Where do Facebook Ads fit with your marketing strategy?

Facebook advertising isn’t a strategy – it’s a tactic. That said, it can be tricky to know where your Facebook Ads fit in with your marketing strategy and what role they play in getting someone from not knowing your brand to purchasing from you or becoming a client. 

 

 

 

Where do Facebook Ads fit with your marketing strategy?

You're probably starting to get a little bit sick of hearing me harping on and on about your marketing strategy, but here's the thing: It is so bloody important. If you don't know what a marketing strategy is or why the heck you need one, you need to read this blog post on how to create a marketing strategy.

Are Facebook Ads a marketing strategy?

Here's a quick recap for you: Basically, Facebook Ads aren't a strategy, just like Instagram isn't a strategy and posting on Facebook isn't a strategy. These things are all tactics, and these tactics play a part in your overall marketing strategy.

Within your marketing strategy, you might have a Facebook Ads strategy, an Instagram strategy, an email marketing strategy, etc. But, on their own, these things are not a strategy.

Where do Facebook ads fit in with your marketing strategy?

Remember how your potential customer or client goes through a whole buyer journey before they buy from you or sign on as a client? Facebook Ads can play a part at each stage of this journey. You want to use Facebook Ads to walk them through each stage of the journey, from when they first come into contact with your brand to when they eventually purchase from you or sign on as a client.

Okay, so how can you use Facebook Ads to move someone along the buyer journey (or marketing funnel)?

Facebook Ads for cold audiences

A cold audience is someone who has no idea who you are, what you are about or why they should buy from you. You wouldn't run up to a stranger in the street and be like “hey! Buy from me!” and Facebook ads are no different.

If you're running Facebook Ads to cold audiences, you want to focus on building awareness and trust first, before selling to them. Some ways to do this are by running ads to your blog content or video content, or a free opt-in. I'm a big fan of running ads to your free opt-in because this gets people onto your e-mail list, where you can keep marketing to them forever and ever (until they unsubscribe).

If you're selling a lower priced item, you can sometimes get away with promoting it straight to cold audiences. Even if they don't buy straight away, you can then retarget them.

At this stage, you want to make sure your Facebook Ads stand out in your audience's newsfeeds. I rounded up some of the best Facebook Ads templates here.

Facebook Ads for warm audiences

Warm audiences are the people who are already familiar with your brand – maybe they've read a few of your blog posts or they're already on your e-mail list. You can run Facebook Ads to warm audiences by creating custom audiences.

If you have the Facebook pixel installed, you might decide to run more content ads to build trust or, if they're not already on your e-mail list, then you might run ads to your free opt-in to get them to sign up.

You might also test running ads to this audience promoting your product or service.

Facebook Ads for hot audiences

How you define your hot audience will depend on your business, what you're selling and how long your buyer journey is. These might be people who have viewed your sales page, or maybe people who've inquired about working with you, or people who've abandoned checkout.

If someone has abandoned checkout and you have a product-based business, you might like to use Facebook's Dynamic Retargeting feature to make sure that their forgotten product stalks them around Facebook and Instagram until they purchase.

At this stage, you might add a dash of special sauce here to convince them to convert. So, something like a testimonial or a limited-time discount. It could be just the thing that they need to get them across the line.

Next time you set up a Facebook Ad campaign…

I want you to think about how the ads you're creating fit into your overall marketing strategy. What goal are they helping you achieve? How are they helping you achieve it?

If you're simply boosting posts without any idea of how they fit into the bigger picture you're just wasting your money. Not sure why? Read my blog post on the difference between boosted posts and Facebook Ads.

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