How Hesselson’s Earned $5,500 Using Facebook Advertising
This case study is from a former paid social client at G/O Digital.
Today’s word-of-mouth advertising is social media marketing, the most influential platform on the planet is Facebook. In May 2014, the social mogul reported 1.35 billion users, (superseding the population of India) and commands 17 percent of consumers’ time online. Savvy marketers are capitalizing on Facebook advertising to pull consumers toward small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) to generate leads and drive offline sales while engaging with their target audience.
As part of a recent study conducted here at G/O Digital, Facebook Advertising: The Social Commerce Lifeline for Small Businesses, we surveyed 1,000 online and mobile users and found local Facebook deals/offers have the power to fill the cash register immediately and consistently. A whopping 84 percent of respondents believe local deals/offers on Facebook are important in their decision to purchase an item in-store.
Hesselson’s, a pools, spas, and sporting goods retailer based out of New York, is a real life example of the ability of Facebook offers to drive in-store business.
How An Offer for Boots Increased $5,500 In In-Store Sales
Hesselson’s campaign started with the need to boost store sales beyond the holiday season and increase revenue in the following first quarter. Based on their needs, we recommended localized Facebook advertising, more specifically Facebook offer ads, to create an in-store only promotion on a pair of boots (see below) to convert digital prospects into in-store buyers.
Based on the unparalleled power of Facebook, Hesselson’s embraced our recommendation to accommodate their initiative of increasing sales. In just five short weeks they:
- Generated leads (257 offers claimed, 60 in-store redemptions)
- Increased their online-to-offline conversion rate by 23%
- Generated over $5,500 in net store sales
- Catapulted their ROI by a colossal 1,100%
The Man Behind the Business
Like many other businesses coming from an era of print advertising, Tom Hesselson, owner of Hesselson’s, experienced a paradigm shift with the digital age. With a marketing degree from Syracuse under his belt, Hesselson understands the importance of using creative, compelling content to market his business. He’s a forward-thinking business owner who has invested his advertising budget into the right digital marketing mix.
After the exuberant results were in from his prosperous Facebook advertising campaign, Hesselson spoke with us about the success of his campaign.
Q: What were some big win’s Hesselson’s received from your lucrative Facebook offers campaign?
We generated a nice social media buzz, got extra traffic in the store and sold more products. The offer helped make the campaign a significant success.
Q: Has Hesselson’s experienced any challenges in utilizing Facebook to market your business?
There are two big challenges that my company faces with Facebook. First, it’s a constant struggle and fight to cut through the surplus of content on Facebook and still be visible and relevant. Second, and this is most important to us, we need to make our messages and offers on Facebook compelling enough to make today’s digitally savvy shoppers not just like it, but influence them to act on it and buy our products in-store.
Q: What advice would you give SMB’s to deflect misconceptions they might have in using Facebook advertising to convert online users into in-store buyers?
One of the biggest misconceptions that small business owners have is that budgets and resources are just too minimal to get noticed by consumers – let alone, have any real impact on the bottom line. But that’s just not the case. When tackled strategically, Facebook ads can go a long way in filling our cash registers immediately (for special promotions) and consistently.
Thanks, Tom!
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