Facebook ads has exploded in popularity recently and is set to continue. Their total ad revenue last quarter totalled $16.6b, a 30% year-over-year growth. Big brands are suddenly committing their valuable ad spend and it’s now an essential part of the marketing mix.
With this growth, there is also a huge demand for experienced Facebook ad managers. With no official training or qualification as yet, it’s a bit like the wild west trying to find anybody who is worth the investment. Unfortunately, there are a huge amount of people “claiming” they can generate unrealistic results and basing their results on data that isn’t going to get you a return on your investment. I have even heard about tricks people use to incorrectly represent value of sales in the Ads Manager platform so their results look more impressive!
So, here are my top bits of advice when looking for somebody to work on your ads:
- ASK TO LOOK AT AN AD MANAGER ACCOUNT – Even if its a screenshot you want to look at the whole representation of stats and not just the ones they have decided to present you with. They might have a CTR of 3%, but if that click is costing an extortionate amount of money its not a viable campaign. Don’t accept stats in isolation as data can be manipulated to show whatever is needed!
- TESTIMONIALS – Ask for testimonials from relevant clients. Without any formal qualifications or affiliations, the best assurance you can get is one from a happy customer. Feel free to ask if you can contact them directly for a reference.
- GO WITH SOMEBODY WHO DOESN’T PROMISE YOU INSTANT RESULTS – sounds weird but this one is mega important. Nobody can guarantee results, especially if they have not validated your Facebook ads with existing campaigns and data. It might take 2 months to get results, it might only 2 weeks. There are so many variables that anybody who promises results is most likely overselling and over-promising. Facebook ads are not a quick fix, they take time and investment to hit the sweet spot.
- ASK HOW THEY TRAINED – There are a huge amount of people out there who have taught themselves, some well and some not so well. There are some great Facebook ads trainers out there who people will have invested in development with. Ask how they trained and who they trained with, then go and check out that training yourself. This is a good indication of how serious they are about their skills.
- AVOID ANYBODY WHO PROMISES “REACH” AS AN OBJECTIVE – Anybody can achieve reach. Just because I have got your ad out to a million people with a low CPM, if half of them are never going to buy your product, you’ve wasted half your ad spend. Reach is not a metric that should be used in isolation!
- A BIG AGENCY MUST BE GOOD AT FACEBOOK ADS YEAH? – Actually, no. I’ve experience of ad agencies taking ownership of clients Pixels and therefore they own the valuable data (huge, massive NO! It’s your data and you should be able to access and own that Pixel data). I have also heard of agencies only reporting on Reach objectives when dealing with spending on thousands of pounds. Don’t assume that the bigger agencies know what they are doing, many of them haven’t had the in-depth training.
If in doubt, make sure you speak to a few specialists and get range of advice and quotes. If somebody is promising the world, it’s probably best avoided.
If you want to get in touch and have any questions please drop me a line on sally@rockit-social.com.
