Cautionary tale today.
The social media marketing gurus of the world will delight in telling you why now is a great time to do Facebook ads.
After all, much of your competition is running scared and skimping on their marketing.
Cost-per-click is down 30% on average, according to some sources.
‘Tis a fine sentiment.
Back in ’08-’09 I did make out like a bandit on Google ads while other advertisers were lying in the fetal position on the floor of their offices. Indeed, smart marketers know that when there’s “blood on the streets”, it’s time to market even more aggressively and hoover up market share like a Dyson.
Which brings me to the caution part.
Last year, a client of mine was sucked in by the promise of fast leads thanks to a social media marketing agency keen on raiding his wallet. When I first found out about the campaign, I insisted on giving it the once over to determine if it deserved The Muscle’s much coveted seal of approval.
It did not.
For one, I was appalled at the lack of basic grammar and spelling on the landing page they’d created.
(And, as a writer, somewhat professionally offended.)
Ditto for their email follow up sequence.
I sent the client a note requesting that we bring those leads back into his Aweber so we could nurture them properly and with the quality of writing consistent with his other messaging.
And while this agency liked to point out ‘so many leads’ were coming his way, my client had only one booking (that didn’t show up) and a grand total ZERO sales.
Then, I noticed something, well…a little funky:
Almost ALL of the leads I imported had an IP address based in South Korea. Yet, this client was a chiropractor based just outside of Toronto.
The Muscle smelled a rodent of the scurrying, pointy-tailed variety.
Now I’m not discouraging you from doing paid traffic on Facebook.
I have other clients that are doing very well with this right now.
And it may be truly be a good time to throw your hat in the ad buying ring.
But if you’re new to all this, my advice is not to trot down a dark alley and act surprised when you meet some questionable characters.
Beware the charm offensive.
Insist on proof.
Anyway, hope this warning saves you a few dineros.
Two MORE ways I can help:
I know people.
Good people.
If you’re ready to swim in this particular shark tank, I can open my rolodex and introduce you to some great ad people with high-powered tranq riffles.
And two, aside from targeting, two big factors in your ad success are the copy used in your ads (how you get attention) and the copy on the landing page you are bouncing them to (how you keep that attention long enough to get them to take action).
My book Stealth Email Secrets shows you a simple-yet-proven landing page formula and no less than 7 easy-to-create email types that can easily be adapted as Facebook ads.
Get those, and a ho’ lot more goodies inside the book, here:
Click here to get your copy of Stealth Email Secrets from Amazon.
Find out why leading author and speaker John Brubaker calls this, “one of the small handful of books that sits on my desk next to my laptop and my planner, while all others are relegated to the shelf.”
Alright, that’s all The Muscle wrote for today.
Happy Scam-Avoiding,
Conor Kelly