat.)

Production costs are not high. However, it is much harder to create narrative arcs that negatively affect the brand than it is static images that affect the brand, so one does need a better class of creatives (usually someone who produces narratives already).

I haven’t been able to come up with another way to advertise here that will work other than this sort of narrative pseudo-gamification. If your subject doesn’t support that format, then get a better ad agency, or stick with the sponsored ad’s on the side column.

I like it as a business model because it creates a higher barrier to entry for competition. I like it because as a viewer, especially if it’s character driven, not only won’t it bother me, but it’d be interesting.

This makes it possible for large brands to advertise and tell narratives. But FB is a narrative experience. And ads in FB must be narrative to stay within that system.