Emerge organized a virtual Christmas and Thanksgiving party for 2021 to celebrate with the theme "Who's Naughty and Who's Nice." 

The party aimed to celebrate the wins of every Emergians for the entire year.

Ashly Calaguas, an HR Associate, hopes that 2022 will be everyone's year. "We all lost a lot due to the pandemic, and we all deserve a win this 2022," she said.

This Christmas is one to remember. While a raging pandemic spreads panic and sickness around the globe, everyone on the team was grateful for the progress made this last year.

Costumes Are The Absolute Worst (But Some Are Pretty Ugly, Too)

Costumes are fun but sometimes, wearing them can turn into a nightmare.

Instead of traditional Christmas Santa, the team decided to have a "Most Ugliest" Christmas costume game. A friendly office competition between groups was the aim to build up some Christmas atmosphere.

Gerone Baladhay, a brand and communication specialist, shared a funny story: "A food delivery came during the judging, and I had to come out in full costume to get it. The delivery guy was shocked! He even took a picture of me with the food items."

Teams loved it, and people had a blast dressing up and showing off their costumes in a lighthearted manner.

Everyone wished for a better year ahead at the end of the party, free from this devastating pandemic.

Who's this Emergian?

How well do you know your teammate? That's the biggest question they need to answer while playing this game. Before the party, everyone sent facts and lies about themselves, and during the party, everyone tried to answer them.

Everyone learned a lot of things about each other and became a joke during their team's daily huddle.

Deal or No Deal

We played the famous Deal or No Deal to add excitement and thrill to the party. Every Emergian got a chance to pick a briefcase and negotiate with our in-house banker.

About EmergeLocal Inc.

EmergeLocal, Inc. has been helping businesses build an online presence and fueling their growth by connecting them to potential customers via different digital channels. It offers digital marketing services including website design and development, social media marketing, media buying, and technology solutions to various industries, including healthcare services, food, retail and services, and hospitality and tourism services.

Want to succeed on social media this 2022?

Then it would help if you were in the know on what trends will matter most. 

The last decade has seen social media grow into thriving, dynamic, and multifaceted communities where more than 3.2 billion people worldwide are active daily, especially in the Philippines. 

At the edge of 2021, two years in the pandemic that left most people away from physical interaction, we saw great value in upgrading online interaction and capitalizing on what many lost for the time being- a sense of experience and social connection. 

Experience is maximized, even pushed beyond its boundaries, forward to next year's development of social media usage and features. With the success of Tiktok, Kumu, Facebook's online fora, and Twitter's digital spaces, social gatherings are resurrected in the digital sphere. 

Not to mention, Meta Platforms, Inc. or Meta (formerly Facebook, Inc.) released Metaverse last year, which proves a game-changer in the virtual community. 

Still, despite the cornucopia of platforms served and to be served on our plate. Experience won't matter without an audience, and the usual dilemma arises. 

Is our presence felt online? Are we present at the right time, in suitable spaces?

Same questions, but every year, with social media constantly changing, requires a change of answers. 

Here’s a quick guide of some of the biggest trends we’ll see evolving on social media in 2022. 

6 Social Media Trends Emerging in 2022

#1 The Rise of Reels

Instagram Reels is a quasi-new concept where we can share and discover engaging short videos on Instagram. Like TikTok, it allows you to edit 15-second multi-clip videos with various effects and audio for entertaining and creative outputs. 

Users are into video content that is well planned, innovative, creative, and entertaining. These stand out in today’s digital landscape. The only limitation is our imagination. 

This also means businesses must use this content shift to market digitally effectively. Video contents are imperative in marketing strategies. 

You may notice how food and beverage businesses like Jollibee and Pepsi open their own studio departments to cater to this new trend. 

The need for quick and new content has become more and more prevalent, as marketing strategy needs to align with that by leveraging short yet dynamic experiences through videos.

#2 Long-Form Content is making a Comeback

Short-form media dominated this year. The explosion of TikTok, the wide-scale adoption of Instagram Reels, and the introduction of YouTube Shorts had us all focusing on 15-second messages. However, there’s been a subtle change happening across social platforms. 

TikTok has expanded to 3 minutes in length. Reels went to 60 seconds. These minor changes are the beginning of a pendulum swing back towards longer-form content, which helps build digital experience to an almost reality. 

Meta released a guide for businesses on video requirements published via Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. Check it out here.

Easy enough, this comeback is made more effective with an exciting title, usually in a clickbait approach, plus stirring thumbnails- expect audiences to finish any video up to the very end no matter how long it is. 

#3 Streaming topples Broadcasted Content

Streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu became prime movers of binge-watching culture, toppling down televised shows and broadcasting network-based content. 

The latter, like Disney and HBO, and in a more local scene- GMA Network and ABS-CBN, even ventured into creating their streaming mediums. 

This 2022, you’d expect even various forms of content would move on from video sharing sites to streaming platforms. Netflix already houses various vlogs and documentary channels which started as YouTube videos. 

Webinars and live-streamed events are not far behind. 

Influencers would go for more traffic and where their contents can as easily be as accessible and profitable at the same time. At the same time, businesses would be taking advantage of low-cost productions that streaming provides for company events. 

#4 Virtual Meetings to boost Huddle Experience

We won’t be bidding farewells anytime soon for virtual conferences. 

The past years opened doors for online huddle calls and virtual meetings, enabling people to work from home and connect with employees.  

Zoom, a top-mark among video conferencing platforms, is developing its features to make the experience as accurate and as convenient as possible- transfer meetings between devices, chat sidebar enhancements, and easy access to rooms like your just walking on office corridors. 

However, newcomers are in the race and are offering game-changing cards on their own. 

Bluejeans by Verizon offers the same features but a more user-friendly interface-- recorded meetings can be saved with meeting highlights and automated transcriptions, and simplified management with live meeting controls. It will also provide users with one-touch access to meetings regardless of the device, browser, online meeting platform, or room system used.

Still, the latest paradigm shift on the social media sphere is with the introduction of Metaverse by Meta. 

This digital experience grounded on the internet is persistent, immersive, three-dimensional (3D), and virtual that many audiences are looking forward to this year, offering us the opportunity to play, work, connect, or yes, even buy and sell. 

Though a handful of businesses are already shaping the landscape, with entertainment and gaming companies leading the way, 2022 is long marked as the year when online shopping may become literal online shopping.

#5 Win over Audiences with Personalized Content

In 2022, we'll say goodbye to third-party web cookies.

According to Google, they'll be removing the tool on Chrome browsers as part of their campaign to protect their users' privacy.

Moreover, the effect of the iOS 14 update on marketing for Apple users still looms in the corner. With the seemingly rise of a new wave this post-pandemic year, content creators must up the audience's craving for a more creative, sincere, and unique approach to the content they consume.

With the limited information due to the absence of third-party cookies and the limiting Apple update, we have to venture to other approaches for content personalization.

As a result, more brands will embrace automation in their marketing mix. 

With automation tools, you can customize elements of your content and make your messages personalized. For example, addressing a user by their first name using your FB chatbot.

Building a mobile app is also a good personalization idea that's slowly gaining traction among brands to provide consumers with a seamless buyer's experience. 

Adidas did this idea right with their mobile app that provides a smooth shopping experience like on their site, except with added features like:

• Personalized style feed
• Creators club, a.k.a. their version of an online community
• Product recommendations
• Gift guides
• AI analyzing a user's sport and style preferences by analyzing the content their interact with on the app

Building a personalized medium with personalized content attracts and creates connections among audience and prospect market and a digital space where they can experience an in-touch environment for their digital needs. 

#6 Semantics is the Future of Digital Marketing

Semantics in digital marketing will be a foundation integral to content creation. 

Ads for businesses and accompanying digital content are heavily weighted on their semantic value, choices of words, phrasing, wittiness, and messaging, transforming the way marketers understand and target their customers' interests and allowing them to deliver more closely results that align with what customers really need.

Gone are the days for strict do's and don't on word usage for captions and ad copies. As evident in real-life social connections, creativity is experiential, and semantics proves this. 

Semantics and context are already a huge part of search engine marketing, and with the latest technological breakthrough on providing an online experience- they'll only become more critical. Infusing newer languages, terminologies, trend words, or lingo for more cultural and contemporary options on content wordings. 

Semantic search also looks at structured data, content it finds, like categories, tags, image and video attributes, and more to better understand what's actually on their social media page and accounts. 

Through this future, we see better alignment between search and results, better user experience, better intelligence about customers and trends, and even better customer relationships when marketers understand the language their customers are using.

Wrapping Up 

Do you see yourself using any of these trends for 2022? 

Trying something new may look complicated on the surface. Still, social media trends come with social media tools that will help you achieve exciting and effective outputs for your online presence and online business. 

Evaluate your current digital standing, your growth on social media, and your long-term goals for the coming years. Collaborate with creators and digital marketing specialists.

Get in touch with our experts so you can execute some of these trends to your social media strategy. With the right and able partners, creative and stirring content, and these digital trends strategically applied, you’ll find yourself at the forefront of 2022’s digital growth. 

Thinking of new ways to have a great conversation with your followers and connect to them into a whole new level?

How about doing this in real-time?

Ever heard of Facebook Live Marketing?

Facebook Live lets you connect with your fans, friends and followers by sharing real-time video of what you’re seeing and doing. In fact Cisco predicts that between 2017 and 2022 live video traffic will increase 15x, which is currently happening right now that people are locked in their houses and are bored to death.

It made its debut August 5, 2015 in its early stages with selected accounts including Dunkin' Donuts, Tastemade and The Young Turks news network.

Here's one of the first videos ever created in Facebook Live a day after its launch date by a comedian named Ricky Gervais.

Fast forward to 2021, it's now available to all users provided that you have a video camera, an Internet connection, and a Facebook account.

So what is Facebook Live anyway?

Facebook Live allows you to show your expertise in real time, take people behind the scenes, and much more.

Facebook Live lets you livestream events, performances and gatherings on Facebook. Viewers can watch from a phone, computer or connected TV. Reactions, shares, comments, and other interactive features enable you to engage with your audience. Live streaming on Instagram is separate from live streaming on Facebook.  -Facebook

This is a good news for marketers and business owners because of high engagement and significant long term gains in social marketing.

Simply put, engaging conversations with your followers can be capitalized. They can also share the video with their friends and family, potentially increasing its reach.

So how exactly can a business incorporate Facebook Live Marketing in their tools to increase engagements? 

Here’s what you need to know.

Provide a behind-the-scenes experience to customers

“Customer experience is everyone’s business” is a mantra that I often hear from customer experience leaders. Of course, it’s true.

Give your customers a peek behind the curtains of your business. By showing "behind the scenes" content, your prospective customers will be enticed to your products or services because they will know what you’re offering is a value for money.

Show to your customers that your pair of shoes is handmade or your beer is "pure". But giving customers a peek behind the curtain doesn’t have to end with physical products. The “behind the scenes” strategy is applicable in quite a variety of industries.

Below is an example of a behind the scenes LIVE.

​Show sneak previews of new products or updates

Product-oriented business can share sneak peeks of new products with their followers via Facebook Live. For example, if you just launched a new product, but it's not yet available on your website, you could use a Live video to tease it to customers.

As for the updates, this can be applied in service-oriented businesses where they can share daily updates, tips, and helpful hints. For example, if you are a real estate broker, you can some tips about real estate 101. In this way, you’re giving value and is positioning yourself as an expert in the field.

Check out an example of an updates or tips LIVE by Benefit Cosmetics.

​Promote events

Since Facebook Live lets you broadcast video in real-time to your followers, as well as directly to an event page or group, promoting an event via Facebook Live is definitely possible.

For example, if you are a real estate developer, you can live-stream the “Open House” event. Chances are, you can still engage your followers who want to attend the event but can't afford to.

Answer questions

Mark Zuckerberg did this during his first live public Q & A last year. He invited users to post questions in the comments, and for others to vote on them by "liking" the comments.

Encourage further comments and questions to get more news feed activity and engagement.

Protip: Compile all the Q & A and create a blog post version. Share it with your followers so they can still refer to it every now and then.

Conclusion

There you have it!

We hope this has been a realization to you as a business owner or marketer that live video is worth a shot.

As for Facebook, we're curious to see how they develop their live video platform to help brands connect more deeply with fans and followers, and individuals connect more deeply with friends, family, and community.

For more Facebook Live Marketing tips and tricks, check it out here.

We received a great feedback from our first run of inspiring Facebook ad campaigns. Today you’re lucky because we will bring another round.

This time I will show the Facebook ad campaigns of the local brands and international brands that also exist here in the Philippines.

One of the things I’m excited to do when I’m on Facebook is screenshot the ads I see on my newsfeed. I suppose I’ve developed a habit of finding great ads, screenshot them, and save on my Google Drive.

So, whenever I need inspiration, I can refer to my collection of ads any time.

Have you been doing the same thing?

One day, when browsing my collection to look for an inspiration for my ad split testing, I came across so many inspiring ad examples that I couldn’t help wonder. What if I chose 15 Facebook ads and analyzed what makes them so fascinating and persuasive?

Let's dive into the topic proper and take a look at the 15 amazing Facebook ad campaigns.

#1 Air Asia Philippines - Show me the price

One of the biggest sources of persuasion comes from the price itself. You are putting trust signal on your Facebook ad if you are showing the price of your offer. Air Asia Philippines wants to be trusted which is why the price is visible on their ad’s image.

The price stands out because of background color. It is also present in the ad’s body copy. Plus, a sense of urgency by using the words “Book NOW until Sunday!” and “Travel NOW ‘till 30 April 2016”.

Are you willing to put your offer’s price on the ad?

#2 Ambi Pur Philippines - Keep it short

Ambi Pur Philippines is one of the ads I’ve seen on Facebook that has a short description. It’s straightforward and easy-to-read. It also utilizes text overlaid on top of their creative to further their message! People are more likely to notice words on top of an eye-catching image than just plain text on a post.

A shorter ad copy doesn’t require people to devote much of their time reading your message. Even though Facebook allows up to 500 characters in the ad copy, you don’t need to use all of it.

Here’s another thing I liked about this particular Ambi Pur ad. It’s their image.

Have you ever looked at a photo and you feel like you can smell the freshness it can give?

Ambi Pur’s ad image is aligned with their ad copy. You’ll learn two great things about their ad:

• Less is more in the ad copy.
• Feed your imagination using a well-executed image.

#3 Ariel Philippines - Give away free stuff

It’s not difficult to realize why this Ariel ad got over 80 comments and 70 shares. I mean...who wouldn’t want a free sample?

By giving away a free sample, Ariel makes you register to Everyday Me - an online platform created by Procter & Gamble with an extensive list of their products, tools and services, and deals and offers.

#4 AXA Philippines - Participate in the quiz

Do you want to promote your quiz and use it to bring in targeted leads? Well, you can do that using Facebook advertising.

Here's an ad of AXA:

What makes this one successful?

• It's visual. The image of a happy model tends to work wonders when you're selling love for coffee. The colors and lighting go well with the text and text box background colors, too.
• It's relevant. As a female who enjoys drinking coffee, I would say this is relevant to my demographic.
• It has a clear call-to-action. The ad asks me to take a quiz in order to know my health score, and gives me a link that goes directly to the quiz.

#5 Belo Essentials - Show how-to videos

How to get people try your new product? Show it in action.

Belo Essentials makes a new whitening bar with exfoliating lemon scrubs, and they wanted to show how their product works, so they used a carousel link ad to show how to achieve great looking skin with their product.

#6 Breeze Philippines - Use your native language

What is the best way to communicate with your target audience when you market it locally? It’s to use their native language.

Breeze uses a native language in their ad description. It is a powerful way for marketers to reach all users who speak a certain language. This means marketers wanting to reach all Facebook users who speak Filipino.

#7 Cebu Pacific Air - Share your exclusive sale and best stuff

Facebook's carousel ad was created to let marketers promote more than one image or product at one.

In the example of Cebu Pacific Air’s carousel ad, it presents several of their most popular getaway promos at once, increasing the awareness for all of them at once.

If you haven’t tried carousel ads before, now is the right time.

#8 Downy Philippines - Use compelling image

We are always drawn to things that are beautiful and catchy.

One of the factors to make your Facebook ad's work is to make it well-designed, attractive and suit what you're selling.

Here's an example of campaign by Downy Philippines. The company has created single ad visual - two models with great looking faces. Plus, the ad description is aligned to the visual.

#9 Ford Philippines - Show the best offers

If you are a savvy online consumer, it's very rare that you don't know where you want to buy something before you start shopping around. Sure, you might be occasionally tempted by a great offer by a retailer you're not familiar with, but generally speaking, you already have a good idea of where you want to shop long before you sit down to browse.

In the ad example of Ford Philippines, they did a great job of showcasing their best offers so potential buyers have fewer options. If they have fewer options, the probability of buying from them is high.

Their headline “Ford’s best offers” is on point. Plus they have two clear call-to-actions which are “Register here” and the button “Sign Up”.

Once again, Ford demonstrates a keen understanding of its target audience, as well as how to leverage the visual nature of Facebook ads to create a clean, minimal, and compelling ad experience.

#10 Globe myBusiness - Use the before and after imagery

Globe myBusiness helps businesses work more efficiently using a reliable Internet for their needs.

What I like about this Facebook ad is the use of the before and after imagery. It’s kind of like the age-old weight loss transformation photo but for connectivity. There is also some clear supporting text and it’s very obvious what the business has to offer.

Another good thing about the ad is the text and heading below the image reiterate the messaging or encourage an action.

#11 Johnnie Walker - Make holiday sales shine on Facebook

With holiday marketing in overdrive, you’ll want your ads to shine as bright as the holidays.

Let's take Johnnie Walker's ad here. The images and copy do more than convey the brand’s personality and style; they also promote their limited-edition pack that the viewer will probably need to get ready for the holidays (like the perfect wine for a New Year Day feast).

Johnnie Walker's Facebook campaign is a good example of using ad placement to address two things:

• Using limited-edition to create customer's sense of urgency
• Timely tactic during the crowded holiday advertising season

#12 KitKat - Generate excitement around your new product

Does the ad below excites you? You definitely should.

The below video ad came from KitKat where they provide a teaser of their new product.

It’s compelling because it engages the audience with a professionally developed video, and elicits excitement and emotion.

By creating product teaser, you'll be able to entice people to think about your brand as caring and thoughtful.

#13 Lady’s Choice Philippines - Get creative on imagery

What did you notice in the ad’s image below?

It seems real to me. Take a look at the breads on the plate. It’s like they are really in front of you and ready to be eaten.

This Facebook’s ad from Lady’s Choice uses illusion technique to put prospects in a position where they want to try the product as quickly as possible.

By including a hashtag in the ad description, they are trying to engage with their target market and encourage conversation around the brand.

#14 MetroDeal Manila - Create a sense of urgency

One of Cialdini's principles of persuasion is scarcity.

Here’s a good example of Facebook ads in the Philippines that shows scarcity. MetroDeal Manila offers an overnight luxury getaway that is only for grab within 48 hours.

Are they giving their target market a hard time to decide in just a short notice? I believe they don’t intend to do that.

People are more likely to buy if the offer only stands for a limited time.

You can learn to trigger your customers’ sense of urgency with these methods:

• Limited-number – Item is in short supply and won’t be available once it runs out.
• Limited-time – Item is only available during that time period.

By mentioning the price and duration of the offer, your target customers will more likely click your ad than advertising a plain ad without numbers.

#15 PLDT Home - Give something away for a low price

What do you think a crazy value you can offer to your prospect?

It could be “for as low as” or “Get 3 month subscription for Php 200”. It’s up to you. I’d suggest that it should be a really really specific offer that anyone would understand.

Below is the ad of PLDT. It includes a very specific call-to-action and price benefit for the prospect.

Key takeaways:

The best 15 Facebook ads we’ve analyzed include a selection of these elements which you can use for your next Facebook ad campaigns:

• Show the price to show the brand can be trusted.
• Keep it short and sweet.
• Give away cool stuff.
• Engage target customers through quizzes and contests.
• Using faces in the visuals.
• Leveraging video ads by creating how-to tutorials or step by step guides.
• Use native language to connect with your target market.
• Share only the best offers you can give.
• Use stunning visual elements
• Limit choices to help make informed decisions.
• Take advantage of the before and after images just like an effective weight loss program testimonial.
• Make it timely.
• Generate excitement by creating product teaser.
• Use the Cialdini's scarcity principle.

Conclusion

Facebook advertising is a growing trend in the Philippines. It has the potential to drive a big ROI for your business.

The Facebook advertising campaign examples in this list can be a great starting point for you to shortcut your way to a successful campaign.

I suggest that you test things out. Test one element at a time. We made this list of creative advertising ideas to help you and not overwhelm you. So pick a strategy and test it "One at a time".

What do you think of the examples? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Still having doubts on what will work for you, or just want some help getting results? Get in touch.

Are you looking for inspiration to create your next Facebook Ads?

Facebook Ads is a great tool for consumer sales and branding, whether it’s to sell a new car, a new smartphone, or a new app.

B2C marketers’ end goal in using Facebook Ads is to direct followers over to their website, community engagement and involvement. They want to get plenty of likes, comments or shares on their ads. They mainly use Facebook marketing to promote brand awareness and get people talking about the brand.

Whether you're a small business or global brand, you'll learn how others achieved real results with Facebook marketing.

In this blog post, you’ll find the 25 ads aiming for different audiences and objectives, from Mobile App Promotion, to Brand Awareness to Increase Local Sales. You’ll get inspired by compelling creative ads on Facebook from small, local businesses.

Let these B2C Facebook Ads help you create quality ads for your business.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

25 Great B2C Facebook Ads That Will Inspire You

Promote Mobile App

Facebook aims to help companies to grow their audience and increase sales for their apps. Whatever your goal is - to drive mobile app installs, conversion and engagement, Facebook marketing will help you achieve them.
The ad examples below will give you idea how to execute your ad in terms of creative side.

Every Day! Rewards

Every Day! Rewards is a campaign of 7-Eleven. They make it clear that when you download the app, you’ll get exciting rewards at your fingertips. The urgency of receiving what you get from the app is a great idea.

Lamudi: Real Estate for Sale & Rent

Lamudi, a property search portal launched a mobile app that helps you find the best properties available in the market. The ad image, with a shot of their dashboard in action, shows you exactly what sort of interface you’ll be working with when you sign up.

Foodpanda

Who doesn’t want to have their favorite food delivered at their doorsteps? Foodpanda does that for you. They partnered with 160+ restaurants across all the Philippines for you to order amazing meals.

SanMig Light On All Night

If you are a certified partygoer, then this SanMig On All Night is worth to download. SanMig, a liquor brand created an app to spot the hottest party scenes.

Monterey Meat Master

It’s the first time we see a meat shop to have an app. Good move Monterey! Their ad is directed clearly to people who love to cook meat. The image ad showcases the recipes you can try in your own kitchen.

Brand Awareness

Facebook brand awareness objective focuses on maximizing the amount of people who will recall your brand after viewing your ad. It is best aligned with goals to increase the recall of your brand, a specific product or service with your audience.

Check out the ad examples below to find out how the creative elements of online ads impact brand awareness.

TRESemmé

TRESemmé, a leading hair expert company, uses a famous celebrity which hits right at their target audience of hair conscious women.

Eden Cheese

Eden Cheese keeps things super simple with this ad for a delicious holiday recipe. Their text tells you exactly what is coming up. This ad gathered over 100 comments, showing the power of a clear, straightforward value proposition.

Cadbury

Facebook ads are a great platform to provide sneak peek of your product. Cadbury’s ad image stands out to your newsfeed because of the background color - purple which is a cool tone and stimulates appetite.

Enfalearn

Enfalearn Philippines will definitely get your attention with this ad. The image ad features a mom and a kid taking a picture of a plant. They do a nice job with the headline of a “Watch our new story” to grab your attention.

Chevrolet Philippines

Chevrolet knows exactly who they want to target: people who love cars, especially Chevrolet cars. They put a #BeChevyStrong which encourages people to participate. You'll see that they value their dealers with their call-to-action.

Nestle Fruit Selection Yogurt

As Beyonce’s lyric of her popular song, women run the world. It’s how Nestle wants people to perceive that women are super. The image ad encourages women to participate in the Q & A. The headline is straightforward and incorporates the #Superwomen.

Shopify

Who doesn't know Facebook? Shopify leverages their reputation to draw your interest in their ecommerce shop technology. Even though the image doesn't really reinforces the idea - it sparks interest. There's no magic here, just a busy street.

Lady’s Choice

In the popular book of Gary Vaynerchuk, ‘Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook’, he emphasizes the importance of giving more value than getting benefits. This ad of Lady’s Choice Philippines shows you how to do that.

Malayan High School of Science

Malayan High School of Science does a great job making it crystal clear what you're getting. Their headline 'Enroll now at MHSS!' gives you an idea of what you need to do next without much effort. The image does a nice job of fitting a picture of happy students and call-to-action while still being aesthetically pleasing and simple.

Belo Essentials

Let's be real - you're going to stop and look at this Belo Essentials’ ad because it has a girly image featuring their famous celebrity endorser, Anne Curtis. The ad gives you a great reason to click it - a chance to win a Boracay trip.

Century Tuna Superbods

Kudos to Century Tuna Superbods for addressing a complaint through a Facebook ad. Their image and text are totally in sync. They show that Facebook is not just for direct response advertising but also for customer service.

Increase Local Sales

B2C ads get to the point - they have a product to sell, and they’d like to get you to try it. Having the right audience, strong value proposition with a great image, you’ll be able to drive sales to your product.

Head and Shoulders

Facebook ad doesn’t have to be a direct brand promotion. You can also advertise a piece of content. Head and Shoulders features a Cosmopolitan’s article to promote their product. You’ll get a content jampacked with awesome hair tips.

Microsoft Lumia Philippines

Microsoft Lumia Philippines doesn't need to settle with just one format of Facebook ad. They use a carousel ad format to showcase the benefits of the new Lumia phone. It's one thing for a company to tell their new product in a different perspective.

Ambipur Philippines

Want your car smells fresh when you're stuck in traffic? Ambipur is the right product for you. Their ad showing an image of a person stuck in traffic is quite cool. It’s a slick, attractive image that’s enough to get you to click and learn more.

Dove

What Dove liquid soap can bring to you? It's purely pampering. Meanwhile, they’re using a video ad which undoubtedly effective because they have over 45 thousand likes, 171 comments and 34 thousand views.

Manila Wine

Manila Wine, an online wine delivery shop, drives home two key values in their ad: affordability and free delivery. “Buy French Wines. From as low as P399. Free Delivery.” and with a well-chosen call-to-action, you’ll probably be tempted to find out what those amazing things are.

Tide 

Tide goes friendly and personalized with this ad. They also use a local language in the ad image to tell you the benefit you'll get with their product - "todo puti".

Oral-B

It’s not hard to figure out what Oral-B Philippines offers. Their ad image shows the product and the benefit you'll get. It’s a great image that’s definitely going to make you stop and take notice.

Cheeze Whiz 

Cheeze Whiz does a nice job of demonstrating the emotional effect of getting their product. They also emphasize the improved Cheeze Whiz within their ad. It would be great if they have a call-to-action to cap off this super-actionable ad.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc.

Do you think you can experience extremely fast fiber optic internet connection with DSL? Converge, an internet service provider, agrees. They designed their product precisely for audience who don't want to experience bad internet connection. In this ad, they feature a friendly cartoon of woman in front of computer who probably a business owner, aiming squarely at a particular buyer persona.

Did you get your dose of inspiration? Which one did you like the most? Do you know any other inspiring and remarkable Facebook campaigns? Let us know!

Did you learn a lot from the first part of our article about Google My Business?

Wait, there’s more.

Here is what’s next after setting up your GMB Account.

It’s time to start optimizing your profile!

So, here’s what you need to know.

What’s Inside Google My Business Account?

1. Google My Business Home Page

If you logged in to your account, the first thing you’ll notice on the home page are the action buttons which tell you to create post, add photo, or create ad. 

Insights to your listing’s latest performance, customer reviews, and latest posts are included on the home page, as well. This will immediately let you see the status of your account. Use this to your advantage by coming up with a strategic plan based on the results.

Make sure your profile is completed with all relevant information. Follow Google’s prompt to finish setting up your account.

2. Business Information

After checking your homepage, you have to look into the information you inputted to ensure its preciseness. Click the info tab Make sure all information is right and updated, so potential customers will search your business easily. 

Under info tab, you can do the following:

• Input business name
• Put business category
• Add location and locate it in google map
• Include service area
• Insert business hours and special hours if there are
• Add contact number, website link, appointment links
• Put services
• Insert photos

3. Photos 

After adding all important and relevant information, upload eye-catching photos to visually attract potential customers. Click the photos tab, then add a cover photo and a logo. This will help your customers identify your business. You will also see, on this tab, images uploaded by customers. Leave a lasting visual impression to engage with your potential customers by adding more images on your account.

4. Postings

Next, engage and reach your customers. Go to the posts tab to create a post about an offer, an event, an update, or about a product. On this tab, you can also see the number of views your post/s received. You can also see insights for a week’s or a month’s posts.

5. Insights

Check your insights every time to see your position in the search results. Find out how people search you on google. Click insight tabs to analyze your data on where customers check your account, how many looked for your location, and so on.

6. Customer Reviews

Don’t forget to reply to reviews! Satisfy your customers to keep your 5 stars. Fix and provide solutions to dissatisfied consumers.  Appreciate those who rated you! Reply to every customer’s review to keep on engaging with them.

7. Customer Messages

Turn on your messaging option to connect with your target audiences! Don’t miss the chance to be in touch with potential customers.

8. Product / Services

Make people know what you offer! Show a list of your products and/or services on the products tab. Add a photo for visual attraction. Write the name of your product and its category. Include a short yet compelling description to easily grab potential customers’ attention. Add a button for a call to action.

9. Official Website

It’s also important to have your own website for people to visit. If you haven’t made one yet, you can make one on your GMB account! Go to the website tab and start creating your website. Though this one is not free, you may opt to create a website for free using other builders.

If you think one cannot handle this page, then add another administrator on the users tab. In that case, when one is busy doing other things, the other one will be able to manage your account.

Wrapping Up

All in all, in order to optimize your GMB account, you have to check every nook and cranny of your account. Make your account more searchable by filling out important, relevant, and up-to-date information to make sure your target audiences will not miss anything.

Should you need help in setting up your GMB account, feel free to get in touch with us. 

Learn more about digital marketing strategies and concepts here on Emerge. Search through our list, and you might find what you’re looking for. Schedule a call with one of our GMB specialists.

Have you needed to measure and track the performance of the specific pages on your website?

Welcome to the 21st century, where every penny spent on advertising on Facebook can be measured - at least for Facebook Ads and Google Ads (we will only tackle Facebook Ads in this blog post). Now this is a great thing to hear if you are a business owner taking advantage of the Facebook advertising platform. It can all be done with a piece of code.

So what are Custom Conversions?

Custom Conversions allow us to track and optimize actions on specific web pages. It is the simplest form of conversion tracking, requiring no modification of the Facebook pixel code on your website. This tracking method is contained within the Facebook Ads Manager and uses the URLs of the pages you want to track.

Here’s how to set it up.

Place Standard Event

First thing you need to do is to place the standard event on all thank-you pages you want to use to track a specific event:

Here are the nine standard events:

• View Content
• Search
• AddToCart
• AddToWishlist
• InitiateCheckout
• AddPaymentInfo
• Purchase
• Lead
• CompleteRegistration

Once you have placed the event on the pages you want, you should see the event show up as active on your pixel page. You’ll see something like this…

Set Up Custom Conversions

To start, determine all specific thank-you page URLs for each brand and then start creating custom conversions.

Think about the online goals (macro and micro) you want to track after people visit your site. Here are few of them:

• Submitting a request a quote form
• Scheduling an appointment
• Registering for a product demo
• Downloading an eBook
• Adding an item to a shopping cart
• Initiating a check out
• Completing a purchase

In the screenshot below, you can choose one rule option: URL Contains, URL Equals, or Event.

Let’s say the thank you page is www.emergelocal.com/thank-you, this is how you implement it:

URL Contains: thank-you, OR
URL Equals: www.emergelocal.com/thank-you

The Event option is applicable when you place the standard events. It needs technical skill. If you want to find out how, you can contact us.

Next, you choose a category. Choose the category based on the standard event that was placed earlier.

Once you’re done choosing a category name, hit “Next”.

Protip: Name it based on the specific page you are tracking because this will be how you see the conversions in reporting. The conversion value is optional but I highly suggest to put a value - think of how much you are willing to pay for a lead or any online goal. That’s your conversion value.

Track Custom Conversions

This is the final step of the entire process.

In reporting columns, your conversion will show up under the name you labeled your custom conversion.

​

Conclusions

You can now start tracking!

If you’re looking to track and optimize your Facebook Ads according to your online goals — you’ve got to be using the Custom Conversions tracking in your campaigns.

What do you think? Have you installed Custom Conversions on your website? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Have you tried Facebook Ads and are not seeing good results?

Are you fed up of wasting hours to figure it all out and trying out different targeting options, images, and copy? You’re beginning to wonder why other businesses achieve amazing results, yet somehow you can’t make it happen.

Here’s the thing. You’re missing a lot of opportunities with Facebook ads if you are NOT showing to the people who are ALREADY INTERESTED in your business. Why wouldn’t you want to advertise to these people?  It makes perfect sense after all.

Yes you heard it right. Facebook allows you to target people who have already shown interest to your product and services. You might not aware about this because Facebook constantly updating its Ads platform and releasing new features.

That’s the reason why this article is created, to give you idea what you can do to make your Ads successful by targeting the people who express interest in your business.

So without further ado, let’s look at how to do this.

Simple Facebook Audiences To Generate More Leads

Website visitors

Let’s say that you’ve added your pixel and verified that it’s correctly installed. When someone visits your site, the pixel is triggered and their name added to an audience on Facebook you can target with nurturing ads. See below.

Facebook can help you build a Website Custom Audience (WCA) from a specific page. Check out the screenshot below.

Protip: To build a website custom audience, you can promote your helpful articles, a specific product or tool aggressively and efficiently. Just make sure your URL is accurately labeled, otherwise you’ll lose bounced traffic. 

Email list

One of the marketing quotes I always hear is "There's money in the list".

It must be a legit marketing advice that every marketer should take seriously.

Do you have an email list? If yes, you took action. If not, here’s why you need to start building yours now - export your list to a csv file and delete everything apart from the email field –  save as csv and upload to your Facebook Ads dashboard as a Custom Audience based on a Customer File. (see below)

Protip: Build your email list from day one you launch your website. You can use MailChimp, a web based email marketing software as a start.

Fans

This Facebook custom audience feature is pretty new. Just go to your Facebook Ads dashboard as Engagement on Facebook based on Page. You have several options here – to start with I’d recommend creating audiences for all page engagement, page post and ad engagement, all page visitors, and messages to page. Take a look at the screenshot below.

Protip: Think of creative ways to attract people to engage on your Page (liking, sharing, and commenting on your status post or sending a private message).  

Lookalike

According to Facebook,

“Lookalike Audience is a way to reach new people who are likely to be interested in your business because they're similar to people who already are.”

It’s a fantastic way to drive Facebook Likes and new leads. Come to think of it. Who’s more likely to follow your business’ Page than people similar to your existing fans or clients?

This is great for anyone with smaller audiences. Instead of relying entirely on an audience of 1,000 people, for example, Facebook may turn that into 300,000 or even 1 million people.

The screenshot below shows you how to create a Lookalike audience.

Protip: Start first with 1% because it’s optimized for similarity. Once you tested the 1%, you can gradually test higher percentages.

Conclusion

Setting up your Facebook pixel and custom audiences are the first few things you need to do before you create an ad. These warm audiences are likely to cost less and convert more - website visitors, email list, and page fans. While if you don’t have a built in custom audience, lookalike audience is a great option.

Rather than give you a step-by-step walkthrough of all of these audiences (which would take a couple hours and leave you exhausted) I’ve simply examined how they might work and why they’re powerful.

If you have any questions about actually implementing Facebook custom audiences into your marketing strategy don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email.

Now you can do the same  –  go and get started!

Is your business showing up in Google search results?

If not, you might lose an opportunity to be searchable on Google.

Well, there’s one platform where you can make your business or brand visible on Google.

Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB) is a platform that helps business owners create and promote a professional business profile in Google Search and Maps.

How will GMB help your business?

Google gives GMB listings priority on relevant search results, which also shows on Google Map.

If you search for a keyword in a local area, GMB accounts related to that keyword and location will result on top of other websites and other results.

In other words, your business information and location will be readily available within just seconds, thanks to the Google My Business account.

Notable, isn’t it? Potential customers would not need to check your website to find information about your business.

A GMB account can help you with that.

Wait, there’s more!

• Google Business profiles can rank higher on the list if it’s optimized well using GMB SEO. Partnering GMB SEO with Google Ads will surely stabilize your rank and help you rake in more profit. “Near me” searches will bring more potential customers to you.
• Optimizing your website will provide important information, e.g., hours of operation, website link, business description, etc., on knowledge panel results when someone searches for your brand or types in relevant keywords on the search engine.
• GMB dashboard produces insights on local search performance and information about your audience and their searching behavior, such as knowing whether customers found you on Google Maps or Google Search.

How to set up Google My Business

Here are the steps to follow in setting up your GMB account:

Step 1: Create an account

Sign in with your Google Account or create a new one on Google My Business.

Once you sign in, enter your business name and select your business category. Then, click Next.

Add your location by selecting YES, then fill in your store address or business address after clicking next.

If you have no physical store or business address, you may choose NO. Then, click Next. You may opt to select customer service areas after. Then it will immediately direct you to fill in your phone number and website URL (if you have one).

Locate your store or office on the map. Mark your spot on the map, then click next.

It will ask you If you serve customers outside your location. If you have another store branch or other offices aside from your main, you can click YES. If you only have one store address, then choose NO and it will direct you to add contact information.

Add additional areas to locate your branch stores or to indicate the area of your services. You can add as many areas as you want! Click Next after selecting all the areas you wish to include.

Provide some contact information, such as a phone number and/or a URL for your website. Click Next. There’s also a Skip button if you wish to add this information later.

Then you may say yes if you want to be updated and recommended. Otherwise, choose no. Now verify your account (or later).

Write down your name and wait for the postcard mail to arrive within 14 days. Once you’ve received it, enter the 5-digit verification code on your account.

Add your business hours, or skip and do it later.

Connect with your potential customers by accepting messages.

With 750 available characters, describe your business in the most compelling way. Include keywords that are most relevant to your business and are most searchable.

Finally, include a sneak peek of your business by adding photos. Show your best photos to attract more customers!

There’s a free advertising credit worth Php 2,000 from Google. Accepting the credit will lead you to Google Ads to create a new campaign. Take the credit and you’re ready to get your account started!

Step 2: Optimize your Listing

Complete all the information Google asks for. Fill it up with accurate information.

Follow the prompts that Google will present, and your Google My Business account will be loaded with valuable information.

Select all the relevant categories and use relevant keywords in your description.

It is best to use words that potential customers will highly likely use to search and include those words in your listing.

After optimizing your listing, download the GMB app on your mobile device or any smart portable device to manage your account anytime, anywhere.

Step 3: Download the GMB app

Download the GMB app on PlayStore or App Store.

With the GMB app, you can conveniently do the following:

• Update your business information ( hours, location, contact information, and description)
• Create posts and upload photos
• View search insights

For more information, check out Google My Business Help.

Wrapping Up

As we take on the road of the digital world, problems such as finding a place to eat, hang out, and tour can be solved with just a click. But don't let that click lead to anything. Make your business more searchable with Google My Business!

Follow the steps mentioned above to create your account and be part of the listing.

If you wish to know how Google My Business Account looks and how it will help your business, don't miss our next blog!

Learn more about digital marketing strategies and concepts here on Emerge. Search through our list, and you might find what you're looking for. Schedule a call with one of our GMB specialists.

Have you heard the recent announcement of Facebook?

From the Business Help Center post: you have until June 30 to access reports, explore insights, and export charts and tables via Facebook Analytics. To export data into a CSV file from Facebook Analytics on your desktop, click the arrow in the top-right corner of each chart or table.

Marketers have less than three months to export their data and find other solutions.

When Facebook launched Facebook Analytics several years ago, its primary purpose is to connect data from a Facebook page with data from the Facebook pixel.

Users can also create funnels, cohorts, overlap charts, and other data visualizations to get different slices and views that demonstrate how people interact across platforms tied to their on-Facebook and Instagram interactions.

I don’t use Facebook Analytics because it isn’t all that useful.

The first thing that came to my mind when I read the announcement is the issue of Facebook with soon-to-hit Apple iOS privacy changes. 

Despite the announcement, Facebook remains to be active in providing a solution by introducing other tools to help you understand your advertising, presences, and activities on Facebook and Instagram, including:

Facebook Business Suite: Allows users to manage their Facebook and Instagram business accounts. It offers detailed insights about a business’s audience, content, and trends (but is not available to everyone). 

Ads Manager: Lets businesses view, make changes, and see results for Facebook campaigns and ads.

Events Manager: Can help users set up and manage Facebook business tools like the Facebook pixel and Conversions API. Also reports on actions taken on a business’s website, app, and physical store.

Want to hear more updates like this? Reach out to our team, and let’s start a conversation.