Fish, Ponds & Sharks

If you are a small business owner, self-employed, or an entrepreneur of any stripe, I suspect you’re running ads on Facebook. You may or may not have bought a system or hired a company, but you most likely have ads running.

Just think: how many of your competitors are running ads on Facebook also? If you’re in some industries (insurance, mortgage, legal, dental, optical & real estate) you can bet every one of your competitors are running ads on Facebook, with varying degrees of success. So, as long as you’re ‘better’ than them at running ads, you’ll dominate them and win, right? Not necessarily.

With attention spans being what they are, you may not be distinguishing yourself enough to stand out and be top of mind when potential customers raise their hand.

With all the ads running, poor attention spans, and the concept of “better sameness” being in place, what can you do?

A concept I have been thinking a lot about is ponds. Facebook is a huge pond. And back in 2011, there were virtually no fish in this pond. Cut to 2018, and there were more fish in the pond than it honestly could sustain. Those numbers are increasing, with Facebook ad revenue expected to grow by another 22% in 2019 and 2020. But the real issue is the amount of users Facebook has to offer as "food" for the fish in the pond. The number of users is SHRINKING! Yes, that is correct. Facebook is experiencing negative user growth, and this is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

So what can you, the fish, do to survive?

Why not become a big fish in a different, less crowded pond? In fact, in most markets, you can become a shark.

Your competitors are not running ads on Google. And if they are, they most likely are not doing it well. To run effective ads on Google, you need to have the tools and skills to run them. You need to understand search metrics, analytics, and the market. You need to understand remarketing, keywords, and segments.

The benefit? You’ll be what people find when they’re raising their hands! 86% of consumers use Google or another search engine to research products, services & service providers, prior to making a purchase.

While the fish are fighting in the pond, hoping to nab a mildly interested worm, you can be the shark, eating the larger, more profitable fish.

Scared to use Google? Hear it’s expensive? Only poor practitioners are losing money on Google Ads. Overall, the cost per click on Google is higher than Facebook. CPC on Google averages $1.85. On Facebook, the average CPC runs about $1.01. So is that really more expensive? You make the call.

POSH definitely feels that Facebook advertising has value; in fact, we have comprehensive Facebook ad packages. However, our advice to those looking to stand out is to get comfortable with Google!