Here are 5 mistakes that I see with contractor Facebook ads:
1. No Goals
Every time you choose to market your business or your project, you have to have a goal. If you do not have a goal, how are you going to know if your marketing campaign is actually successful? There’s a lot of ways you can tell if your marketing is successful, including checking to see if your page’s likes have increased, more people are signing up for your emails, you are noticing more website click-throughs, and you have more leads. You do not need to track all these for your goal, instead, you can choose one or two.
2. Wrong Format for Your Ad
Facebook is always creating new ad formats, so it is easy to use the wrong one without even realizing it. I know that we all get busy with work, and we simply click on the first format that we see because we think that we need to get this project done NOW! However, you will want to choose a format that will match not only the audience you are gearing your ad for, but also the goals that you have in mind.
3. Your Ad is Too Long
Do you have a history of being long-winded, I know I do. Sometimes it takes me forever to get to the point. You know, you go on and on and on and on and, well, you see where I’m going with this. When you are placing your construction Facebook ads, you will want to keep it short and sweet. Your ad copy should be about fourteen words, while the link description can be eighteen words. You want it interesting enough to grab a person’s attention and make them want to click through to your website.
4. You’re Not Using The Right Images
The size of the image that you place in your Facebook ad can affect how it looks when the ad is displayed. If it is too large, it will be distorted, so make sure you are following Facebook’s guidelines when you choose your picture. It is also recommended that you choose images with colors that will contrast with the blue and white color scheme of Facebook’s platform. Some of the best colors would include red, orange, and green.
5. Placing Too Many Ads
It is possible to lose prospects by having too many ads pop up on their Facebook feed. You will want to keep an eye on the engagement of your ads, and if you notice that it is dwindling, you will want to make some changes. You might even want to take a step back and pause all your ads for a little bit, so that you can share something new and exciting in the future.
It can be really easy to advertise on Facebook, but it is just as easy to make multiple mistakes that can sink your marketing campaign. You will want to continuously check on how your ads are doing and if they are reaching the people that can utilize your services.
It can take some time and a lot of tweaking, but eventually, you will find the ad that will take your business to the next level. Of course, that is when you’ll need to start tweaking your ads for even more success, because then you run into more reasons your Facebook ads don’t work, like:
1. Your Ad Set Up: If you have used AdWords over the years for construction marketing, you may be used to how that platform works. Well, Facebook is completely opposite, because people use this platform differently. People want to check in on friends, brag about their latest accomplishments, and occasionally look for information. That’s why construction companies on Facebook will need to create ads that grab a person’s attention away from the latest sassy kid video.
2. Your Audience: This is one of the first things that you will do when you are setting up your contractor Facebook ads. You will want to start with a broader demographic and then narrow it down from there. Your goal is to reach approximately one to two million Facebook users and optimize your ad for the lowest cost per click. Once this all starts to work, you can begin to create custom audiences. Creating those audiences are a lot of work, but it will be worth it in the end when your business grows quickly.
3. Your Relevance Score: You will want to keep an eye on your relevance score for your home improvement Facebook ads. This score will let you know if you are focusing on the correct audience or if you need to make some changes to make your money work better for you.
4. Do Your Messages Match? The key phrase in your ad should also be placed on the page that the ad takes a person to. If you do this properly, you will improve your relevance score and save money.
5. Creativity: An ad with words is not going to be as noticeable as an ad with an image or video attached. In addition to the image, you will want an attention-grabbing headline followed by a short text. No one wants to spend a lot of time reading anymore, which is why you want an ad that they can scan, comprehend, and make an instant decision about whether they want more information about it.
Facebook ads can be difficult to get right, but once you do, you will see the results almost immediately. After all, you will be reaching millions of people every day if your ad is displaying properly and contains information that is interesting to at least half of the people that see it.
Those potential customers are the reason why you will want to continue working hard improving your Facebook ads, and that’s what we are going to talk about next.
How Do You Fix Your Failing Home Improvement Facebook Ads?
Posting an ad on Facebook is not a 100% guarantee that you are going to see positive results from that construction marketing campaign. In fact, there are too many contractors who are failing with conversion rates, despite having multiple Facebook ads. That’s why I came up with the three most important fixes to improve Facebook marketing for contractors; targeting, ad creation and experimentation.
Here are 3 ways to fix your failing Facebook ads:
1. Proper Targeting
Did you know that when you place an ad on Facebook you can customize your audience? A lot of contractors don’t! Creating the best custom audience is the only way that your ad is going to be successful. This should make sense, because what older gentleman in his 70s is going to be interested in a new pool or hot tub? They may click on the ad just because they are curious, but it won’t translate into anything more. Therefore, you will want to ensure that you are targeting the proper people.
2. Create Ads that People will want to Click On
Creativity in your ads is key, if you aren’t creating creative home improvement ads, then you aren’t getting the clicks you need to increase your relevance score. One of the best ways to increase the chances of a person clicking on your ad is to include an image. No one takes the time to read anything lengthy anymore, so this image should be one that will capture their attention completely. Add a catchy headline with some short text, and you have the opportunity of gaining a few new customers.
3. Experiment
Sometimes it is necessary to experiment with your ads before you start to see the results that you want. The best way to experiment is to create multiple ads with the same information and then see which one performs the best. Another experiment can include testing different target groups, so you can determine which group will work best for conversion rates.
Facebook ads for contractors can bring in a huge amount of new business, but only if you do them properly. No one has ever created an award-winning campaign on their first try, so do not feel defeated if you don’t manage to do either.
Construction Facebook ads are similar to other forms of advertising, but also completely different. You will need to figure out which type of ad will deliver the best conversion rates for your business and help you reach your goals. It’s going to take some work, but so does everything else in your business if you want to succeed.
If this whole Facebook for contractors thing isn’t working for you, let me know. We have been marketing contractors just like you on Facebook for a long time, and we know what construction companies on Facebook need to do to advertise properly.