As a digital marketing agency specialising in Facebook advertising, we get a lot of businesses coming to us saying something along the lines of… HELP! My online store is failing and sales are down. Can you help us run Facebook ads so we can get back on track!?

 

Our short answer is yes, Facebook ads are great! BUT (and this is a big but), we must take a step back and get the following 4 things sorted FIRST. 

If you run Facebook ads without considering the following four things, you’ll not only fail to achieve the results you’re hoping for, but you’ll be throwing precious time and money down the drain. 

#1 Do you have room in your profit margins for Facebook advertising? 

Your marketing budget will be derived from your overall marketing strategy. Once you’ve allocated your marketing budget, you need to consider how much money you’re working with, and what your priorities are. In order to go ahead with Facebook advertising, you need to have enough space in your marketing budget to pay for your cost per purchase. That’s how much it’s going to cost you in ad spend to get someone to buy from your store.

If your margins are too tight, Facebook advertising might not be right for you. Remember you will need a budget for any marketing activity. So if your margins are too tight, you may need to reconsider other elements of your business model such as pricing in order for you to create the opportunity to successfully advertise. 

#2 Do you know your average order value?

You may have a range of products in your store at various price points. You might be selling one program for $490, and another for $42, for example. Some customers might buy one product, but others will buy multiple. Your average order value is the average amount that someone will spend when they purchase from your store. 

If you have a shopify store, all of this information is easily accessible on your metrics dashboard. Knowing that figure is essential when going ahead with Facebook advertising. 

#3 Do you know your audience?

This is an essential question for ANY marketing activity, not just Facebook advertising.  Who are you selling to? What are their pain points? Their buying obstacles? Their wider dreams and desires? Understanding everything you can about your audience is essential for creating campaigns that truly resonate with your audience, and in turn create sales. 

You should have created in depth ideal customer avatars for each of your customer segments. Have these ICA’s at the forefront of every marketing decision you make. To learn about what to cover in your ICAs and to receive a free downloadable template, check out our blog post here. 

By knowing who your audience is, you’ll know whether they will respond to Facebook advertising, and if they do, what advanced targeting options to use in your campaigns. 

You also need to think about where your little slice of the internet is, and whether there’s space for you online. What makes your product or service different from competitors, and how can you solve the problems unique to your audience?

#4 Is your website optimised and do you already have traffic?

If that’s a yes, Facebook advertising can be a powerful way of amplifying existing traffic and conversions. If that’s a no, then you might not be ready for Facebook advertising. When you’re sending leads through Facebook advertising to your website and your website is outdated and poorly designed, there’s not much point sending traffic there. You need to ensure that all the digital platforms linked to your Facebook ads are optimised. This will ensure a consistent and strong brand presence.  

We want to tell it to you straight, Facebook ads are not a fixer. Facebook ads will accelerate and amplify what’s already happening in your business. If you don’t have room in your marketing budget for ad spend, you don’t know your average order value, you don’t know who your audience is and you have no existing traffic, we highly recommend you get all of those things sorted first, before you start spending money on ads.

Once you’ve nailed these four considerations for your Facebook ads, you’re ready to go – and we’re here to help. Get in touch to find out how. 

 

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