How Can Bloggers Use Facebook Canvas?
It was only a matter of time before mobile search queries would surpass desktop queries, so it surprised no one when Facebook introduced Canvas last year. This (relatively) new and creative tool is meant to serve as a full-screen advertising experience which allows you to tell your story or expand it and bring your services and products to life and all on your mobile devices! Since it’s no secret that Facebook listens to its customers and studying the data indicating the importance of building great mobile experience, they realized a new type of ad is needed to improve the relationship between users and businesses.
Almost everyone hates that moment when they click on a certain ad which leads to a company’s website and it loads too slowly to function properly. You get frustrated and often leave the website, give up on purchasing a certain product or reading more about the brand. Websites that aren’t optimized for mobile devices create a disappointing experience for potential customers and it leaves them with negative feelings they later associate with the brand.
Facebook sorted this out for both advertisers and their audience because Canvas offers a unique experience and allows you to tell a story without having to leave Facebook app itself. It loads immensely quicker than other similar types of ads, it’s mobile friendly (duh – because it’s meant for mobile-only!) and it gives you all kinds of possibilities to visually present your customers with ideas or tell a story. With Canvas, you can express yourself with pictures, text, videos, carousels, call-to-action buttons or a mix of everything mentioned.
If you’re a blogger, I’m sure you’ve realized by now that Canvas could be an amazing new way to reach your audience and create a truly memorable experience for them. Still, all of this could seem a bit overwhelming for you, but we’ve got you covered. Here are 4 tips on how to use Facebook Canvas to promote your blog:
Blog Awareness
Whether you’re a food blogger, a fashion blogger or a travel blogger, in order to attract new readers to your blog, you need to reach a wider audience. Don’t just assume people will come to you just because you have great content and you’re out there. Make them want more. Give your base of followers an opportunity to find new and unique information about what you do. By creating outstanding Canvas you can tell them about your blog and your field of expertise, and show them what differentiates you from the rest of the bloggers in the community. Give them a reason to like your Facebook page and stay up to date with new posts on your blog which you’ll promote there. Think of Canvas as a voyage through your blog and the content you create there.
Peek a boo!
Are you working on a series of posts related to the same topic? Maybe you’ve been somewhere new and exciting so you’ve filmed it as a video? Why not create Canvas to give people a sneak peek of what to expect if they visit your blog? Awake their curiosity, get more traffic to your blog and attract new readers by showcasing the kind of content they can experience from you in the future.
If you’ve published an eBook, your Canvas can serve as an introduction with call-to-action button to download it if you’ve caught their attention. Fashion bloggers can present their audience with a short lookbook to inspire them and inform about upcoming trends for the season. Food bloggers, why not create quick and easy recipes you’ll promote through Canvas and make people wonder what else they could discover if they just make their way over to your blog? If you’re blogging about interior design, use Canvas to announce special house tour you’ve filmed and that’s available to discover on your blog. As you can see, possibilities are endless!
How-to tutorials
Let’s be honest, each day we’re drowned in an ocean of information presented through various social media. That’s why we’ve developed a fast way of thinking and if some message wants to get our attention, it’s crucial that it is compelling and extraordinary.
In an age when the average attention span is less than eight seconds, make sure your content sears into the memory of your audience. Give them easy tutorials to prove them your content is there for them to read and that it can be useful, as well. Validate their devoted time spent on your blog by giving them tips and tricks they can apply to everyday life.
For example, if you’re a fitness blogger, you can use Canvas to show home workouts or exercises your readers can do even if they lead very busy lives. Film a video and upload it to Canvas or if you’ve written a similar post about this topic, create a carousel linking it to these posts so they can easily find them on your blog.
Maybe you’re blogging about crafting, then why not use Canvas to advertise simple DIY projects that people can do using things they already have at home? This way, you’re giving them ideas to reuse it and recycle, save their money and inspire them to do something they couldn’t have imagined in a million years. And once you’ve shown them all of that through Canvas, hit them with a call-to-action button at the end of a tutorial to switch them to your blog to discover more similar content.
Announcement of collaboration
If you’re working with brands or doing collaborations with other bloggers, Canvas is an amazing tool to broadcast that kind of content to a wider audience. Let’s say you’re hosting a monthly giveaway on your blog in collaboration with some brand. You could use Canvas to inform people about how to enter this giveaway, what the prize is and why you’ve decided to collaborate with this particular brand. This can be of mutual benefit because it’ll bring you new readers and entertain the existing ones. And for a brand you’re working with, it can get them new customers and inform them about their product and why you enjoy using it.
Canvas is designed as an awe-inspiring and eye-catching instrument which offers you a full-screen mobile experience so if you’re launching a product line with your name on it in collaboration with some brand, use Canvas to start the hype among your audience before the line is even out. For example, you’re a beauty blogger and you’re launching a limited-edition lipstick line. You can use Canvas to advertise it in three stages: before the lipstick line is even out to give the good news to your readers so they can mark their calendars when the line will be at the drugstores. Then, in the second stage when the line is already available for purchase, you can direct them towards web shops where they can buy your lipsticks using carousel in Canvas. And finally, once these limited-edition lipsticks are all sold out, use Canvas to announce your next collaboration because this will show people what great things you can achieve and thanks to their positive feedback, you’ll continue to create new products and content for them.
Think creatively. Think differently. Canvas is an advertising tool, but it can also be your new content distribution platform if you use it correctly. See for yourself – start now.
