We have all seen plenty of ads on Facebook. Is “plenty” even the right word? How about “enough,” or “too many,” or simply “UGH.” Some are inventive, professional, and creative… while some (ok, most) have made me do a double-take, and not in a good way.
We all know great advertising when we see it. Whether we realize it or not, the creative process behind any good ad is often the entire reason we begin supporting a company. In a world where most of us constantly have our heads stuck in our phones or tablets, there is incredible value in advertising specifically on social media.
Unfortunately, companies don’t always make that connection correctly. They know they need to get their names out there, and they know that social media is great, but linking the two has proven to be a struggle for many. Have you ever gone to a business’s Facebook page after looking at a mediocre ad? I would guess you probably haven’t. Most people who don’t feel engaged in an ad certainly won’t click through to engage with a Facebook page, and therefore the process falls flat.
This is where I come in. I actually enjoy seeing if the ads that look terrible to me are working. A vast majority of the time, when I click through, there is little-to-no engagement. Shocking? No! Further, as someone who is pretty well-versed in this industry, I can often tell when an agency has been brought in to do a company’s social media rather than the company producing its own creative.
Let me tell you, for a company who does not have their own, capable marketing department, outsourcing to an agency is so smart— UNLESS it’s stupid.
Wait… what?
Well, companies bring agencies in TO PRODUCE that engagement. An agency assists in driving a company forward! Therefore, if your company is paying another company to do this job, and it’s not doing the job effectively, then NOT having a Facebook page at all would arguably be better for business than having a haphazardly thrown-together brand, run by people who are failing at their mission.
Because of this new normal, Facebook has recognized that not everyone has a successful model. There are multitudes of businesses that need a little help in the way of advertising. Facebook’s new Creative Guidance Navigator will hopefully become a GREAT threat to the agencies who are skating along. With this marketing tool, small and large companies alike—including small and large marketing departments—have the opportunity to glean valuable, data-based best practices for their companies.
Watch out, social media marketing agencies—you’d better be ready to match what’s coming next!
References
Hutchinson, A. (2021, July 8). Facebook Launches New ‘Creative Guidance Navigator’ To Provide Marketing Stats and Tips. Social Media Today. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-launches-new-creative-guidance-navigator-to-provide-marketing-st/603051/.
Introducing Creative Guidance Navigator. Facebook for Business. (n.d.). https://www.facebook.com/business/news/introducing-creative-guidance-navigator-data-backed-best-practices#.