5 things to do before you start running Facebook Ads

You might be super excited to jump right into Facebook Ads Manager and start running Facebook Ads. But, there are a few things you should have in place before you start running Facebook Ads so that you can get the best results for your budget. Here are 5 things you MUST do before you start running Facebook Ads, and how to ensure you get the most bang for your buck.

 

 

(Psst! You may also like this blog post rounding up the best Facebook Ad templates)

What to do before you start running Facebook Ads

Now, you might be really excited to dive straight into Facebook Ads Manager and start running Facebook Ads. But, here's the thing: you need to have a few things in place before you get started with Facebook Ads.

Yes, technically, you could start running Facebook Ads without any of these things in place, but you wouldn't be maximizing your results.

So, what do you need to have in place before you start running Facebook Ads?

1. You need to have a goal

If you don't know what you want to achieve, how will you know if you've achieved it or not? Without a goal, you're not going to know if the ads you're running are successful. You also won't be able to create a Facebook Ads strategy to get you from where you are now to where you want to be, as quickly as possible, and you won't know which Facebook Ads campaign type to choose.

2. You need to know your audience

You really need to know who they are, and you need to think about how you're going to target them on Facebook. Choosing the wrong Facebook Ads targeting has the potential to really increase the cost per result of your Facebook Ads.

So, it's important that you get this as spot-on as possible.

It's also super important to know your audience's problems, dreams, desires – basically everything that's going on inside their heads. I've written about how to define your ideal customer or client before, so pop over and read that blog post for the step-by-step.

Why is it important to know your ideal customer or client? Basically, it will help you write your ad copy (that's that's the text part of your ad). If you know your ideal customer or client really really well, you can use your copy to resonate with them better, and you're more likely to convince them to click through.

3. The Facebook Pixel

The Facebook Pixel allows you to retarget people who have visited your website, using Facebook Ads. This is so handy. Think of it like this: When you're online shopping,  how often do you add something to your cart and then forget about it?

I know I do this a lot.

So, by targeting these people, you can remind them that they've forgotten their product. You can also use retargeting to sell your product to people who have viewed your free content or to get these people onto your email list.

The Facebook Pixel also allows you to track conversions on your website, so you can see exactly how many sales your Facebook Ads resulted in. This allows you to calculate the exact “Return on Ad Spend” (for every $1 you spent on Facebook Ads, how many $ of sales revenue you generated).

If installing the Facebook Pixel seems scary, it doesn't have to be. This WordPress plugin makes installing the Pixel quick and simple.

4. Your e-mail list

You don't need to have an existing email list – you just need to have one set up and ready to go.

Why? Well, email marketing is one of the best free ways of marketing your business. So, if you don't have an email list and you're not regularly emailing them, you need to put that into place ASAP.

I love running Facebook Ads for my free opt-ins to get people to join my email list so that I can keep marketing to them for free. You don't have to do this, but if you're not building your email list and emailing them regularly, you're leaving money on the table.

5. You need to know what your conversion rate is

If you sell products online, you need to make sure your website is conversion optimised. If your website isn't converting and you're running product ads sending people to your website, you're wasting money.

You need to go through your website and figure out where the sticking points are. Why aren't people adding products t0 cart? Or, why aren't they completing checkout? Whatever it is, fix it before you start running paid ads to it.