The Top 5 Reasons Your Facebook Ad Didn’t Work


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November 15, 2022

We’ve worked with many clients in the past who have told us that Facebook ads didn’t work for them. The explanations why they didn’t range from "our audience isn’t on Facebook" to "we don’t have enough likes."

These explanations may sound logical, however, they're probably not the real reasons. The truth about Facebook ads is you need a strategy in order for them to be effective. Creating generic ads for untargeted audiences won't produce results.

Facebook is a great platform for reaching all types of people. According to Hootsuite, 36.8% of the world’s population uses Facebook monthly. That equals 2.91 billion users! With that big of a pond to fish in, there's no reason you can’t find your audience.

Here are the top five mistakes we see most often (and what you can do to fix them):

1. Your Offer Wasn’t Strong Enough

The number one reason that Facebook ads don’t work is because of a weak or undesirable offer.

Your audience is never going to bite on an offer that doesn’t have enough value to them. That doesn’t mean you need to offer a huge discount on your product.

But your offer does need to have a high-perceived value. This can mean giving away a free ebook or downloadable PDF guide, offering a reasonable percentage off, or providing a valuable offer unique to your audience.

2. Your Images Were Boring or Unrelated

Never underestimate visuals. Facebook ads with images receive 2.3 times the engagement than those without. But boring stock photos don’t impress anyone.

Successful ad images look organic within a person’s Facebook Newsfeed, yet are designed to stand out and resonate with the intended target. Sometimes, the image that generates the most conversions isn’t what you’d expect – hence why A/B testing images is crucial.

Improve your ads' success by following image best practices like showing happy people, bright colors, logos, strong value proposition, pets, and humor. But don’t be afraid to experiment with images – you never know what could resonate with your audience.

3. Your Targeting Was Off

One of the biggest mistakes you can make with Facebook ads is with your targeting. You can have the most compelling ad, but if it’s not in front of the right people, you won’t see any return on investment.

It’s easy to assume that a broader audience means more conversions, but in reality, specificity is key to a successful campaign.

Take the time to create a buyer profile for each campaign. You should take note of demographic attributes, such as age, income, and marital status, and also psychographic attributes, such as values, interests, and pain points. Creating an ad is infinitely easier when you understand who you’re creating the ad for.

4. Your Ad Copy Didn’t Inspire Action

Your ad copy needs to address your user’s problem and how your service or product will solve it. Use powerful, emotive words in your headlines.

And don’t be afraid to use negativity as an emotional driving force. Some people are motivated by running away from things they dislike, while others are motivated by moving toward things that they like – both can play a role in purchasing decisions.

Be up-front with your offering, and don’t try to trick someone into clicking on your ad that wouldn’t be a good match for your product. Once they get to your landing page and see they’re not interested, you’ve just spent money to attract someone that has no intent to buy.

5. Your Timing Was Off

Not all products and services sell the same year-round. People aren’t always ready to buy when you are ready to sell.

If you have a seasonal product and you are running too early or late, you could be met with zero response. Take a look at your products or services and determine when these would be best sold. This will help your ads be more effective.

Don't Write Off Facebook Ads Just Yet

Facebook campaigns are similar to many other types of marketing in that you don’t always strike gold your first time. There's plenty of split testing and copy tweaking to be done to increase your ads’ ROI.

As long as you’ve got a great value proposition that will benefit a specific audience, you just need to follow best practices and keep testing until you find something that gains traction.

Jump on a free discovery call with Sales & Marketing Technologies to give your ads a facelift and get you on your way to converting more customers through Facebook!

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in February 2017 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness. 

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