PPB April 2018

those into audiences for advertisers. Facebook has some of the data that is self-reported in member records. It can also merge that data with purchased third-party data and member content history to form very accurate profiles. Google, on the other hand, doesn’t have much reported data and has to rely heavily on third- party data to create its profiles. I took a look at my data and Google was able to accurately determine my gender, age (within one year), interests, and the products and services that I am in the market for. As an advertiser, I don’t think being able to get this information from these sites is creepy—that’s the reason why the internet is free. We are the product. That product is sold to advertisers and the advertisers use this data to create leads for their clients. We bill our client a flat fee for ad setup and creative, plus a monthly fee for maintenance, insights and reporting. To get started, your first step is to become familiar with Facebook Lead Generation ads at this link: facebook.com/business/ help/1481110642181372. Try them out on your own business first. The trick is to find an appropriate Facebook audience in a small geographic area, and then create an interesting offer. If you want to expand your business beyond promotional products sales, investigating how you can deliver leads to your clients is a good place to begin. It’s also a nice answer to “What do you do for a living?” Joe Scott is vice president of Chanhassen, Minnesota-based distributor Scott & Associates, Inc. and a former PPAI board member. He is a recipient of the PPAI 2017 Distinguished Service Award. Reach him at joe@scottassoc.com. If you want to expand your business beyond promotional products sales, investigating how you can deliver leads to your clients is a good place to begin. www.TheDistributorExchange.com • 844-251-8544 (toll free) All inquiries are strictly confidential. Do you want to sell your distributorship? We can help you sell your distributorship quickly and easily. “This type of business transaction was completely foreign to me so it was invaluable to have The Distributor Exchange take us through the process step by step. They went above and beyond in all regards. I couldn’t be happier with their efforts to make this a win win for all parties involved.” – Cindy Gibbs - Big Fish Branding | APRIL 2018 | 59 GROW