There are many misconceptions about running Facebook ads, but these five tend to be the most common among new entrepreneurs [it was the same for me in the beginning].
Are you a new entrepreneur thinking about running Facebook ads for the first time or have you tried already but they didn’t work?
Have you recently started your own business and now wanna see how Facebook ads can help grow that audience?
If you answered ‘yes’ . . . then this article is for!!
So, you’re now probably wondering . . .
What do I really need to do to be successful at running Facebook ads?
To be honest, there are so many moving parts with it comes to running Facebook ads.
A lot of new entrepreneurs are under the impression that Facebook advertising is a good way to drive traffic but don’t know how to get started. While it can be very lucrative, there’s no denying that this particular platform has some pitfalls for inexperienced small business owners – in terms of how things work and what you need to do before actually spending your money on ads.
Misconceptions About Facebook Advertising for New Entrepreneurs: What’s your end goal?
It’s important to determine the specific purpose of running Facebook ads for each campaign. You can do so by asking, “What am I trying to accomplish with this ad?” The reason [referred to as an objective] varies depending on how you answer the following:
Are you looking to . . .
Make sales?
Obtain leads?
Create brand awareness?
Drive traffic to a website/landing page?
I know most new entrepreneurs would say “to make sales” however they don’t realize this may not be the best option for their business until much later down the line. It really depends though! This is why creating a marketing strategy is so important! If you need help with that, then get started by scheduling a discovery call here.
Misconceptions About Running Facebook Ads as a New Entrepreneur: Have you collected enough data on your ideal targeted audience?
As an entrepreneur, it is important to collect a lot of data on your ideal targeted audience so that you can understand who they are and what their interests are. Facebook ads are effective because they allow advertisers to target specific, interested customers. If an ad is not relevant or does fit into the market of your ideal customer, then this is a waste of $$.
Collecting data on your ideal customer (aka ideal customer avatar) can be done in a number of ways however you want to start by installing a FB pixel on your website(s). Installing a Facebook pixel allows you to track data about website visitors – from their age or gender all the way through whether someone has purchased something recently (or more than once).Regardless of which action you’re optimizing for – website clicks, leads, conversions, engagements, etc – Facebook needs at least 20 of those actions per week to perform optimally. You can also utilize your email list if you have one. If you don’t have an email list, get started here.
Running Facebook Ads as a New Entrepreneur: Is your company providing quality products, services, and/or valuable content?
What you are actually offering makes a big difference! Have you done your research? It’s one thing to sell a product/service or provide content however it’s another when you are providing a quality product, service, and valuable content. Whatever you offer – it must serve your audience! It has to be something they need and/or want.
New entrepreneurs often don’t understand the importance of providing valuable and high-quality products, services, and content to their audience. It’s important that your business provides these things in order for you to meet customer needs, build trust with them, and maintain a relationship even after they’ve made purchases.
Side Note: Your content, products or services is useless if your target audience doesn’t need it. The best way to get people interested in your offer is by giving them a solution for their problems – offer something of value!
Misconceptions About Running Facebook Ads for New Entrepreneurs: Who is your ideal customer avatar?
One of the most important things is knowing your audience – if you don’t know who will respond best to your offer, it’s going to be hard for Facebook Ads to work effectively. When creating an ad, make sure it appeals and speaks directly to your targeted audience instead of just being all over the place. In order to do that, you need to REALLY fully understand who your customer avatar is. What are their interests? Regardless of what type of business you have, you gotta define who your ideal audience, customer/client is. If you’re not sure, get started here.
This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I’ve recommended – at no extra cost to you, of course. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. You can check out my disclosures here.
5 Facebook Advertising Misconceptions ThatNew Entrepreneurs Should Avoid If You Want to be Successful
Trust me . . . I know firsthand how frustrating it is to not have any (or very little) traffic to your business and not knowing how to advertise with pad ads.
There’s a lot that goes into running successful Facebook ads. As a new business, you aren’t gonna run ads and make thousands of dollars from that one ad in the beginning. Now there are some exceptions to that however it depends on the data that has already been collected, the product, service, content, and/or niche.
Many businesses have turned to Facebook advertising as a way of reaching their target audience with quality ads. Many times, success is not achieved due to these 5 misconceptions:
1 – Misconceptions About Running Facebook Ads
Many new entrepreneurs believe that using Facebook Ads allows them to quickly earn profits without much effort involved. They believe anyone can run Facebook ads and make thousands of dollars from day one – with little or no data and/or not defining their customer avatar. But this is simply not the case . . . most of the time anyway!
How to avoid feeling disappointed about not producing results:
There are a number of things that you must do in order to maximize your efforts! It requires lots of persistence and patience because building profitable campaigns can be tough. One thing you’ll have to do all the time is . . . test, test, test!! Even if you’ve done really good targeting, you’ll have to test everything (ie. images, videos, copywriting, etc).
There will be days where nothing seems to work and other days where everything clicks into place. Depending on your situation, you may not see the results you want for 3-4 months of running FB Ads. Then at that point, you can analyze the data you’ve collected and scale your ads which will increase your reach [and sales].
2 -Misconceptions When Advertising with Facebook Ads
Having unrealistic ad budget goals.
How to avoid feeling frustrated when having an unrealistic budget when advertising with Facebook ads:
It’s important to know the difference between what you want and reality. Facebook ads are no exception, as they have a steep learning curve that takes time before seeing any results from your efforts. You need to spend enough to see results. The more you spend, the more data Facebook has to learn what is working and the better your campaigns will perform.
It can be overwhelming trying to figure out what you need for your ads budget. There are so many moving parts, and it’s hard to know how much is enough without testing until you learn [from actually doing the ads] that too little or too much won’t work.
3 -Myths About Running Facebook Ads
One of the main misconceptions about running Facebook ads is that new entrepreneurs think it’s expensive to hire a digital marketing agency to promote your product, service, and/or content. Most small businesses are willing to pay a premium for digital marketing services however it’s not always in the budget for new entrepreneurs.
How to avoid:
It’s not always costly when hiring an ad agency to run Facebooks for your business. Research and find a great digital marketing agency that helps new entrepreneurs on a budget.
Digital marketing is the future, and if you want your business to have an edge over others in this highly competitive market then hiring a marketing strategist would be beneficial. You can expect good returns on ad spend when working with an agency because we know what works best within different industries such as retail or entertainment, etc. We also can share insights about what is working and what is not. Our Facebook ads package starts at $500/month [plus the cost of ads spent, of course].
4 -Misconceptions About Running Facebook Ads
Without in-depth training, I can run ads myself.
How to avoid wasting time & money by running Facebook ads without any training or expereince:
Yes, you can run ads yourself however you want to take a really good course that will teach you the ends and outs of running successful ads.
I took this course and I highly recommend it! It’s easy to understand, implement and it’s super affordable – which is great for newbies on a budget!
There’s also an add-on option to get one-on-one help if you need someone to actually guide you through the process. Get started and learn how to run Facebook ads yourself.
5 -Misconceptions About Advertising with Facebook Ads
Boosting a post is beneficial.
How to avoid boosting a post:
It really isn’t . . . a waste of funds! NEVER boost a post! It’s not effective! When you use the boost option you’re showing your ads to a group of people that are not all your ideal target audience. You don’t want to just reach thousands of people . . . You want to reach thousands of your targeted ideal audience. Do this by utilizing your funds and run targeted ads that are optimized for your goal to reach your ideal audience – not just everyone on Facebook.
Tips to Maximize Your Efforts When Running Facebook Ads
Set realistic goals – If you want to advertise on Facebook, make sure that your goals are realistic. Many people try and fail because they set unrealistic expectations and/or do not know what will work for their target audience. Be patient and understand the full concept of how advertising with Facebook ads really work. Also, do the groundwork . . . if not, hire an ad agency [like me
] to do it for you.
Be authentic – It’s important that you not only advertise what makes your company different from the competition but also be authentic and honest about who you are as a brand if you want people to like and trust you.
Utilize your time and money – Maximize your efforts by either taking the time to learn how to advertise with Facebook ads the right way or pay to have paid ads done for you.
Next Steps on Misconceptions About Running Facebook Ads
You need to create a marketing strategy to get your business in front of the “right audience”. This may or may not involve advertising with Facebook and Instagram ads right now. If you need help with how to make your content, products, and/or services more visible, please feel free to schedule a free discovery call.