When it comes to running Facebook ads, you can’t afford to leave anything to chance. That is why it’s important to make sure you are ready to start advertising on social media before you start spending your marketing budget.
Facebook and Instagram ads can be a brilliant way to bring in new customers and more sales, but get them wrong or launch too soon and you’ll soon burn through your budget.
As experienced ads strategists, we know the important signs to look out for before we work with any luxury ecommerce businesses on their ads. We detail out five of the main points to check before starting to advertise on Facebook and Instagram.
1. You’re confident
You know you have a product or service that people want to buy. You know what you’re selling, who you’re selling it to and why they’re buying it.
You know your audience. You just need to find more of them for your business to grow.
2. Your website is already converting
Your website is working well and you have a good conversion rate. It loads quickly, your site is easy to navigate, it is easy to checkout and your payment systems are in place. If you use Shopify or Woocommerce, it’s all set up any optimisations have been done and you have sales coming in.
Hopefully, you’ve already got the Facebook pixel installed. If so, you have a bank of data about the sales you’re making – and Facebook can use it to make your ads more effective and report back to you on how well they are working.
3. You have an engaged organic Facebook and Instagram following
You can run ads on Facebook and Instagram without having an active organic social media strategy but we would not recommend this. Advertising should compliment your already successful social media profiles and amplify your marketing messages.
You don’t have to be posting morning, noon and night, but your profiles should be up to date and there should be regular activity. Facebook’s algorithms will be able to glean more information about your prospective customers and that will help you get more value for money from your ads.
4. You have the inventory
Do you have plenty of stock? Or can you definitely get more, quickly? Is your supply chain prepared for an increase in order demand?
If your ads are an instant success which is a high possibility if you have all these points checked off, you need to be able to handle increased demand and avoid disappointing customers.
5. You have budget
It takes time for the Facebook algorithm to find the people most likely to buy from you. And you need to test different images, ad copy and ad formats to see which bring in the best results.
You really need to commit to a minimum of 12 weeks’ advertising. That’s not to say that results can’t be achieved more quickly – they often can – but you won’t really know what your results are until you’re 12 weeks in.
After that, you’ll continue testing different ads but you’ll know what to expect and have a good idea of how much you need to spend to get the results you want.
I advise having a minimum ad spend of at least £700 pcm – preferably £1,000 pcm or more. Plus, if you don’t have the time or knowledge to run your own ads, you’ll need to factor in fees for ongoing ads management, training or expert support.
So what are the red flags?
Now you know what it takes to be ready for ads let’s look at the signs that you’re not ready to advertise.
Marketing budget
The biggest red flag is the marketing budget. If you’re in a position where your business might fold if the ads are not successful straight away then perhaps find more cost effective ways to drive conversion such as email marketing.
There are no guarantees with ads. We use a test and learn approach to advertising so although the ads can be successful from the get-go, the reality is it takes time (and data) to see what works for your brand. Each brand is different and what works on organic social posts doesn’t always translate to advertising.
Your website isn’t converting
If your website isn’t making sales, ads won’t change that overnight. Work out what needs to change and if you are unsure book in for a website audit.
Does your site showcase your products or services well enough? Are you losing people because pages are too slow? Is your pricing a problem? Do people add to cart but then decide the p+p is too expensive? Fix everything you can fix before paying out for ads.
And if you don’t yet have a pixel, get one installed now or get in touch and we can install it for you. It will quietly gather data in the background while you’re sorting out any other issues, so don’t put it off to another day. If you’re still unsure, check out the 5 reasons you need to install the Facebook pixel.
Your platforms are dormant
If you haven’t posted on social media for the last six months and can’t remember when you last got a sale you need to focus on getting this activated.
There are businesses doing well without posting, but generally, they have big budgets and their Facebook ads are part of a wider advertising and PR strategy.
Get your organic social working first, or your ads will be less effective and more expensive than they would be otherwise.
So, are you ready?
If you’d like to find out more about how to get started with Facebook and Instagram ads, or want to discuss ad strategy, management or training book a discovery call today.
