4 reasons why you shouldn’t be using Facebook ads

It seems everywhere we turn in the entrepreneurial world, someone is talking about how great Facebook ads are. I love Facebook ads just as much as the next person. But there's some situations where Facebook ads just aren't the answer for you, at least not yet.

Here's four instances where you shouldn't be using Facebook ads:

1. You have not validated your product with free promotion

If you're not getting sales from the free promotional activity that you've been doing, simply putting advertising budget into Facebook isn't really going to help you.

Take the time to revisit your product offering and ask yourself why it's not getting snapped up. If you don't know the answer to this, it's time to start connecting with your ideal customers and find out where exactly it's missing the mark. From there, you can iterate and relaunch.

Once you've got a killer product that solves a real solution for your customers, then it's time to turn the ad machine on…and not a moment before.

2. You are expecting knock out results without the effort

With all this buzz, it's easy to underestimate the time that goes in to making Facebook ads successful. For them to really deliver a consistent Return on Investment (ROI) in your business, you're going to dig a bit deeper than pushing on that Boost Post button and hoping for the best. You will just waste valuable funds that can be better spent elsewhere otherwise.

Like any marketing platform, in order for it to be successful you need to take the time. You need the time to not only learn the basics of the platform, but also to work out your strategy in order to achieve your goals.

Be willing to test out different approaches until you get the right formula. After all, there's so many variables, from the ad imagery, to copywriting, and of course the targeting of the ad.

So identify if you've really got the time and energy to dedicate to it. If not, it may be that you're better to outsource it so you can focus on what you already know well.

3. You have nothing to sell with Facebook ads

Is your Facebook ad leading to an opportunity for your potential customer to spend money with your business?

If not, it's definitely time to stop your Facebook ads. Set up your infrastructure so that there are clear ways for people to buy in your sales funnel after they click on that first initial ad. And if you don't have a sales funnel of some description, keep reading.

4. You don’t have a sales funnel in place

Each ad should lead the right prospect down the track to become a paying customer.

For example, if you want to advertise a blog post that you've written, is there a next step for them once they've read it? Or do they hit the bottom of the page and then leave the website, never to be seen again? A good strategy would be to add a download to get them onto your email list.

Once they're on your email list, they can receive emails promoting your product or service. If you haven't got the customer journey mapped out, take some time to look at this before you start investing in promoting your content.

Don't be one of the businesses who had a go at Facebook ads but it didn't work first time around, so you gave it up! It's not the Facebook ads that didn't work, but more of a strategic issue. It's time to look at your goals and make sure you've got the right set up in place, before you start to put money into the traffic machine.