Overcoming Facebook Advertising Myths
It seems every month or so another one pops up on my radar…
Another business owner who has some misperception of Facebook Advertising. Or maybe they have followed bad advice and are just afraid to try again.
Regardless of the reason, I like to address the myths surrounding Facebook Advertising in the very beginning when I work with clients.
So, let’s talk about three of the big ones I see on a regular and recurring basis.
Facebook Advertising Myth #1:No One Reads The Ads, Only The Picture Or Video Matter…
After training hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs over the last 4 years and taking a deep dive into the copywriting side of social media advertising over the last year and a half, I can tell you NOTHING could be further from the truth.
The way you write your copy in social media is one of the most important things in your post or ad.
Connecting with your audience, making them feel like you really get them and making it conversational is super important. The words you choose, how you approach your audience and what you say, is ALL important.
Ultimately, your goal is for your creative (image or video) and your text to support one another. For example, if the cretative is a video, then what they read makes them want to watch. What they watch makes them want to read.
Then, you’re having them spend more time on the platform but also more time engaging with your content. So that all helps your quality scores for your ad account and your page. It helps make you a better advertiser which, in return, is going to help lower those costs over time.
Facebook Advertising Myth #2We Need To Create Lots Of New Ads All The Time – Keep It Fresh
While you do want to consistently create new content and consistently try out new versions of your ads, you do not have to be on this crazy race of lots and lots of ads all the time.
When you get the elements right so that you’re truly connecting with your audience, you’re going to have 1 or 2 great ads that are working for you converting your primary offer. Then you’ll want to test a few new ads that will also help you support those sales goals.
Next, sharing content with some paid boosts or content amplification ads so both your warm and cold audiences are seeing more about you. This creates brand awareness and builds good will in your marketplace and it can be a super small percentage of your budget. You will definitely see the compound effect over time. It helps all the social signals, and it’s going to help you get better results long term.
So, you can have a couple of great ads that you can run for a really long time, say over a year instead of a couple of weeks at a time before they die out or get ad fatigue.
This works so well because instead of constantly battling the algorithm and trying to make it bend to your will (because that’s really not going to work anyway)… Instead of that, you’re ‘dancing’ WITH the algorithm. Now, you’re giving it what it wants, which is a lot of data, and in turn it’s showing you to the people that are relevant for your content, your message, and your offer.
The algorithm wants happy end users. That’s why you dance with the algorithm. Just wait to see the difference in your results when you are putting that user experience first and approaching the audience in the right way.
Facebook Advertising Myth#3Social Media Advertising Is Just Like Traditional Direct Response Marketing – It’s All The Same…
This is definitely a big one and maybe this is something that you’ve struggled with or you know someone who has.
Direct Response Marketing…that’s how most of us were trained when we came online and started learning internet marketing or digital marketing. We went through all this training from the classic direct response copywriters and marketers.
That training includes a lot of using the word “you”, it’s a lot of digging into someone’s pain – and that’s important, right? You have to connect and make sure your audience knows you have an appreciation for what they’re feeling.
At the same time, the language that we’re using in social media advertising is very different from the language we would use in a long form sales letter to an email list, for example.
It’s different because that email subscriber expects a more one-on-one conversations.
However, the storytelling and the way you communicate, the jounalistic tone, in social media is very different from traditional direct response.
You want to think of it like talking to one of the other parents sitting on the sidelines at a soccer game. Or maybe you’re chaperoning a dance at high school or you’re working the gate at a football game and you’re talking to another parent or you’re talking to a family friend at a Block party or something like that, some community event. Now, you’re not just going to walk up to that person and say “Hey, buy my thing”, or “Hey, I’ve got his new course that might help you”.
That would be crazy, right?
You’re going to have a conversation with them.
You’re going to make a connection.
The Connection Economy
We live in a crazy connected digital world… the technology at our finger tips would baffle our great-grandparents much less ancient ancestors.
Yet, we crave connection.
Why, you ask?
Because we’ve lost a lot of that personal connection that we had in traditional face to face daily business transactions…your butcher, your baker and your barber with everyone all in your neighborhood and everyone knew each other’s families and everyone knew what was going on.
If you don’t remember that, your parents or grandparents probably do.
On a very personal level, I know maybe 50% of the neighbors that live on my block. Yet, when I was growing up, we knew everyone on the street and their pets!
Why the massive change? Because everyone’s busy and our whole lives are right on our phones, our computer and TV. We don’t go outside and hang out with people anymore. We go to the gym or the park to get ‘outside.’ And whether you’re a fan of that lifestyle or not, the reality is that people simply crave connection with other people.
So, when you genuinely care about the people you’re serving in your audience and you can find a way to communicate that you want to help them solve this problem, that your product or service actually helps to solve, you’re going to make magic happen, and that’s what I want to help you do.
This is what I’ve come to refer to as “The Connection Economy” as coined by Seth Godin several years back. (Trailblazer that he is!)
No one jumps on their Facebook newsfeed thinking, “I want to go buy something on Facebook today.” They jump on to catch up with friends or groups and to share what’s going on with them.
The best way to build rapport and relationships is to create genuine connections with your audience. Be real and authentic. Start conversations or join the one they’re having in their head already.
Stop the crazy interruption marketing from 2012 – it just annoys people.
Conclusion
Facebook is arguable one of the most powerful advertising platforms around today, and there’s no reason to think that won’t remain the case.
If you really want to capitalize on the power of the platform, then contribute to the community and improve the user experience of those who see your posts and ads.
Be part of the solution.
Write copy people want to read and create ads people want to engage with and share.
Spend a few bucks sharing your content to add value to your audience in addition to running those sales conversion ads.
Challenge yourself to be a better marketer.
Now it’s your turn…
What is one thing you are doing right now to get better results with your Facebook Advertising and Marketing?
Let me know what’s working for you or what you want to learn…
Connect with me on social media and join the conversation…
