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Alright I get it, Facebook ad scare the crap out of you.
But what if by not using Facebook ads you're actually leaving money on the table? On episode 011 of Rebel Boss Ladies we have Monica Louie, a Facebook ad expert, and she's going to tell you all about how Facebook ads can transform your business and how you can get started.
Facebook ads are an amazing tool to have in your toolbox so you can get your product in front of the right customers.
If you're constantly feeling like you're burning your existing email list or you're launching to the same people over and over again, Facebook ads are going to help you get out of that and it’s going to help you reach the right people.
Monica uses her expertise to help entrepreneurs skyrocket their profitability.
After discovering the wonders of paid advertising on her own and seeing amazing results, Monica actually built a thriving agency for major brands and solopreneurs. Today, Monica is helping people just like you create Facebook ad campaigns.
Monica’s Online Personal Finance Experience
Monica found her way into the online business world after transitioning to become a stay-at-home mom. “I knew that I wanted to start my own business but I didn’t know what I could do, what I really could offer, but that’s when I started learning about blogging.” She loved the flexibility that working from home could offer.
At the time of the transition, Monica and her husband also decided to be very intentional with their finances. Switching from two incomes to one made her feel really vulnerable, so they built up their savings. When these savings started to dip, Monica decided to use her experience and love of finance to build a business in the personal finance world.
That was when Monica and her husband, at the age of 32, decided to become completely debt free by the time they were 40. “That gave us 8 years to pay off $320,000 of debt, and we just hit the ground running.” Incredibly, they were able to pay off $120,000 of debt in two years.
Monica decided to use the skills she had learned with her own finances to help others find financial freedom. “I thought well, I’ll inspire more people with our story and teach people that it is possible to live a financially comfortable life and get out of debt.”
How She Became a Facebook Ads Expert
After creating her blog, Monica realized she needed to learn more about online marketing to grow her audience. She followed Pat Flynn and Amy Porterfield, her early business mentors, and started learning about how Facebook ads could help her grow her blog. “I knew… that Facebook ads is a great way to reach more people who are interested in what you have to share and what you have to teach.”
Monica started with a few Facebook ads campaigns for herself to grow her webinar sign ups. Her initial cost per sign up was extremely low, but she was able to use what she had learned from this first ad campaign to create a more successful second campaign.
After seeing her success, Monica’s blogging friends started asking her for help with their Facebook ads. “At first I was a little bit shy because I knew how to identify myself… but I didn’t know if I could really apply what I learned to other strategies to other goals with other offers and other audiences.”
Monica quickly lost her shyness, however, when she realized that not only was she getting amazing results for her different campaigns, she was also having a lot of fun doing it. She decided to sell her blog and transitioning to become a full-time Facebook ads coach.
Since her transition, she’s built a course, grown her ad agency and built a great team. “It’s been an amazing, fun, exciting ride. I love what I do every day and I’m so thankful that I get to work with the people that I work with.”
Why Are Facebook Ads so Important?
Facebook ads can be intimidating at the beginning, especially when it seems like you don’t have a lot of money to invest. Monica can relate – “When I first started with Facebook ads I was extremely intimidated because we were still using all of our extra money to get out of debt.”
Monica argues, however, that Facebook ads can be extremely powerful in helping digital product sellers reach the right people. “It’s just amazing, with over two billion active daily users on Facebook, your audience is likely there.” She works with clients to find their audiences on both Facebook and Instagram, which is a hugely growing platform.
Some of her clients are uncertain about being able to find their audience on social media sites, but Monica is sure there is a place for everyone online. “I haven’t worked with a client yet where we just haven’t been able to find the people who are interested in their product.”
The reason for the ads’ success? The algorithm. “That’s why I love leveraging Facebook ads, because yes we need to be strategic and we need to set things up in the right way, but the algorithm really helps us optimize our campaigns in the long run.”
Facebook Ads Targeting
Finding the right target audience for your ads can be extremely powerful. Monica recommends that the best conversion comes from “warmer audiences, the ones who already know you.”
Facebook ads are great to both grow that warm audience, and also get your product offers in front of audiences that are more likely to buy.
While email marketing is a great way to build a relationship with an audience, emails can often have low open rates, says Monica.
“Typically a good open rate is 20%, so that means 80% of the people who chose to hear from you, chose to be on your email list, are not paying attention to what you have to say in that email.”
Facebook ads can be a great way to capture the attention of this part of your audience and make sure your message is being seen. “If you know that you have an amazing offer that can help people, then by not investing in Facebook ads you’re leaving these people behind.”
The Budget: How Much Should You Spend on Your First Facebook Ads Campaign?
Monica admits that deciding how much you want to spend on your first campaign can be a big question.
Her agency works with all types of clients and budgets, some spending hundreds of dollars per day, and some spending only a few. She recommends first time Facebook campaigns start with a budget of between $10-30 a day.
The minimum per campaign that Monica recommends is $5 per ad set. “The ad set is where you determine the budget, where you tell Facebook how much you want to spend for that ad that is linked to that ad set, and that’s where you determine all the settings.”
A big part of creating a successful ad campaign is testing. A larger budget means more testing, faster. Monica recommends using extra money in your budget to test different audiences or versions of the ad to see what is the most successful.
“I have amazing success stories from my students who are spending, they just started with one ad to one audience. They learn from that experience and then they tested something else. So then maybe they decided to increase their budget from $5 to $10 a day. You definitely can get started with a low amount and have a great return as well.”
Testing: Finding the Most Successful Facebook Ads Formula
If testing is the a big component in finding a successful ad strategy, how long should you test for?
Monica recommends after you put the ad up, give the algorithm a little time to do its magic as it identifies who is engaging with your ad and uses that to show the ad to people who are more likely to click.
“A common mistake is that people get a little bit nervous about spending money and think ‘oh no, my ad’s been up for three hours, it’s not working.” She advises waiting, at minimum, 3 to 4 days before adjusting your budget or changing anything about the ad.
What Makes a Facebook Ad Successful?
Monica stresses that an ad has two jobs.
First, the ad needs to grab peoples’ attention, even when they’re just scrolling through social media. “They’re not looking for your ad and thinking I want to opt in for this free offer, so your ad really needs to stand out.”
The second job of an ad is to entice people to take action. “Really think about structuring your ad,” Monica recommends. Make sure you identify what you want your audience to do, and that your ad is clear about how to do that.
Perhaps you want your audience to watch a video, read a blog post or sign up for a webinar.
“Your ad needs to entice them to click,” says Monica, and in the case of sign ups, “the ad needs to give them that information so that they’re ready to click and sign up.” She emphasizes that it’s important to structure your ad with your goals in mind.
The Three Steps to High Converting Facebook Ad Campaigns
In order to make sure your ad is as successful as possible, Monica says there are three pillars of high converting campaigns. “These are the three things that all need to work together in order to help you get great results with Facebook ads.”
- The first thing is the offer. Not only does your offer have to be great, it also has to be an offer that people want. “If it’s not an offer people want then it doesn’t matter how great your ad is, then you’re just not going to get the results that you’re looking for.”
- The second piece is finding the right audience for your ad. Sharing your people to the right people at the right time is essential.
- Finally, make sure you grab the attention of your audience. Even if you have a great offer and have found your audience, it doesn’t help if they don’t click.
Monica recommends looking at these different elements anytime a campaign seems to be unsuccessful. Try testing different audiences, different variations of your ad, giving more information to entice people to take action, and more. “There are a bunch of different elements that you can test,” she recommends.
How to Get Started with Facebook Ads
What’s the easiest way to get started with Facebook ads?
Monica recommends identifying the three elements: your offer and goal, your audience, and how to engage them creatively, and using that to build successful ads.
When defining your offer and goal, make sure you know what you want your audience to do after they see your ad. “Get very clear on that and then create your offer around that goal.”
Once you identify who your audience is, you can also develop targeted ads specific to that audience. “Think about other pages or other brands that have the audience that you want and then you can create audiences around that.”
When you know your goal and audience, get creative. Use what you know about them to build an ad that best suits the offer and the audience. Ask yourself, “how can I speak to my audience so that they know I have the solution that they’re looking for?”
Need Some More Help? Check out Monica's Free Facebook Ads Starter Kit
Still nervous about getting started with Facebook ads? Monica has a freebie that can help with that.
Monica’s Facebook Ads Starter Kit, has a great checklist for anyone looking to start a Facebook ad campaign. “It really breaks a lot of what we talked about today down into a very step-by-step formula for you to actually create your next or first Facebook ad campaign”
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Check out her freebie, Facebook Ads Starter Kit, here
//AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY//
Monica Louie uses her expertise in Facebook & Instagram ads to help entrepreneurs skyrocket their profitability. After discovering the wonders of paid advertising and seeing amazing results herself, Monica has built a thriving agency for major brands and solopreneurs alike. Do you want to create campaigns that convert too? Discover how to flourish with Facebook ads through Monica's step-by-step course at FlourishWithFBads.com. Ready for her team of ads rockstars to handle the ads management for you? Apply to work with Monica and her team at MonicaLouie.com/WWM