A question I often get asked is “Reece, should I use Facebook Ads?”.
They ask this, because a lot of our community know I’ve spent millions advertising online, and they want to know if this could work for them. I get it.
My answer is always (and annoyingly)… “It depends”.
This article is to help those coaches who are wondering if Facebook Ads is right for them.
I’ll try and highlight some of the scenarios where it makes sense, or doesn’t make sense, specifically for coaches.
When a coach SHOULD NOT use Facebook Ads
There are a few situations that are red flags when thinking about if you should use Facebook Ads as a coach. Let’s take a look.
❌ You’re desperate for clients right away and see Facebook Ads as the way to do it.
I promise you, Mark Zuckerberg does not care how much you REALLY WANT some paying clients.
If you relate to feeling desperate or urgently in need of paid coaching work, Facebook Ads is not for you.
There is no quick or easy win here, and to be frank, I don’t want you to lose money throwing it at Facebook Ads.
❌ You aren’t willing to learn some fundamentals about Facebook Ads.
It’s going to take some time (at minimum a couple of months) for you to see if Facebook Ads is really worth it for you.
In that time, you’ll need to learn a bunch of new skills, such as:
- Marketing funnels.
- Writing great copy.
- Creating scroll stopping images or videos.
- Sales skills.
- And more.
If you think Facebook Ads is an easy shortcut, don’t be fooled. The learning curve is fairly steep still and, depending on your current level of expertise, you’ll need to invest time in learning.
You have a bad product/service.
And finally, if you have a bad product or service, just stay away from Facebook Ads.
In fact, stay away from all marketing.
It goes without saying right? But seriously, make sure what you are intending to promote on Facebook is something which offers true value to the world.
When a coach SHOULD use Facebook Ads
Okay, so we’ve covered a few of the red flags. Now let’s talk about some of the GREEN FLAGS. When might it make sense for you to consider Facebook Ads…
✔️ You have proven that your coaching offer has a market.
If you’ve been having some success with your marketing so far, and have found an audience that is receptive to your messaging (and ultimately booking your services), then Facebook Ads could be a great option for you.
My rule of thumb: If your existing marketing has landed you greater than £5k in coaching clients, it’s time to start exploring Facebook Ads to ramp up your success.
Reece Turner
Investing a little money could help scale your existing marketing efforts to tens of thousands of people, multiplying your coaching sales in a matter of weeks or months.
However, if you are just getting started as a coach and haven’t yet proven that the world wants what you are putting out there, then my advice is to stay away from Facebook Ads.
Instead, explore other marketing options – some good options and links to our other blogs are:
Builing an audience of 1000 True Fans
A formula for growing your coaching business
✔️ You are time poor and happy to invest thousands in learning if your coaching offer has a market.
One scenario I see fairly regularly, is the eager new coach with money to spare, throwing it at Facebook Ads hoping something will work.
If you are feeling in a hurry and know the scalability of Facebook Ads is the only way you want to grow your coaching business, then investing in ads could be a smart move.
My rule of thumb: You’ll need a budget of £1k minimum to really test the platform, and the risk of you losing this is fairly high.
Reece Turner
Did you see I wrote “£1k minimum” above? The minimum part is really important.
Imagine this scenario…
Week 1 – You invest £200 on targeting a bunch of different audiences with your message. Some respond well, others don’t. You feel pretty excited that group X and Z responded well to your advert though.
Week 2 – You learnt that group X and Z respond well to your ads last week, so this week you’re going to ask them to book a call with you. You invest £300 and get 12 calls.
Of the 12 calls, some people express interest, but nobody converts. You feel disheartened.
Was this campaign successful? 🤔
Would you carry on your learning into the next week?
And if so, how many more weeks until you draw the line and stop?
That’s the thing with Facebook Ads people don’t understand. It’s an iterative learning process that is difficult to stop once you start, because it can always feel like you’re just one more campaign away from figuring it all out.
So, if you have spare cash that you are willing to invest in Facebook Ads, you get the benefit of learning 10X quicker than other coaches who might spend years testing what you can test in a month.
👉 The only exception, and where I think MOST COACHES should be using Facebook Ads… Remarketing.
Remarketing is where you promote an ad to people who have engaged with you previously.
For example, perhaps someone checked out your website. A Facebook Remarketing Campaign will help you affordably place an advert in front of those people.
It’s best practice to have remarketing always running, reminding people who have recently visited your website, engaged with you Facebook Page, or done anything else to suggest interest, that you still exist and would love to work with them.
To get started, you’ll need some traffic or engagement, so if you are just starting out, hold this one for the future.
But if you’re getting engagement and clicks from your content already, remarketing via Facebook Ads is a no-brainer.
Conclusion
I hope this article has shown you that there are times when Facebook Ads should be utilised, but also times where it perhaps makes sense for other marketing efforts to take priority.
That said, there are always exceptions to these rules, and your mileage may vary.
Above all, test, be patient and continue developing your marketing skills while you figure out what works for you.
