I have spent over a million dollars on Facebook and Instagram marketing since I started advertising in 2016.
Most of this ad spend was for BJJ gyms or something in the jiu-jitsu industry.
So, with that much time and money spent, plus years of learning and analyzing modern marketing, I’ve come to find what works and what doesn’t in paid advertising.
What I’m about to reveal is an enormously valuable tip that can save your gym thousands over the long term.
But the first thing you should know is that Meta loves to spend your money. They will gladly serve your ads regardless if you know what you’re doing or not.
Meaning, the platform doesn’t care if your advertising is effective or profitable. It simply does what you tell it to.
This is why specific knowledge, research, and testing is important.
Which is what I’ll share with you now.
On-Platform Leads
When you first set up a lead campaign you have many options of where you can collect your leads information. Currently, the options are pictured below.
Most of these are “on-platform” conversions, meaning that the lead never has to leave Facebook or Instagram to input their information to try your gym.
From experience, most BJJ marketing services choose “Instant Form” to collect leads. This is an internal form that is generated by Meta within the platform.
At Tactical Marketer, we do not use Instant Forms, and here’s why.
The Problems With Instant Forms
At first look, this may seem like a smart option due to the ease in which the form can be submitted. Meta will even pre-populate the users info into the form for even more speed and ease.
But there are multiple problems with this process.
First, from experience, the lead quality is always terrible…and I mean terrible.
It’s not like these leads are jus hard to contact, they are actually not even remotely interested in BJJ. I don’t know exactly why this happens, but we have gotten 80 year old grandmas, non-Americans who don’t speak English, and a resounding majority of poor quality leads with Instant Forms.
The thing is, you will get a lot of leads with instant forms.
So that marketing agency who shares screen-shots with hundreds of leads probably did actually get that many…they were just fake leads
Second, the speed to first contact with Instant Forms is always slower. Typically, you have to set up extra software to automatically send the leads from Meta to your inbox. These connections are not reliable and add more opportunity for leads to fall through the cracks.
Finally, there is no optimized sales process on Instant Forms, it’s just a form and that’s it. You’ll learn next why sending leads to your website is a better option.
If you want a lot of poor quality leads, use the On-Platform option, but ultimately, you’ll be wasting a lot of money.
A Better Choice, Off-Platform Leads
Off-platform leads convert off of Facebook and Instagram, which is the “website” option in the photo above.
There are pros and cons here too, but from experience, the lead quality is much higher.
The biggest downside is that you will likely get fewer leads with the off-platform option.
But this is actually a good thing, as these leads are much more qualified. This means you won’t be wasting your time with the fake leads from instant forms, and off-platform leads are much more likely to become members.
Off-platform leads are harder to track, and require specialized knowledge to set up the pixel properly on your site to ensure accurate data tracking.
But the two other benefits, you can much more easily respond with instant automations, and handle common objections upfront on your website.
When someone submits a form on your site, unlike Instant Forms, you can trigger an instant email notification to yourself and also start the automated email sequence to help with booking and show rates.
Also, an optimized landing page will help sell your gym, handle any objections the lead may have, answer common questions, and better frame your services for the sale.
Go for quality over quantity with off-platform leads.
Bonus Tip: Don't Use Boosted Posts
Never “boost” a post. Many business owners who lack the skills to do paid advertising correctly are tempted to run boosted posts, as it’s an easy option Meta loves to offer inexperienced users.
The problem is that the customization, targeting, and ultimately, effectiveness of boosted posts is extremely limited.
Boosted posts rarely result in meaningful business, but do yield vanity metrics like views and impressions, which may appear rewarding but have little effect on your bottom line.
Remember, Meta loves spending your money, and they will gladly do that with boosted posts.
Final Thoughts
Years of experience, trial and error, and staying up-to-date with modern Meta marketing tactics have helped me save my clients thousands of dollars over the years.
Ultimately, there is much more that goes into effective paid advertising, but this is a simple tip that anyone running lead ads should know.
Your offer and ad creative are much more important when it comes to advertising effectiveness.
Remember it’s not about spending money on the platform, it’s about your return on ad spend, and you’ll get much more with off-platform leads to an optimized landing page.
If you need help with paid advertising, book a call.
Comentários