So, I tried Facebook advertising again. I changed things up just a little. And the results were surprisingly different.

Facebook warns that if you add words to your picture, that you will not get seen by as many people.

I tried using the ad that my publicist created, and they showed me that there was too much writing on the ad, and a company logo … that it would only be seen by 200 people. So, like a conscious consumer, I scrapped it and made my own.

I took a picture and added three lines of copy. This is what it looked like.

Yes, they tell you that ads with words on them will reach less people, but since they WARNED be on the first one, I figured they would warn me on this one, too.

I went through the motions, and Facebook told me that over a two day promotion, and $2.00 a day, I would be seen by 1,800 – 3000 people. Hey, for $4.00 sign me up!

Well, this was NOT meant to be. I scratched my head, watching the numbers.

There were three factors involved. I’m not sure which one caused the problem.

#1: It was labor day weekend. The sale ran from 11:00 AM Saturday to 11:00 AM Monday (I was hoping people might grab a beach read)

#2: There was a hurricane coming. People bailed on the beach.

#3: I added two lines of copy, and it was obviously an ad, rather than the personal approach I first used.

I might try again with the same add photo during the week to see if I get higher numbers. That way I can rule out the hurricane (That never showed up, but the way)

As a reminder, these were the results of my first ad:

At $1 a day I received an average of 284 views per day and 8 clicks per day

At $2 a day (On a Sunday, which might have skewed things) I received 515 views and 11 clicks

If you want to be really anal, for a total of $9.00 it cost $.00359 cents per view, or $.13 per click. Personally, I don’t only value the “click” numbers, because I know how important just the face time of the cover is.

This time around, as I said, the results were much different.

My paid reach was 528 people over two days. That’s 264 a day. That is 20 less views than I got when I paid only $1.00 a day. NOT COOL!

I received 16 post clicks. Average of 8 a day (The same amount of clicks I got the first time around) FOR DOUBLE THE COST.

So, overall, this one was a bust for me.

Facebook is telling me that if I add $1.00 to my budget, my reach will increase to $4.5k-10.6K. … But I didn’t reach the 3000 people I was supposed to reach the first time, so I’m doubtful.

Since it is only $1.00, I am going to take them up on the offer on Tuesday when everyone goes back to work.