Here at Fitness Marketer, we run Facebook ads for fitness companies all over the world. From small boutique boot camps to national franchises, we’ve pretty much seen it all. Yeah, we know a thing or two about ads.
If you’ve ever tried running Facebook ads in the fitness space, you know it can cause some serious gray hairs.
You might be surprised to know that you’re not alone. It can be so frustrating. Yes, even for us. Actually, nix that, especially for us!
You would think that if an ad gets approved and works for one client, it should work for all of our clients.
Guess what…
Strangely enough, they don’t. That would make it too easy and where’s the fun in that?
So, we have put together a list for you: A list of Do’s and Don’ts.
Pretty cool, right?
However, these are definitely not hard fast rules. Oh no, we can’t call them that because that would mean that they work all of the time. And, like I already mentioned, that would be boring.
We are well aware of the fact that nothing works all of the time or we wouldn’t bother even writing this. So, please don’t leave a comment saying: “Yeah, but I tried that and it didn’t work!” I hear you; take a deep breath and try again.
But, we just want to share with you some things that we have discovered through running hundreds of ads for clients. I really hope that they help you. If we can save just one person from cracking open a cold one out of frustration before noon, then I consider this a success.
HERE WE GO
- Do: Use exciting and straightforward ad copy. Keep it short and sweet.
- Do: Include a tiny URL link.
- Do: Contact Facebook if your ad was not approved. Facebook does make mistakes and if you think they turned it down by accident, ask them to look at it again. But, ask nicely, after all, they are people too.
- Do: Submit your ads ahead of time and get them pre-approved before you need them.
- Do: Use group photos, bright/colorful photos (orange is best), and photos of attractive females.
- Do: Have a budget of at least $10 per day and give your ads time to work.
- Do: Split test different images, ad copy, placement (desktop/mobile/Instagram, etc.), and targeting.
- Do: Create custom audiences and upload current client lists to exclude them from seeing ads when necessary.
- Don’t: Use terms like ripped, abs, fitness, skinny, fat, lose weight, pounds, six pack, bikini, transformation, before and after, results guaranteed, etc.
- Don’t: Use links created by page building software like Click Funnels or Lead Pages because Facebook tends to flag those.
- Don’t: Resubmit the same ad over and over again in a short period of time. If your ad gets turned down, STOP, and look at the reason why. Make any needed changes, then resubmit. If it gets turned down again, delete your ad and start over. Trust me, your patience will pay off.
- Don’t: Wait till the last minute to submit your ads. Facebook may take several days to review your ad only to turn it down.
- Don’t: Use before/after images, images of overly ripped or muscular people, images with tape measure or a scale, images that appear to be “stock” images, images showing too much skin or cleavage, images with over 20% text, or overly blue images (they blend in too much with Facebook’s color scheme).
- Don’t: Be afraid to spend some money to see results and turn off an ad because you don’t get results right away. The biggest mistake I see people make is turning an ad off too quickly. You need to give it at least 3-5 days to run.
- Don’t: Only test one image/ad copy/targeting method.
- Don’t: Run a list building ad or a promotion you don’t want your current clients to see.
Well, there you have it. Those are some of our best do’s and don’ts. If you have any others you would like to add, please let us know. And, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. My email address is: carlo@fitnessmarketer.com. I’d be happy to help you any way I’m able.
I wish you all the best!
Guest Author: Carlo Bernoni
