Before You Spend Money on Ads, Fix These 5 Things
Running Facebook, Instagram or Google ads can be a great way to get your business in front of more people.
But ads aren't magic.
You can spend hundreds — or thousands — of dollars sending people to your business, but if what they find when they get there doesn't build trust or make it easy to take the next step, you're paying for attention that goes nowhere.
At Dynasty Media, we'd rather see a business get the basics right before increasing its ad budget.
So before you hit "Boost Post" or start another campaign, check these five things.
1. Your Website
Your ad did its job.
Someone saw it. They were interested. They clicked.
Now what?
If they land on a website that's slow, confusing, outdated or difficult to use on their phone, you could lose them almost immediately.
Your website doesn't need to be complicated.
It needs to make a few things really obvious:
What do you do?
Where are you located?
Why should someone choose you?
What should they do next?
Call. Book. Request a quote. Buy. Send a message.
Whatever your goal is, don't make people search for it.
Before paying to send more traffic to your website, make sure your website is ready for that traffic.
2. Your Social Media
Here's something we do all the time when we see an ad from a business we've never heard of:
We creep them.
And your customers probably do too.
They might see your Instagram ad and instead of clicking "Book Now," they tap your profile.
Now they're looking at your recent posts.
Your photos.
Your videos.
Your comments.
Your followers.
They're trying to figure out if you're legitimate and whether they actually want to give you their money.
You don't need a perfectly curated Instagram feed.
But if your last post says "Happy New Year 2023," maybe hold off on that ad campaign for a minute.
Your social media should show that your business is active, real and worth contacting.
3. Your Content
You can have an amazing business and still struggle with ads if the content you're advertising doesn't grab anyone's attention.
People scroll quickly.
Your ad is competing with friends, memes, dogs, influencers, breaking news and probably someone's dinner.
You have a very small window to make someone stop.
That's where good content matters.
Show the product.
Show the service.
Show the transformation.
Show the people behind the company.
Show why you're different.
A professionally filmed video can be great, but not every ad needs to look like a commercial.
Sometimes a simple video of the owner talking directly to the camera can outperform something that took hours to produce.
The important part is giving people a reason to care.
4. Your Offer
"We're a local business. Contact us today!"
Cool.
But... why?
One of the biggest things to think about before running an ad is what you're actually offering the person seeing it.
That doesn't always mean a discount.
Your offer could be:
A free consultation.
A free estimate.
A bonus included with a service.
A limited-time package.
A giveaway.
A useful download.
A seasonal promotion.
Or simply a really clear reason why your service solves a problem they're currently dealing with.
Your ad shouldn't leave someone wondering:
"Okay... but what am I supposed to do with this?"
Give them a reason to take the next step.
5. Your Follow-Up
This one isn't nearly as exciting as creating an ad.
But it matters.
What happens when someone actually contacts you?
If you're paying for leads but taking three days to respond to them, your advertising probably isn't the problem.
Someone requesting a quote is probably not requesting one from only you.
They're shopping around.
Make it easy to contact your business.
Respond quickly.
Have a process.
Know who's responsible for answering inquiries.
And actually follow up.
Because there's no point spending more money generating leads if good leads are already slipping through the cracks.
Ads Should Amplify What's Already Working
Advertising works best when it's sending people into a business that's ready for them.
Think of ads like turning up the volume.
If your website is strong, your content looks good, your offer makes sense and your team knows how to handle incoming leads, turning up the volume can be incredibly valuable.
But if those pieces aren't working?
You're just making the problems louder.
Start With the Foundation
Before asking:
"How much should I spend on ads?"
Ask:
"If 100 potential customers found my business tomorrow, would we be ready for them?"
Take a look at your business from their perspective.
Google yourself.
Visit your website from your phone.
Look through your Instagram.
Try your contact form.
Read your offer.
See how long it takes your team to respond to an inquiry.
You might find that the best thing you can do for your advertising isn't increasing your budget.
It's fixing what happens after someone clicks.
Need Help Figuring Out Where to Start?
Dynasty Media works with businesses throughout Langley, Aldergrove, the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver on content creation, branding, websites, social media and digital advertising.
We're business owners ourselves, so we look at marketing a little differently.
We don't just want more views.
We want the right people seeing your business — and a clear path for turning that attention into actual customers.
Whether you need better content, a stronger website or you're finally ready to start running Facebook and Instagram ads, we can help you build the foundation first.
Then we turn up the volume.
— Dynasty Media