Are you wondering whether you should be using Facebook ads in your business?
Perhaps you’re worried it’s too early on in your business. Or you’re not sure what kind of budget you need to get started. It could be that you’ve tried using Facebook ads in your business...but didn’t get the results you hoped for.
If any of this sounds familiar, you’ll love this podcast episode (also available to read as a blog).
In it, I share seven signs you’re ready to run Facebook ads (and what to do if you’re not).
PLUS I also answer some of your burning questions about Facebook ads including - how much do I need to spend on ads to turn a profit and is it worth running a Facebook ‘likes’ campaign.
It sounds obvious, but paying for Facebook ads is no guarantee of sales.
If you want to make sales from Facebook ads, you need a great product that people actually want to buy.
Which leads me into point 2...
Have you successfully sold the product/service you want to run ads to? If not, what makes you think people will buy it?
Remember that when you pay for Facebook ads, you’re paying for traffic - not sales.
So just chucking money at ads, is no guarantee of sales. If it’s a poor product and/or you don’t understand how to sell it to your ideal customers/clients, no amount of Facebook ads will help you sell it.
Most people need seven or eight touch points with you before they buy.
Which means it’s unlikely they’ll buy from the first ad of yours they see. They’ll need to get to know you first.
This means you’ll need to build a sales funnel i.e. you need to map out the steps a new prospect might need to take from not knowing about you to becoming a customer/client.
Which might mean running ads to an email lead magnet (a free resource you create to encourage people to join your email list) or hosting a webinar or live challenge in order to help your ideal customers/clients get to know you...then retargeting people who engaged with those ads with your paid offer.
This will almost certainly mean split-testing multiple types of ad copy and creative - because you won’t know exactly what will resonate with your audience until you try.
It will also mean knowing how to install Pixels (tracking code) on your website so you can track your results.
One of the most common questions I get asked about Facebook ads is this: how much will I need to spend to make a profit.
The rather unsatisfactory answer is: it depends.
There are many factors that influence the cost of your Facebook ads - from the price of your product/service to the audience you’re targeting to your geographical location.
So if you haven’t done Facebook advertising before, it can be difficult to predict how much you will need to spend to achieve your target sales.
Knowing how much it costs you to acquire one customer/client can at least give you a starting point.
Knowing how much you’re currently spending to acquire one customer/client can at least give you a starting point on budget.
Think you’re not currently spending anything on marketing?
Think again.
...you ARE investing in sales/marketing
Working out how much you’re currently spending to acquire a new customer/client can be tough - because you’re probably using multiple marketing strategies and not paying specifically for each lead.
But calculating how many hours you’re spending on acquiring new business and/or your total monthly marketing spend (including tools, apps and outsourced services) can give you a starting point.
Dividing these costs by the number of clients/customers you’ve acquired in a specific period can give you an idea of how much it costs you to acquire a single customer/client. And how much you might be willing to spend to acquire similar customers/clients.
Don’t forget to include your time (because time is money).
If you want your Facebook ads to work, you have to make sure you’re targeting the right people.
When I hired a new Facebook ad agency recently, I had to fill out a long questionnaire about my audience - not an ideal customer avatar (i.e. fantasy) but information about the customers/clients who buy from me.
To run successful Facebook you need to (a) understand the problem your product/service solves and (b) understand your ideal customers/clients’ pain points.
But understanding your customers/clients is not enough.
You need to be able to create content that really resonates with them and really speaks to their pain points.
So when you’ve successfully attracted them into your funnel (via a lead magnet for example), you’ll be able to create follow up content that will convert them from browsers into buyers.
People don’t engage with Facebook ads because someone has paid for them.
They engage because the content is ENGAGING.
So you can chuck as much money at ads as you like. But if your content is boring…if you don’t know how to write a decent social media post, select/create engaging visuals and/or shoot a decent video on your smartphone - you may as well burn your cash.
And yes, if you have the budget, you can hire a Facebook ads strategist to do all that for you (and make sure you’re targeting the right people).
But if you don’t know how to nurture your audience. If you don’t understand about the buyers’ journey and how to turn leads into sales via your content…your ads will not convert.
So it’s only when you understand how to create engaging organic content - and make sales from it - that you’ll be able to get a return on investment on your ad spend.
So it’s only when you understand how to create engaging organic content - and make sales from it - that you’ll be able to get a return on investment on your ad spend.
Most Facebook ads strategists recommend a ‘testing budget’ (i.e. a sum of money you’re willing to spend with no expectation you will get it back in sales).
Most Facebook ads strategists recommend a minimum of £300 as a testing budget.
So if you’ve got that budget and you’re willing to blow it on testing, that’s a sign you could be ready to start running ads.
What if you’ve read this list of signs and feel you’re not ready for ads?
You have two options.
Are you ready to build your online audience? Join my Build Your Online Audience programme here.
Find out more about my Getting started with Facebook ads course with Emma Van Heusen
Get on the waitlist for my 2021 Social Media Diary & Planner
[Bonus] Should you join my Build Your Online Audience Programme? (podcast)
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[366] What to post on your Facebook page to get more engagement (podcast)
[371] How to develop a Facebook page strategy (podcast)
[386] The four types of content that will help you make more sales in 2020
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