Episode 038: Should you use paid ads? Here are 5 signs you should reconsider it

Paid ads can be a great way to grow your business or amplify your next launch. But from my experience as a paid ads specialist for the last 4 years, I’ve seen a lot of disasters! Sometimes, ads don’t bring in the results you expected. Sometimes, important information is missed when determining what resources you need for success.

So if you’re wondering if paid ads are right for you, here are 5 signs that it might be time to rethink your strategy:

ONE: You are desperate for sales, so you think you should

Why it doesn’t work: If you have something that isn’t proven to sell, whether consistently or at all. Ads will be a gamble. Why? This is because you’ll lack evidence to support that people want it.

If you try to run ads to something you haven’t sold before (or sold consistency) you may find yourself wasting a lot of money on experiments. The only time this is excusable is if, you know, you’ve got some money you don’t mind wasting. Right?

“if you’ve launched offers in the past having had people say they definitely would buy something like that, you’ve probably also experienced the frustration of those very same people not buying it.” — Tash Corbin, Episode 416: How to validate your new offer

Instead: Use ads to amplify the success you already have.

TWO: It’s the only channel you want to consider

Why it doesn’t work: Organic social media and SEO can provide us with evidence that people are interested in your brand, and searching for what you offer.

Instead: Use organic social/SEO as proof the channel works. Get results here before paying to be on these channels. Facebook and Instagram are especially good for this, as you can test many different creative options organically before you spend any money on ads.

Funnily enough, in some cases, social media ads that perform well are those that don’t look like ads. Rather, good performing ads resemble content that people went there to see. I.e. content that looks like friends sharing stories with friends, etc.

THREE: Your audience pool is too small

Why it doesn’t work: If the potential audience you can reach with ads is too small, the platform may not serve your ads as often as it can. It’ll also limit the data we and the algorithm use to optimise your strategy.

When your audience is too small for the algorithm to learn from, you may find the following (depending on your settings, campaign goals, and/or the platform):

1. Your ads don’t serve. (I.e. they don’t get seen, and your budget doesn’t get spent.) OR…
2. The algorithm takes over and decides to spend your advertising dollars on people outside your chosen parameters, and…
   1. On Social media, you end up with rude or angry comments.
   2. On Google Search, you might get leads or phone calls, but these come from people outside outside your geographic area, or who are not a good fit. Your time and money get wasted on calls connecting you with people you can’t help.

Instead: Either open up your audience parameters, or seek an approach that suits the potential audience you can reach now. Maybe an old-fashioned letterbox drop is the most efficient way to reach your people in your geographic area?

FOUR: You refuse trends, data, and possibilities

Why it doesn’t work: Ads are more nuanced than people realise. You need to consider all parts of your digital ecosystem and customer journey in order to maximise your success. For example, it might be possible to create ads that make people stop scrolling, but that’s only part of the battle. You could have a website that isn’t doing its job in getting sales for you — this is just as important (if not more) than your paid ads! (And a broken website should be addressed with as much urgency as needing more traffic from ads.)

″One of the things that is necessary uh nowadays is to create a landing page. If you don’t have a landing page, you’re really shooting yourself in the foot.” — Tradesmen Digital Marketing, How To Create The Perfect Landing Page For Google Ads (Real Examples)

Instead: Be open to what’s changing, and all the resources you need for success. Stubbornly continuing to do something because “that’s what the brief said” while the world around you is changing is shooting yourself in the foot.

What? Pikachu is evolving! Are you giving your business what it needs in its evolving state?

Different strategies should be employed depending on the stage of your business, and where you need support in your client attraction process. Furthermore, it should be done in a way that takes into account what’s happening in your overall marketing strategy and the world around your business.

FIVE: Paid ads are just not right for you (now or ever…)

Why: While in theory almost any business can put an ad on the internet, it doesn’t mean you always should. There can be a combination of factors (not enough budget, audience too small, offer not tested, etc.) indicating it’s not the right time. It may also simply be that social media or search engines aren’t the best place to reach your audience!

Unfortunately, yes, there is such a thing as a budget that’s too small. Especially if you’re partnering with someone and they’re charging you a fee to set up and maintain your ads. (You’ll want to factor any management fees you’re paying into your ROI too.) In most situations you’ll need to be able to commit to a couple of thousand dollars for at least 3-9 months.

Instead: Perhaps now is not the time for ads. Perhaps it’s time to network, do a joint-venture, go to trade shows, or do market research. This is especially so if you have tight budget constraints, and don’t want to gamble.

I’m going to be honest: I feel as though marketers want to sell you SEO or ads services often just because they can. Not because they should. Their inability to deliver on promises may not be because they were technically incapable, but because of nuances of your situation weren’t taken into account. It may simply be that the alignment of Facebook or Google Ad’s stars [collective algorithm data] just isn’t right for your situation.

Conclusion: Should you use paid ads (now or ever?)

This may seem counter-intuitive coming from someone who manages ads for a living, but hear me out: There absolutely are situations when ads will help a business grow. (Check out my case studies to see evidence of that.) But if I wasn’t honest about the viability of paid ads for you in particular, I’d be doing you and me a disservice. I’ve seen some amazing, incredible ROIs from paid ad campaigns. But I’ve also seen lots of shit and confusion.

There’s no secret “make ads work better” lever that paid ads specialists have that you don’t. What we do know is how to interpret your data to make better decisions. We (especially mid-senior level) know how to design websites to get sales. And we know what kind of content stops people’s thumbs. We save you from the trial end error of guessing what works, or copying what your competitor is doing. (By the way, the exact thing your competitor is doing might not be the right thing for YOU.)

I have a desire to help business owners use the internet to sell things. You should do that in a way that gives the best bang-for-buck of your time and money.

If you found this content helpful, please consider sharing it with a friend. Otherwise, if you’d like to ask me anything about paid ads, getting traffic to your website, or conversions, please reach out via email.