- Nov 20, 2020

DIGITAL ADS: THEY'RE NOT A DIY KINDA THING

I don't know if this is exclusively a post-COVID thing, but I have seen soooo many jobs out there this year that pair social media management with digital advertising (as in Facebook and Instagram ads). While yes, they are both social media related - I'll give you that - the idea that someone would group them in the same job description, to me, is ludicrous.

While there are definitely people out there who do both (and I take my hat off to them), I always say to Hannah that those two jobs almost require two different brains. Two approaches, two strategies, two skill sets. In my mind, as a social media manager my job requires a lot of creative writing, it requires me to have an eye for what looks good visually, it requires good communication and it requires *some* analytical skill - and that's where I can focus ALL of my energy. As a digital advertiser, on the other hand, Hannah's job requires some serious number crunching, a very analytical brain, and the ability to interpret lots of different types of data and then run with the results - and that's where Hannah can focus ALL of her energy. See where I'm going with this?

Sure, I could try to press some buttons and punch some numbers into Facebook's Business Manager, but I'm not really sure where that would get me. Without the knowledge, without a strategy in mind, without a marketing funnel set up, without knowing really what I'm looking for, I'm sure Hannah can verify that there's a LOT I would be missing out on. We see a lot of businesses trying their hands at the digital marketing DIY bit - maybe they've done a short course, maybe their friend has talked them through it, maybe they’ve watched someone do it. So they punch some numbers in and wait... and wait... and wait... and nothing happens. Maybe they reach a LOT of people but none of them convert, or maybe their actual audience is completely different to their target audience. And they're devastated - and rightfully so! They've done all the right things in theory, so why hasn't it worked?

Sometimes, this same business owner will come to us and say something along the lines of “Facebook ads don’t work for our business” - but honestly, that is very, very rarely the case. Facebook ads are a powerful tool to amplify your brand, but only when you’ve done the groundwork of laying down a strategy and getting to know your target audience.

Like anything, that's why there are people who dedicate their day-to-day lives to this practice. You wouldn't try to build a house with your own two hands if you weren't a builder. Facebook may promise all your business problems will miraculously fade away by using their ads tool but is anything ever that simple? (Short answer - no.) At TLSE, we are very lucky to be in a unique position where we can mould our roles, but also play to our strengths. This is why I dedicate all of my time to my social media and copywriting clients, and it's also why Hannah can have her own department of number crunchers who are amazing at setting up funnels and getting results.

Believe me when I say, we've seen so many clients come through our door who are both shocked and absolutely stoked at the difference an ad campaign with a proper strategy and proper analytical understanding behind it has made to their business.

Let’s break down some examples for you…

One ecommerce brand had spent $3000 over 6 weeks on ads, and only sold $1000 worth of stock in that time. They came to us with the same story - that digital advertising didn’t work for their business, and that they needed our help. In their case, we needed to take a step back to work on their target audience, and combine their digital marketing with a killer email campaign and organic social media to help ensure they had a warm audience ready to respond.

A second brand came to us struggling to get direct sales, and we transformed their marketing to be focused on building a wholesale audience. All it required was a little bit of strategy and some creative thinking to completely turn things around.

So, maybe it's time to think about starting 2021 off on the right foot. 'Coz ain't nobody got time for aimlessly throwing money into Facebook's money-hungry mouth and not getting results, am I right?!

Email hello@thelifestyleedit.com.au and let's chat about how we can conquer digital ads, together.