If you’re in California looking to buy a new purple unicorn and the national company that you like who sells purple unicorns posts a special Facebook offer at their stores in New York, what happens? You become an annoyed purple-unicorn-less Californian.
Geo-targeting is a helpful tool available on Facebook Pages. With a few simple clicks, you can customize posts based on country, state/province, city and language.
Just a few examples of how you can use geo-targeting:
Sharing information sensitive to time zones
Offering information in different languages
A/B testing by region or offer (compare conversion and engagement rates)
Localized stunts or events
And here’s how you do it:
When posting a status, link, photo or video on your Page, select the ‘Everyone’ drop down menu below the text box and click ‘Customize’.
Enter the country of choice (and optional filter by state/province and city).
Enter an optional language of choice. Press “Okay.”
Post your geo-targeted status to be seen only by those specified in preferences. After you finish posting, the custom preferences will clear and subsequent posts will display to all audiences unless otherwise specified.
Interested in learning more best practices on social media outlets? Learn more about our education division, Digital Royalty University, by emailing info@thedigitalroyalty.com.
I was on the elliptical, perusing twitter on my iPad to pass the time, when the news broke about the earthquake in Japan. Twitter was instantly inundated with the breaking news. The live footage on CNN showing semi trucks getting washed away and people trying to outrun the waves in their vehicles will be something I never forget. It was an epic moment for the world for those who were awake. On 9/11, I was on vacation on a remote island in the South Pacific that had nearly zero connectivity. Due to the impact on flights and air safety, I was stuck there for an extra week due so I’ve always felt disconnected from what it was truly like to experience the tragedy first-hand.
After the earthquake hit, my heart pounded for four hours straight. The tragedy and aftermath in Japan was one thing but nobody knew what was about to happen as the tsunami hit other regions. Those next few hours represented a crucial period of time we’ll never be able to get back. We had one shot at taking measures to prevent more possible casualties.
I wasn’t sure what to do but I felt accountable and compelled to help in some way. With zero traditional journalism or “reporter” experience under my belt, I put on my research hat and sifted through relevant tweets and links. Conveniently, most valuable people, stories and media outlets found their way to the surface fairly easily. However, these valuable pieces of info didn’t always have the largest distribution. Not knowing what to do, I started retweeting, asking people to send me valuable content so I could share to a larger audience and connect the dots. There was nothing special about me wanting to help, everyone did and everyone was. The only difference was my reach and I couldn’t go to sleep without offering it up.
This wasn’t about promoting or marketing anything, this was about people coming together virtually to help each other. It was the business of humanity.
Social channels are communication tools. Just like the telephone. They weren’t invented for marketers or crisis communication situations. Humans decide what they want to communicate. Certain large news organizations with huge twitter followings went dark that night. I’m sure if they were sleeping, uneducated about how to help more using these tools or concerned about the way their brand would be perceived but for the sake of saving lives, I hope they get it figured out. They should be held accountable to inform. Sometimes you need to put Charlie Sheen in the backseat and focus on the right thing to do.
We tend to dislike what we don’t know. Many people don’t understand, or better yet “get,” NASCAR. Whether it’s a factor of the old points system (which just changed) or pure lack of exposure, many people make fun of the so-called “monotonous day of left turns and mullets.”
I took a trip to Daytona 500 as a complete NASCAR Rookie and gave NASCAR a chance this past weekend and I swear on my iPhone I didn’t see one mullet. Here’s what I learned:
Drivers are unusually accessible. I noticed this is a similar characteristic of UFC on this front. Drivers do fan Q&A’s and autograph sessions THE DAY of the race. The Daytona 500 happens to be the biggest day of the year for NASCAR. I don’t think Brett Favre was chatting it up with thousands of fans the day of the Super Bowl.
I received a magical “hot pass” and could go anywhere. It was uncomfortably exciting having unlimited access and at times I worried about getting in the crew’s way. I was a part of the action and wasn’t the only one. Bottom line, fans have access.
Here’s my theory on this strategy, why it’s smart for any sport and why social media will amplify the strategy if embraced by sports. (A.K.A. my key business takeaway from this weekend):
Relationships lead to affinity. (You can’t fake this affinity.)
Affinity leads to influence. (There’s a reason so many brands are attracted to NASCAR.)
Influence leads to conversion. (These fans would likely buy anything this driver is selling.)
Which means NASCAR fans treated exceptionally well by the sport are more likely to buy the products attached to the cars. Smart. Here’s an example of the fan affinity I witnessed.
So, let’s look at some numbers:
150,000 fans in the stands were impacted by the philosophy above – a huge number for one sporting venue on one specific day but perhaps not big in the grand scheme of sports.
30 million viewers watched on TV
500+ million users on Facebook, 175+ million on Twitter and last year YouTube had 700+ billion views. This winning formula comprises the max potential reach.
Point being, there is huge potential when you apply this same access via social media to a larger audience. What if the same behind-the-scenes access available to fans physically at Daytona 500 was available to those billions of potential fans who are not watching the race on TV?
Fans like this one:
It turns out I wasn’t alone in my NASCAR-phobia. The response I received from non-NASCAR fans who followed my Daytona 500 adventure was overwhelming. Many who thought they disliked NASCAR had actually just never given it a chance. After seeing behind-the-scenes photos, video and other content from my time in Daytona, some decided to tune into the race for the first time ever.
And that was just me. What if NASCAR allocated more of its manpower to engaging fans and non-fans on social media utilizing the same all-access philosophy they provide those who physically attend events?
If my #GiveNASCARAChance experiment is any indicator, I would say they could tap into an enormous pool of fan potential simply by showing the true spirit of the sport – a unique mixture of athletic, engineering and mechanical prowess, a sport that truly appreciates its fans– and eclipse the overriding (false) stereotype of mullets and boredom.
I’m always stressing the importance of exposing the human behind the brand. This is being done in the physical world but why not extend it to the larger virtual world?
Of course, when it comes to racing, the cars are the stars. This makes sense for the manufacturer and the sponsors involved because the brands involved stay the same but drivers change. The representatives evolve in accordance with changing times, but the brand holds true. What if the car became the voice of the human? It’s happened before.
I’ll admit it, I was wrong about NASCAR. After removing my stigma-laden misconceptions, I was left with a new understanding of the sport: It’s unpretentious. Fans are comfortable and confident and the staff is happy to be there. I noticed a level of underlying respect exchanged between fans, staff, crews and drivers. It’s a unique and refreshing experience that I had no idea I would love. NASCAR has huge potential to reach new audiences and relevancy and social media may be the perfect channel to do convince people to give it a chance. Your move, NASCAR. Gentlemen, start your engines…
Interested in learning more about NASCAR? Here’s more of my adventure leading up to the Daytona 500:
AlanaGolob: Not everyone is your friend & has your back & not all friendships last forever. Be grateful for the moments & the time. (via @Baron_Davis) 5 hours ago
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