I think often people forget just how powerful ads can be.
When you’re trying to DIY your ads, they can seem complicated and overwhelming. The reality is, if done correctly you can create massive change in your business with paid advertising.
The one thing you want to avoid is spending money on ads if you don’t have a strategic plan.
So, before you run paid ads (or boost posts!) make sure you have a strategic plan in place.
True Story
Recently, I was chatting with a potential client. She’s amazing and has an incredible service that truly impacts her audience. She was saying that she had run ads before and got nothing out of it. She just didn’t think that ads were right for her. I started asking questions (this is where a couple of issues generally come up).
I asked… How did you run ads? Were you running ads yourself or did you hire someone to help you?
She responded that she had run the ads herself.
I asked… Did you boost a post or create an ad?
She responded that she didn’t know there was a difference.
2 Mistakes She Made Trying to Run Her Own Ads:
She was not a marketer and spent little time on social media
Seriously, you would never expect to be able to file your own taxes without some training, and yet so many people think that running ads is just the push of a few buttons. They go ahead and push those buttons, then when it doesn’t work they assume it’s because of the platform, not because they didn’t really understand what they were doing.
Me, I learned this lesson the hard way. After having been audited because I had my taxes done by someone who didn’t quite know what they were doing, I would never try and do them myself!
Not knowing the difference between boosting a post and running an ad
There is a big difference in the results you get from boosting a post and running an ad.
The difference between a boost and an ad is that with a boost, you just send your message out to the masses. You go ahead and promote it, and then Facebook tells you how many clicks and impressions.
With ads, you can see the exact dollar-for-dollar return, as well as the outcome for your business. You also have the ability to target much more effectively.
That’s one of the things I love about Facebook ads!
Why Run an Ad (instead of boosting a post)
One of the things that’s most beneficial about Facebook ads vs. boosting a post is the fact that with ads, you can have a strategic plan in place. You’re not just trying one audience, you’re not just trying one ad copy in one image.
With a paid ad campaign, you can try out multiple different versions of your message. Your message can get sent to multiple different audiences. You can try out an image or a video. You can see exactly what connects with your audience.
It’s not just about seeing a return on your paid social media advertising. It’s about getting the best return possible. If you aren’t trying out multiple different versions of your ad, you’re missing out on an opportunity. That’s one of the things that boosts do not allow, you can’t further figure out what is getting the most results and how that coincides with your overall strategy.
So, What’s the Lesson, Here?
Running Facebook ads is a fantastic way to know exactly what your return on investment was.
When you correctly using Facebook ads you can learn:
- How much you spent
- How many email addresses you collected
- How many sales came to your shop
- And so much more.
Ultimately, whatever your goal is, there is a way to measure what that return is for your business. Whether that’s the return on ad spend (your exact dollar-for-dollar return) or maybe it’s your return based on how many email subscribers you gained.
A strategic and well-done ad campaign will let you know, in a relatively short amount of time, if your marketing message is connecting with your ideal client. And, that is the most powerful thing when running paid ads.