Janet E Johnson: The Challenges of Running Digital Ads and How to Overcome Them

Embracing advertising for business growth is crucial in today's digital age, however for most business owners the ever changing landscape of digital ads is too overwhelming. In this episode, Mari-Liis Vaher from Powerful Marketers interviews Janet E Johnson to discuss the challenges and frustrations of running digital ads and how to make advertising money count. Together, they explore strategies to avoid common pitfalls and achieve measurable results in marketing efforts. Tune in to learn how to navigate the world of digital ads and maximize your advertising ROI.

Janet E Johnson is an ad agency owner, coach, worldwide speaker and podcaster that specializes in helping business owners get a return on their investment. She has generated millions of dollars for clients with their Online Sales Funnels, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok advertising.

Here are the key takeaways from the episode:

Target audience research is crucial

Before you start building any ads, you must have a clear understanding of who your target audience is. This allows you to tailor your messaging and targeting strategies to reach the right people and maximize your return on investment.

Bear in mind that different platforms have different user demographics and behaviors, so knowing your audience allows you to choose the platforms where they are most likely to be present. However, stay away from “over-targeting” - the AI-powered advertising platforms have become increasingly sophisticated in understanding user behaviors and preferences. Let the algorithms do the work of finding the right people for your ads, but only if you have set a specific goal (e.g. conversion) and the right campaign objective.

It’s all about metrics and testing

There is no point in running digital ads if you don’t measure what you’re doing. Make sure that you are using pixels and have set up conversion tracking to ensure the effectiveness of ads. Don’t forget about testing: this means experimenting with different creatives, such as graphics, gifs, and videos, as well as testing different headlines, copy, and audiences. By testing layer by layer, you can gather valuable insights about what works and what doesn't, enabling you to refine your ads and improve their performance. PS! It typically takes three to five days or up to a week to conduct a specific test.

Having a larger budget allows for faster data collection and analysis, which can speed up the testing process. However, even with limited resources, it's still possible to conduct meaningful tests by focusing on one variable at a time.

Nowadays, testing has been made easier by dynamic ads which means you can let the algorithm figure out the best combinations of copy, creatives, and headlines. In terms of budget allocation, Janet recommends a minimum of $20 per day for platforms like TikTok and Facebook. However, to achieve better results, it is advised to start with a budget between $30 and $50 per day.

In conclusion, it is important to embrace advertising as a key strategy for consistent and scalable business growth as advertising offers more consistency compared to organic social media efforts. Digital ads allow you to scale faster as you can learn from data and analytics to optimize campaigns for better return on investment.

Quotes:

“What I found was that the return on investment was much more difficult to get with doing just posting compared to doing ads. Because with ads, you can learn from the data and the analytics and you can shift and scale it up to really know and make that profit." (00:02:59)
"AI and the algorithms got so smart lately that the possibility of using a broader audience and letting the ads do the work for you can happen as well.” (00:04:57)
“So if you have the goal of a conversion or a purchase even, then they're more likely to find people that would actually convert or buy.” (00:07:06)
“Well, I mean, the ads will work from the get go. I mean, they're going to work, but they could be really expensive.” (00:09:33)
“The more budget you have, obviously, the faster you get the data." (00:09:50)
“As for budget, it does depend on the size of the company. For TikTok ads, for instance, and even with Facebook, I recommend no less than $20 a day. But it really should be more like the recommended to start, I typically say we want to start between $30 and $50 a day.” (00:14:38)
“What I will say is, if you really want a business that is going to be consistent and scale, even to the level that you want, you really, really, really should embrace advertising, the ads, because you can learn from the data, you can learn along the way, it's the only thing that really provides consistency compared to the organic side of the social media.” (00:20:33)