3 Questions to Ask yourself before paying for Facebook ads

If you run a small business online, you probably know that Facebook ads are an effective method for converting sales.

They have probably even worked on you! 

But why aren't they working in YOUR business? What secret formula have you missed that everyone else seems to know? 

WHEN is the right time to start paying for Facebook ads?

In this post, I've got three questions you need to ask yourself BEFORE you throw a ton of money at Facebook ads! 

Facebook has built an incredibly powerful tool for business owners. 

But WHY are Facebook ads so darn effective for small businesses? 

In one word? Targeting. 

Facebook is big. Like, really big. Like, more users on it than the entire population of China. 

Small businesses can pretty much guarantee that their DREAM customers are on Facebook somewhere. 

When you pay for Facebook ads, you are paying to get your content in front of your ideal customers, based on the huge amount of data that Facebook has collected. 

They aren't sort-of perfect clients. You aren't just putting content in front of people that don't care. You are getting it in front of people that Facebook KNOWS has an interest in what you are selling. 

For example, if you want to put your sales content in front of 

• Mums,
• Between the ages of 30 and 50,
• Who are interested in healthy cooking, 
• and live in big cities in New Zealand

You can target this group of people DIRECTLY. 

Think of how much more effective this will be in comparison to putting it front of anyone and everyone like traditional marketing? You can guarantee that single males in their 20's that like to game aren't interested in your workout plans for busy mums. 

So we know that Facebook ads are effective for small businesses, but there are a few things you need to get straight before you waste your money on them. 

3 questions you must ask yourself before you pay money for Facebook advertising ​

1) What are your small business marketing goals?

Facebook ads will not help you make sales if you don't have a plan. 

Do you want to grow brand awareness? 

Do you want to grow your email list so you can run wildly profitable launches?

Are you making seasonal sales? 

Facebook ads can help you do all of these things- but it only knows as much as you tell it.

Inside Facebook Ads Manager: Facebook Ad Objectives Can Help You Move People To Different Stages Of The Sales Funnel

If you have just been boosting your posts, this is good for brand awareness. But having a plan that you can measure, tweak and compare will mean that you can see what is working and what customers are responding to. 

What to do before you pay for Facebook ads: 

• Sit down and come up with a 90 day plan for your business so you know what to put into Facebook ads manager like a true business owner with a strategy​. Come up with your end goal so that you know what your ad objective should be

2) Have you got an effective organic content strategy? 

Before you pay for Facebook ads, you need some form of content strategy.

Content is anything that you share with your audience. The trick is to share things that are interesting and relevant to your ideal customer to retain their interest and eventually convert them. 

Are you sharing NON-sales content with your audience? Once they follow the Facebook ad onto your page or website, is there something that will keep them there? 

To be successful in your content marketing, you need to imagine your audience as a funnel. Facebook Ads help you to arrange people in this funnel using different objectives: Awareness, Consideration and Conversion. 

A large majority will be at the top of the funnel. These people are looking at your content, getting to know you, and figuring out if they like your business. They aren't ready to buy yet! 

Only a very small percentage of people interacting with you will be ready to purchase immediately. 

Focus on your audience.

Put their needs, their learning and their growth FIRST. Once you have your tribe and can see what they like using metrics, then you can start to build content that attracts the same demographics.  

RELATED POST: How to optimize your Facebook page for more conversions 

3) Are you committed to the platform? 

One of the biggest mistakes you can make with Facebook ads is to try once and then give up. 

Facebook ads are an incredibly effective tool for 

• Building brand awareness 
• Building your email list 
• Doing flash sales 
• Targeting your ideal customers directly
• Running highly targeted and effective campaigns

Many small business try a couple of times and then give up when they don't see results. 

Maybe you've boosted a few posts and it feels like a waste of money. 

Maybe you don't really have a plan and then you only post when you have a sale and are putting the prices down in the hope that someone will buy. 

Before you pay for Facebook advertising, you need to make sure that you are committed to making it work! 

I promise that it does work (I use it in my own business!), but you need a PLAN. 

Facebook ads are a powerful way to build your business on a bootstrap budget- don't give up on them just yet!
 
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