Why Your Facebook Ads Don't Work

I’ve worked with about a dozen startups now, whether it be in-house, freelance, or through my new project custogrowth.com, and I’ve noticed essentially the same 3 issues when it comes to creating Facebook ads that really handicap a brands performance.

1. Lack of creative testing

   So many brands spend all their effort trying to create and revise the perfect ad before they launch, which is almost always the wrong strategy. You need to be testing 3-10 ads per week (depends on budget) and be completely unbothered by which creative converts best and run with it.

2. Talking about the product

   Can’t believe I’m still seeing startups do this, but nobody cares about what your product does, its features, or anything else about your business. They care about the impact and results it drives. Re-positioning your messaging to be outcome focused and not product focused can significantly jump performance.

3. Not enough data

   A handful of startups I’ve worked had “tried Facebook ads but they don’t work”. The reason they don’t think it worked is because they only spent $100. Facebook’s ad algorithm needs more data than that so it can find and build the audience that’s most likely in-market and to convert through various signals. Your first $100 on a fresh pixel in a fresh ad account is just not going to perform well, plain and simple.

Mix the third point with the first two, and no wonder running $100 on a couple ads about your product was a waste of money.