One of the most promising new digital marketing platforms for eCommerce is Facebook Ads. In fact, in a recent study from Shopify, 83% of businesses said they had used Facebook ads to promote their business. With its more than 100 million monthly active users and $28 billion annual ad revenue, it’s no wonder that so many marketers are turning to this advertising platform as an opportunity for success. Whether your business specializes in selling art online, toys, games, or anything else Facebook Ads have proven time and time again to work effectively.
With that being said, it’s no secret that Facebook is one of the best ways to generate traffic and sales for your eCommerce store. To make sure you’re getting the most out of your ads, it’s vital to hire a Facebook Ads Agency with experience with eCommerce stores. This blog post will teach you everything you need to know about choosing a Facebook Ads Agency for eCommerce, including what questions you should be asking.
Reviews & Testimonials
It’s essential to get references, but reviews and testimonials are even more important. Previous work that they’ve done for their clients is always a great way to sort out which agencies you shouldn’t move forward with.
To quickly find reviews and to get more information on what others have said about their experience, we recommend checking out the testimonials section of their website. This is where you’ll find references and testimonials from previous clients that they’ve worked with. However, this is just a starting point since most sites won’t post the negative reviews they have on their website.
You want to be able to see the best possible and then go searching for other reviews. Generally, you want them to rank higher than 4 stars on average in their google reviews (and all other platforms, really). Some recommended places for checking reviews are:
– Google Reviews
– Facebook Page reviews (including ones from personal profiles)
After you’ve done your due diligence and selected a few potential agencies to hire, it’s time to start contacting them. Once you’ve done this and have a meeting scheduled, here’s what your next steps should be during that meeting.
Explaining What Your Business Needs
Most agencies typically have the experience and knowledge to help you, but if they don’t live up to your expectations, it will be your fault for not explaining it correctly, and it will be most likely too late for them to change anything if you signed a retainer. Therefore, there are a few things you want to make sure they’re on the same page as you before moving forward;
Expectations
Most agencies know in general what most businesses are trying to accomplish by hiring them. However, you should fully explain what your expectations are to ensure they overlap with theirs. Otherwise, you could be wasting your time and money.
Explain Everything
And we mean everything. A common issue that prevents businesses from having the maximum success they can with Facebook Ads is they don’t give the ad agency a complete picture of their business. This means it’s tough to know what the best approach for them is.
Unless you’re hiring a generalist agency, they may not be able to provide an all-encompassing solution without this information. As such, here are some things that will help them with you explaining;
- What your business sells, and how much of each product do you sell?
- What are your top-selling products or services in terms of revenue?
- When does most traffic arrive at your site: weekdays during peak hours or weekends during off-peak hours?
- How many campaigns have you run on Facebook with success before now?
- Have these been targeted towards new customers only or existing as well (with different audiences)?
- If targeting existing customers, where did those leads come from before Facebook?
- Is there a specific Facebook campaign goal you’re aiming for (new customer acquisition, engagement through awareness campaigns, conversion rate optimization)? What is the average cost-per-click, and what has that been like in previous successful Facebook campaigns?
These are just some of the questions your agency should be asking to ensure their strategy will work. Just as no two businesses are alike, not every social media campaign or marketing plan needs to contain all these factors. However, if they don’t know this information offhand, then it’s unlikely they’ll be as successful with your campaign as they would’ve been had you given as much info as possible.
It’s important to align expectations of work, so there’s no confusion or dissatisfaction later down the line. If you expect them to be upfront, honest, and work hard for your business from the very beginning, you should do the same.
Questions To Ask During The Interview
Now that you’ve told them all that you can about your business, it’s time to ask them a few questions as well. Some of the more critical questions you should get answered include;
- Do they have experience with Facebook Ads in your industry and/or niche & e-commerce sites.
- Does the agency offer a free consultation to help you determine if their services are right for you?
- How much will my campaign cost for Facebook Ads, and how often are budgets updated?
- What is the success rate of their campaigns, i.e., how many clicks or conversions do they generate per dollar spent on ads
- Do they post new content to keep your audience engaged, or is this not something they do? (i.e., blog posts, videos, infographics)
- What types of payment plans does the company offer – monthly retainer fee vs. pay-as-you-go
- Is there an opportunity for collaboration between you and other clients
- Can you see examples of past campaigns that were successful for clients like me who have similar budgets?
After you’ve gotten those questions answered, you’ll have a much better feel if they’re a good fit for you and your business.
Working with a Facebook Ads agency is collaborative. You should feel comfortable asking any questions that come to mind about how their company operates, what they can do for your business, etc. You want to work with someone who has an open-door policy where there’s always time to ask questions or provide feedback on campaigns currently running. Overall, hiring a Facebook Ads Agency for your e-commerce business is a key step in growing your business and boosting sales. And remember, if your competitors are already doing it, they’re a few steps ahead of you so start today.