Does Facebook advertising really work?

Let’s have an honest conversation. I see and hear a lot of people saying that Facebook ads are a waste of time and money and they don’t work. And you know, I totally understand where they’re coming from. I do. BUT Why would Facebook be earning billions of dollars from something that doesn’t work? Plus, why would so many people keep investing in ads over and over again? Because they DO work. Marketing always works, but it might not always work straight away. Let’s take a closer look at how Facebook ads work and how you can make them work for your business.

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Transcript

Welcome to another episode of the New School of Marketing podcast. I hope you’re all well and ready for another practical marketing episode.

Let’s have an honest conversation.

I see and hear a lot of people saying that Facebook ads are a waste of time and money and they don’t work.

And you know, I totally understand where they’re coming from. I do.

BUT

Why would Facebook be earning billions of dollars from something that doesn’t work?

Plus, why would so many people keep investing in ads over and over again?

Yup, because they DO work.

Marketing always works, but it might not always work straight away.

Facebook advertising can do amazing things for your business, but your foundations need to be solid first.

Plus you need to know how to set up your Facebook ads to get the most out of them.

So let’s take a closer look at how Facebook ads work and how you can make them work for your business.

Firstly, I want to let you know that when I talk about Facebook ads, I also mean Instagram ads because Facebook owns both platforms and advertising to both platforms is both done through the Facebook ads manager dashboard.

So, when I say Facebook ads I really mean Facebook AND Instagram ads.

Secondly, this episode is mostly relevant to people who sell online courses, are in service based businesses or offer 1;1 services such as coaching.

Ok, now you are aware of this, let’s dive in.

Facebook ads are an amplifier, which means that whatever is already happening in your business is going to be put on steroids by putting a strategy and some ad spend behind it.

I do want to quickly mention that Facebook ads are different from search advertising such as Google.

Search advertising generally relies on someone to perform a search for a certain term or product before they are served ads for that particular search topic.

Facebook ads are a little bit different. On Facebook you can advertise to people who are likely to be interested in your brand or product.

I’m saying this with some caution because I’m sure you’d have seen ads in your newsfeed that seemed completely irrelevant to you, and this happens when the ads are not set up with the correct targeting options because the advertiser didn’t understand the options or how to actually set up the ads to relevant audiences.

The way Facebook ads work is that the person setting up the ads is in control of setting up the ads with a specific goal, a specific audience and they also decide what they will show as part of the images and copy.

The business that’s advertising on Facebook is the one in the driver’s seat and determines where an ad is shown and who gets to see it.

The magic behind Facebook ads lies in the strategy.

Actually, the magic behind any marketing tactic lies in the strategy.

Simply putting an ad together, clicking a few buttons and making it go live is unlikely to get you any results.

Your first step is to determine what journey you want to send your potential client on.

Because let’s be honest, most of us don’t hand-over our money willy-nilly. Especially not when the price point of a product is relatively high or if we’re seeking out a service where we’ll most likely be working closely with the business owner or their team.

So you need to think about how you want your business to be introduced to someone who has never heard of it before and what steps you want them to take next.

For example, if you sell 1:1 services like coaching, photography, design etc. your ideal client needs to get to know – like and trust you before they invest in working with you.

In episode 6 I spoke all about the know like and trust factor and how you can build that trust so that someone is ready to take the next step and work with you.

In terms of advertising, you need to think about how you can get someone to know you, like you and trust you. So you need to create a strategy that addresses each point.

I’ll give you an example of what you can do in terms of Facebook and Instagram advertising by looking at creating a funnel for each step.

Your first step is to get seen and noticed by your ideal clients, so you could do a Facebook live on your Facebook page where you introduce yourself and what you do, then you also give people one tip on the topic that you specialise in.

Once this Facebook live or video has finished you can go into your ads manager dashboard and turn it into a Facebook ad that you target towards your ideal clients.

Once this ad is running you’ll be able to look at the Facebook ads manager dashboard and get some data based on your ad. It will tell you how many people watched it and for how long.

This data can then be used for the next step, which could be an ad to get them to go to a landing page where they can opt-in to receive a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a valuable freebie that you create for your audience, it could be a guide, a video series, a webinar, a challenge or something else.

Once this ad is running you’ll be getting more data and should be able to see how many people clicked on the link and how many signed up.

The people who signed up for your lead magnet should be nurtured with an email series so they get to know, like and trust you.

With this nurture sequence you’re in a position to build a real connection and get people hooked on what you do. Your nurture sequence is the equivalent of lots of coffee dates where you get to know each other, well…. They get to know you and what you do and how you can help them.

So for a service based business, a 1:1 offer and for online courses you need to map out the customer journey and how you want to introduce your business to your ideal client before you ask them to purchase from you.

For an online store it’s often less complicated and you actually CAN ask straight for the sale, unless you sell a product at a high price point and need to do some storytelling ads first to get a potential customer to really ‘feel’ your brand and product.

So, back to the question ‘Does facebook advertising really work?’

Yes, it really works but it’s not as straightforward as people often think and the magic is in the strategy.

In the example I gave you, of first showing them an ad to get to know you and your brand and then showing them an ad to get onto your mailing list, the REAL magic is in the email marketing.

Facebook ads really work but you need to think about the customer journey before you think about the sales.

The process is one of many steps. Each step should be designed to bring your ideal client closer to you and to buying from you.

In episode 6 I briefly spoke about a sales funnel and how it looks like an upside down triangle with the wide section at the top. The amount of people who enter your funnel will be much larger than the amount of people who come out of our funnel as paid clients, and that’s ok. It’s a process of educating them and building that relationship with them before they are ready to purchase.

Facebook ads are a brilliant way to make people aware of your business and to get them to take the next step of entering your funnel through signing up for a lead magnet so that they are on your mailing list and you can nurture them.

Once they are on your list, it’s up to you to nurture them so that they become a paid client.

So, do Facebook ads work?
Yes, but you need to be aware of the customer journey and which part Facebook plays in it.

Facebook is not your sales person.
Facebook ads are merely a tool to help people find you and then take an action based on what you instruct them to do. Which could be to sign up to your mailing list, or to purchase something after you’ve built a relationship with them.

Your nurture funnel emails, sales funnel emails, landing pages, sales pages and/or product page descriptions are your sales person and need to do the heavy lifting.

Facebook ads amplify, so whatever is already happening in your business will be put on rocket fuel if you put ad spend behind it.

I want to give you some homework this week so that you’re more aware of what’s happening in your business and whether you’re ready for Facebook ads.

Here’s your homework:

Look at all the numbers in your business and write them down. So, for the past 3 months look at how many visitors a specific landing page or sales page received and how many people took an action. For example, how many people visited your landing page vs how many people took the action of signing up?
Once you’ve written these numbers down, grab your calculator and calculate the percentages. For example, if 100 people visited your landing page and 20 signed up, you have a 20% conversion rate. Some people will be ok with this rate but I want you to think about ways to improve your rate.
Think about the journey you’d like someone to have from the first step of finding you to becoming a client. How do you want them to feel at each step? For example, if they find you on social media, how will you encourage them to take the next step and join your mailing list?

That’s your homework for this week. I want you to really think about the customer journey and treat it as dating or developing a friendship. They need to get to know you, so think about how you can best go about this?

As soon as you have the mindset shift of seeing Facebook ads as an amplifier and not a salesperson things will start to make more sense. Facebook ads are a tool in your toolbox that can help drive more people to the right pages on your website and your website needs to instruct them what to do next.

I hope that this episode has been helpful to you and you’ll take the next step in your Facebook ads journey.

Go do your homework and I look forward to connecting with you in next week’s episode.