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Facebook ads work. If they didn't, we wouldn't see so many on our newsfeeds, right? And yes, they work for photographers too if you're willing to embrace the learning curve. So, in today's video, I'm going to give you five different facebook ad ideas for photographers.
Prefer to read? Scroll down for the blog post...
I hear photographers say all the time that Facebook ads are a waste of money but more often than not it turns out they tried a couple of ads then gave up.
That's not going to cut it with Facebook ads I'm afraid. You simply have to be prepared to fail at first in order to learn.
You have to try different images, change up your ad copy and, of course, experiment with different types of ads before you can expect to find what works for you and your business.
And it's worth it!
Once you find your mojo with Facebook ads, you can end up with a successful ad (or a set of ads) that you can turn on and off as you please depending on the spaces in your diary.
But what might those ads be?
There are so many different types of ads you can choose to run on Facebook and Instagram and that's exactly what makes it so overwhelming for many photographers.
So, let me break down the five main types of ads you should be thinking about for your photography business and the audiences they're right for.
N.B. I know I keep saying Facebook ads but hopefully you know these ads can go out to Instagram too. They're both created using the same platform.
Not all ads are aimed at getting leads! You should be using them to build your audience and increase your visibility too.
To do this successfully, you'll need a great blog post or video that's been lovingly created with your ideal client in mind. Something so helpful that they'll stop the scroll to check it out.
You're not asking them to buy anything. You're not even asking for their email address. You're just giving them content they're going to find helpful or entertaining.
This type of ad is used to reach a cold audience of new people who don’t know about you yet. The aim is not only to make them aware of you but to make sure they feel a lot of goodwill towards you after they consume your content.
This is how you'll have ended up in the audience of countless businesses you follow on Facebook and Instagram. They probably showed up in your FB or IG feed with a piece of content that caught your attention and, before you knew it, you were on their website, opting in to get a free download or even spending money with them.
Don't underestimate these goodwill ads. They're much cheaper than ads aimed at getting leads and, if you're clever about what happens once someone joins your audience, they can sometimes be all you need.
You'll have seen these ads a million times.
This is when you promote something desirable or fun in exchange for someone's email address.
It might be taking a fun quiz, entering a giveaway or downloading a helpful freebie such as a pdf guide, checklist, course, printable or template.
You can send this ad out to a cold audience of people who've never heard of you before. However, you can also include those who've visited your website or engaged with you on social media but haven't joined your email list (yes, you can totally do that inside facebook ads manager - relatively easily too!).
These ads typically consist of a scroll-stopping image or video, some engaging copy and a link to a landing page where the action happens.
Once that person is on your email list you can then send them an email sequence to help them to get to know, like and trust you with the aim being that a percentage of them will also book you.
Don't forget that email is still the most lucrative marketing tool out there. Yes, even for photographers!
This is when you simply promote what you do!
I'm not going to lie, this is hard to get right on Facebook and Instagram because people aren't doing that zombie scroll with hiring a photographer forefront in their mind, you know?
That's why these ads have to be totally focused on the benefit the scroller will enjoy because they booked you. The value you'll bring to their life has to be crystal clear and they have to want it enough to click through and learn more.
So, you need to know your ideal client’s big desires and pain points pretty well.
These ads work best with a warm audience (people who've already visited your website or engaged with you on social media) or a very targeted one.
That's why wedding photographers tend to have more success with these ads than portrait photographers - they're able to target people who recently got engaged. That's pretty powerful!
These value proposition ads need a superb image or video and terrific copy that makes the reader feel like you're in their head. They should lead straight to a landing page or form where someone can give you their details knowing you'll be getting in touch with them.
This one's pretty obvious.
If you're running a special offer then adding a Facebook ad to the marketing you’re doing for it is a great idea.
Be careful here.
Photographers who run Facebook ads entirely focused on a discount tend to attract price-shoppers.
Now, if that's your business model and you're competing on price, great - go for it. You won’t find any price-shaming here.
If not, remember that a special offer doesn't have to mean a discount! You can present your value proposition just like in the ad above then sweeten it with a special offer such as a package upgrade, a bundle deal or maybe even mini-sessions.
Again, this ad needs a great image or video, some clever benefit-focused copy and a landing page where the user can sign up to get access to your offer.
These ads work best with a warmed up audience who've already engaged with you, even in a small way. However, depending on how enticing the offer is and the quality of the advert, they can also work with a cold audience who've never heard of you before.
These ads are best sent out to a warmed-up audience. Especially people who've landed on specific pages of your website recently.
It's so important to know that, on average, 97% of your website visitors won't get in touch with you.
That doesn't mean they're not interested in booking you though! They just aren't ready yet.
They have questions and concerns
They want to look around at other photographers first
They're too busy to fill in your form at that moment...
It's seriously clever to retarget these people with a social proof ad to help them to make that great decision to get in touch with you.
Show them some awesome ‘before and after’ montages or present them with a powerful customer testimonial (extra points for video).
This might be all they need to push them over the edge.
Team that with some engaging copy and a call to action to click through to a landing page or contact form to get the ball rolling.
So, as you can see, there are different ads for different parts of the journey a potential client might be on with you.
Some ads work to increase your visibility and spread goodwill, some work to bring in leads and some work to convert those who're already thinking about working with you.
Make sure you experiment with them all!
Set yourself a testing budget and have some fun with it. Don't expect everything to work right out of the gate. Keep an open mind and test different ad types, images, videos and copy.
I'd recommend starting with a goodwill ad. Find or create a piece of content that you know your ideal client would absolutely love and grow your audience with it.
If that goes well, move on to a lead generating ad.
One thing at a time so as not to get too overwhelmed!
There is a huge amount of training on Facebook ads for photographers within my membership, Togs in Business. I walk and talk you through every step.
If you're looking for thorough marketing training with integrity and accountability at a super affordable price, check it out!
