Facebook ads are an intricate beast with many different colours. They’re not as easy to setup and manage as some marketers will have you believe so it’s no surprise that a lot of entrepreneurs would rather outsource their Facebook ads management.

You may have even tried Facebook ads and decided that you weren’t getting the results you were hoping for so you gave up.

Or maybe you have a full calendar and simply don’t know where to fit it in.

Whatever your reason is, you might have thought ‘I’ll just outsource my ads.”

Outsourcing isn’t always the answer, here’s why…

When I first launched my Facebook ads program I found out that many of my students had already outsourced their ads and were disappointed with the results.

Why did they join you ask?

They realised that there was a gap in their knowledge. They needed to  understand Facebook ads themselves before they knew what to look for in both an ads manager and their desired results.

The ads managers they hired weren’t particularly bad, there were just a few steps that were missing.

1) You know your clients best

It takes time for someone to get in depth knowledge of an industry and let’s be honest, nobody knows their clients and business like you do.

Unless you are excellent at communicating who your ideal client is, what they eat for breakfast, what colours they like etc. you are best to try running your own ads first and really connect with your dream client.

2) Facebook ads takes time

This is no secret and the time is usually spent on testing a big number of variables. You’ll need to test your images, your copy, your audiences, your landing pages, your objectives etc etc. Everything needs to be tested and once that’s done, you need to track your conversion. Is your ad actually doing what it’s supposed to do? Is it converting at a good rate (for this you’ll need to do more testing and know your industry benchmarks)?

If it’s not converting you might need to tweak your ads, or your landing page, or some other element that indicates a ‘flaw’.

All your Facebook ads elements need to be right or no ads expert is going to be able to get cheaper leads or make it convert better.

3) Facebook ads manager costs

Outsourcing your ads can be quite pricey and if you’re curious about what an ads manager does, head on over this article that tells you the signs that you need an ads strategist.

Prices for advertising strategists are generally between $1,000 and $5,000. It often takes a few months of learning to figure out what works best for your industry, your targets and your business. The above mentioned figure isn’t the investment in the actual ads, it’s the investment in having a pro do it for you.

What should you do instead? (or before you’re ready to outsource)

It’s best to learn how to run your own Facebook ads campaigns before you outsource so you learn the process, you get to see what works, you get to test and tweak. Most importantly, you get to test your funnel and see what converts and where you still need to make changes.

Most successful Facebook ads managers will ask you for conversion rates and make sure that what you offer already sells before they work with you. After all, Facebook ads can only amplify, it can’t fix a broken funnel.

Of course there are always busy entrepreneurs who skip the learning process and just hire a Facebook ads strategist. They will say that while they know they SHOULD learn Facebook ads and run their own campaigns first, but they simply don’t and they rather spend the extra money to make sure they have something up. In a way expensive Facebook ads are better than no Facebook ads, and they understand the risk they are taking.

If you’re new to Facebook ads and want to learn more, I invite you to tune in to my podcast – New School of Marketing.