My Facebook advertising experiment needed to generate $2,500 to be an unqualified success; $1,500 would have justified continuing and refining the ads. I was sure that it would at least recoup its $350 up-front cost – that’s only 10 sales, after all. Actual sales that I can pin to FB ads: $0. This year’s FB referrals fell by 34% over the same period LY, from 56 to 37. My “weekly total people reached” moving average rose from 47 to 42,158. The only result I’m seeing from that 10,000-fold increase is a spike in marketing pitches. I did pick up seven new “Likes,” which might be worth slightly more than zero. Very slightly.
The ad agency had strongly recommended linking the ads to my FB page rather than to my store, as most FB users don’t like to leave FB. You’re apparently supposed to send them to a landing page with a “click for special offer” gimmick that gives people a discount code and refers them to your website. That might have worked a little better…but spending extra to generate discounted sales is a losing strategy.
So that unambiguous failure makes the cancellation decision easy. I spent $700 on three tests over two years to prove to myself that FB advertising is 100% worthless for selling products.
OK, I gambled and lost. What now? It just so happens that I’m weighing another gamble. That will be next week’s post.
The ad agency had strongly recommended linking the ads to my FB page rather than to my store, as most FB users don’t like to leave FB. You’re apparently supposed to send them to a landing page with a “click for special offer” gimmick that gives people a discount code and refers them to your website. That might have worked a little better…but spending extra to generate discounted sales is a losing strategy.
So that unambiguous failure makes the cancellation decision easy. I spent $700 on three tests over two years to prove to myself that FB advertising is 100% worthless for selling products.
OK, I gambled and lost. What now? It just so happens that I’m weighing another gamble. That will be next week’s post.
i think i posted my views on face book advertising companies few posts down. Its mostly scam. i for one get traffic from face book but its very low quality for the most part, not worth time and expense. As of right now, i think your SEO project is much better investment. As someone who does my share of SEO, in case of your site, you can do relatively few changes for a lot of return.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had listened to you before I blew $350. As I said, I was sure that the ads would at least pay for themselves...I couldn't believe just how completely useless Facebook advertising really is.
ReplyDeleteI am inclined to invest in SEO if I can figure out a way to afford it. I do appreciate all the free advice you've given me, even when I don't know how to implement it.