>>> Download 10 Steps to Profitable Facebook Ads here. <<<

 

Why Facebook advertising?

 

I love Facebook advertising. Seriously. I do.

It's one of my most popular services and something I truly enjoy doing. 

What I love most about Facebook ads is that it has dramatically changed the way small businesses operate.

Facebook allows you to target people based on ALL sort of things, including but not limited to:

Demographics, location, preferences, the websites people visit, Facebook pages people like, industry, job title, salary, etc.

Facebook targeting capabilities are second to none, and at an affordable price for small businesses. That is, if you know what you’re doing. But if you don't have a clue, you might as well open the window and throw your money out.

That’s why I’m writing this particular blog post.

I receive inquiries all the time about Facebook ads. While I’d LOOOVE to help everyone, take on more clients, and play around with my favorite tool, not everyone is ready for Facebook ads success.

Before you even think about dipping your toes into the world of Facebook ads, there are a number of things you need to implement in your business to reap the rewards, and here they are. 

 

Landing pages

 

Unless you’re wanting to drive traffic to your website or to your blog, it’s better to use a landing page to send your traffic to.

That’s because websites have too many distractions, and it’s easy for your prospects to forget why they clicked on your ad in the first place, and go check other pages.

This is particularly true if you're promoting a freebie or a specific offer. They're easy to set up, and well worth the investment if you're going to pay for ads.

I use LeadPages for my landing pages. At the time of writing this, they're offering a 14 days free trial, so check it out.

 

Website that converts

 

As I mentioned above, a landing page is the best option for some campaigns. That doesn’t mean you can’t drive traffic to your website using Facebook ads.

In fact, I encourage you to do so, but you need to make sure your website converts. In fact, running ads to your website is also a great way to find out if it does.

You need to ensure your visitors will take action when on your website, such as: purchase, inquire, book, contact you, and subscribe to your email list.

If you’re selling a range of products such as skin care, clothes or homewares, you could send traffic to specific pages and offers on your website, and set up a sales funnel to follow up, cross-sell, upsell and down sell.

To know whether your website converts or not you can use some of the following tools:

Google analytics – track how much traffic your website is receiving and what percentage of that traffic converts. Then compare it to your industry average.

Crazyegg – this amazing tool will show you where people spend the most time on your website, how long they spend there and where they drop.

You can then change your copy, images and move things around and test it again.

As a rule of thumb, you should place the most important information and preferably a subscribe box on top of the page, before people have to scroll down.

You can also set up an exit pop up box on your website. Exit pop up boxes do exactly that, pop up when your visitors show intent to leave your site. You can then make a highly appealing offer as a last attempt to grab their email address. 

If they're about to leave anyway, what do you have to lose?

 

Facebook Pixel

 

One of the best ways to sell using Facebook ads is by targeting people who already know you. Whether is your email list, your followers, or simply previous website visitors.

People who’ve been on your website have already shown interest in what you offer, and are more likely to respond positively to ads.

But how do you target website visitors? By placing the Facebook pixel on your website.

Now, here is the catch. You can’t place the pixel and then start advertising immediately. The pixel will have recorded visitors for only 1 day or a few days.

You need to install the pixel months before you start advertising. So you will have built a pool of people who have been on your website.

Facebook currently allows you to target website visitors up to a year. So even if you’re not thinking about advertising on Facebook today, go and install the Facebook pixel on your website now.

Don’t waste another minute. Finish reading this blog, and go do it. 

 

 

Sales Funnel

 

Contrary to what many people think, Facebook ads may not produce the number of sales you expect, especially if you are selling to people who never heard about your business before.

People who don't know your business are not very likely to purchase from you just after stumbling upon a Facebook ad.

Many companies are advertising on Facebook these days, which means the newsfeed is a little crowded, and consumers are becoming wary of it.

You need to consider your entire sales funnel (customer journey). The most successful campaigns I’ve seen are the ones where we drive traffic to a converting sales funnel.

Usually, we promote something for free, or at a low price point at first, and then go on to sell the "core offer" through a funnel.

You can also create a Facebook ads funnel, which is a sequence of different ads targeted at the same group of people. It would still be more effective if your funnel includes other types of communication (other than ads) like email, phone calls, live event, etc.

Funnels for products will be very different from funnels for services. There are several types of funnels, you’ll need to apply the one that is right for your business.

If you’re not sure, feel free to contact me for a chat. I’ll be happy to help you create a funnel that is right for you.

You can also download my FREE Sales Funnel Map here.

 

 

Be clear on your goals, track and measure

 

Before you even start your Facebook ads campaign, set your goals.

What are you trying to achieve with your ads? Do you have a specific offer? Want to promote an event? Grow your email list?

Try to be specific not just in terms of "what", but "how many".

I always ask my clients how many leads, sales, bookings, registrations do you want? What will you consider a successful campaign?

It’s really important to determine your measure of success. It doesn’t mean you’ll achieve it (sorry to burst your bubble), but it will help you measure your campaign.

Keep tracking what’s happening. How many people have been reached, how many clicked on your ads, how many took the action you wanted them to take and at what cost.

 

Customer acquisition vs customer retention

 

Here's something really important for you to consider: How much can you spend to acquire a customer? Perhaps $10 per customer is too much money if you’re selling a $20 product, but not if you’re selling a $200 product.

You also need to know the lifetime value of your customers and on average how long they stick around.

So going back to the example above. You may be selling a $20 moisturizer, but can you offer more products to the same customer? Do you have a strategy (or funnel) in place to bring them back? Moisturizers don’t last forever, they will need to buy another one when that bottle finishes.

Another great example is gym memberships or any membership for that matter. If it takes you $10 dollars to acquire a customer, but they sign up for the whole year, you need to consider the profit you’re making with the same customer for the entire year. 

I’ve just finished a campaign for a client who owns a gym. We were promoting a trial for $97. In total 25 people signed up for the trial (her goal was 20). Of those who completed the trial, 80% signed up for a monthly membership. So $97 is only the initial revenue. She will keep profiting from this campaign for a long time.

That’s where your knowledge of your customer and a good sales funnel come into place. Better have customers who keep coming back for more, than having to acquire new customers all the time.

>>> Download 10 Steps to Profitable Facebook Ads here. <<<

 

Be Prepared to Test

 

Nothing will help you achieve better results than testing different variables (one at a time).

There’s no such thing as results guaranteed. Based on industry experience, we can expect certain results, but not guarantee.

You might have already had success with your Facebook ads, but suddenly market conditions change, and your campaign suddenly doesn't produce the same results.

Besides, if you don’t test different things you might miss out on an even more profitable formula.

Test various images, copy, videos, video against image, short copy against long copy, several audiences, keep testing until you find your sweet spot.

Using Facebook ads best practice will improve your chances of success, but you still need to test your ads.

If you want to learn more about Facebook advertising, so you too can enjoy the rewards that come from a successful Facebook campaign, book a complimentary 30min chat with me, so we can discuss a strategy for your business.