When it comes to your advertising message, there should be a strategic approach & yet rarely do we ever see this in play when auditing ad accounts.
But what do we mean?
Well, in a nutshell. Most brands & business owners assume that the consumer knows that they have a problem. They start their advertising message with solutions & go around flexing how amazing they are at fixing their consumers’ particular problem.
But the problem with that is, that most consumers are blissfully ignorant about their problems & don’t recognise that they do have a problem. For example, it’s just like how an addict isn’t aware that their behaviour is problematic until someone reaches them at the right time & in the right way. Plus, every single human has a different definition of ideal… so never assume someone thinks they have a problem.
Call it ego, pride or arrogance… but the truth is that the majority of people are blissfully unaware of their problems.
That is where your strategic messaging comes into play.
So, what is the three step strategy?
Problem -> Solution -> Product.
Seems way too simple, right? But hardly anyone uses this simple method.
The method can be broken down into these three categories.
- TOF (Top of funnel, cold audience) = Problem
- MOF (Middle of funnel, warm audience) = Solution
- BOF (Bottom of funnel, hot audience) = Product
When someone doesn’t know who you are, and you start shoving your ‘solution’ down their throats, then chances are… a level of resentment will be built, and that’s not ideal for any business.
Instead, when reaching your Top of the funnel ‘cold audience’, you should consider the ways that you can relate to the everyday consumer with their problems. This more often than not can be done in a personal story telling perspective.
If you can relate to the consumer about their problems without pointing out their problems & alienating them, then you’ll grab their attention & have the response of “Wow it’s like they’re talking to me”.
For example, before our clients work with us, they often try FB ads and hope that something works & if it does, then they often feel like they’re at the mercy of the FB algorithm. So an opening line for us to reach a cold audience on a relatable level would be something like this:
“Seeing that add to cart number rise, but no one making a purchase can be one of the most frustrating moments to deal with for any ecom brand owner.
You’ve put your heart, soul & countless hours into developing a quality product that people love but you’re having a difficult time generating more awareness & identifying where the problem lies.”
See how we are talking about our ideal clients’ pain/problems without singling them out & even being able to express that we understand what they’re feeling.
This is how your TOF campaign messaging should be structured.
Next, is the ‘solution’ at the Middle of the funnel.
The Middle of funnel basically means anyone who has interacted with your business without intent. This includes interacting with social media, comments, likes & follows without going to the website & making an inquiry.
Here you want to retarget this audience with your brand solution. Talking about how your product/service is superior to other competitors, along with what makes you stand out.
This can include things like premium services & what’s included, or market penetration with lower prices etc.
For example:
“Breaking past that $10k per month bracket can be tough when you’re flying solo. You know that help is needed but not sure where to start.
You could hire an in house marketer, but reliable staff who care about your brand is hard to come by… not to mention the cost associated with the hiring process if you got it right the first time.
You could hire an agency, but often they are expensive & come with no liability if things go wrong.
So you’ve decided that the best partner would be someone who works on commission, and today, you’re in luck!”
Here it is possible to see how providing a solution with a commission basis is the core part of this message. With this it is also possible to objection handle any potential challenges a consumer might have by weighing the alternative options & rendering them an invalid choice.
Alot of business owners when trying to advertise, get caught up in the assumption that their consumer know their problems and start with this messaging, but can you see now how you’re missing an entire audience when you try to skip to this stage of messaging?
Finally we now arrive at the Bottom of funnel (Product).
Here at the bottom of the funnel, you should be retargeting people who have shown a level of intent. So this would mean people who have viewed your website, viewed products, clicked add to cart & started checkout without purchase.
Here you want to remind the consumer about your product & the key features/benefits that they will get when purchasing your product.
NOW…
There is ONLY ONE exemption to this entire rule & that is for ecommerce with FB ads, because what is currently working are product focused ads that have been hyper targeted towards a VERY specific niche that’s interested in your products. So ONLY ecommerce advertisements can bypass the first two stages and use the ‘product’ focus on all levels. Although it is ideal to still incorporate the other stages in other ways.
Anyway, back on track.
So here on the ‘Product’ focus. You’ll be talking about the product, the key features & benefits. For example:
“Wait you’re still not sure about the done for you service, even on a commission based plan? We understand, in fact we would probably be skeptical at an offer too good to be true! So what we would love to do is offer you the chance to book in a FREE consultation & discover if we would make the perfect partnership”
Here the product is a FREE consultation with a heavy focus on the commission based ‘done for you service’. We’ve tried to be relatable by being empathetic with the consumer & then offered as de-risk entry level value.