You have jumped into the world of digital advertising with Facebook Ads and you are buying clicks and views freely. Bet you are spending lots of money, but getting few conversions. This is the success formula for losing money with online ads. Just stop! Read this list of the seven common mistakes advertisers make and how to correct them.
1. Throw up a headline and add a link.
COPYWRITING is an art form. Your headline needs to be relevant and catchy. The landing page content needs to solve a problem and move your reader to action. If you aren’t creating good content, you are doing a great job of digitally flushing your money away.
2. Send all your ads to your home page.
YAWN! Please send them to the specific area that resonates with your ad. The idea is to make it easy for your customers to take the next step with you. If they have to fumble around your site to find out what is valuable to them, you’ve lost a connection. They will be gone. For instance: If you are an auto repair shop and your ad is for oil changes send them to your oil change page that connects to your calendar for scheduling.
It is really best to have a dedicated unsearchable landing page with specific information and a specific call to action. A car wash could have a page with a special offer for the first 25 people who find the page and take action. Sneaky and effective, and most of extremely trackable!
3. Too many ads too often.
EXHAUSTION sets in when your ads are visually bombarding your target audience. They become annoyed and start ignoring you because you are constantly chattering about all the tricks and tools you have to offer. You’ll spend lots of bucks confusing your audience and getting little or no return.
Each ad campaign should be for one particular part of your business / product and just promote that one thing regularly over a selected period of time.
A chiropractor could start an ad campaign in April targeted to homeowners who are likely doing their own yard work. These people need to be reminded that there is relief for tweaking their bodies in unimaginable ways. The ad campaign sends a clear message and creates top of mind awareness.
4. Staying too long with the same ad.
GET OUT. Just like staying at a party too long, people get tired of your ad and want you to leave. All ads lose their sparkle after a while and will not be loved by the algorithm or the people who see it far too often. Replace your ad with a new one and the party starts again. The balance is to know the secret formula of getting out before you are asked to leave.
5. Beg or Demand people to buy.
DO IT! Click right here and buy my whatsit. Wait, shouldn’t they get to know you first? Introduce them to your world and the problem you can solve for them by giving them something of value. You want to gift them an informational PDF, video, or MP3 that educates, informs, or entertains so that they will give you their email address. Then you can start a relationship which leads to bigger and better things. Begging and demanding is not a good way to start a relationship. Online or otherwise.
6. Use Automatic Placement on Facebook.
HEY, THERE! This is a great way to have your money fly out the window as your ad is seen and not clicked on by people who have absolutely no interest in what you are offering. You should know who your client is and the places they haunt, the things they are interested in, and other key demographics. Edit your placements like a surgeon.
7. Bait & Switch for Clicks.
SURPRISE! You are talking about a Caribbean cruise in your ad to get people to visit your tiki bar. While you might get the clicks for being clever, but you won’t get the customers. True story – a ballroom dance studio used a pole dancing ad on Google to get people to click over to their site that taught the tango, rumba, or foxtrot but not the silver shimmy. They got lots of attention, but in the end not only did they waste money, but they also obtained few conversions – obviously.
Truth in advertising is the best way to go. If you’re selling a pony don’t make it out to be a racehorse.
There is no need to toss your cash at unprofitable advertising. Use your common “cents” and identify your customer, their discomfort, and then use the tools properly to connect with them. And if you need help creating effective online marketing, contact me and we’ll make a plan.
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