Why your Facebook Ads Suck and what you can do about it by Mikkell Khan

Let me share a story of why having your Facebook ads not suck is important. 

There once were two friends who wanted to get into separate businesses, Smarty and Silly. Smarty wanted to sell Pies and Silly wanted to sell Loaves of Bread. 

Before Smarty started the business, he thought about learning more about his customer, his strategy of reaching them, and how he would convince them to buy. He told Silly the same about his plan and advised that he do the same. 

But Silly laughed and decided that didn’t make sense. He believed Smarty was wasting too much time getting to selling hot bread, and selling while the iron was hot. 

Smarty shook his head as Silly went to work. Silly thought, by the time he’s finished, I would have had days in sales over Smarty. How Silly of him! The irony hit him. 

Silly went off to work. He put up a billboard outside his place that said, ‘Fresh Bread Here’ and waited. 

At first, people were checking out his bread because of interest, the price, how he made the bread, if he had gluten-free bread (my favourite), and giving him thumbs up as they walked by. He got a few sales and felt a sense of promise. 

But then he realized that people who bought initially were not coming back. Even though he had the wonderful billboard up, people started to just pass by. They gave the occasional thumbs-up, heart sign, and walked away to another Billboard and another business down the street. 

Silly decided after a week to call it quits. Defeated, he took down the sign, and people were still sending thumbs up as if in a zombified state. They were reacting, but they were not fully resonating with his messaging. Opening a business is hard and marketing said business is a risk and is a cost. So it made little sense to him.

As he locked up, he noticed a few people were stopping and entering a store lower down the street. He checked to see what that store was doing differently to him. Perhaps they had more resources, were a bigger store, maybe they were a franchise and people already knew them. 
That had to be the reason, he thought! 
But boy, was he wrong.

It was Smarty. He had finally opened up his place. 
It was the Pies store. As persons entered, he had a sign-up form where people got the ‘Secrets to having the tastiest pies’. When people were leaving, he had a survey asking what they liked and what they could do better. In exchange for answering they got a coupon for their next purchase. 

And finally, Silly looked up at the digital sign that greeted persons on the busy street. He saw the simple but effective wording, ‘Hungry? Why not try our Amazing Pies!’ Followed by subtitling of ‘Today’s Special is Chicken and Lamb Mix, based on popular demand’. 

Silly looked bewildered. He started long before Smarty; he was the first to market, by that logic he should be miles ahead. Silly swallowed his pride and entered the store to see what was the true difference. And if his friend was so inclined, ask for advice on what he could do differently for his future entrepreneurial endeavours. 

So, what did Smarty do that Silly didn’t that made his store successful?

1. He did his research on his product/service 
When Smarty took the time to figure out what he was selling; he researched:

1. what type of pies were popular with consumers,

2. what pies would take the least effort from him to create with the most margins,

3. what else could he have that complimented with the pies and if anyone even cared to eat pies.

By researching and qualifying his product, he could see the potential with proper data. And not react based on a hunch and his own experiences solely. 

How you can apply this? 
Before you launch or work on a product, qualify it with research on if there is a need or want for the solution you are providing.

2. He researched his audience  
After Smarty decided that pies were the way to go; he studied his audience and soon to be customers. What needs did they have before having pies? What desires did they want to be fulfilled that the pies could achieve? How they felt after having the pies? He created an entire emotional motivation based on research that he did. He now could create a marketing bible that he can refer to entice and persuade his potential customers. 

How you can apply this? 
When you have the product that you would like to sell, qualify it with your existing audience, your potential audience, and see if they will pay for a solution for the problem you are solving. Always ensure that there are people who want your product and will pay for it.

3. He did his research on the objective of his advertising  
Now that Smarty knew the product and the audience he would sell to; he moved on to what he wanted to achieve with his advertising. He knew that he could have the best pies in the world, but that didn’t mean people would be ready to buy from him just yet. Smarty found in his research that he had to establish a relationship; get them to know who he was and what he was doing; get them to like him as a brand and look forward to what he had to say; and finally, get them to trust him so they would give him their hard-earned money again and again.

He knew each campaign he did would have to be a part of that customer journey, which is why he offered the ‘Secrets to having the tastiest pies’ cheat sheet to stay in contact with them. Smarty would get them interested and provide something they would find valuable, even if they didn’t buy just yet. 

He would get them to like what he provided because he listened to what they wanted. Smarty provided the ‘Chicken and Lamb Mix’ from their feedback. And he would get them to trust him by asking for their feedback after he made the sale and improved his product.

How you can apply this? 
When you are advertising, ensure that you aren’t pressing the ‘boost’ button on Facebook hoping for sales from it. 

Three major factors would ensure your success on the ad platform. 
1. who you are targeting and how well they know your brand. 
2. what are you offering them and is it appealing for them to want to try it or know more? 
3. what objective are you setting for your campaign. The boost button simply tells Facebook to get your engagement, but engagement without a strategy of what to do with it leads to nothing and can even hurt your brand.

Check out the other Objective options and appreciate where your customers are on their journey with your brand.

4. He maintained his relationship building with his customers after they bought 
After customers left the store, that was not the end of the transaction they had with Smarty. He went on to non-intrusively contact them via email, social media or text message to offer more value on getting the best experience.

They felt they had a stake in his business’ journey and became more engaged with the brand because of this. And for sure, when they thought about pies, Smarty’s place would be the first to come to mind and action.

How you can apply this?
Have after-sales service and check-ins in place. Find out how the customer is enjoying the product, and if there are any questions, they have. It also helps to keep them on a database where you can inform them about your service or product. Polls and surveys also help to let your audience feel involved in your product development process and gives you a consistent chance to qualify your new products and services.

5. He focused his mindset on learning and optimizing, not scarcity and complaining 
Smarty didn’t have only positives when he started his Pie Business. There would be days he advertised and not a sole would show. Or if they did, they would ask tons of questions but wouldn’t buy. All the research or preparation in the world could not stop slow times. But he knew that once he strategically looked at what was working as opposed to what wasn’t, made the adjustments as needed, the changes would happen. Smarty knew it was not a case of there not being enough to go around or not complaining that people were not buying.

But once he focused on what he offered to his audiences, how he spoke to them, and ensuring more and more they were the right audiences. Slowly but surely, he saw the results he was looking for and continued along the path of what worked for him. Documenting it and learning as he went along. 

How you can apply this?
You always need to remind yourself why you got into this business or profession you are doing. And you need to keep in mind that although it feels like things take a long time, once you are setting and reaching small goals, celebrating your wins, and learning from your setbacks, you will succeed.

All great successes will mention this. Your Facebook ads will take time to work, and you will learn from them. But take time to enjoy the process and learn more about your audience and what they love about their customer experience.

So in conclusion,
Now you know how to assess why your Facebook ads suck and aren’t working. Let’s hope, like Silly, you found this advice helpful and can start implementing it in your strategies today. 

If you would like to learn more about how to Get More Customers, you can get a copy of “Get More Customers, Read This Book!”, the first in my Read This Book! Series here. 

If you would like to learn more about Digital Marketing, you can get a copy of my book, “Want To Learn Digital Marketing?” Read this Book! Here.

If you get a copy now, you will be part of my Digital Marketing beta group course, where you can learn all types of Digital Marketing, at a USD 500 value.

And finally, if you are tired of doing all the digital work and want a competent team to do it for you, on time, take a look at our DF Studios Express Services here. 

I wish you all the blessings and success in life and business. 

Mikkell Khan 
Digital Services Broker / Marketer
DF Studios Limited