Build-in-Public – Episode 8 – Social Media Traffic

Building a successful online presence requires diverse strategies, especially in today’s shifting digital landscape. I’ve been focusing on improving my rank and rent strategy, currently securing a place around position six. The goal is to stabilize it and rent it out to companies, mainly in high-cost niches like construction. This approach could potentially generate significant rentals due to the high value of leads.

Switching gears, I’ve explored various methods to diversify traffic through social media platforms like Facebook and Pinterest. Traditional niche sites often face traffic reductions from search engines, so it’s crucial to drive traffic from other sources. Utilizing social media not only helps in maintaining consistent traffic but also opens opportunities for affiliate marketing and brand deals, ultimately supporting long-term monetization.

Key Takeaways

• Diversifying traffic with social media strategies is essential.
• Building an engaged audience on Facebook is crucial for traffic and monetization.
• Employing AI to generate content can save time and enhance productivity.

Rank and Rent Strategy Update

The Rank and Rent strategy continues to progress. The current rank stands at position six, having peaked at position four earlier. The goal remains to stabilize the ranking before pitching the site to potential renters. Optimistically, in a lucrative niche like construction, the rental income could range between $1,000 to $2,000 per month.

Traffic Diversification:

1. Google’s Impact on Niche Sites:
   • Google traffic to niche sites is declining.
2. Social Media Alternatives:
   • Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter can drive traffic back to the site.
   • Social media traffic can monetize via display ads, affiliate links, and brand deals.

First Experiment:

• Old Niche Site:
  • Built years ago, currently being revived.
  • Facebook Page: Grew to 50,000 likes via ads. Resulted in low-quality, non-engaging audience, mainly from Nigeria.
  • Mistakes:
    • Used memes for engagement, attracting viewers less likely to click through.

Second Experiment:

• New Social Media-Focused Niche Site:
  • Designed for social sharing, especially visual content.
  • AI-Generated Content: Automated image and text generation posted on the site and shared on social media.
  • Engagement Strategy:
    • Facebook ads focused on high-quality, US-based engagement. Cost per like around $0.08.
    • Testing different ad variations with higher initial budgets to find successful ads, then reducing budget while maintaining engagement.

Results:

• Built the page up to 5,000 likes.
• Saw traffic growth, with up to 200 page views per day.
• Stopped running ads led to a drop in unique visitors.

The focus remains on refining these strategies to improve engagement and drive traffic effectively.

Social Media Traffic Diversification

Today, I’d like to explore ways to diversify traffic using social media platforms instead of relying solely on Google. Many niche sites face a decline in traffic due to changes in Google’s algorithm. Therefore, looking into platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter can provide a valuable source of web traffic.

Driving traffic from social media can involve posting engaging content on Facebook, sharing visually appealing images on Pinterest, or using Twitter to share updates. These platforms help bring users back to the main site where you can have display ads or other types of monetization. Here are some strategies:

• Create engaging posts: Use Facebook to share interesting content that can go viral and attract likes, comments, and shares.
• Pinterest boards: Pin visually appealing images that link back to your site.
• Twitter updates: Tweet regularly with links that drive traffic to your website.

A significant audience on social media can also open doors for affiliate offers and sponsored content. Influencers often promote products directly on their pages and get traffic through these deals.

I have tried two different approaches. In my first experiment, I focused on buying Facebook likes cheaply, aiming to build a large audience quickly. This led to an audience mostly comprising of users from regions with lower ad revenue, which was not ideal. For my second experiment, I targeted higher quality and more engaging users, resulting in better engagement and potential for monetization.

One thing I noticed was that using memes to attract likes could backfire. While memes drive engagement, they might attract an audience more interested in the memes rather than the content you want them to visit.

For Facebook, I schedule posts in advance using the business page portal. This saves time and means the page stays active with fresh content. On Pinterest, I hired a contractor to manage the posts, ensuring consistent activity.

Using these methods, I noticed a slow but steady increase in traffic. It’s important to tailor the approach to the platform and audience, continuously testing and adjusting to find what works best.

Growing a Following on Facebook

Niche Site Audience Building Errors

A crucial mistake made when growing an audience on Facebook was using paid like campaigns focused solely on minimizing the cost per like. This approach led to acquiring a large number of likes from users in regions with lower ad revenue, like Nigeria. Consequently, this audience did not engage meaningfully with the content, nor did they generate significant ad revenue upon clicking through. Another error was using memes to attract likes and shares. While these posts garnered much engagement, the audience was more interested in the humor rather than the site’s actual content, resulting in low click-through rates.

Learning from Page Interaction

To build a more valuable audience, it’s important to focus on creating engaging content and targeting high-quality users. By testing different ad variations and spending more on ads initially, one can quickly identify effective strategies and optimize campaigns. Using a strategy that involves evaluating reactions, comments, likes, and shares can help in refining the content and ensuring that the ads resonate well with the targeted audience. Additionally, it is crucial to move past the learning phase of a campaign to allow Facebook’s algorithms to better identify and reach the right audience.

Strategy for Posting Content on Facebook

Managing a consistent posting schedule is pivotal. Utilizing Facebook’s business tools to schedule posts weeks in advance can help maintain activity on the page without constant manual input. A mix of content that includes images and interactive posts can promote engagement effectively. Experimenting with ad budgets plays a role in this strategy; starting with a higher budget can help exit the learning phase quickly before scaling down to maintain cost efficiency. Regularly analyzing the performance and adjusting the strategy accordingly will ensure sustained growth and audience engagement.

Pinterest Traffic Strategy

Using Pinterest to drive traffic is an effective tactic, especially for visual niches. I’ve built Pinterest pages for my experiments and enlisted help from a contractor on Fiverr to handle the posting. The visual appeal of Pinterest makes it ideal for sharing images and driving user engagement back to the website.

Regular posting is key. It’s important to schedule posts and keep the content flowing. Consistently pinning high-quality images can help in building an engaged audience. Pinterest’s visual-centric platform allows for creative ways to attract users, including infographics, quote images, or step-by-step guides.

Experiment Outcomes

I’ve focused on getting Pinterest to work by leveraging my contractor, who posts regularly for the pages related to my projects. This allows me to manage my posts on Facebook while ensuring that my Pinterest remains active and engaged.

1. High-Quality Images: These get better engagement.
2. Consistent Posting: Scheduling helps maintain a steady flow of content.
3. Testing Different Styles: Trying various formats and styles of posts to see what resonates best with the audience.

Tips for Success

• Engaging Content: Use images that catch the eye and are relevant to your niche.
• Consistency: Regular posting schedules help maintain visibility and engagement.
• Analytics: Track what types of images and posts perform best.

In summary, by focusing on visual quality and consistent posting, Pinterest can be a valuable part of driving traffic and keeping visitors engaged with your site.

AI-Generated Content for Social Media

Diversifying traffic using social media is becoming essential, especially for niche sites getting less traffic from Google. Popular platforms include Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, which can drive visitors back to a site with ads or other monetization methods. With a large enough following, there are opportunities for affiliate offers and sponsored content deals, common on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Two experiments highlight the potential and pitfalls of using AI-generated content for social media:

Experiment 1: Facebook Page for a Niche Site

• Growth Strategy: Used Facebook like campaign ads.
• Issue: Focused on the lowest cost per like, attracting an audience mostly from Nigeria.
• Result: Low engagement and low ad revenue due to the audience’s location.
• Mistake: Used meme-based ad copy, attracting an audience that preferred memes over actual content.
• Maintenance: Uses Facebook’s scheduling tools for consistent posting but engagement remains low.

Experiment 2: Visual Niche Site with AI Content

• Approach: Built specifically for social media engagement.
• Content: AI-generated images and short descriptions, posted automatically.
• Strategy: Focused on quality US-based followers at a higher cost per like.
• Cost: Costs per like varied from 8 to 12 cents, significantly higher but engaged.
• Ads: Used images that received strong engagement, tested multiple variations.
• Budget: Initially high ($20–$50/day) to find effective ads, then reduced to sustain performance.

The AI-generated strategy resulted in much better engagement metrics. While direct traffic from ads wasn’t the driver, the consistent posting and engagement significantly improved the overall visibility and slowly built up a consistent flow of visitors.

Optimizing Facebook Ads

Strategy and Cost Per Like

He aimed to grow his Facebook page by driving down the cost per like. Initially, he targeted the cheapest likes possible. This led to an unintended consequence: his audience was predominantly from Nigeria, where the ad revenue is lower compared to countries like the US, Canada, or the UK. He learned that while it’s tempting to focus on cheaper likes, it is vital to consider the value of the audience.

Testing Ad Variations

He tested around 40 different ad variations to identify the most effective ones. He used images that elicited strong reactions, comments, likes, and shares for his ad copy. With a higher budget, around $20 to $50 per day per ad, he could quickly identify the top-performing ads. Once he identified the winners, he reduced the budget back down to $5 or $10 per day to optimize costs while still driving engagement.

Learning Phase and Budget Adjustments

On Facebook, getting out of the learning phase is crucial for ad performance. This requires achieving 50 results per campaign so that Facebook’s machine learning algorithm can better target the ads. By initially using a higher budget, he could exit the learning phase more quickly. Once the ads were optimized, he lowered the budget to maintain cost-efficiency while continuously reaching the target audience. Lowering the budget after optimization helped manage costs effectively without sacrificing engagement quality.

Traffic Analysis and Monetization Strategies

Traffic Analysis

To diversify traffic sources, consider using social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Many niche sites face declining traffic from Google, so social media can offer an alternative way to attract visitors. Building a robust social media presence allows for direct interaction with the audience and increases the chances of driving them to your main site. For instance, a Facebook page can be grown significantly by running targeted ad campaigns, though it’s vital to focus on high-quality, engaging users rather than just the cheapest likes.

Monetization Strategies

Social media platforms provide various avenues for site monetization:

1. Display Ads: By driving traffic from social media to your site, you can monetize visits through display ads. Higher traffic means more ad impressions and potentially higher revenue.
2. Affiliate Marketing: With a significant audience, you can post affiliate links directly on your social media pages. These links guide followers to purchase products or services, earning you commission on sales.
3. Sponsored Content: Large followings attract brand deals and sponsored content opportunities. Brands might pay you to promote their products, leveraging your influence to reach a broader audience.

Case Studies

1. First Social Media Experiment:
   • Approach: Bought Facebook like campaign ads to grow a page, focusing on minimizing cost per like.
   • Outcome: Ended up with an audience mostly from Nigeria, which didn’t translate into profitable engagements due to low ad revenue from those regions.
   • Mistake: Using memes for ad copy resulted in followers interested only in entertainment, not in clicking through to the main site.
2. Second Social Media Experiment:
   • Approach: Created a page for a visual niche, used a mix of high-quality images and scripted posts. Focused ads on the US audience despite higher costs.
   • Outcome: Achieved around 5,000 likes with better engagement. Although initial traffic grew, stopping the ad campaigns led to a drop in unique visitors.

Analyzing these experiments highlights the importance of targeting and content strategy. Paying for low-cost clicks can backfire if the audience isn’t genuinely interested in your niche. On the other hand, investing in high-quality audience engagement, even at a higher cost, can yield better long-term results.