Should've Spent the $75 on Wine
... instead of Facebook advertising.
Thought it was worth a go.
Blog Post with Affiliate Link
I had a nice blog post The Best Anti-Aging Skin Care Products, which contained an affiliate link to a really nice, really effective all natural ingredients skin care product called Ageless Glow.
And there was a corresponding post on my Facebook business page as well, which Facebook suggested was doing really well and was worth boosting.
Boosted on Facebook
So I boosted it, it went into review...
And got rejected!
I couldn't get a straight answer out of Facebook, but it seemed to be along the lines that targeting an ad to people who might want an anti-aging serum could be offensive to those who might want an anti-aging serum.
Ummm... wha? Political correctness gone mad, or what?
Facebook Ad Campaign
Anyway, I couldn't get anywhere with them, so created an ad campaign instead.
It looked exactly the same as the boosted post would have... and of course went through with no problem. So there you go.
I targeted it at US women between 30 and 50 and budgeted $25 a day for 3 days.
Here's What's Not to Like
There are two things I really dislike about Facebook ads.
One is that you're charged on impressions, not clicks. So all FB has to do to take your money is show the ad on someone's timeline. Which brings me to the second thing, which is that it can't be audited. You have to take FB's word that they've shown your ad the indicated number of times.
At least Google charge for clicks, so that you know someone has expressed interest in what you're offering. And it's auditable because they're clicking through to your page or post and you can measure that.
Anyway, here's the result:
Impressions: 3,972
Clicks: 93 (a lousy 2.3% CTR)
Shares: 3
Cost: $75
Return: That would be zero.
What's the Secret?
I'd love to hear from anyone who's used FB ads successfully. What's the secret?
Otherwise, next time it's either Google or wine for me.
Recent Comments
27
Thanks for sharing Phil!
I learned something from your experience and the responses below.
All the best,
KyleAnn
Not much in this world that is sweeter than wine Phil. Wish I could offer a hand but I gladly join with a glass. lol Best regards to you in all seriousness. You are a star!
That’s what I hate about Facebook. If you think they have made an error with a decision it’s almost impossible to find an accountable person, or any person to discuss it with. Yes, you can use their automated electronic dispute system but that can take months. Facebook, to me, has the attitude that it is on a par with the Pope - infallible!
Having said that, we couldn’t do without it, could we?
Hi Phil.
Firstly , yes you can be charged for clicks. When you get to the part of the ad creator where it says "When you are charged" click on More options. This gives you Clicks as an option (see screenshot).
Also, what type of ad did you run? Traffic or Conversion? Apparently it is now always best to run Conversion ads with an FB Pixel in place on the page you want them to visit.
Then you can retarget all the people who visited the page in Custom audiences.
Hope that helps
Jon
Yes, it was a conversion ad. I didn't get enough page visits to make retargeting worthwhile.
I didn't know you could choose to be charged on clicks. That's a great tip. Thanks for sharing it.
“The Paradox of Practice
The Paradox of Practice asks, “Do you practice what you preach?
Are you a model, an exemplification of what you teach?” Would you take skin care advice from a butterface?
Would you take financial advice from a bankrupt bum?
Would you take medical advice from a sanitation worker?
Would you take bodybuilding advice from a 90-lb. weakling?
The Paradox of Practice is a heated debate in my forum.
Some feel it’s perfectly acceptable to preach a strategy for wealth yet never use it.”
Quote from “The Millionaire Fastlane...” by MJ De Marco
I'm not sure what you're driving at, Barney. Could you clarify? Who is it that you see preaching a strategy for wealth yet never using it?
Hey Phil
Thanks for the heads up.
I'm not a fan of Mr. Z, and I think they have too much info on us. Having said that, it is very convenient to stay in touch with friends and relatives who are living in far off lands.
If only Z took his god given responsibility to SERVE humanity seriously instead of ripping us off, we'd be much happier.
Chuck
Hey Chuck - how true! As they say - Zuck sucks!
You may - or may not! - like this:
https://www.laughsend.com/spoof-news/world-news/facebook-to-merge-messenger-whatsapp-24879.php
Ian
Phil I’ve been tinkering with boosted pages only but have read that ads are more effective. I find fb very frustrating. Either they reject the boost due to some over the top political correctness, as you say, which is just crazy. OR your boost gets stuck in review & they don’t answer your many pleas for them to unstick it.
Anyway, I have had some pretty good click through rates from boosts ( about 11%). Not fantastic but better than the 5% I originally got. I focused on the target audience and changed several times to improve results.
My organic traffic is still pathetic so I’m using fb & pinterest to build awareness and don’t mind spending a small amount to keep things growing.
Did you use audience insights Phil.? If you use that you should be able to focus your ad to a couple of particular groups. Go through the demographics in Audience insights and try to gauge who you think might be interested,.
Check out which web pages they view, income levels etc.
For a first time ad keep the selected audience to 750,000 to 1,000,000 people.
Start with a lower expenditure level say $7.00 for the first day, bump it up in, 20% ? increments if your getting some nibbles.
Ideally you want one sale on the first try. If after 4 days no sales ditch it. You will still have the bulk of the $75.00 to test another group.
I didn't Michael and don't remember how to. Now that my initial disappointment at missing out on some nice wine is dying off, I should go back and check. Do you have any insights to offer in that regard?
I probably could Phil, I will put it here. condense it a bit. So long as everyone understands, Face book is a gamble, there are always winners and losers.
And Facebook (being the bookie / banker), will win most of the time.
You might say it is an advertising expense, but it is completely different to any other advertising. (more like picking something out from the form guide ).
No body goes to face book to buy stuff, The best items are things that you would buy on impluse.
So, keeping the amounts small at the beginning lets you test which group is likely to buy your 'thing".
Before you get into the Audience insights on facebook, think of who is likely to buy your item.
If the product is anti-aging, I would forget Health and Wellness sites, Yoga, and the esoteric niches. Initially, I would look at Glamour, Fashion, Dieting, anything to do with vanity, then, Detox, outdoors or outdoor sports (sun, UV ) What else can you think of?
Make a list.
Go to audience insights. look through the interests. Look in demographics ( who they are and where they hang out), what sites are the most popular for the detox group, or the fashion group, etc., the Facebook pages they follow. This is where the influencer's are. Target ones with a large following.
There is much more I could put up on this. I have attached a file (form guide) I found in my archives, to give you some idea of the work needed to give your self a chance. It looks like a detox group. Should be something in there you could use.
Your Ad. Start with a Question. (a rhetorical one).
Has you Skin Aged more than you?
Here is how XXX can help
(shortened) link.
Get it here. link.
Below the photo
Have a line or two of description, call to action (shop now), and your shortened link.
Use Mobile only, not Newsfeed.
Make sure the photo is Great !
So great photo, minimal text, shortened links.
Total targeted audience should be initially 750,000- 1,000,000. Got sales in that test, ramp up your target audience numbers, and the $$. say $100 a day for a week.
Build up your followers on your facebook business page, (more cost), If your product is a consumable then you should get repeat orders without additional expenditure.
I like pretty rocks and shiny metal and played a bit part in a Jewelry niche for about 10 years, it is probably the toughest of all the niches.
So many choices.
I was in a partnership and we did OK. but time moves on, so do good jewelers.
Face book was OK 10 years ago, but even then we did better on E-Bay and Amazon.
For face Book advertising my advice would be to do it in a partnership. Different people have different Insights and this will shorten the curve to sorting the dust from the gold, by testing different demographics cheaply and simultaneously.
OK, that is my two bobs worth.
Late and past my bedtime.
I have a job to front up to in the morning. :-)
A heap of great information, Michael and very thought provoking. I feel like I have learned a lot about FB advertising from your post and will think about it all before venturing into that world again.
Thanks for taking the time and for posting it here where it can benefit others.
Too wet for work today so i will add one more thing.. The relevance score is what you are really working on. at 8 and above you can expect sales. On the attachment the CTR is not bad. But it needs to be with a better relevance score for any chance of success.
Not sure if it is a benefit. If you / anyone lose a heap of money playing with this that is your responsibility.
I'm not a FB fan either after they closed my business page with no explanation and wouldn't speak with me about it. I gave up trying to get to the bottom of it. I'd be going for the wine next time ...
They are too big and important to actually communicate with a customer and attempt to resolve, or even understand an issue.
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What is the difference between boosting a post and an ad?
I boosted a post that was simply directing the visitor to an article on my website. I got about 3,000 impressions ,but only 17 clicks and 3 shares. I did get 300 clicks on the photo that I had on the post ! It cost me $20 for nothing. I will stick with wine.
Lol yup wine the cheaper option at least you enjoy it