Ever hired a Facebook ad agency, but lived to regret it?
Do you feel trapped by your current Facebook Ad Agency?
Perhaps you’ve had a terrible experience with people who claim to be experts but fail to deliver the goods?
Unfortunately, if you’re able to agree with any of those questions, you’re probably in the majority.
Because, in my experience, 75% of clients who approach my Facebook Ad Agency have had awful experiences with other ad agencies. They’ve found that their investment has not paid off or they get to the end of the contract, and they don’t have anything to show for it.
I hear this a lot – and this is why I’m writing this article.
But, you might be thinking: “Gav! You run a Facebook Ad agency.”
And that’s absolutely correct. But not all ad agencies are alike.
I’m writing this article to accompany my YouTube video because I’m dismayed by the number of clients who come to me who have had frustrating and disappointing experiences with other ad agencies.
I’ve heard all the horror stories; believe me.
One of the problems many people face is not knowing what they should expect. So they don’t realise that they’re being ripped off. Until it’s too late.
So, in this article, I’m going to lay it all out bare to help you get the most out of hiring a Facebook ad agency.
I’ll cover the things to look out for. And the things to definitely avoid.
Let’s get stuck in.
#1: Some Ad Agencies Do NOT Know What They’re Doing
One of the biggest, most frustrating problems with Facebook Ad Agencies is that, oftentimes, they just don’t know what the heck they’re doing.
It’s so easy to create a company these days and to position yourself as an expert – without any actual expertise at all. All you need to do is create a website saying you’re an expert!
It’s dishonest, and it deserves to be called out.
“We’re experts in…”
If I had a penny for every company I’ve come across proclaiming “We’re experts in [INSERT SUBJECT HERE]”, I’d be a zillionaire right now. And when I’ve delved a little deeper, I’ve discovered that they had ZERO experience.
A zillionaire, I tell you.
And then there are the charlatans that take on clients for $3000 a month before hitting the Facebook Advertising groups looking for advice on how to deliver the services they’ve sold to their clients.
It sucks.
[color-box] Get my free Facebook advertising blueprint to see how we use the Facebook pixel. Click here to download.[/color-box]
There are countless opportunities online for people to learn how to run Facebook Ad Agencies; tempting them in with the promise of megabucks (even without ANY prior experience in marketing).
It’s hard to blame people for wanting in on the action.
But it’s the client that suffers. And this is what gets my goat. They see no return on their investment, and they end up with nothing to show for the trust they’ve put in their agency.
Let’s face it – this type of behaviour gives the real Facebook Ad Agencies a lousy name.
THE BOTTOM LINE –
You can avoid this type of unethical behaviour.
If you’re looking for a Facebook Ad Agency, ask them for testimonials from previous customers. Ask them for case studies demonstrating how they have changed around the fortunes of the companies they’ve represented. Ask for referrals.
It’s the only way of making sure that the person(s) you’re employing to help turn your fortunes around is likely to bring about a decent return in your investment.
#2: Facebook Ads Agencies Can steal your data
The second thing that sucks about some Facebook Ad Agencies is that a lot of the time they steal their customer’s data.
Yes. You read that correctly.
Let me explain:
When you run Facebook advertising campaigns, it has to come from an Advertising account. The money and the ads have to originate from the same account.
Fine so far.
Standard practice for Facebook Ad Agencies is to request access to the client’s ad account, and they run the ads directly from there.
This means that data gathered during your campaign and from the client’s Facebook Pixel remains the property of the client.
This is how it should be.
But what I’ve been seeing more of over the last few years is agencies running ads through their own accounts. This means that THEY own all of the data gleaned through your website traffic and your ad campaigns.
This is bad for several reasons:
#1: The client can never jump into their ad account or Ad Manager to see what’s going on
It’s not transparent.
We often have clients who like to go in and take around at the back end. They like to take a look at the ad, see how things are set up and learn how to set things up for themselves.
We encourage our clients to complete our basic training programme before we start working together: that way we can have more meaningful conversations. It means that we can talk about the ads and the campaigns at a higher level. And it means that the clients can come to us with good ideas.
Because the client knows their product or service inside-out; they have great insight that helps us. So, by offering some basic ad training, we offer our clients a vocabulary for them to translate their knowledge into a language that helps them explain to us exactly what they want.
Transparency.
That’s what we’re all about.
[color-box] Get my free Facebook advertising blueprint to see how we use the Facebook pixel. Click here to download.[/color-box]
#2: What does the customer do when they leave?
The practice of ad agencies running campaigns through their own accounts is decidedly dodgy, to say the least. Because they end up holding the client hostage.
Yes. This is a hostage situation, here.
Because the agency owns the data if they’ve run the campaign through their own account.
The client has probably spent thousands and thousands and, if they leave that agency, they leave empty-handed.
For example, if the Ad Agency installed the Facebook Pixel onto their client’s website, but the data goes to the agency account, the client has nothing to show for their money.
At least, they have nothing if they ever decide to break off the partnership.
Now, I’m not saying that this is deliberate practice – but it definitely has been in some of the situations I’ve seen.
Decency
A decent Facebook Ad Agency keeps their clients because they get results for them. No client should ever feel compelled to stay with a company who aren’t delivering satisfying outcomes for them.
That’s terrible practice, and it blows my mind. No client will leave if you’re doing a good job and delivering your promises for them.
So, this is the second reason why Facebook Ad Agencies who run campaigns through their own accounts are shysters, and why I think that SOME Facebook Ad Agencies suck.
How we work
When we work with clients, we work from their ad account; using their Pixel from their account.
And if they want to leave; that’s fine.
Almost every client who has previously worked with agencies has approached me with no data. Having spent thousands and thousands.
This is absolutely not cool.
Because when they come to us, and we look into their ad account we find nothing – no data. So, all of the groundwork has to be done again – we’re starting from scratch.
We absolutely don’t work like that, because we think that that’s fundamentally wrong.
It’s a scam.
[color-box] Get my free Facebook advertising blueprint to see how we use the Facebook pixel. Click here to download.[/color-box]
THE BOTTOM LINE –
Facebook Ad Agencies should not be running client campaigns from their own accounts.
If your agency suggests that that’s the way the industry works, they’re either lying, or they don’t know good practice.
And I’d seriously recommend that you avoid working with them.
#3. Sell ‘Em Cheap/Stack ‘Em High
The third thing that bothers me about Facebook Ad Agencies is that many of them practice the dubious model of “Sell ‘Em Cheap/Stack ‘Em High”.
They’ll take as many clients on-board that they possibly can – all for around $200 a month.
Which seems pretty reasonable.
But:
That business model is great for the agency. Not so great for the client.
When agencies work in this way, they take on-board tons of clients. And they run ads for them as they promise.
But:
It’s terrible for the client because they won’t get the support they need.
They won’t get the kind of essential feedback or monitoring of the campaign that it needs to really optimise success.
The agency is unlikely to monitor the account all the time: making optimisations and changes; making suggestions for how to better address the campaign. Because they have hundreds of clients, and they simply cannot support them all.
Businesses looking to out-source their Facebook ads are often drawn towards the cheaper options.
Perhaps $200 per month is their uppermost budget.
And that’s fine. Because $200 is a lot of money for small businesses.
But, it’s what you get for your $200 a month that I’m concerned about. Because, often – with a bit of learning – you could probably do a more thorough job for yourself.
What?
If you want to use or outsource Facebook ads but you don’t have the budget to work with a larger agency, my suggestion is that you DON’T outsource to one of these cheap companies.
Because it’s just going to cost you money.
The reality is that your $200 is unlikely to give you a return on your investment.
It won’t get you the support and the insight you need to optimise your campaign. These Pile ‘Em up/Stack ‘Em High agencies aren’t going to help you achieve your goals.
Learn it yourself
If you don’t have the budget to outsource the work to a larger agency, learn how to do it for yourself.
Use your initial $200 to train. $200 will get you on a course or buy you some hours to study online.
Learn how to run Facebook ads. Get stuck in.
And yes – you probably don’t have the time. Maybe you can’t afford the time away from your business.
But can you afford to throw $200 a month down the drain?
THE BOTTOM LINE –
Facebook ads are not rocket science. It’s not as intimidating as you think. You CAN learn it.
And when you do have the budget to hire a proper agency, you’ll be able to hire based on a proper conversation: understanding what you need and what should be offered to you.
A quick summary
So, there you have it: the three reasons why Facebook agencies can suck.
But not all agencies are the same.
These are just the things to look out for; a few precursory red lights that will help guide you towards the good guys.
I’d argue that around three-quarters of the clients who come to me have had bad experiences based on one of the scenarios I’ve outlined in this article.
Three-quarters!
That’s an unhealthy number of people. That’s just not cool.
So, when you’re considering working with a Facebook Ad Agency, be mindful.
#1: A lot of the time, people who claim to be experts just aren’t. So get referrals.
#2: A lot of Facebook Ad Agencies are stealing their customer’s data. Get them to run the campaign through your ad account – or don’t let them do it.
#3: Avoid cheap agencies that promise the world and deliver very little. Because you’re very unlikely to get the results or the support that you need.
Please share
I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog. And watch my YouTube video to reinforce what I’ve covered here.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel, so that you get my new videos as soon as they’re published.
Get in touch. Or add a comment. I’m always more than happy to help.
Thanks for reading.
