Often times when being asked to oversee an ad campaign marketers are tempted to say “go for it” and let their clients spend thousands on ads. I’ve learned the hard way how easy it is to waste thousands of dollars on misplaced ads. Allow me to help you avoid doing the same.
Sometimes I get brought in near the end of the process. Display ads that look great, Google Ad Words campaigns ready to launch, and Facebook Ads sitting in drafts ready to publish. Everyone itching to press big green buttons.
Imagine their surprise when I say “well, hold on. That might not be the best use of your money.”
Let’s zoom out for a minute – what’s the primary difference between Facebook ads and Google Paid Search? Facebook ads are generally shown in “placements” in feeds and Google Search ads are shown when people are searching for something.
This has everything to do with what kind of product or service you’re offering and where you are more likely to find people in their buying “zone”.
Let’s take a few examples – these are VERY surfacy and I’m just trying to make a larger point so let’s not get too in the weeds. Skip the examples to get straight to said point 🙂
Common goods: let’s say you sell curling irons. Your curling iron is innovative, reasonably priced, and available in retail stores. You may not even need an online marketing effort. But if you were to go that route, I would advise you to offer your product somewhere that common goods are frequently purchased like Amazon. How often do you google a common good and go to a specific webpage or social media account and go through the entire process of setting up an account, adding your payment method, then likely paying to ship, blah blah blah… save your money on google ads and Facebook ads – your customers will want your product and NEED your product – but you are best helping them find it where common goods are sold with the least amount of buying friction.
Specialty Goods: Let’s say now you sell a device for roasting your own coffee beans (I don’t know, I’m making this up) and your product was recently successful on kickstarter but unavailable in stores. I’m of the opinion that you could have luck with a social media campaign because your item could pique the interest of people that otherwise might never consider it. You could bring them into your world with creative ads. I might have grown my own shitake mushrooms because of Instagram ads – just saying.
Common services: You need a dentist. You don’t book a dentist appointment while you’re looking at Facebook. Stop with the medical/dental/accountant ads on Facebook! Paid search for these specific and common services can be extremely beneficial for booking new patients or customers. Don’t point your google ads at “best landscaper in Denver, Colorado” but point toward specific services you can offer and then limit your search geographically to that area. There’s a lot more to it, but making yourself highly visible when people are looking for your service is better than being visible when they are browsing in their PJs.
Specialty Services: You offer tailored wardrobe selections for busy professionals. This might at first seem like something you would want to offer on paid search, and you may have some success. But I would consider doing a highly creative social media push with some boosted posts. Perhaps some before and after videos pushed out to people in your area that like fashion and work in professions that require you to look shnazzy.
The big TL;DR – Know when your customers are in the buying mindset and where to find them. There are cases and ways to use all ad services for your business, but know how and why they work before you waste a considerable amount of money.
If you have an ad campaign that isn’t producing the results you want, or you’ve been burned in the past, you’re not alone. I’d be happy to share some of my battle scars with you and look at what you’re up against. You know where to find me. 🙂
