If you're going to run paid ads, I want them to make you money, and I'm certain you do too. There are lots of things you have to invest in and spend money on when you own a business, and sometimes advertising is one of those things. But with all business and financial decisions you'd like to try and gauge your ROI, and make smart choices. And truly, there is just something about ad spend that makes you feel some feelings. It can feel risky because running ads can be like gambling - and you have to run ads (and pay for them) to learn and figure out your unique strategy to success.
I spent over 5 years owning my own social media ad agency and I've more than 2 million dollars running ads for small business owners. Here are 6 critical elements that you need to set up in your business before you spend a dime on ads. I want the odds to be in your favor. And I want you to run Facebook ads that work.
Here's an example of how well Facebook Ads can work:
Just this week, one of my clients just sent me this report to show me how WELL our ad strategy is working. The blue line is 2024. It's very obvious when things really took off. But there is a reason for this too. They have a rock solid foundation and they're ready to run ads. So they came to me to for help with their ad strategy, and what we created is working so freaking well. I want this for you too!! But there are some things you need first.
So start here - read through, and make sure you have these 6 things figured out.
OK! Here we go ...
1: You have a website.
You need to own the domain, and either you can manage it yourself or you are paying someone to because you need to be able to place Facebook's "tracking device" which is called the Pixel/Conversion API. And you're familiar with the concept of "the Pixel", to be most efficient, it's now a two-step process to integrate it with your website.
2: You are collecting emails, and selling on your website.
Depending on your ad goals you most likely will run lead generation ads to collect user's emails (ex: hey get this free lead magnet in exchange for your email!), or you're going to try and sell them something (ex: your book, course, products, etc). That process needs to happen on your website. You need to be collecting their money (and data) on your own website. So running TikTok ads to your Etsy page don't work, but TikTok to your Shopify store, YES!
3: You need to know your KPI and data analytics.
Facebook ads are all about data. You cannot correctly set up your budget and ad spend, without knowing your numbers. You cannot correctly run a campaign if you don't feed the algorithm enough data.
Your KPI's and data analytics are things such as:
How much traffic do you get per week on the landing page that you're sending people to from your ad?
What is your email list open rate?
What is your email list conversion rate?
What is your top-selling product?
What is your total website traffic per month?
How many people buy from you per week?
PS: Get my free, easy breezy digital data audit guide.
If you want to know ALL of the data and KPI's you HAVE TO HAVE in place before you'll find any success with ads, I made this just for you. And I've made it easy so you can do it yourself and understand wtf you're doing.
4. You are selling your products or services, already.
Ads aren't a great investment if you don't already have lots of clients and customers actively engaging and buying from you. Paid ads are like pouring gasoline on a fire, but they're not going to build you that fire unless you have a shit load of money to gamble on them (I'm talking like $100k per month in an ad spend budget). Work on other forms of organic marketing to build those customers and clients, BEFORE you try and invest your hard-earned money in paid social media ads.
5. You have a budget for a good minimum ad spend.
One of the best things about social media ads is that you can absolutely DIY them AND the minium budget per day on Meta is only $5! Amazing right? Well, over the years they've become more and more competitive - therefore more and more expensive. You're going to need to spend at least $100 per campaign.
AND LISTEN UP!!! I do NOT want you taking money from somewhere else as your ad spend budget. Do not rob Peter to pay Paul here. Ads can 100% be a RISKY endeavor and they can be the most magical freaking thing of all time, WHEN you're ready and in the right stage of business. Again, they're pouring gasoline on a fire. If you're still building your rock solid kickass foundation and you don't have $3,000 a month for your ad spend budget that is OK!!! YOU WILL ONE DAY.
Side note: yes there are times where you could probably spend less money and get some reward through some other kinds of ad strategies. But on average expect to spend about $3K per month to get some kind of results.
6. You can pump out the creative!
These are all super important steps and we are going to wrap this list up right here - your creative - is what will make or break your ad. If you have everything 1-5 above, but you cannot generate creative (ie: what your ad looks like), your ads won't work.
Your ad's job is to STOP the user in their tracks as they enjoy scrolling content. And then get them to take an action. The video you show, the images you show, the way they're presented, the story you tell VISUALLY is what makes this happen.
And how to stop us in our tracks changes all the damn time and you have to keep up with us. I work with some companies that primarily rely on paying creators within their niche to make them ad content, and I have others who make their own. But you ultimately have to pay someone else, pay someone on your team, or do it yourself. Which one are you?!
Now to wrap this up with a pretty bow on top.
Ads are freaking rad. And when they work, holy shit you're on fire. It's the coolest. BUT I'm just going to say it ONE MORE TIME: spending money on paid ads is like pouring gasoline on a fire. You first need to build a robust fire. There is a time and a place for them.
Don't let yourself get distracted. Keep building that foundation.
Here's what to do next:
If you want someone to talk to about your foundation or what's the next thing you should do in your marketing or business strategy, I'd love to chat with you! Book a 1:1 strategy call with me, and we'll figure out the next thing for you to do.
And if you are reading this and thinking, well hells bells I have all of these things I think I'm ready to rock it with ads. Get in touch and tell me all about it! I'd love to help you generate a revenue-building paid ads strategy (and I can help you run them successfully too).
OK my friends, ta-ta for now.