Money can be really tight at the start of any new business venture. Choosing what you invest in and being sure that it will work, is one of the hardest tasks as a small business owner. On some level, we all know that social media can be used to accelerate business growth and development, but figuring out how to leverage social media and ad spend can take years!
Not to alarm anyone out there, but it is the absolute truth of the matter. Marketing and advertising in particular, is a skill that needs to be studied, constantly and over a long period of time. However, if your business model is proven and you have the opportunity to dramatically multiply your profits, why wouldn't you dive in?
As a side note, do you watch Rhett and Link's Good Mythical Morning on YouTube? The Worth it question in my title reminded me of them! Anyway, back to Facebook and Instagram ads...
We have compiled a list of reasons why Facebook and Instagram ads may be a great option for your business:
You can pre-sell to audiences by using long-form copy, videos and the option of several placements. This can come in handy when it comes to storytelling
You can target people by their interests, demographics, age gender and so much more. No other platform is nearly as extensive when it comes to laser-targeted options
Facebook has some of the cheapest pay-per-click and profitable advertising right now. Plus, you have access to the same data available to the likes of Pepsi, BWM and Nike!
With the average monthly active users on Facebook being over 2.4bn people, advertisers recognise their audience is on here. It's the quickest way to reach your audience and scale
This is all well and good, but how do you make the most of Facebook and Instagram ads?
The power lies within the sales funnel! I have even added a picture so you can visualise it (you're welcome).
Before I continue though, let me explain exactly what a sales funnel is and why you need to be aware of it
A sales funnel is "a consumer-focused marketing model that illustrates the theoretical customer journey toward the purchase of a good or service."
It is basically the journey a person makes to get to a place of sale. A person has to first be aware of your business, then show some interest, they would then make the decision to buy or not to buy. Before you run paid traffic to your online business, you need to understand where you are sending your traffic, and why you are sending them to that destination.
Your ads should guide your potential customers from the point of being aware of your store/service to the point of converting into a sale.
A simple funnel could be this: an ad is shown to a cold audience (people who have never heard of you), and once they visit your site or watch some video content, this encourages and then convinces them to buy that thing you made them interested in.
A great way for your Facebook and Instagram ads to be more effective, is to retarget your audience. So, they are shown a second or even third ad which retargets them over a number of days which encourages and then convinces them to buy that thing you made them interested in. Have you ever been on a website, or searched something on Google and then the next day you see an ad for that thing, that creepiness is retargeting! Facebook offers Pixel, which helps with retargeting and ensuring your ads are shown to the right people. Websites created with Affordable Web Design, can be easily linked to your Facebook Pixel account. Please be mindful that a poorly executed Facebook Pixel integration can have a really negative effect on the outcomes of your ads.
Having an effective sales funnel that uses retargeting is like having an incredible salesperson follow up and build relationships with everyone who has shown interest in your offering, at a very good price point (if used well). With ads, you need to lead potential customers from not knowing you exist to NEEDING YOU NOW!
Additionally, having a social media presence in general garners more trust between you and potential customers. People like to know that a brand is easily reachable, approachable and professional. The more content you put out, the more customers can find you and believe that you know what you are talking about.
So, are Facebook and Instagram ads worth it? Absolutely, they are worth their weight in gold. You just need to have a clear plan for them.
Need help with your social media dilemmas? Why not get in touch with us today and see how we can help.