I’ve got a new guilty pleasure: reading the comments on Facebook ads.
People will absolutely tear your company apart on a Facebook ad if you are too sales focused or disingenuous.
I actually really love this about Facebook ads because it forces a company to look at the formulas they’ve been using. You can’t hide your flaws on a social media post, and your audience is always going to demand honesty from you.
This is why my first thoughts whenever I start analyzing the results from any ad I’ve run are these:
Where were my assumptions off?
What am I doing wrong?
How can I be more honest?
All of those vicious comments I read on Facebook ads are indicating that the ad is just bad. Something about it hit the audience the wrong way. Usually it’s that the company is over-selling themselves, or they are using too many buzzwords. The company went the lazy route and churned out some cliché content, and then they reaped what they sowed.
This is why I say that the cure to bad marketing is self-awareness. As a business owner, you know what your unique selling points are from a high level. You can usually articulate them in a few sentences, but that’s really not enough when it comes to reaching your audience. Being honest about what you are not is often as valuable as being honest about what you are.
For example, Izell Marketing is a small digital marketing group for small business owners. Now, we are not for all small business owners. We try to work with likeminded people. Honesty is our greatest virtue, and we expect that of our clients as well. Why would you want to work with Izell Marketing if we don’t share core values? A business relationship thrives when collaboration can flourish between individuals with matching goals and expectations.
Likewise, your company does not exist for everyone. There are specific types of people who want what you have. Your challenge is to find these people and speak their language. It’s better to focus on learning who these people are than trying out the latest marketing tricks and formulas on people who were never meant to be your customers.
