Facebook Provides New Stories Templates for Businesses, New Business Options for Instagram Direct.

Christmas is now only a few weeks away, so if you don't have your holiday campaigns locked in, it's time to get moving.

Indeed, Facebook says that nearly half of shoppers start shopping for the holidays in November or earlier. If you're not mapping out your connection strategy, you're going to start missing out on opportunities very soon.

To help with this, Facebook has launched two new features which are designed to help businesses make the most of their holiday push.

The first element is a new set of customizable Stories templates for use across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger.

Customizable Stories templates for use across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger.

As you can see here, the new templates provide simple, visually effective Stories presentation options which brands can use to showcase their offerings. 

And given the rising popularity of Stories, they'll no doubt prove popular. If you've been looking for a way to branch into Stories, these templates could be a good point to start from.  

You can access the new Stories templates via Facebook Ads Manager - Facebook has provided a step-by-step overview here, but the key steps are:

1. Create your image ad at the Ads level,

2. Choose 'Select a placement to customize' then select Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories or Messenger Stories,

3. A pop up will open (you can also reach the pop up by choosing the Edit button above Ad Preview),

4. Choose 'Change Template' to choose a template. Preview your ad on the right.

Access the new Stories templates via Facebook Ads Manager.

There's a range of additional customization options to choose from within the creation flow, including background color, music and call to action effects.

That does, of course, mean that you need to use them within paid promotions, but you can also download them for re-use as organic stories.

Facebook does note that the feature is being rolled out gradually, so if you're not seeing it yet, you will soon.

Facebook's also looking to provide more ways for brands to shift into private messaging, this time via Instagram Direct.

Shifting into private messaging via Instagram Direct.

Adding on to the capability to manage your Messenger and Instagram Direct messages from your Facebook Page, Facebook is also adding Instagram Direct functionality which will enable businesses to:

• Add labels to contacts, including 'VIP' and 'New Customer' in order to provide more context about each.

• Search through contacts to find what and who you're after faster.

• Used saved replies in Direct to streamline responses for common queries.

• Set up instant replies and away messages, which you can set to respond at different times.

• Sort Direct messages into dedicated folders to better manage response .

Manage your Messenger and Instagram Direct messages from your Facebook Page.

More customers are looking to engage with brands via messaging, and messaging use is clearly rising on Instagram, as evident by the recent addition of its separate 'Threads' app. Worth noting too that Instagram is working on adding Direct capabilities to its desktop version, which could make it easier for brands to manage their messaging workflow, incorporating Instagram DMs. 

Article adapted from Social Media Today - written by Andrew Hutchinson.

As one of the leading digital marketing agencies in Windhoek, Namibia, V5 Digital can help you craft your Social Media Strategy in time for the holiday and Christmas season.

V5 Digital and Bank Windhoek Journey Together for Positive Change

Bank Windhoek recently launched a dynamic new TV commercial that communicates the way in which the brand understands that relationships are our tapestry as we journey together through life. The trusted Namibian bank approached V5 Digital looking for an inventive way to carry the meaning of the “Journeying Together” campaign to the social media space. The challenge to V5 Digital was how social media could be used to truly support this Big Idea.

V5 Digital came up with a pay-it-forward concept, in which Bank Windhoek’s social audience could become the change they want to see in the world around them, in a very tangible way. A call went out on social media encouraging people to identify a pressing need in their community, and then share a video to Facebook Messenger describing the need and how they would address it if they had N$10 000.

The top ten video proposals with merit were then shared on Bank Windhoek’s social platforms. To cast their vote, Bank Windhoek’s social audience could share the videos of the entrant whose idea they most wanted to see become reality. If an idea received 10 000 shares, Bank Windhoek would push the prize to N$30 000.

How could V5 Digital take this campaign to the next level, making the most of what the digital platforms can offer? As a leading digital marketing agency based in Windhoek, V5 Digital is always looking for smart, innovative tech solutions. To facilitate receiving competition entries, V5 Digital custom-built a Facebook Messenger chatbot. The chatbot enabled an easy, automated entry process, with seamless interactivity between the brand and the social audience.

The results show that Bank Windhoek’s clients and social audience have connected with the concept of Journeying Together on a profound level. Many entries have been received, and the campaign has significant momentum – igniting a desire for positive change on a community level. From teaching others to grow their own vegetable gardens, to assistance for the visually impaired – the proposals submitted have revealed how passionate Bank Windhoek’s social audience are about journeying together to take their community forward.

V5 Digital and Bank Windhoek Journey Together

From Bank Windhoek’s perspective the campaign succeeded in demonstrating that the bank’s most critical investment is in relationships. By inspiring their social audience, the campaign was able to add value and strengthen the brand’s relationship with its digital community. Digital and Social Media Manager for Bank Windhoek, Ongame Mutorwa, expressed that V5 Digital “went the extra mile”.

V5 Digital is proud to have partnered with Bank Windhoek to create the digital solution for this campaign from concept to execution. At #V5Digital, we produce smart, innovative ideas that will infuse your entire brand with a unified strategy, voice and look to maximize your return on investment.

Are you ready to set your brand or business on the path to customer success? Contact us today and see what we can do for you.

What is a Tracking Pixel

Tracking Facebook Pixels

In the digital marketing world, you hear the words “tracking pixel” or just “pixel” thrown around a lot, often times without any context as to what the heck it is. So, before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s start with the basics…

Have you ever been scrolling through Facebook and an ad shows up for something you were literally just talking about?

Weird, right?

While Facebook isn’t actually reading your mind (yet), they are using what we call a tracking pixel.

What is a Tracking Pixel?

Marketing pixels, aka tracking pixels, are essentially these tiny snippets of code that allow you to gather information about visitors on a website—how they browse, what type of ads they click on, etc.

Edit your tracking code

Retargeting Pixels

Retargeting pixels are focused solely on the behavior of your website’s visitors.

For example, let’s say you’re shopping online for new furniture and then you go onto an entirely different website, like Facebook, and notice that all of the pop-up ads are furniture related.

That’s how retargeting pixels work. They’re basically monitoring your behavior in order to tailor ads they think will catch your attention on other websites.

Conversion Pixels

A conversion pixel comes into play once a purchase has actually been made. They are responsible for tracking sales from a specific ad campaign.

Configure Conversion Pixel Code

In order to gather correct data, conversion pixels need to be placed within the code of an order confirmation page such as an automated “Thank You” you typically find in your inbox after buying something.

Conversion pixels also allow marketers to identify the source of their conversions and measure the success or failure of specific campaigns.

Why are Pixels Valuable?

As we mentioned before, pixels allow you to better understand your users’ online behaviors and shopping patterns.

By using pixels, marketers are able to track useful metrics like digital ad impressions, email opens, sales conversions, and pretty much any other type of activity related to their campaign.

Setup for Facebook Pixels

They also extend the impressions on a potential customer by showing them related paid ads even after they’ve left your website. A win-win situation.

The Downside

Unfortunately, the use of tracking pixels isn’t popular with everyone. Data protection advocates frown upon this marketing tool because it gathers extensive information about a user without their knowledge.

Critics argue that pixels violate user privacy and allow spammers to more easily access personal data.

That’s why it’s important to give your users the option to opt out.

Best Practices

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the function of tracking pixels, it’s important to have some key strategies in place before getting started.

1. Be selective and intentional with your pixel usage. Quality over quantity is important here. Attaching pixels to every single user for every page they visit is overkill.

2. Be cautious of tracking pixel frequencies. They can slow down your site, and slow load times are the best way to ensure users will leave your page.

3. Keep your targeted campaigns in mind. There’s no need to waste tracking pixels on demographics you’re not aiming for.

4. Respect a user’s privacy and allow them to opt out of tracking if they choose.

Facebook Pixels can help you determine your digital audience and target market

The Takeaway?  

Size isn’t everything. By that, I mean tracking pixels might be a teeny tiny, practically invisible piece of technology, but they play a huge role in our current and future digital marketing landscape.

Never underestimate the power of the pixel.

This article was originally posted and adapted from Digital Marketer.

As one of the leading digital marketing agencies in Namibia, we specialise in tracking your social media to help your business succeed and determining your target market.

Don’t hesitate to contact V5 Digital for a free assessment or to help activate your Facebook Pixels today! It will help you track conversions from Facebook ads, optimize ads, build targeted audiences for future ads. With the tracking we can remarket to people who have already taken some kind of action on your website.