If you’re a coach or course creator trying to increase business and bring in more clients or sales, it can be frustrating when your Facebook ads aren’t delivering the results you want.
Hey, I’m Jenn Possick, The Ads Maven. I run ads for 6- and 7-figure coaches and course creators to help them grow their email lists and fuel their launch events. I’ve been an ads strategist for over 8 years. I know what works and what doesn’t.
“Why don’t my Facebook ads deliver results?”
Facebook ads work brilliantly. Unless they don’t.
I’ve met a lot of people who say they hate Facebook ads.
And I get why.
It’s because they’ve run ads that haven’t worked.
Now, there are lots of possible reasons why an ad isn’t working. But the biggest complaint sounds something like this:
“I want people to read my blog, but they just like my post.”
or
“I want people to like my page, not comment on my post.”
or
“I want people to act on my ad, rather than just clicking ‘like.’”
Essentially, the main issue is that people aren’t taking the action that you want them to take.
Good news! This is easily solvable. To explain, I first want to talk a little bit about the Facebook Algorithm.
Flat out, the Facebook Algorithm is remarkable. It probably knows more about you than your best friend.
It knows what you like. Which TV shows you watch, what books you like to read, which celebrities you gossip about.
It knows how much money you make.
It knows how educated you are.
It knows if you recently got a new job and how old your kids are.
And it knows what type of user you are on Facebook.
By that, I mean…
The Facebook Algorithm knows if you scroll through your newsfeed without engaging. (Engagement counts as likes, comments, clicks, and shares.)
It knows if you tend to click on links.
And it knows if you click on links, and then sign-up for free stuff through that link.
And it’s constantly learning more about you. Creepy? For sure. But it’s also super helpful to you as a business owner.
For one, it means you can dial in on your target audience so that you’re only speaking to those who are the best fit for your message. And in this case, the algorithm helps you solve that big issue of people not taking the action you want them to take.
Here’s how:
When you first start a Facebook ad, you tell Facebook what type of Campaign you want it to run. This doesn’t sound like it’s a big deal, but it really is.
Since the algorithm is so smart, it knows exactly how people use Facebook.
So when you set up your Campaign, you are telling Facebook what exact action you want your audience to take.
As a result, Facebook will then show your ad to the people in your target audience who are most likely to take that action.
Pretty amazing, right?
Solution: Select the correct type of campaign so you get the Facebook ad results you want
So, let’s talk a little bit about the different kinds of campaigns you can choose and what they are for.
While you have lots of options, I want to talk to you about the 4 types of campaigns that are the most relevant to you.
1. Engagement
Engagement is used when you want people to engage in some way with your page. Remember, engagement is calculated as likes, comments, clicks, and shares.
Once you select ‘Engagement’ you have a few options for what type of engagement you’re looking for.
- “Post Engagement” is for when you want people to engage with a particular post.
NOTE: This is the automatic selection when you select Boost Post. However, starting an ad by boosting the post–instead of going through FB Ads Manager–limits your targeting options. To learn more about why you should never, ever hit the Boost Post button, check out THIS BLOG POST. <<
- “Page Likes” is for when you want people to like your Business Page.
- “Event Responses” is for when you want people to respond yes or no to a Facebook Event.
ADVANCED TIP: While my goals are usually not engagement, I will sometimes run a Post Engagement ad for just a few days, before switching it to an ad for Traffic or Conversions. I do this because ads tend to do better once they’ve had a bit of engagement on them already.
2. Traffic
This is for when you want to send traffic to your website.
For example, let’s say you just wrote an amazing blog post. If you want people to read it, run an ad for clicks to your website with the Traffic campaign.
3. Conversions
Do you want people to come to your website and then take a specific action, such as signing up for a freebie that puts them on your email list, or to purchase a product?
Then you would want to run an ad for Conversions, because you want someone to convert into a lead or a customer.
Note: To run an ad for Conversions, you have to be able to place a Facebook Pixel to track the conversions.
You can do this if it’s through your website or LeadPages, or something where you own the domain.
If you’re selling products on Amazon or Etsy, you’re not able to place the pixel and instead would need to run ads for Traffic. It’s not ideal, but it’s a better match than running an ad for Engagement.
4. Video Views
Select Video Views if you want to gain more awareness about your product/service, and get a lot of people to watch your video.
Note: Facebook counts a view as watching for 3 seconds, which is not very long.
Advanced Tip: If your goal is actually to get people to click to your website or convert into a lead, you have 2 options…
- You could run a video ad as a Traffic or Conversions campaign.
- Facebook has an option to let you create an audience of people who have watched a video for a percentage of time, such as 50%, 75%, or 95% of the video. This is awesome because you can retarget people who watched your video through a follow-up Traffic or Conversion ad.
Final Takeaways
So, before you start running ads, here are 3 things that can help you make sure your Facebook ad delivers the results you want:
- Figure out your goal
- Decide on what type of Campaign you need to run to meet that goal
- Remember:
- If you want people to read your blog instead of liking your post, run an ad for Traffic.
- If you want people to like your page, run a ‘Page Likes’ ad.
- If you want people to get your amazing freebie and sign up on your email list, run a Conversion ad.
Know you want to run better Facebook Ads, but aren’t sure what to do next, after selecting the type of Campaign?
If so, let’s schedule a time to chat. >>
-Jenn Possick, The Ads Maven
