Should I spend on Facebook Ads & Google Ads and if so, how much?
Times are tough, yes we get it! It’s been drilled into us like a broken record. Almost as annoying as waking from a beautiful dream only to hear Leanne Manas jabbering about the latest cv19 lockdown numbers. Inflation, petrol price, recession, load shedding and now water shedding/water rationing, what next? If you’re South African, you would have realised by now that complaining will never get you anywhere.
Everybody is feeling the pinch of inflation currently. We are all scrounging around some way or the other, trying to find new ways how we can stretch our hard-earned Rands/Dollars as thinly as possible. I find a lot of my clients moaning and groaning about marketing costs and I don’t blame them, after all, marketing costs are grudge purchases.
What is a Grudge Purchase?
A grudge purchase is something you don’t like paying for, like insurance, medical aid and advertising but they’re all important.
During tough times, the marketing budget is usually the first thing to get cut, but you shouldn’t, you need to continue advertising. One of the benefits of running paid ads is that if its set up properly, you can never lose at throwing money into it.
This Little Piggy Paid for Facebook Ads
Don’t be afraid to spend on Facebook Ads & Google Ads, be afraid to spend on things that don’t add any value to your business. Most times the stuff we spend our monies on is a waste.
Why must I pay for ads if social media is free?
Think of social media as a playground with billions of people minding their own business. Having personal conversations with friends and families. As brands, if we want to reach these people on their playground, we gotta pay. Also, social media is not free, it’s costing the networks millions of dollars per day to run and maintain these platforms so it’s only fair to pay to do business.
“I can’t afford that right now!” You might have to make some wise decisions but they may prove to be lucrative.
Here are Some Practical Money-Saving Tips! Make the right choices. Priorities!
Ditch the expensive satellite tv packages or downgrade. Instead of just being a “spectator” of sports become a “participant” in your own business and watch it grow.
Swop 2ply toilet paper for 1ply. Do your nails at home instead of the salon. Ditch the brand names, and change your supermarket, one thing we learned from the listeriosis incident is many sheeple are paying exorbitant prices for only packaging and branding for the exact same products. Eat out on special offer days like Mondays is burger and waffle special at certain restaurants.
Find money hidden in your home! Scan your home for unused or unwanted items and sell them online or at flea markets, you would be surprised how much money you have hidden and you may even find that decluttering therapeutic.
Cancel adverts that don’t work anymore. Cancel print ads. Newspaper ads don’t work anymore. The main uses of newspapers and magazines are for: toilet paper substitutes, smoking it or for your pets to sleep on.
Customer Lifetime Value
I was in a seminar once and the host took out a R10 note and asked all the delegates “Who wants to buy this R10 note for R2? ” Everybody ran up to buy it. That’s the value of Digital Ads (if set up right), expect R10 back for every R2 you spend.
Often frowned upon as a grudge purchase, Facebook & Google Ads have to be seen through the eyes of R.O.I (Return on investment).
When considering Paid Ads, we must look at the value a customer brings to our business. If a customer spends R500 pm with us every month for one year, then that customer value is R6000 per annum. Is it worth spending R1000 in return for a R6000 pa client? That’s what Customer Lifetime Value means.
The Difference between Facebook Ads and Google Ads.
Think of Facebook as a playground, and Facebook Ads are like those vendors coming up to you to sell brooms or towels. Sometimes you’re just not in the mood for that stuff.
On the other hand, think of Google ads as you are in the supermarket and you see a display of your favourite toilet paper and it’s on special. You are in there to buy toilet paper and you see your favourite brand right in your face.
On Facebook people are not there to buy stuff. Google is where the real business takes place and people are intentionally looking for solutions.
Leaking Bucket Effect.
Most business advertising is what we call the leaking bucket effect. Even though they are spending on ads to get people to visit their site, those visitors are falling by the wayside because there is no proper customer journey on their landing pages.
Range Rover.
Think of Paid Ads as a “Range Rover”- when you own a “Range Rover” you should be able to fill the fuel tank whenever you want, it makes no sense to own this machine and throw in R20 gas now and then. The same is true for Paid Ads. Paid Ads are a powerful marketing machine with the ability to generate lots of money for you, but you have to “fuel” it enough for it to be lucrative.
Boost Button on Facebook & Instagram
We’ve all seen the Boost Button on social media, But we often hear the gurus saying “Do not hit the boost button” Well there is a time and place you should use it. The boost button is a simple way to run a Facebook Ad. If you want to reach more people with your post, simply hit the “Boost Button”.
The Three Levels of Facebook Ads
-
- Merry-Go-Around Level
-
- Cessna Level
-
- Boeing Level
Boost Button – The merry-go-round level. Only use it if you want all your fans or followers to see your post.
Adcenter Level – Cessna Level – Good to create adverts but the range is limited.
Business Manager – Boeing Level – Full control of your adverts. Best results.
So, how much should I spend?
Don’t Do This:
- Do not spend R20 and run an advert for 1 day. Don’t run an ad for less than 5 days.
- Do not run the same ad over and over if it’s not generating results.
- Do not put too much text on your images, there is a silent “20%” rule. Rather have less text on your image and put your text in the caption.
- Do not spend R800 pm and expect to become a millionaire.
Do this:
- Spend a minimum of R50 a day for 5 days. the sweet spot is R75 per day for 5 days, best case scenario is R100 per day for 7 days.
Having said that, don’t let the blind lead the blind, make sure you have a proper paid ads strategy.
“Beware of the naked man who offers you his clothes.” – African Proverb
Who qualified us to write this article? After spending over R500k in advertising budget over the past 10 years and running ads in various industries we might have picked up a thing or two.
Paid Ads Do Work, Period!
Digital Ads allow you to skip the queue and get in front of your ideal customers. Paid Ads bring your product or service in front of the eyes of your ideal clients. The more you spend the better for you. We have seen companies only grow from strength to strength by using Paid Ads. One company spends R100k per month on Google and makes over R1m worth of business, another business spends R50000 on Facebook ads but they sell over R1m worth of health supplements.
Even though paid ads work for almost all industries, unfortunately, the same is not true for every industry. Tread cautiously if you are in the following industries: medical, financial, forex, health and weight loss industries.
BONUS: BE TEACHABLE – DON’T BE A “KNOW-IT-ALL”
We are in the business of transforming lives one business at a time. When you hire us as an advisor, it’s our responsibility to ensure your success. My personal pet peeves. As a coach and mentor nothing is more obnoxious than a “Know-it-all” client, You know those peeps who always have an answer for everything, those who respond “I knew that”, “I know that”, “I saw that before”, and “who doesn’t know that?”.
What you learned 30 years, 10 years, 5 years or even 1 year ago may not be relevant today. Always have a teachable and coachable spirit. When you’re a “Know-it-all” you subconsciously send a message to yourself that you’re dead and to stop learning.
When we as coaches tell you to do something, as trivial as it may sound, do it, in most cases, they are proven, tested strategies that work and it’s for your own good. You don’t challenge your doctor so why challenge the consultant?
We all have blind spots, when we are in the frame we can’t see our own problems, we need a subjective birdseye view.
Ask yourself today if you’re a “Know-it-all”? Now that we’ve made you aware of the “Know-it-all” character trait, if you catch yourself doing that, refrain from it.
Don’t be an “ASKHOLE’!
What’s an “Askhole” I hear you ask? Someone who is always asking for advice but never takes any advice. I don’t know if they just love talking and listening to the sound of their own voice, but it’s bloody annoying.
Anyway, enough of my rantings, it’s tough love and I only want you to be a success in your business, I hope you learned something new about Facebook & Google Ads! Go out and make some money now.
