Facebook ads

[Pet Nanny]

Has anyone tried the new carousel ads on FB? It appears to give businesses the opportunity of telling their 'story', through advertising and looks pretty good.

I am also looking for some inspiration or a good 'tagline', for my next ad and would really appreciate your suggestions. I used a single ad for my last campaign 'Looking for the PAWfect pet sitter? but I don't want to keep using it.

It takes me ages to negotiate my way around the procedure and I am never sure which type of ad to use - big sigh. I also find it extremely difficult since you are so limited in what you can put!

Any help or suggestions greatfully received

 

[ChrisRM]

Hey!

I personally haven't tried the carousel ads but can see how they could be useful for story telling.

Have you tried running the ad with an offer? Or something of value to compel a potential customer to contact you?

I don't know the business very well but for example, 2 days for the price of 3, or free x (toy/bag of food) with booking by the end of April.

I love a good pun, but an offer will be better at getting a response from potential customers.

 

[Pet Nanny]

I have considered an offer, but don't you think it looks a little desperate? We are usually very busy during the summer months, but we have taken on more pet sitters and are now servicing new areas, hence the ad.

I also find negotiating the ads extremely difficult and takes ages to condense the wording, hence looking for a new tagline to draw peoples attention.

 

[ChrisRM]

Firstly, congrats on the expansion.

I see where you're coming from.

But the reason they are everywhere (window sales, carpet cleaning, conservatories, etc) is because they work!

Know, like and trust
Plus its about giving people a good reason to get to know and trust you. They may be somewhat interested in having the service but scared about being ripped off, their pets being treated well, etc. Once they have experienced the service, they know and trust you and are a lot easier to have as customers again!

On that note, what is the lifetime value of a customer? On average, do they use your service once, or numerous times?

Intent
The difficulty with FB is the intent. People are on there to consume content. To read status, articles, look at images, watch videos, etc. They're not there to look for a product or service.

In contrast with Google, people are actively searching for the product or service.

To 'get around' this, one method is to produce a good piece of content which is interesting/entertaining to your target audience. It shouldn't be directly selling. For instance, an interesting blog post, or video. Again, I'm not au fait with your industry so can't give a great example. But something that would attract the attention of someone who may need a pet nanny.

Then using FB's tracking ability, you can promote an advert to only the people who viewed the content. These are people who have taken the time out of their day to view your content, they are probably somewhat interested in your service. This advert should include an offer to get them in the door.

Headline
With an offer, the headline should be value first...

'FREE bag of xyz really good pet food with every new booking by the end of April'.

'Half price for first pet sitting to new customers'

Plus the beauty with FB is that you can test relatively easily. You could put up one ad with a tagline and put one up with an offer. Split what you'd spend on 1 ad 50/50 and see which one performs best.

Would you be interested in me doing a bit of research on how the ad should be targeted on FB and what content could be used?

Chris
P.S. the animal charity work you do is great.

 

[Pet Nanny]

Oh Chris, if only you knew the problems I have getting one advert done. I cannot even fathom the pixel thing to track the success of your advert!

We have clients that have been using our services for years and recommend us constantly, but unfortunately these days the pet care industry is now flooded. Some good, some bad, and some downright awful!

My husband and I run the business and try to keep that 'family' feel, which I think is extremely important, but it really is a lot of work and I just cannot keep up with the technology side, which is why I am always asking for advise (to my shame).

The welfare aspect is extremely important to me, which is why we offer discounts to adopted pets and highlight animal cruelty. In fact I sometimes neglect my own business in pursuit of justice! As long as I can pay the bills at the end of each month and sleep well at night.

I do have a blog giving out useful information to our clients and website visitors and at the moment we are making dog owners aware of the dangers of Alabama Rot, which is spreading across the country.

 

[ChrisRM]

In fairness Nina, you seem to be keeping up in terms of trying new things! I bet many haven't bothered by FB Ads and don't see the value in it. But giving it a go and installing the Pixel is more than 90% have done I'd bet.

Would you be interested in me setting up an advert for you and checking on the Pixel?

There you go! That's an offer you could be proud to promote, 'x% discount for all adopted pets'.

That could also be a nice PR piece in due course, 'we've helped save £x for people who adopt a dog'.

 

[Pet Nanny]

have sent a pm Chris

 

[Pat Walsh]

Interesting thread for me as I've never used Facebook Ads as I work in B2B services rather than a B2C area. So it's interesting to see how others are using them and what results they get from them.

 

[Pet Nanny]

Interesting thread for me as I've never used Facebook Ads as I work in B2B services rather than a B2C area. So it's interesting to see how others are using them and what results they get from them.

I am a complete dork when it comes to technology Pat. I work with animals for goodness sake! I can muck out a hen house, nurse a dog through parvo virus, take a wolf for a walk, but I do not do technology and I am sure that some people on this forum, see my posts and immediately think 'Oh goodness, its that daft bint that does pet sitting'!

This forum has literally been a God send to me, since people are so knowledgeable and are kind enough to advise.

I know that in order to grow my business, I need to advertise and do not like google ad words. I have therefore dabbled in FB ads and I think it is working. I have managed to glean enough knowledge to negotiate the advanced ads in order to target animal loving people, but I am sure that there is much room for improvement, since the little green dial that shows how many people are within the groups targeted never goes past half way!

I cannot fathom this pixel thing either which enables you to see how successful your ad has been, so I am extremely grateful that Chris has offered his help

 

[ChrisRM]

Interesting thread for me as I've never used Facebook Ads as I work in B2B services rather than a B2C area. So it's interesting to see how others are using them and what results they get from them.

Hi Pat - I wouldn't rule out FB for B2B. The thinking behind this is that nearly everyone is on there, particularly those involved with technology, and people follow their interests on FB. Work interests often blurs into personal interests.

LinkedIn may be a little better as there is a different mindset when on there, and they have $50 free advertising at the moment.

My suggestion on both platforms would be to lead with 'content'. Promote something useful/helpful to your target audience. This portrays you as an 'authority' on the topic and can use the targeting of FB (the Pixel) to show adverts to only those who consumed the content. For instance and off the top of my head, '3 of the simplest ways you can test your app'. Maybe a case study ('how I helped y do z) but that's a bit more self promotional.

The beauty of the platforms is the targeting. For both you can target by job title. E.g. .webmaster' or 'UX designer'. And location. Quite nifty really.

Have any questions?

 

[ChrisRM]

do my business need FB page?

I would say definitely yes. It adds another layer of trust with potential customers. Potential customers will think that they have taken the time and effort to setup and build up a FB Page.

Think of it this way, how many legit businesses in 2017 don't have a FB Page?

 

[Deleted member 69011]

I did not try, I am still thinking about do my business need FB page?

YES! Without question. Like it or loathe it Facebook is like the internet now - its here and its not going away. Over 65 million local business are already on there so it's certainly a viable option for B2B as well as B2C.

I have a free Facebook Bootcamp course for small business owners that will get you up and running in seven days. PM me if you would like it.

 

[Deleted member 69011]

Has anyone tried the new carousel ads on FB? It appears to give businesses the opportunity of telling their 'story', through advertising and looks pretty good.

I am also looking for some inspiration or a good 'tagline', for my next ad and would really appreciate your suggestions. I used a single ad for my last campaign 'Looking for the PAWfect pet sitter? but I don't want to keep using it.

It takes me ages to negotiate my way around the procedure and I am never sure which type of ad to use - big sigh. I also find it extremely difficult since you are so limited in what you can put!

Any help or suggestions greatfully received

Carousel ads are fabulous for story telling and you can do some clever stuff with them too. But if you are a bit overwhelmed by setting up all ads, let alone the carousel ones, take a step back and pause. It's ok to start off a bit slower and not leap in to the advanced stuff immediately. Though it sounds like you have been doing great to be honest!

FB ads experts don't recommend this but I have had enormous success with my client's pages by actually boosting some posts (to a custom audience with a definitive start/end date). It's simpler method to get some exposure and you can use this method to also grow your page likes too, so its a double whammy. And much easy to do and set up. I do this in conjunction with running ad campaigns but I think it's ok to it on its on in the beginning. It will really boost your page engagement, which helps organic (free) content too.

Then you can look at creating some lead generating ads on FB - and the power editor in chrome is awesome for this and provides a 'guided set-up' to help you make it easier.

I think you are managing this better than most so you can feel pretty pleased about that! But even FB experts do things in stages. Most of my clients are owner managed businesses, we agree that it shouldn't require more than 15 minutes of your day to manage your FB Page otherwise its taking up too much of your time.

Though I have nothing to say about how much time we all waste on personal stuff on FB. ;-)

 

[Deleted member 69011]

Oh and one thing to try if you do persevere with carousel ads is to take a wide image and split it up over the 3-5 ads. I reckon a nice shot of you holding lots of dogs on long leads would be very effective!

 

[Pat Walsh]

Thanks for the above info re Facebook ads.
I still reckon they're for B2C and not B2B - nearly everyone uses Facebook to while away a bit of spare time and to catch up with friends and family, not looking for business services.
Ads consume plenty of funds, so I'll carry on using Google Adwords and will keep an eye on the other main business ads avenues - LinkedIn possibly, Twitter probably a slight maybe.

 

[Deleted member 69011]

Twitter is a pretty awesome avenue and linkedin too, but so expensive. FB is still currently ridiculously cheap, so we are making hay. Until the prices rocket!
But you are totally right Adwords is a solid strategy for B2B too.

 

[Countrymun]

We use the carousel ads and they are much more effective because you can use multiple pix and include more text.
The big drawback for us is that if you change ANYTHING - even a single word or swap out an image, you lose all the "likes" and comments you have built up.
We find a lot of customers comment on the ad when they see it - eg... "had one for years and it's amazing" or "my dog has two of these and they are brill."
That gives new customers confidence - they can see lots of other people have bought the product.
I have complained more than once to FB that if it's the same product, they should allow us to carry forward any comments to a very slightly revised ad, but it's fallen on deaf ears. We are chicken feed to them.
For that reason, if we have a special promotion - eg next day delivery at xmas, we tend to put it on our page as a post and then promote it - as someone else suggested. It doesn't bring in the same amount of people - at least not with our tiny budget - but for example, we paid £8 to promote a post recently for 3 days and it brought in three orders so it was well worthwhile.
Good luck! I sympathise - we use FB a lot but tbh I would rather use adwords more since people are actually searching there for a product rather than just checking out friends, but it's SO confusing