Are You Really Getting Any Sales From Facebook?

Question

I’ve noticed that a lot of companies, whether advertising on T.V. or in print, are using the Facebook logo in their ads to encourage people to connect with them on Facebook. For some businesses, who are offering coupons and other specials on their Facebook pages, this may be paying off. However, a recent controversy regarding ‘bots’ clicking on Facebook ads has turned off many big ad spenders on Facebook.

If you’ve ever placed a sponsored Ad on Facebook, you may have noticed a lot of clicks on the Ads but very few clicks to your web page and quite possibly zero sales or conversions. You may however, have seen a lot of “LIKES” on your page that seem to originate from fake or ‘spam’ Facebook pages or users. This is where a recent Facebook Ad controversy has come about. One company recently claimed that 80% of its clicks were ‘bots’ and not real users. Now I’m not one to believe everything I read, so this claim is likely exaggerated a little. However, the likelihood is very high that Facebook is still cheating.

Now for those of you who have spent money on ads and other promotions on Facebook, have you had any real sales as a result? I find that Facebook works for some businesses but not others. We have never had one loan close from a lead on Facebook, it just doesn’t work for us. What is your experience?

Read about the Facebook ‘Bot’ scandal on the New York Times here: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/bots-raise-their-heads-again-on-facebook/

Joe Bertolino · Answer

No,  but that isn't really what Facebook is for.  It is a social networking site that is being ruined by marketers that don't understand it's appeal and are spamming it.  It is a tool to connect with people and stay connected with people... That can help you gain business but if you advertise and spam with useless info everyone just shuts you off.

Account Closed · Answer

As a mortgage loan officer, I tried a cheap ad for just $100 to try and bring some leads in, but it did not lead to anything but some views and clicks.  Here were the stats from the one month campaign.

103 Clicks, 75 Actions, 207,999 Impressions

Justin S. · Answer

There is a pre-listing MLS group in my area on Facebook.  I comb that everyday and I've actually put a property under contract through it.  That is pretty much the extent of how I use Facebook.

Corey Dutton · Answer

All great comments, thanks. I appreciate the feedback. This is an interesting topic and very controversial with regard to the "bots". Thanks again...

Jared Orme · Answer

I myself have done many 'pay by click' advertising in the past via google and such. I never received a sale and the clicks were outrageous. I began to doubt entirely if they were legitimate clicks rather than just bot crawlers surfing the web. Needless to say I stopped.

Directly to social media, we use Social Media to find investors and such for our programs. However, it requires involvement and not merely spamming on twitter and such.

Ads do not get a response rate that is worth the spend. It is great for branding for people like Car Makers etc...

If you need to brand, visual ads with no expectation of clicks is great. If you need direct sale conversion, other methods would be better spends.

Chris Clothier · Answer

Joe Bertolino, great response and I agree with your realistic assessment of what FB represents.  It is a tool and it can absolutely be used to build a reputation or develop a brand which in turn can lead to sales, but it does not generate sales.  Don't be fooled (there may be a once in a lifetime transaction where someone claims to have actually sold a house with nothing but a facebook ad) - no one spends anything on FB but Time!

We have a fan page on the site and I use it exclusively for business and we have converted about half a dozen investors into investors with our company after first connecting on FB.  But FB did not actually help us sell investment properties.  It was simply a place to connect and a tool to use in our marketing.

Are You Really Getting Any Sales From Facebook?

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