The 3 Biggest Mistakes I See in Online Marketing

Figuring out where to start with Facebook ads can be wayyy overwhelming. Seriously, I just googled “how to make facebook ads” and it came back with 2,960,000,000 results. (Yep, there are actually that many zeroes!).

There are tons of resources out there that can tell you what you should be doing when it comes to Facebook ads… But honestly, sometimes it’s just as helpful to know what NOT to do. This will help rule out a whole lotta trial-and-error while you’re figuring out what IS working in your ad.

So before you listen to another podcast, follow another digital influencer, or order another marketing book… Here are the three biggest mistakes to avoid with your Facebook ad strategy.

MISTAKE #1: Turning off ads based on one day’s worth of data.

This one takes the #1 spot because it is the BIGGEST mistake you can make with Facebook ads. Maybe you’ve put an ad together, hit publish, then… crickets. It can be tempting to turn the ad off and scrap the whole thing.

Do NOT do that! Here’s why:

Reason #1:

A small change to the ad (like a new headline) can yield major results. So instead spending your valuable time creating an entirely new ad, it’s a much smaller time investment to make a small change. And if that change works, you’ll know exactly which part of your ad is resonating with your audience - and that’s helpful data for your future marketing campaigns!

Reason #2:

You might have started ads on a “slow” day for your audience. As much as I wish there could be a one-size-fits-all perfect time to start ads, it really depends on when YOUR perfect customers are online. For example: if your audience works in the office 9-5, it might not be a great idea to start an ad on a Monday at 10am. You’ll likely have much better luck starting an ad on the weekend or towards the end of the work week. Until you have a few week’s worth of data, you’ll never actually know when those “bad days” are. You could have the best ad ever, and not know it because you turned it off too soon!

In the end, it all comes down to collecting data about your audience and figuring out what type of messaging resonates with them. This will be impossible to discover if you turn off your ads after one bad day.

If you want better results and better data for future campaigns, you have to flip the way you’re thinking about ads: Instead of expecting high conversions every time, your goal should be to gather data. Although it may feel like you’re losing money in the short term, you’ll save lots of money on future ads because you’ll know exactly who to target, when to target them, and what you should be saying to them. And better ads means more conversions. And more conversions means more money down the road (so technically those “bad ads” are worth every penny!).

MISTAKE 2: Only targeting cold audiences.

It can be tempting to put all your marketing efforts into cold audiences. To grow a business, you have to reach more people, right? But if your marketing plan includes ONLY cold audiences, you’re going to end up spending a whole lot more on ads.

Here’s why: Conversion ads are perfect when you’re launching a product or service. However, they’re also the most expensive type of ad. That doesn’t mean they’re not worth it, though. You just have to be strategic in the way you use them.

In general, cold audiences are harder to convert than warm audiences. That would mean Facebook would have to show the conversion ad to more people in a cold audience to get the same amount of results as it would for a warm audience. And every time Facebook shows someone that conversion ad, it’s costing you money. So the goal here should be to get the most conversions for the least amount of ad views - and that would be with a warm audience.

The key is to create a warm audience BEFORE your launch with conversion ads. Here are more cost-effective ways to build a warm audience on Facebook:

Run Engagement Ads: Engagement ads look like organic posts, with the main purpose of getting your audience used to seeing you in their newsfeeds. Facebook will take note of who is engaging with these ads, and it can use this data for conversion ad targeting later on.

Video Ads: The goal for this one is the same as Engagement ads. Whip up a quick video post with a helpful tip or something that will resonate with your audience, and Facebook will keep track of who watches it. Then Facebook will know who would be more likely to act on a future conversion ad.

Install a Facebook pixel to your website so Facebook will be able to target people who have already visited your website.

Grow your email list: Run ads for a freebie or two so that you can collect email addresses for your audience. People will be much more likely to give you their email address before they get out their wallets to buy a product in your launch. And once they see the killer content you’re giving them for free, they’ll be way more likely to purchase a paid offer down the road - and Facebook will know to target them because they’ve already shown interest in you. (Click here for more tips on growing your email list!)

Here’s another big reason why spending money building a warm audience will pay off: if you put some focus on your warm audience to create superfans, they’ll do your marketing for you -- and that marketing is FREE!

MISTAKE 3: Not applying what you learn in Facebook Ads to the rest of your marketing plan.

When you’re seeing a high CTR for your Facebook ads, that means something in your ad is resonating with your audience. From my experience, it almost always means you have the right copy and a strong headline. The first thing you should do is give yourself a pat on the back for collecting valuable data - that you won’t have to spend $ finding again! The second (and most important) thing you need to do is apply what you’ve learned about your audience to the rest of your marketing efforts.

For example, say you’re selling a dog toy. One of your ads is all about how even the most aggressive chewers won’t be able to tear this one apart - saving you from cleaning up a mess and having to buy yet another dog toy to keep them from destroying (another) couch cushion. Compared to your other ads about the same product, this one is converting 80% of the traffic to your website.

Now say your Facebook ad takes them to your sales page where it only talks about the cute design and low price. By this point, your customer might forget all about why they clicked over in the first place - because they want a toy their dog won’t destroy in five minutes. Using your ad data, you now know this needs to be the main focus of your sales page if you want to actually convert them to buying the toy.

And bonus: Next time you’re brainstorming new product ideas, you’ll have data to support creating a full line of indestructible dog toys!

To clicks, clients + IMPACT,

Jackie