“I am convinced that about one-half the money I spend for advertising is wasted, but I have never been able to decide which half.” John Wanamaker
You have no doubt experienced this feeling when investing in advertising. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, and you want to know why!
The frustrating thing about advertising is that all tactics work sometimes, but no tactics work all of the time. There are a bunch of things to consider, but at the core of them is your ideal client.
Begin with the Persona
A client persona is a list of attributes specific to your ideal client. You may already know this person, because they are a regular client, or you may be friends with them, or perhaps you simply have a clear idea of who they are, based on intuition.
List their attributes –
- Age
- Occupation
- Hobbies
- Motivations
- Where they shop
- Websites they love
- What they’re interested in
- What they read
The list cannot be too long. The more intimate you get with your persona the better.
Facebook Advertising – Get Specific
Facebook Advertising isn’t as good as it used to be, thanks to humungous privacy issues (remember Cambridge Analytica?) and everyone being worried about their personal data. Advertisers would fawn over Facebook’s segmentation rules which would allow prospects to be targeted based on –
- Race
- Religion
- Sexual orientation
- Political preferences
- Ethnicity
Prospects could also be identified based on which Facebook Groups they were members of and their online habits.
It’s hard to argue that this needed to change.
But, Facebook is still a powerful and cost-effective advertising platform. Using Facebook Business Manager (now Meta Business Suite) you can specifically target based on sex, age and location. In addition, because Meta owns Instagram and Facebook, you can target both platforms from the same place.
When thinking of targets, keep your investment low (start around $10 per day) and target as specifically as possible. Keep your target persona in mind as you explore the targeting options and keep track of results so that you know what works and what doesn’t.
Designing Offers and Ads
When it comes to Facebook/Instagram Advertising, creative content is king. Take your time designing your imagery and make your offer clear and concise. Does it appeal to your target persona? If not, think of something else. Consider the time of year – what seasonal skin issues are prevalent? Think about what your persona is most worried about right now – aging? Sunspots? Smooth skin? Create an offer that solves the problem for them and reassures them that they can trust you.
Google Ads
You probably get dozens of emails for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) experts that are going to help you ‘get on the front page of Google.’ It sounds nice, but our industry has a tremendous amount of competition, and the odds of getting on the front page of Google for ‘laser hair removal’ or ‘hydrafacial’ or ‘luxury facial’ are very low indeed.
But you can pay for it through Google Ads, and there’s a way to do it cheaply. Well, not cheaply, but less expensively.
Google Ads have far fewer targeting options than Facebook, but once you’ve identified your target keywords and created your ads (Google Search Ads are text only, so the headline and the offer are critical), you just need to choose location.
Location is key.
By targeting your immediate area, not only are you hitting your target market, but you’re also reducing unnecessary costs. Google Ads work on a ‘Cost Per Click’ (CPC) basis, so every time someone clicks your ad, it costs you money. If you’re in the southern suburbs and are targeting the entire city, you’ll get clicks from everywhere. Is someone really going to travel hours to visit your clinic? If not, get specific and keep those clicks valuable.
Half the money you spend on advertising may not be wasted, but it’s certainly challenging to work out how to allocate your dollars and efforts. Identifying your target persona and creating and targeting your ads based on what they want may make things a little clearer.
