Don't Even Think About Facebook Ads Until You Have These 5 Things In Place Otherwise, you'll be doing little more than drain your advertising budget.
By Lucas Miller
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Facebook ads are changing. While their effectiveness is still on the rise, their prices are going down — meaning you can invest more of your marketing budget into them.
According to Advertisemint, by the third quarter of 2019, Facebook ad impressions had increased by a whopping 37 percent, while the average price per ad decreased by 6 percent. And thanks to various online resources, it's easier than ever to get started with your first ad campaign, even if you've never done anything like it before.
Tools like Facebook Ads Manager break the process down it a few simple elements: Write some copy, add a photo, put a call to action in place, insert a link and publish. And that's all there is to it, right? Eh, not so fast. Overlooking these five vital components can render your ad a complete and total bust.
1. You need compelling copy
First, if you aren't a qualified copywriter, outsource. Relying on your own writing if you're new to the copywriting game is a great way to lose a prospect the second they start reading. Remember, these are ads that can easily be scrolled past on a prospect's Facebook timeline, so how are you going to stand out? Typically, that necessitates a powerful, yet succinct and catchy headline or one-liner.
After hiring a copywriter or creating your own copy, obtain a second (or third) opinion on what's been created before hitting the "publish" button. Make sure that the copy is in alignment with your brand, and that it has the potential to bring about meaningful engagement. Ask connections from Facebook networking groups to give you the honest truth about your copy, too.
Compelling copy is the foundation of every quality Facebook ad — there's no getting around it.
Related: 15 Tips for Writing Killer Sales Copy
2. You need a way to price-qualify leads
This is especially true if you're selling a high-ticket item. Otherwise, you may book a number of sales calls, only to find out that price is an unfortunate issue for the vast majority of them.
Jennifer Spivak is a Facebook ads expert who, to date, has generated well over $16 million for her base of global clients through Facebook. She stresses the importance of price transparency right from the get-go, mentioning the cost of her service three times within her funnel.
"If we're sending ads to a totally cold audience, the system needs to appropriately deter the wrong people," she shared recently via email. "As a result, I only get people that understand the investment level and are prepared to make it."
It may seem contrary to everything you've learned about sales to be so up front about cost, but think about it: Do you really want to waste precious time on calls with people who aren't at all prepared for the required financial investment?
Price-qualifying leads ensures that you are tapping into your target audience, i.e. individuals who want to invest in your product or service because it will help them solve a real, pressing problem.
3. You need a verifiable click funnel
It's great if someone clicks on your ad, but the real success happens when they move through your sales funnel and make a purchase. Once your campaign is up and running, it should be "all systems go" with tracking analytics.
Facebook Ads Manager will provide plenty of insights. Still, consider a reputable tool like ClickFunnels, which offers a variety of specific data points about what happens at each step of the online sales cycle: page views, opt-ins, email sign-ups, sales and much more.
Furthermore, you'll be able to see where people aren't taking action, then assess why that is. Perhaps the copy can be changed, or there is something unclear that leaves the prospect with questions.
Much of it is a mystery, which is why the sales funnel should first be verified. Try advertising it to a small percentage of your marketing budget first to see how it performs. Then, make tweaks and keep going. This is also a great opportunity for A/B testing.
4. You need clear market research on who your audience is
This is Ad Creation 101, but if you don't have market research completed on every detail of your customer's alias, you're better off not even running ads. Facebook Ads Manager allows you to get into the most granular details of who you're targeting. Simply put, if all you're using is guesswork, you're literally throwing away precious ad dollars.
Doing things the right way isn't easy. It may require surveys, focus groups or other technology. Heather Jackson, sales manager at JAC Advertising Consultants, recommends using data-management platforms such as Neustar and Lotame, aggregators that can help you get into the nitty-gritty of the key demographics and interests of your target audience.
Seek to verify this understanding constantly. Whenever you get a new customer, somebody tags you in a social media post or there's some type of meaningful engagement with a new or prospective customer, check out where they're located, their age and their interests to see how spot-on your research is with the types of interactions you're receiving.
Related: How Entrepreneurs Can Conduct Primary Market Research
5. You need a dedicated sales team
Finally, make sure to have a sales team or third-party sales agents who can come to your assistance if the ad performs extremely well. Some business owners lose out on potential customers by not having the right infrastructure in place to keep up with the demand — especially if the ad's call to action is to book a call. Next thing you know, they're the one on the phone for hours a day getting burnt out on sales calls when they should be handling operations or the creative side of things.
It may seem a bit forward to have a full-blown sales team ready too soon, but having at least a few 1099 sales contacts you can call on will make sure you're covered, should a sudden increase in leads come about.
Building any ad campaign requires a great deal of forethought and trial-and-error, but a great Facebook ad campaign in particular can make a major revenue difference for your company. These five elements are worth both the time and financial investment, so make "em happen.
