Each year I talk or write about mistakes and Facebook ads, and most of the time they’re quite similar. Although, I often don’t see things as mistakes but rather learning opportunities.
Anyway, instead of looking at the mistakes that people usually make (and repeating myself), I’m going to focus on what has changed with Facebook ads recently and where I see people going wrong right now.
Tune in to learn more about what to avoid this year 🎧
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Facebook Ads Checklist
Inside this FREE master template I’ll show you exactly what you need to create and setup before you can start your ads.
Transcript
Hello, and welcome to the new school of marketing podcast. Podcasting with a baby is definitely interesting. I’m sitting here recording this with a sleeping baby on my lap, hoping he’ll actually sleep long enough to get through this episode.
The past few weeks have been a blur and bliss. I’m really enjoying my time with baby Jacob and we’re taking it one day at a time, simply slowing down, taking lots of naps and we’re having lots of cuddles.
Each year I talk or write about mistakes and Facebook ads, and most of the time they’re quite similar. Although, I often don’t see things as mistakes but rather learning opportunities.
Anyway, instead of looking at the mistakes that people usually make (and repeating myself), I’m going to focus on what has changed with Facebook ads recently and where I see people going wrong right now.
- Use ads with intention
One of the things I still see people doing is boosting posts and although it’s really easy to do, it’s not a strategic way to put money towards ads.
Boosting posts doesn’t offer you the level of detail and options that ads manager does, which means you’re missing out on lots of opportunities. Boosting posts isn’t using ads with intention, but rather a ‘fingers crossed’ approach of flinging some dollars at Facebook.
I’m all about using ads with intention and really coming up with a plan to reach your goal.
For most of us that goal means to get sales, so how can you strategically use ads to guide your audience towards buying from you?
The answer to this question will be different for everyone, as it comes down to knowing your audience and how they make purchase decisions. Some people will require lots of nurturing and hand holding before they buy, so you’ll require a longer funnel, whereas others will make a snap decision and purchase after only a few encounters with your brand.
You’ll need to work out what the purchase journey looks like for your audience, and create your ad strategy accordingly.
- Fill your funnels
This brings us to the second thing I often see people miss or they don’t quite get it right.
Again, you need to know your audience and create a journey for them from getting them to find your brand to then taking the steps towards purchasing from you.
This journey can be mapped out in steps and in marketing terms this would be your funnel.
Hardly anyone goes from finding a brand to purchasing in just two steps. It often takes much longer for someone to decide to buy. That’s why it’s so important to fill your funnel with potential customers.
This will again look different for everyone, but most of the time it includes steps like:
- Ways to drive traffic and get people to discover your brand. This can be through both organic and paid marketing.
- Nurturing them so they get to know you, your brand, your values and why you’re the perfect business to purchase from. You can do this through organic and paid marketing, but also through email marketing.
- Making offers to them, which you can do through email marketing, and organic and paid marketing.
Funnels don’t need to be complicated, in fact, I’m all for a simple funnel. It’s really about how you get discovered by your audience and then take them on a journey to purchase from you.
Knowing that it takes on average 7 to 12 touchpoints before someone purchases from you, using Facebook and Instagram ads as some of these touchpoints makes complete sense to me.
- Expectations from a low budget
This one isn’t really a mistake but rather a misconception.
Facebook & Instagram ads aren’t the holy grail of marketing. They are merely a tool in the toolbox and when people complain about Facebook ads I’m always keen to dive in deeper to see if they were really as bad for your business as you thought.
Unfortunately some people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to Facebook ads. Especially when we talk about budgets.
You don’t need a big budget for Facebook ads, but you also need to be realistic about your goals and what it takes. For example, if you’re using ads to generate leads and you’re only putting $10 per day towards ads and getting 3 leads per day, that is realistic. What I often see though is people complaining because they are only getting 3 leads per day. A low budget can get you results, but they won’t happen fast, so if you want 100 leads per day, you need to first work out what the cost per lead is for your business and then calculate how much money you need to invest to get that number of leads.
- Tracking
At the moment it’s quite tricky to track results in Facebook ads manager, mainly because Facebook can’t track iOS devices anymore. So if someone on an iOS device has tracking disabled, Facebook won’t be able to track their actions. So right now, they’re doing what they can to navigate that and for some of it they use statistical modeling, which means they’re making it up. So whatever you’re seeing inside of ads manager needs to not be taken at face value.
Ads managers have had to upskill and use other methods of tracking, such as Google Analytics, specialized tracking software or going old school and track manually. Most of us actually use a combination of these methods.
Before Apple turned the world upside down with their iOS14 roll-out you’d hear every marketer say to ‘take your audience off the platform and onto your website’ whereas right now the advice is to keep them on the platform because as long as they stay on Facebook or Instagram they’re not affected by the iOS changes because Facebook can keep tracking them.
Engagement and video view campaigns are popular because you can use them to nurture your audience, build authority and mostly, they keep the user ON the platform. Then you can use that audience to create retargeting audiences in a more reliable way compared to relying on pixel data that will likely be incomplete.
- Messaging & copy
This one is probably the most important and it goes hand in hand with knowing your audience.
Facebook has removed and is currently removing lots of targeting options. If you’re familiar with Facebook ads you’ll know what I’m talking about and how frustrating it is, if you’re not familiar with Facebook ads (yet) move along as it won’t really matter for you. You’ll be able to start fresh with this tip.
Because there are fewer niched targeting options available, it means that advertisers have to go broader. One of the strong points of Facebook ads was that we could laser target specific audiences and niches, but with that being limited we have to get super clear in our messaging and copy so that when you use a broader audience, your creative, including your copy, speaks to the right audience.
So when it comes to Facebook ads in 2022, the strongest copywriter wins. As long as you know your audience, have a specific message and create copy that really speaks to them, you’ll be able to still get results with your Facebook ads.
If you’re keen to learn more about managing your own Facebook ads, or if you’re looking to outsource your Facebook ads, please get in touch with me. I’ll add a link to the show notes where you can find out more about my group programs, VIP days and done for you options.
