Is Facebook Advertising Really Worth It?

Advertising is always evolving and social media has introduced a new wave of possibilities for both small and large businesses. However, a question that every CEO may asks when considering digital advertising is whether advertising on Facebook is really worth it.

This is a reasonable question considering the fact that Facebook has more than two billion active users every month. This is not a figure to ignore when the success of modern businesses is largely dependent on both organic and paid traffic. It’s not surprising that many businesses are striving to get more followers, likes, connections, and engagements that lead to actual acquisition of subscribers and sales.

Basically, the goal of any modern business when it comes to using social media is to expand the reach over the internet, enhance brand awareness, and drive more traffic to their websites. But, organic efforts alone may not enable your business to accomplish this objective fully. That’s why you may consider paid advertising.

Facebook advertising is one of the best ways to complement your organic efforts. Over the past years, Facebook has become an effective social media marketing platform. And, businesses are now considering the idea of advertising on Facebook.

Because you are reading this, you are probably hoping that this platform will be the breakthrough opportunity that will take your business to a new level. You most likely hope that Facebook Ads will cost you a relatively less amount and yield better results.

Well, before you dive into Facebook advertising, there are things that you need to know.

How does Facebook advertising work?

 Facebook advertising is a form of paid social marketing. It enables your business to find prospects by allowing it to target a specific group of audiences. These are people that are most likely interested in your services and products. Essentially, Facebook advertising enables you to leverage the immense data that this platform has about its more than 2 billion active users.

When running a Facebook advertising campaign, you identify your objective first. Then, you tell the platform the targets that you want to reach with your ads through the audience segmentation process. Thus, Facebook displays your business ads to the most ideal audience or people that belong to the demographics that you are interested in.

The custom parameters of this platform enable you to come up with refined segments of your target audience. They also enable you to come up with custom audiences. That’s because Facebook allows you to upload data of your existing customers. This enables Facebook to come up with “lookalike” audiences on the basis of your selected parameters.

Next, you come up with Facebook ads. These should be highly visual and aligned with ways your target prospects use Facebook, especially on their mobile devices. Finally, use analytics and data to evaluate your ads performance and make changes accordingly to improve shares and click-through rate as well as other aspects of your marketing campaign.

Case study

To determine whether Facebook advertising really works, it’s imperative to consider a real-life case study of using Facebook ads.

Current Meditation is a meditation studio that tested the effectiveness of conversion-optimized Facebook ads. The ads were aimed at encouraging more people to sign up for a free trial class by the studio. The campaign resulted in five times more membership and 2.6 times more leads from the conversion optimized ads.

The goal

The goal was to have more people sign up for a free trial class on the website of the meditation studio. Simultaneously, the team wanted to determine whether optimizing site traffic or conversions was a wise idea.

The solution

 The team came up with two campaigns. One campaign comprised of ads that were optimized for clicks to the site of the studio. It focused on people that were likely to click through to the studio’s site.

The other campaign was optimized for conversions. It ensured that people that were likely to take a specific action saw the advert. In this particular case, Current Meditation wanted people that saw this ad to register for their free guided class.

Identical adverts with a single image of the popular aerial meditation class of the studio were featured in both campaigns. The ad copy promoted the free class deal while targeting people aged between 25 and 60 years residing in a 10 miles radius of this studio. It also targeted people that are interested in mindfulness, technology, traveling, health and well-being.

Results

The campaign ran for three weeks from 7^th to 30^th April 2017 and it proved that conversion optimized Facebook ads are effective and efficient. That’s because the campaign compelled more people to try guided meditation.

It also delivered:

·        5 times more membership due to conversion-optimized ads

·        2.6 times more leads due to conversion-optimized ads

So, is Facebook advertising worth it?

In real sense, a properly targeted Facebook advertising campaign is worth the value of the money that is invested in it. That’s because the above case study proves that if a Facebook advertising campaign is set up properly with clear goals, it drives high-quality clicks thereby bringing value to a business. Perhaps, that’s because this platform allows for better audience targeting. Consequently, Facebook advertising is often profitable than some online advertising channels.

The bottom line

Whether Facebook advertising is worth investing in or not is largely dependent on your budget and goals. Nevertheless, Facebook shares many case studies that motivate and inspire people to use it to advertise their businesses. However, these should not prompt you to invest in Facebook advertising without doing extra research. As the above case study has shown, it’s possible to grow a business with Facebook advertising. The most important thing is to use the available data and analytics to create targeted ads and make appropriate changes as it becomes necessary. And, don’t jump in head-first.  

Tips

Before you dive into Facebook advertising, here are crucial caveats that you should consider:

·        Be patient- It takes some days or months before your ad becomes profitable. 

·        Target- Create ads that target the right demographics.

·        Create eye-catching ads- These grab attention while generating clicks.

·        Follow up conversions- Use emails to follow up conversions.

Follow these tips when advertising on Facebook and your campaign will most likely yield your desired results. 

Truth and Lies about Debt

Dave Ramsey said, “Being willing to delay pleasure for a greater result is a sign of maturity”. But, it’s also human nature to want something and want it right away. This can be defined as a sign of immaturity. Almost everybody has come across a child that yells and screams uncontrollably because they have been denied something that they want. This indicates that the need to get something that we want right away is ingrained in our nature. What’s more, we practice a culture that teaches us to always live the present. That’s why we get into debts to obtain what we want even before we afford it.

The accepted lie

A friend of mine once said, “Nobody becomes rich without taking loans or stealing”. And, this has become an accepted lie in the contemporary society. The lie has been told loudly and long enough to become a myth that is currently accepted as a fact. Thus, the principle of repetition, longevity, and volume has twisted and turned the lie or myth into a way of doing things that many people accept as right.

Living the lie

Today, debt is ingrained into the contemporary culture to a level where many people can’t envision a good house without a mortgage, a car without a car loan, or quality education without a student’s loan. Essentially, debt has been sold to the modern population to a level where folks no longer visualize the freedom of living without debt payments. We live like slaves that are born in slavery. We are slaves that can’t visualize freedom from debts.

The truth

The truth and reality is that debt brings adequate risk that offsets the advantage that can be enjoyed from leveraging it. Unfortunately, the academic garbage that is spread by sophisticated financiers is that the rich have prospered by using other people’s money. But try this approach and you will learn your lesson the hard way.

Perhaps, to understand why you should avoid debts you might want to know what the scripture says about it. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is salve to the lender”. So, why buy the lie that you can’t get rich without taking loans yet the consequences have always been the same since time immemorial?

It’s unfortunate that many people in the contemporary society take loans to buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have just to impress the people they don’t like. This gets them into debts while robbing their financial freedom.

True emancipation

True emancipation comes when you get paid for your work, not when you work to pay loans with ridiculously high interest rates. Debt is not a prosperity tool. It is a method that the rich and wise use to amass more wealth. Just like the scripture says, the borrower becomes the slave of the lender. And, the worst happens when you tie up your earnings to a debt and spend it on things that don’t bring you more money. You end up being frustrated and working for somebody else longer. So, why don’t you strive to achieve true emancipation? Work, save, invest, and enjoy fruits of your hard work! 

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How Your Pillow Could Be Affecting Your Health Negatively

Everybody longs for that feeling of snuggling down on a fluffy, soft pillow after a long, tiring day at work. When you drift off into a blissful night’s sleep, you wake up feeling fully rested and ready for another day. Thus, quality bed gear is particularly important when it comes to health and happiness. But, do you know that your pillow could be doing you more harm than good? 

We all know pillows as cozy and soft bed gears. So, how can they be harmful? Well, there are different ways via which your pillow could be harmful to your health.

Here are some of them:

Poor spine alignment

If you wake up feeling tired every day, you might be sleeping on the wrong pillow. The right pillow enables you to enjoy a good night sleep and rest. Essentially, it’s more supportive. However, a wrong pillow causes poor spine alignment which affects sleep. Poor spine alignment during sleep leads to issues like head rotation or flexion which can affect breathing and airway patency. Therefore, before you purchase this bed gear, test it first. Make sure that the pillow that you purchase works with the mattress to ensure proper alignment of the spin while sleeping. This will optimize the overall quality of your sleep.

Harmful materials

Some pillows are made of inorganic materials. These are chemical-drenched pillows that are stuffed with materials like polyurethane foam that releases chemicals into the air. The chemicals in them cause health problems like headaches and nausea in some people. Therefore, before you purchase a pillow, find out what is in it. Make sure that it is made of natural or organic materials.

 Irritants and allergens

You sleep on your pillow most nights. But, do you stop to think about the materials that are stuffed in it as well as the irritants and allergens that may build up in your pillow?  Mould, dust mites, formaldehyde, polyester, acetate, sweat, drool, skin cells, and flame retardants are present in most pillows. Unfortunately, these can have serious effects on your health. For instance, they can cause respiratory problems and irritate your skin. That’s why you should purchase pillows that you know what’s in them and clean your bed gear regularly.  

Old pillow

Pillows are not made to last forever. How long your pillow lasts will depend on factors like its filling and how you take care of it. Nevertheless, if you are suffering from neck pain, back pain, or other health issues that are usually worst when you wake up, consider replacing your pillow. This is very important because many people use their pillows even after their use-by date.

Human beings are not like computers and TVs that we just turn on and off. We need quality beddings to lie on to rest comfortably. And, without quality rest, your health and performance throughout the day will be affected negatively. Perhaps, you have already suffered the damage that is caused by poor sleep after sleeping on an old or wrong pillow. Maybe you want to enhance the quality of your sleep. Whatever the case, invest in the right pillows and you will notice a difference after a week or so once you change your pillow.

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Benefits of CBD- Use CBD to Improve Your Health

Scientific research has shown that CBD has numerous health benefits. CBD or cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that is found in marijuana. Until recently, CBD had not received as much attention as THC. That’s because scientists had not discovered its medicinal properties. However, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) noted in 2015 that pre-clinical research has shown that CBD has properties that make it therapeutically useful. Currently, scientists and medical experts are conducting further studies to determine how CBD can benefit humans.

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol or CBD is a naturally occurring compound in the cannabis or hemp plant. Cannabis has more than 80 phytocannabinoids. However, CBD and THC are the most studied and understood so far. But, unlike THC, CBD is basically non-psychoactive. That means it won’t make you high when you use it. That’s why CBD products are becoming more appealing to people that want to use medical marijuana. What’s more, CBD is currently legal because it is considered a supplement rather than a medication. Thus, its use is not restricted like the use of THC.

Benefits of CBD

Due to the strong therapeutic and medicinal effects of CBD, it has numerous benefits for the human body.

They include:

Digestive aid

The National Cancer Institute reports that some diseases decrease the patient’s appetite to a point where the body can’t heal itself. CBD acts on the natural cannabinoid receptors and scientists speculate that these receptors are essential for the regulation of the feeding behavior. CBD docks onto these receptors thereby stimulating appetite. Additionally, CBD can ease vomiting and nausea. This is important for people that are undergoing treatments like chemotherapy for serious illnesses.

Antipsychotic

Researchers at the University of Cologne in Germany suggest that CBD has the potential to relieve psychotic symptoms that are associated with conditions like schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a medical condition that affects about 1.1% of the human population. In the United States alone, about 2.4 million adults are affected by this condition.

Anti-cancer

According to the National Cancer Institute, several studies have revealed that CBD has anti-tumor effects. One study was conducted using rats and mice. It revealed that CBD shows protective effects against some tumors. The researchers speculate that CBD does this by inducing the death of tumor cells, inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, and inhibiting or controlling the spread of tumor cells. Another study conducted at the California Pacific Medical Center revealed that CBD has the potential to turn off a gene that is responsible for spreading breast cancer. According to the scientists, CBD inhibits ID-1. This action prevents the movement of cancer cells to distant tissues.

Anxiety relief

CBD shows the potential to alleviate social anxiety. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that about 15 million adults in the U.S have social phobia while 6.8 million adults have a general anxiety disorder. Medications and counseling are the traditional treatments for this condition. Although many people turn to anti-depressants when faced with Social Anxiety Disorder or SAD, the medications have serious withdrawal or side effects. That’s why many patients are turning to alternative treatments like CBD.

A study conducted in 2011 revealed that the use of CBD leads to significant reduction of anxiety, discomfort in speech and performance, as well as cognitive impairment among SAD patients. Since CBD has not shown serious side effects so far, it might be the best treatment option for Social Anxiety Disorder.

Analgesic

CBD has shown analgesic properties too. That’s because it binds to the CB1 receptors to cause pain relief effects. It also has anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, it helps in reducing swelling.

Based on these studies and their findings, it’s apparent that CBD has numerous benefits for the human body. Currently, there are many CBD products for sale online and in some local stores. They include CBD tinctures, CBD edibles, CBD oil, CBD dabs, CBD gummies, CBD drip, CBD crystals, and CBD wax. It’s however important to buy CBD products online from a reputable store or manufacturer. That’s the only way to ensure quality of the CBD that you use.

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Natural Weight Loss Tips- How to Lose Weight Fast and Easy

Looking for the best weight loss tips? Then take a minute to learn how to lose weight fast and easy. Despite having many advantages, losing unwanted weight is not easy. Generally, there are many health problems that are associated with being overweight including the dangers of developing some illnesses. Nevertheless, it’s possible to avoid these dangers by adopting a routine that leads to losing body weight fast and easy. To maintain a healthy body weight, you need to alter your lifestyle.

Drink more water

Your body needs water- a lot of it. Therefore, give it sufficient water. Water helps with weight loss by flushing out toxins. It also makes the body feel fitter and healthier. This discourages the gorging tendency. What’s more, water is calories-free. That means it won’t make you add weight. Essentially, start everyday by drinking water immediately after waking up. This will make you feel fuller and eat a lesser quantity for breakfast. Additionally, water will let out digestive juices from your system and lubricate the body.

Be mindful

Set your mind on losing weight and you will have won the battle halfway. That’s not because it makes you aware of the amount of the junk food you eat every day. But it applies on healthy foods as well. For instance, almonds are good and healthy. However, if you eat 10 handfuls of them every day, you will become overweight. Therefore, be mindful of what you eat and the amount you consume. Know what you have been doing wrong and keep a journal of what you eat. With some foods, minor tweaks will do the trick.

Eat more vegetables and proteins

This is one of the best weight loss tips that you will find online. Green leafy vegetables are the best bet for anybody that wants to lose some pounds. They supply fiber that the body needs to fill full and enhance efficient waste excretion. Proteins on the other hand are not high in fat. Nevertheless, you should select your protein sources carefully because some proteins can increase bad cholesterol levels. Essentially, go for plant protein sources.

Control your sweet tooth

Sweat things are generally full of calories. Naturally, you will have cravings for confectionaries like chocolates. However, go easy on them because each time you consume a sweet, you add calories to your body. Similarly, avoid sweetened drinks such as sodas. If you must drink a soda, stick to a diet soda.

Eat more fresh fruits

Instead of drinking a processed juice, eat a fresh fruit. Even better, go for fruits that have more water such as watermelons. These are 90-95% water. Thus, when you feast on them you won’t have anything to struggle to lose. Actually, these fruits will make you feel full without adding pounds to your body. Additionally, whenever you eat a fruit you take fibers. And, the body needs fruits because majority of them are good vitamin sources.

Exercise

Don’t assume that checking your diet alone will help you lose weight fast and easy. You also need to exercise. But, this doesn’t mean spending hours in the gym like a bodybuilder. Even a simple night-time stroll will do the trick. If possible, perform aerobics for half an hour before meal. This will improve the fat burning capacity of your body. What’s more, exercising in the evening will make you worn-out and this will enhance your sleep. This comes with a positive effect on weight loss.

If you practice these weight loss tips for at least 20 days, you will lose some pounds without exposing yourself to the risks of chemical-based weight loss supplements. Your body will also feel and look healthier.

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My Journey with All-Natural Skincare Products

Last year a time like this, I engaged in poor eating and sleeping habits for personal reasons. I forgot that these two are at the core of a proper skincare regimen. Within weeks, my skin freaked out completely. But, after that awful episode of my life, I realized that I had to regain my natural beauty. I became obsessed with the search for a gentler, better approach to skincare. After careful and extensive research, I realized that even some of the skincare products that I was using before this episode were not entirely good for my skin. That’s because they had chemicals and synthetic materials that could have damaging effects on my skin.

The Transformation Phase

Early this year, I realized that I had to change my lifestyle and the way I take care of my skin. I decided to embrace a healthy diet and drink more water. I also ditched all beauty products especially those with synthetic ingredients. I took what I can call a complete skin vacation. For almost two weeks, I didn’t use any skincare product. After this period, I replaced my chemical-based skincare products and makeup with all-natural skincare products. For instance, whenever I went swimming and my skin became reactive and dry, I used olive and coconut oils instead of fancy skincare products. Essentially, I turned to all-natural beauty products after realizing their benefits.

The Right All-Natural Beauty Products

I scoured the internet to find a wide range of all-natural beauty products that serve different purposes. To my surprise, I realized that nature has everything that you need to enhance and maintain your natural beauty. From cleansers to toners and anything that you need, I realized that I can find it in its natural form with minimal effort.

Here are some of the natural skincare products that I found and decided to stick to:

·        Natural cleanser and toner: A naturally astringent cleanser and toner that I have been using since the beginning of this year is Apple cider vinegar. This works magic when diluted with pure water.

·        Exfoliator: Sugar and olive oil work great when used every week.

·        Moisturizer: No moisturizer beats coconut oil.

·        Sunscreen: I buy all natural sunscreen from a reputable brand.

Results

The results of my all-natural approach to skincare are just amazing. My skin tantrum has waned. I no longer have redness and bumps. My skin doesn’t need luminizing or strobing. I have a smooth, clean skin and I don’t need any chemical-based skincare product to add extra glow to my skin. What’s more, I don’t have to expose myself to the damaging effects of chemical-based products that include skin cancer to maintain my natural beauty.

Lesson

Today, my skin is doing great. I have realized that I have a beautiful, minimalist skin that doesn’t need chemical-based products to look and feel great. But, the major lesson that I have learnt is that human skin needs a break from skincare products. So, if you are having trouble with your skin, I suggest that you take a break from skincare products especially chemical-based products then resume with all-natural products. Trust me- this approach works wonders. I assure you that you’ll never look back once you start using all-natural skincare products.

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How to Set Up VPN Systems on Linux Servers

VPN systems like OpenVPN and PPTP VPN enable users to protect their personal information. That’s because they allow access to geo-restricted content only. And, of all the platforms that can be used to set up a VPN system, Linux is probably the best, particularly Ubuntu. This platform provides better package management. Nevertheless, nothing is 100% secure when it comes to security focused systems. That’s why you need to know the best practices for setting up a VPN system on a Linux server.

Here are the steps to follow:

1.     Install from repositories

Ubuntu has an OpenVPN package in the official repositories. Simply click on the package menu then navigate to the Software Manager.

You might be prompted to enter a root password or administrator password for the software manager to install your package. On opening the Software Manager Window, type “OpenVPN” in the search box then hit enter.

Double click the OpenVPN package to open it then click the “Install” button.

After installation, the “Install” button changes to a “Remove” button.

2.  Install Network Manager

This is a distribution and open source agnostic framework. It runs well on different Linux distros and desktops and it uses plug-ins to configure networks including OpenVPN.  Follow the steps that you follow to install OpenVPN to install Network Manager. Simply double-click the package and select the “install” button.

To ensure that Network Manager has already picked up plug-ins, use this command to restart it:

$ sudo restart network-manager

Alternatively, reboot the machine.

3.   Configure VPN

Click on the applet of the Network Manager on the panel then click on the “Network Connections” button.

A new window will open up. Clock on the “Add” button then add a connection.

 A pull-down list will appear when you click the “Add” button. Under VPN, there is the OpenVPN option. Select it and click the “Create” button. This will open up a window where you can choose a *.ovpn file. Whether this will work or not depends on the set up of the OpenVPN configuration file of your provider.

However, if a VPN provider has provided OpenVPN configuration files in a TAR or ZIP file, download and open one of them. You will see something like this:

In this image, the first line contains the FQDN (Uk1.vpn.ac) for VPN server, the protocol, and the port (1194).  Fill in something memorable as the Connection Name. Use VPN server or FQDN to fill in the gateway. For Authentication Type, you can select a Password. In most cases, password/username authentication method is used. This is seen in a config file as:

auth-user-pass

Some providers use a Certificate Authority (CA). This is embedded in the OpenVPN configuration file. On clicking the “CA Certificate” button, it brings up a file that allows you to select a certificate file. Select the file with a *.crt, *.key, or *.pem extension.

Once you have done that, click on the “Advanced” button.

A common setting is “Use custom gateway port”. However, in the case illustrated above, the server uses the official 1194 OpenVPN port. That means there is no need to set up anything. But, a common option is “Use LZO data compression” while “Use a TCP connection” is a less common option. In the above case, the provider uses UDP port 1194. If the network is unreliable or firewalls are restrictive, you may use TCP. Nevertheless, the TCP meltdown effect makes it less efficient.

If you see this "comp-lzo" in the .ovpn file, it means that your provider uses LZO compression with an adaptive default. Theoretically, the adaptive setting discovers whether compression helps or not and enables or disables it on the fly. 

4.     Security 

Still in the advanced options, click on the “Security” tab.

If there are no default options set up by the provider, 

enter them here. In this case, the corresponding OpenVPN configuration file options are: 

cipher AES-256-CBC

auth SHA1

The example further shows that the provider uses TLS authentication. So, click on the “TLS Authentication” button.

Here the config file line is: 

tls-auth Wdc.key 1

That means Wdc.key is the key file name while Key Direction is 1. Note that yours will differ unless the provider is the same. Click the “Key File” button then select a key file. Also, click on the “Key Direction” to select a proper direction. Finalize the process by clicking OK then Save on the main configuration window. 

5.    Connect to VPN 

Click on the applet of the Network manager on the panel.

Different configured VPN connections will show up. Click the connection that you want to use and after establishing the connection, a message similar to this will pop-up:

The applet for the Network Manager will also indicate a lock. 

And, that’s it! Your VPN system on Linux will be up and running. 

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