{Advice} Do Facebook Ads work?

I’ve been asked quite a bit about Facebook ads and if they work for small businesses.

Keep in mind, with any type of marketing, the goal is to deliver your marketing message to the largest amount of ideal clients at the lowest possible cost.

November seemed like a good ‘test’ month.

I decided to run my own Facebook biz ad ‘test’ and share my results with all of you. Plus, Facebook was offering a $100 ad credit if you obtained 100 new fans between November 1 – 30, 2011. I love a good challenge and of course a cost savings!!!

Here’s the steps I took…

1. Set goals and objectives of running a Facebook ad.  Are you looking to build awareness about your company/business, drive traffic to your site, promote a special offer or event, or generate sales?

•  I wanted to build awareness about my business, increase my ‘LIKES’ and ultimately generate sales.

2. Target your ideal client.  This is very important. If you don’t know who your ideal client is, their major problems and what makes you/your biz their perfect solution, then odds are you won’t have successful FB ad results. (You’ll see why I say this when you continue to step 3).

• My ideal clients are small business owners, between the ages of 24 – 45 and who are NOT already connected to my Your Marketing BFF biz.
• I work with men and female business owners, but women tend to spend more time on Facebook, so I only targeted women.  And,  I decided to target Canada and U.S. small business owners as well – where majority of my ideal clients reside.
• I am not a local only business, but if you are, only target people that are in your local vicinity. Most people shop within a 10 mile radius of your businesses physical location.

3. Choose copy and an image that PULLS your ideal client towards you. You want your ideal client to read your ad and pre-qualify themselves to determine that you’re “the one” for them.  If you don’t know who your ideal client is, your message won’t resonate with them and get them to take action.

• In my case, I spoke directly to small biz owners who’d be interested in obtaining free marketing…and the action that I wanted them to take was to LIKE my page (see main photo above – that’s my ad)!

4. Create and test multiple ads.  This will tell you what message(s) resonate the most with your ideal client.  Stick with the one that is most effective at obtaining your objectives (step 1 above).

5. The Click is only the beginning. This is key – your ad is only as good as your wall
   (or website)!  Keep up-to-date with fresh content. Remember, Facebook is all about being social and having engagement… people want to see regular updates, offers, comments, posts, etc.

6. Track your results. Don’t forget to track your results by constantly asking, “How’d
   you hear about us?” with your new clients/customers.  This will allow you to determine whether this is a good marketing avenue for you!

Remember my original goals?! I wanted to build awareness about my business, increase my ‘LIKES’ and ultimately generate sales.

Here’s my November Facebook ad results:

-I received 532 LIKES (out of 793 clicks)!

-I spent $413.30 for the month of November. (BTW: you can determine the maximum budget you want to spend daily, mine was $20 a day.)

-November became our top generating sales month for Your Marketing BFF…and far exceeded the $413 ad costs. Yay!

 Do Facebook ads work?

I discovered that FB ads are a GREAT way for me/my business to deliver my marketing message to the largest amount of ideal clients at the lowest possible cost. I’m definitely adding this to my on-going marketing pie (aka marketing plan).

My BFF advice.

If you prepare and follow the steps above – then you’re ready to run your own small Facebook ad test…which is really the best way to know if FB ads work for you!

Have you run a Facebook ad for your business? Please share your experience in the comments section below.

 

P.S. I almost forgot… I definitely WON the extra $100 Facebook ad offer for exceeding the 100 new fans goal. Woo hoo!