VieWpointMay ‘14www.vanwertchamber.com

The Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce appreciates the

generous support of these Chamber members:

Elite SponsorAlexander & Bebout, Inc.

Executive SponsorsCulligan

Koorsen Fire & SecurityVantage Career Center

Van Wert Manor

Van Wert AreaChamber of CommerceBoard of Directors 2014

Executive CommitteeJacque Welch, Administrator, Chair

Van Wert ManorTroy Miller, Chair Elect

Braun Industries, Inc.Brian Mercer, Manager, Past Chair

Lee’s Ace HardwareKurt Schalois, Sales, Vice Chair

Statewide Ford Lincoln MercuryAngie Gibson, TreasurerCentral Mutual Insurance

Jordan Miller, Vice ChairCitizens National Bank

Board Members:Dave Mosier

Van Wert IndependentNick Spoonmore

Van Wert Medical ServicesPete Prichard

Vantage Career CenterAngie Gibson

Central Insurance CompaniesEric Hurless

Stahl Stoller Meyer InsuranceSara Zura

Alexander and BeboutMark HiegelCooper Farms

Shaun PutmanAttorney

Jon StollerArend, Laukhuf & Stoller

Tafi StoberNiswonger Performing Arts Center

Gary ReichertFirst Bank of BerneDave Thompson

Kenn-Feld Group

Ex-Officio Members:Adam Ries

Main Street Van WertCynthia LeisOSU Extension,

Economic DevelopmentLarry Lee

Van Wert County Convention & Visitors Bureau

Sarah SmithVan Wert County Commissioners Office, Van Wert

Economic Development

Chamber StaffSusan Munroe

President/CEOErika Wise

Office Manager

Mission Statement:To aggressively promote the interests of the

business community.

This is your last week to register for Leadercast, taking place May 9 at LifeHouse Church at the YMCA Camp Clay Center. Hear world-renowned leaders via Livestream simulcast present messages on becoming a leader that others want to follow, not have to follow. The registration deadline is Monday, May 5.

We believe the greater Van Wert area is craving leaders of excellence and integrity for our communities, businesses, schools and organizations. Join us to hear and see the knowl-edge and experience of world-renowned leaders by attending Leadercast in Van Wert on May 9, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A light breakfast, lunch and refreshments will be served. Earn up to six Continuing Education Units by attending. Big giveaways will be offered throughout the day.

Here’s a look at the impressive roster of leaders that will speak:

•AndyStanley, leadership communicator and best-selling au-thor. Quote: “Direction, not intention determines your desti-nation.”

•MalcolmGladwell, award-winning journalist and best-sell-ing author. Quote: “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

•Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel laureate and human rights activist. Quote: “We learn from history that we don’t learn from history!”

•RandallWallace, screenwriter, director, producer and song-writer. Quote: “If I’m making a film and not loving every-thing about it, then I know I’ve got to change something until I do.”

•BillMcDermott, CEO of SAP AG. Quote: “Put people first and build great teams.”

•LauraSchroff, former advertising sales executive and best-selling author. Quote: “If love is the greatest gift of all, then the greatest privilege of all is to be able to love someone.”

•Dr.HenryCloud, clinical psychologist and leadership con-sultant. Quote: “A leader’s responsibility is to cause a vision and mission to have tangible results in the real world.”

•Simon Sinek, leadership expert and best-selling author. Quote: “A leader must be inspired by the people before a leader can inspire the people.”

•LauraBush, First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Quote: “Any first lady can do whatever they want to do.”

•CatDeeley, Leadercast co-host. Quote: “Being famous hasn’t changed my perception of myself; I’ve just grown up.”

•TrippCrosby, Leadercast co-host. Quote: “One day I want to meet someone who is as happy as their Instagram portrays.”

Come join us. Be a leader worth following, and together we will change the way the world and Van Wert County thinks about leadership. Cost to attend is $85 for one attendee, 2 or more is $75 each.

Registration deadline is May 5. Go to www.vanwertchamber.com to register or contact the chamber office at 419.238.4390.

Last week to register for Leadercast

St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic School is the only option for a Christ-centered education for children in grades kindergarten through sixth in Van Wert County. While adhering to the teachings of the Catholic Church our school is open to children of all faiths. St. Mary’s has been educating the students of greater Van Wert area for more than 50 years. St. Mary’s is a fully accredited non-public charted school that meets all of the Ohio Department of Education requirements.

St. Mary of the Assump-tion Catholic School is a place where academic excellence and Christian values go hand and hand. Our experienced staff consists of caring, com-passionate individuals that are committed to staying in-formed of and implementing current teaching methods in their classrooms. We offer students a unique educational opportunity as we take the ba-sic principles of the new Common Core curriculum and incor-porate the Catholic faith to make the standards fit the needs of our students. As a participant in the Innovative Education Pilot Program, St. Mary’s uses project-based learning lessons in conjunction with the more traditional classroom setting to help enhance student learning and create an enduring under-standing of the material. These types of hands-on projects, along with a strong integration of technology throughout the lessons, help create a classroom atmosphere that engages all types of student learners. When students leave St. Mary’s they are equipped with not only excellent academic skills but also

the ability to make sound moral decisions when life presents them with obstacles to overcome.

As more and more emphasis is put on school choice, St. Mary’s is commit-ted to offering the best in academic and religious education in a way that is af-fordable for everyone. Along with having one of the lowest tuition rates in north-west Ohio, St. Mary’s offers the follow-ing Tuition Assistance Programs: The EdChoice Expansion Scholarship, the Jon Peterson Scholarship, The One Faith Many Blessing Grant, St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic School Tuition As-sistance Fund, and a Scrip program.

St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic School is accepting registrations for the 2014-2015 school year. Registration will continue until classes are filled. St. Mary

of the Assumption Catholic School is located at 611 Jennings Road, Van Wert, Ohio. The phone number is 419.238.5186; the school website is www.stmarysroyals.org.

St. Mary’s invites and encourages you to come and see what we have to offer. A personal tour of our facilities can be ar-ranged by phoning the school office.

A vision for the future—that was what business and community leaders had in mind for Van Wert and the surrounding area in 2006 when the former Ohio Depart-ment of Development awarded Van Wert County a $5 million grant. The money was intend-ed to develop the 1600-acre Industrial Mega Site located on US 30 between Marsh and Galliland Roads in Van Wert County. Many of those past leaders are still helping today to make the site a reality. Once site development is completed, the future leaders of the com-munity will reap the benefits for years to come.

According to an input-out-put modeling method using IM-PLAN, new jobs in a commu-

nity have substantial impact on other sectors such as retail stores, medical facilities, food services and transportation. When a city like Van Wert attracts 1,000 new jobs to a site like the Industrial Mega Site, there will be a significant and immediate positive im-pact. 500-plus jobs in related business sectors will be created, add-ing more revenue sources for local households. That increased rev-enue in turn spreads to local businesses, charities, school districts, municipalities, counties and hospitals. Over time, the increased

availability of discretionary resources will serve to improve all aspects of life in the community that invests in its economy. According to Mark Laut-man, economic developer and author of “When the Boomers Bail,” “eco-nomic development is about ensuring the economy in your community grows faster than your population so you have extra resources in the future to finance improvements.”

In preparation for such an event, many things must first be implement-ed to attract new companies or expand existing ones. Busi-nesses and school districts are beginning with plans to link business and industry with students, teachers, counselors and parents. Through a recently-awarded Straight A Fund grant from the state, the project, called “Beyond the Classroom,” will bring together educators from five local school districts and local businesses to help the district develop curricula to better prepare students entering the modern job market.

With the current shortage of skilled workers, businesses are unable to fill current and future job openings effectively, which contributes to the current rate of unemployment. The relationship between educators and businesses, therefore, is es-sential to reducing that gap in the workforce. According to Eric Canada, partner of management consulting firm Blane Canada Ltd., the impact of existing companies on job growth is 76 per-cent greater than that of new companies (who have a 15 percent influence over job growth) and entrepreneurial start-ups (9 per-cent job growth). For this reason, many local educators agree

that preparing students in pre-K through 12th grade is the best place to begin. By seeking advice from local businesses to de-termine the economy’s needs and how best to meet them, both schools and businesses will better serve their community’s fu-ture growth. Driving up educational achievement by realigning curricula more closely to modern commerce is how Van Wert and other communities across the United States will prepare for the future of our workforce. Working with existing busi-nesses will not only assist our local school districts in better developing our future workforce, but will also generate future opportunities for expansion.

Member SpotlightSt. Mary of the Assumption Catholic School611 Jennings RdVan Wert, Ohio 45891419.238.5186www.stmarysroyals.org

Engineering • Design • Construction

419.238.956710098 Lincoln Highway, Van Wert, Ohiowww.alexanderbebout.com

Alexander& Bebout, Inc.

Low cost of living including land, commercial and residential real estate. Outstanding county schools featuring the State Robotic Champions, Di-vision IV State High School Basketball Champions, career workforce development and higher education opportunities. The arts brought to life via Niswonger Performing Art Center and Wassenberg Art Center. A revitalized, charming downtown district celebrat-ing its tenth year anniversary as a Main Street Ohio designated community. Festivals that celebrate the breathtaking peony to mouth-watering ribs.

The best of small town living, conveniently lo-cated to big city conveniences. Thirty miles from Ft.

Wayne, Indiana; 80 miles from Toledo and Dayton; less than 150 miles from Columbus and Cincinnati; and a 350 mile radius of the Great Lakes, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, Buffalo, Cleve-land, and Indianapolis.

We love our businesses.

Whether you’re a manufacturer that needs a 1600-acre job-ready industrial site or a smaller one needing less. Van Wert’s got it. Whether you har-vest soybeans or wind, Van Wert County welcomes you. Perhaps you’ve got a business idea that you are driven to see succeed. Van Wert is here to assist you

with its entrepreneurship initiatives and funding in-centives. We are here to aggressively assist our busi-nesses build economic success.

I suppose you could say that I’m a fan of Van Wert County! Many claim to be proud of their com-munity, but few, if any, can claim all of the above attributes that make Van Wert a great place to call home. For more information, visit www.vanwert-chamber.com.

Susan Munroe,President/CEOVan Wert Area Chamber

Safety Council UpdateFifteen area companies received special recognition from the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and the Van Wert Area

Chamber of Commerce on April 9 at the Van Wert Area Safety Council’s Award and Recognition meeting. Semi-annual report statistics for calendar year 2013 determined award recipients in four categories:

•100% Award: to any company who worked the entire calendar year (2013) without a lost-time accident

•Group Award: to the company with the lowest incident rate in each group

•Achievement Award: to any company that improved its incident rate by at least 25 percent from the previous year

•Special Award: to any company that worked at least 500,000 hours and at least six months without a lost-time accident

Van Wert Area Safety Council membership is open to any business, no matter your rating. Registration for the 2014-15 year will begin in June.

We love Van Wert.And why not?

Van Wert: a community preparing for the future

Cynthia LeisVan Wert Economic and Community Development Director/OSU ExtensionLeis.40@osu.edu

160 Fox Road, Van Wert, OH 45891Phone: (419) 238-6655Fax: (419) 238-6696

www.VanWertManor.com

We provide a community re-entry program, where personal daily travels are used in rehab

such as grocery shopping and banking.

Rehabilitation Servicesphysical • occupational • speech • outpatient

The chamber congratulates this year’s recipients of the BWC Safety Council Awards.

YWCA now selling chicken dinner tickets

Tickets for the YWCA of Van Wert County’s annual Schol-arship Chicken Dinner are now on sale. The dinner will be available for carry out Thursday May 15, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the YWCA.

Tickets for the chicken dinners are $8. The cost of the din-ner includes half of a barbecue chicken, two sides, roll, and a cookie. The chicken this year will be pre pared by Gibson’s Backyard BBQ of Convoy. All proceeds support the YWCA’s Scholarship for Christian Leaders. The YWCA Christian Em-phasis Committee did the planning for this dinner. General hours of operation are Monday through Thursday 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, contact the YWCA at 419.238.6639.

Senior Citizens Day Banquet coming soon

It is that time of the year for the 2014 Annual Senior Citi-zen’s Day Banquet. This year the banquet will be held on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at the Van Wert County Council on Aging located at 220 Fox Road Van Wert, Ohio.

The theme for 2014 is “Senior Stars”. This day will be a chance to recognize those seniors who volunteer their time to various causes throughout the Van Wert community. Seniors who volunteer really make or break many charitable organi-zations; as without senior volunteerism, these organizations would not have the necessary individuals to accomplish their goals. The Council on Aging is one of these organizations.

If your organization has such a person that you would like to nominate as a “Senior Star,” nominations forms are avail-able on line at www.vwcouncilonaging.com or contact us at 419.238.5011.

Please join us on May 14, 2014 to recognize our “Senior Stars” at the Annual Senior Citizen’s Day Banquet. Your meal will be catered by Bob Evan’s and the entertainment will be provided by “The Magic & Comedy of Terry Owens”. The lun-cheon will commence at 11 a.m. Tickets for the day are $10 and can be picked up at the Van Wert County Council on Aging or, if necessary, we can have one of our staff deliver your tickets. Tickets will be available until Friday, May 9, 2014. It is impor-tant to get your tickets early, as seating is limited.

VW Manor earns deficiency-free survey

Van Wert Manor has received a deficiency free survey from the Ohio Department of Public Health for 2014.

Nursing facilities are inspected and evaluated yearly by the Department of Public Health to ensure the facility is in compli-ance with federal and state regulations. On average, less than 1 percent of all Ohio nursing facilities receive a deficiency free survey in both noted areas.

Inspection surveys are unannounced and conducted on-site over several days. The inspection team evaluates all aspects of resident care and nursing facility procedures and practices, as-sessing facility compliance with hundreds of specific state and federal standards.

“At Van Wert Manor, we strive to be the best health care provider and serve our community; the needs and well-being of our residents come first,” said Jacque Welch, administrator. “Every member of our staff is truly dedicated to this communi-ty, and this achievement of being deficiency free is a testament to our ongoing commitment to our residents and families.”

Van Wert Manor has been part of the community since 1970 through its tradition of caring. For more information about the survey results, contact Erin Shaffer, director of market devel-opment, at 419.238.6655.

VW Historical Society planning Night at the Museum

Once again, the Van Wert County Historical Society is planning a “Night at the Museum” for Thursday, May 8, at 6:30 p.m.

Heidi Leiendecker will offer a hands-on opportunity of card making and will demonstrate the making of three spring-themed cards. The cost for the class will be $10. Call 419.749.2476 by May 4 to register. Registration will be com-plete upon receipt of payment. The class size is limited, so don’t wait.

VW Federal recognized for its financial health

Van Wert Federal Savings Bank was recently recognized as one of the strongest banks financially by Bauer Financial of Coral Gables, Florida.

This marks the 102nd consecutive quarter that Van Wert Federal has been awarded the Bauer 5 Star Rating. This makes Van Wert Federal not only one of the strongest and most con-sistent banks in the state, but one of the strongest banks in the nation.

Bauer Financial rates all of the nation’s banks, which en-compasses approximately 6,855 institutions. Recognized as a “Sustained Superiority Bank,” Van Wert Federal is one of only 59 banks to have received the Bauer 5 Start Rating since the inception of the award. This puts Van Wert Federal in elite company, as only .861 percent of all the nation’s banks hold this claim.

Bauer Financial conducts their analysis every quarter and rates banks based on specific factors that demonstrate their strength. Some of the key factors Van Wert Federal has achieved and was evaluated on are significantly exceeding all federal capital requirements, maintaining a very low level of

delinquent loans, strong profits, as well as, exceeding several of the other benchmarks as established by Bauer Financial.

Van Wert Federal Savings Bank is celebrating its 125th an-niversary this year and is very proud to have earned this desig-nation, as it has been committed to providing the highest qual-ity of service without compromising its standards since 1889.

Marsh Foundation plans spring plant sale

The Marsh Foundation “Marsh Grown” garden program will be holding its annual spring plant sale on Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in The Marsh Foundation green-house. Preorders are being taken through April 18. All pro-ceeds will go to the campus youth garden program. The his-toric Marsh Homestead will also be open for public tours the day of the sale.

For sale will be petunia quarts, hanging petunia baskets, one-quart size annuals, one quart size perennials, and addi-tional plants and vegetables available on the day of the sale.

The Marsh Grown youth garden program is dedicated to helping young people develop a sense of land stewardship and learn the importance of healthy food. Participants are taught valuable gardening skills throughout the season. In addition, the program serves as a catalyst for youth to develop important job skills for future employment. Throughout the summer, the garden crew grows vegetables and sells them at the farmer’s market for income. Participants in the Marsh Grown garden crew are youths who are a part of The Marsh Foundation’s In-dependent Living Group. They are all 15½ years of age or older and are working on skills that will help them be successful adults. The garden program is an opportunity for them to inter-act with peers and adults, develop quality job skills and learn how to grow healthy food.

Ron Bagley, former Marsh director and current Marsh Foun-dation historian, will be giving public tours of the Marsh Fam-ily Homestead. Tours are open to anyone interested in learning more about the history of The Marsh Foundation and seeing the home where George, Hilinda and Katie Marsh lived. Tours are free and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. The tours will occur at noon, 1 and 2 p.m. and will last approxi-mately 30 minutes. The home itself was completed in 1865 and has been a visual icon in Van Wert ever since. The interior has been preserved to look much like it did when the Marsh family occupied it in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

For more information, contact activities coordinator Sherry Grone at 419.238.1695, extension 270, or via email at sgrone@marshfoundation.org

Central Insurance announces promotions

The Central Insurance Companies has announced several promotions effective March 10.

Todd Simpson, JD, CPCU, CIC, ARe, has been promoted to assistant vice president of Claims. A graduate of the Indi-ana University School of Law, Simpson has been employed by Central for 13 years. He has held positions as a claims attorney and claims operations director, and has had a direct impact on claims results and operations. Simpson holds the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associates in Reinsurance (ARe) designations.

John White has been promoted to senior vice president of Information Technology. White has accountability for all infor-mation technology at Central, including software development, hardware infrastructure, disaster recovery, and IT operations. White began his career with Central in 1979 as a computer pro-grammer and was steadily promoted to various positions in the department, including leading the first agency/company inter-face efforts, before being named vice president of Information Technology in 1999. He is also a member of the Management, Risk Management, and Business Continuity committees and sits on several external IT advisory committees.

Keith Moore, CPCU, AIC, AU, has also been promoted to senior vice president of the Southeast Region. He will continue to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Southeast Regional Office in Alpharetta, Ga., including claims, commercial lines underwriting, personal lines underwriting, and marketing.

During his 35-year career with Central, Moore has held po-sitions as a claim service representative, marketing manager, claims supervisor, claims manager, and regional manager. He holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Claims (AIC), and Associate in Underwriting (AU) designations.

Central Insurance Companies was founded in Van Wert, Ohio in 1876, and writes more than 328,000 auto, home, and business policies in 18 states. Regional offices are located in Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, and Van Wert. The Central Compa-nies have combined assets of over $1 billion. Central’s A.M. Best rating is A (excellent).

Calvary Preschool names new director

Calvary Preschool begins the 2014-15 school year with a new director and new direction. Marilyn Agler returns to her roots at Calvary Preschool where her teaching career began in 1976. After teaching 11 years at Calvary Preschool and another 27 years at Lincolnview, Agler’s experience with education, her passion for children and her goals for advancement in the pre-school’s technology offer a preschool environment where par-ents will want to have their children involved.

Agler’s goals for the students of Calvary Preschool are to focus on their futures by equipping them in multiple aspects of their lives.

“I would like to prepare young children for what is ex-pected from them in school, as well as help them spiritu-ally for facing the things life throws at them,” Agler said. “Having been in a public school that is embracing tech-nology for the future, I would like to expand the preschool’s technology.”

Calvary Preschool, located

at 10686 Van Wert-Decatur Road in Van Wert, offers morning classes for 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children. The preschool is cur-rently registering for the 2014-15 school year. More informa-tion, the needed forms and the parent handbook are available at calvaryelife.org or in the church office.

Visit us online at www.kennfeldgroup.com

Kennedy-Kuhn10305 Liberty Union Rd.

Van Wert, OH 45891419.238.1299

ProtectingTheirTomorrows . . .

From the moment I said “I do,” I promised to always love her.From the moment I first held my son, I promised to always be his hero.

When it comes to my family I will never break a promise.

That’s why I bought Life Insurance. To make suremy family is secure even if I cannot always be herefor them. Because it’s not about my life, it’s about

theirs!

MERKLE INSURANCE AGENCYVan Wert, Ohio • 419-238-1976 • www.merkleinsurance.com

Call or visit us:

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546 S. Shannon St.Van Wert, OH

419.238.5000

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www.timesbulletin.com | twitter.com/ivanwert

Doing business without advertising is like doing exercise in the dark...

You know what you’re accomplishing, but

no one else is watching

!

www.timesbulletin.comtwitter.com/ivanwert

Serendipity—the idea that “you never know who you might meet”—is a fun, encouraging and motivating philosophy to have in networking. And you’ve got to have an absolute focus on exactly the kind of people and business owners you need to meet. Otherwise, you might have a lot of fun networking, but eventually the lack of results will quench your interest.

Here’s how to determine your best target market. First and most importantly, no one can do business with “anyone who breathes” or “anyone who has skin.” If that’s part of your busi-ness networking club elevator speech or introduction, you need to get much, much narrower in your description.

The fear for many people is that if they get very specific on who they can help that people who aren’t in that market or don’t fit that description will never use their services. Don’t worry about that. You can describe exactly what you do and how you help people to a “T” and people will still suggest and refer people completely outside that description.

Instead of chasing twenty different markets and catching none, you can dominate and become an expert in one. Then the others will come to you. (For more on the idea of being the best in the world, see my book review of Seth Godin’s book “The Dip.”)

To determine your best market, list your five or ten best cur-rent customers as column headings on a piece of paper or in a spreadsheet. Write down as much as you can about them with

each item in a row under their name. Their age, education, in-come, family type, where they live, and where they work. If you sell a particular product, which items do they like best? What problems do you solve for them? If your customers are businesses to business, find out their years in business, type of clients they have, what problems they solve and what problems they have.

Sort the list to look for qualities they all have in common (or that most of them have). Any characteristics that a majority of your best customers have? Write those all down and you’ll see a description of your best customer. Most of your network-ing activities now need to be focused on meeting, serving and building mutually beneficial relationships with more people like them.

Beth Bridges is a leading authority on networking, a dy-namic speaker, and is the author of Amazon best-seller “Net-working on Purpose.” Connect with her at www.Facebook.com/TheNetworkingMotivator and www.TheNetworkingMo-tivator.com.”

A recent post of mine called “Do Facebook Ads Work?” generated some great comments. Here’s what Jeremiah Hub-bard said:

“It should be noted that just because someone “like”s your page or likes, comments, or shares your post doesn’t mean that you are running an effective marketing campaign, only unless your goal is for the purpose of growing your Facebook fan base. The information that the article refers to is ROI, not FOI (fans on investment). Too many marketers are going after fans.”

It was a smart comment and raises an important point about social media. That is, what is your end game? In other words, what is the ultimate goal of your social media program?

When I wrote “How to Make Money with Social Media” a few years ago, I created a graphic that highlights the impor-tance of this point:

“Jeremiah’s comment really struck a chord because it drives home what it’s all about — in the end, we’re looking for ROI.

Or, more specifically, we’re looking for customers (i.e., rev-enue) that 1) put money towards the bottom line, and 2) help fund future marketing campaigns.”

Jeremiah continued with some additional insights:

“If I have a high-end window company, my target goal on Face-book is not to add fans but to get fans who OWN homes who I can engage with, who can purchase my high-end windows. Again this (Facebook) would not be my first form of advertising, it is used in conjunction with other campaigns. I have seen (myself included) a lot of people spend money on Facebook advertising to see no real desirable results. It can be very similar to buying hair spray when you don’t have hair. I love this post!”

The BoTTom LineThe secret to Facebook advertising is to understand that

Facebook is most effective when it’s used in conjunction with other marketing tactics and to understand that the end goal is not FOI, but ROI.

If the campaign has a positive ROI, you’re golden. If it doesn’t, it’s time to hit the re-set button and start over.

Do FaceBook aDs Work?Not long ago, I wrote a post on the 60 Second Marketer blog

called The Truth About Facebook Ads: They Don’t Actually Work. It created a bit of a stir in the online community because there were a lot of Facebook loyalist who defended the platform and who have actually had some success with Facebook ads.

The post generated over 33 comments, many from members of the 60 Second Nation and some from people who were just stopping by. I love those kinds of dialogues because they high-light what the 60 Second Marketer is all about — stirring up debates among marketers about the science of marketing.

But on Friday, one of our 60 Second Communications cli-ents asked a question about Facebook ads that prompted me to clarify what I mean when I say that Facebook ads don’t actu-ally work.

As stated in the original blog post, Facebook struggles to have relevancy among mainstream marketers like Coca-Cola, Nike and Apple, many of whom have robust Facebook pages, but almost never use the platform for advertising.

so, shouLD You aBanDon FaceBook aDverTising?

Well, no. And yes. Here’s what I mean.

If you’re using Facebook as your primary advertising tool, you’ll probably struggle to generate the ROI you’re hoping for. It’s particularly useless if you’re driving people to a link out-side of the Facebook platform. It’s less useless if you’re using a Facebook ad to drive people to a page within Facebook. (Face-book likes to keep people inside the Facebook world.)

But if you’re not using Facebook as your primary advertis-ing tool — in other words, if it’s one of many marketing tools you’re using to build awareness and drive leads to your busi-ness — then it’s an acceptable platform.

In other words, if it’s used as an add-on to an existing (and robust) marketing campaign, then it can be perfectly suitable to round-out your overall program.

That concept — not to lead with Facebook, but to use it as an add-on instead, is a quick and easy way to remember the key point I’m making about Facebook ads.

Are there plenty of people who have been able to make Facebook ads work? Sure. And many of them will have been incredibly lucky and will have generated a client or two (or more) from their ads. It’s also worth noting that Facebook is constantly working to improve and enhance their platform.

But if I were a company with a reasonably nice-sized adver-tising budget, would I spend my money on Facebook ads? No, I’d spend them on about 5 or 6 other vehicles before I ended up spending a dime on Facebook.

So, I hope that clarifies things for you. Facebook ads can be useful — once you’ve exhausted several other vehicles first. Otherwise, they can be a hit-or-miss proposition.

The secret to generating a positive ROI on FacebookThe Business oF sociaL meDia

By Jamie TurnerCEO, 60 Second Marketer and 60 Second Communications

Determine your best target market for better networking results

The neTWorking moTivaTor

By Beth Bridges