As a Facebook ads agency owner — and as an entrepreneur myself — thinking about marketing is a BIIIIG part of my life.

(Like, a really big part of my life.)

This means that I find myself constantly thinking about the best tips, tricks, and tools for marketing my clients’ businesses (and my business!), and it also means that I regularly find myself faced with some, um… ~untrue things.~

Now, trust me here. I know that everyone is allowed to have their opinions when it comes to marketing (as they do with life)! But I also know, firsthand, that some of the opinions people tend to have are, quite literally, myths. And, if you believe the myths, you can accidentally get caught up in the wrong things and set yourself really far back.

You deserve better than that.

5 marketing myths you won’t want to fall for

So, because I love ya, here are 5 of the biggest marketing myths I see my clients and friends falling for (so that you don’t fall for them, too).

Myth 1: “If your offer is great, it will sell itself.”

I’d loooove to tell you that great offers sell themselves — but, sorry… they don’t. Anyone who tells you this is choosing to ignore the fact that consistent sales (even when they seem effortless or passive) have BIG-TIME strategy behind them.

Now, don’t get me wrong: you can make it SEEM like your offer is selling itself, too. You can. But if you want to get to this place where your offer is seemingly selling itself, you need to be doing at least one of the following:

• Actively creating content that’s funneling leads into an email campaign for conversion
• Running evergreen ad strategies that target cold and warm audiences
• Marketing via social media or email
• Talking about your offer on podcasts or at conferences

Myth 2: “Facebook ads are only worth it if you have HUGE budgets.”

If there’s one thing I hear all the time, it’s this: “Kerry, I’ve heard that Facebook ads are pointless without massive budgets.”

And, if there’s one thing I want to say all the time, it’s this: “It’s not TRUEEEE!”

I promise! I have seen absolutely massive results from ad campaigns with small budgets, and I have seen not-so-great results from ad campaigns with huge ones. This is because your budget is the tiniest piece of the puzzle. If you have an engaged, loyal audience who trusts you, knows you, and values your opinions, you’re already winning at the ads game. It’s that simple. When you combine that with killer targeting, the right offer, and excellent creativity, your budget barely matters.

Myth 3: “More followers = more $$$.”

I’ll bounce off the budget convo with another one I hear all the time — and that’s that big follower count matters. Guys. It doesn’t. It all goes back to the engagement of your audience and the quality of your content. 

Just think about it: let’s take someone with a million followers who has no audience connection and never provides any value.

Then, on the other side, let’s take someone with 5,000 followers who regularly engages with her audience, shares value, and makes people feel included.

Who do you think would have more success with encouraging someone to ACTUALLY buy something? I can guarantee ya that it’s not the person with a million followers, y’all. It’s not.

Myth 4: “Short-form content > Long.”

Another thing you’ve probably heard a LOT is that people don’t have the attention spans for longer content anymore — and I have thoughts on this.

First, sure. People do like short-form content and, these days, people do tend to move on quickly — especially from things they’re not already bought into. 

However, that doesn’t mean that people don’t like long-form content TOO. There is room for a mix of both. I promise. It’s why we test ads with shorter and longer copy, why we mix up video and text within campaigns, and why you watch TikTok *and* Game of Thrones.

People are multifaceted. 😜

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So, my friends, there you have it! Those are some of the biggest myths I see over here — and, more importantly, they’re the ones I want you to make sure to avoid believing.

You’ve got this.

Does anyone else remember thinking the idea of AI was WILD when it came out?! 

(Because I sure did.) 

As a business owner, a content creator, and a mom, I honestly saw the launch of AI as *another* thing that would either A) make people think they could do my job or B) make my kids, well… not learn.

And, as I’m sure MANY of you realize now, I was wrong! I’ve started to love using AI (sparingly) to streamline some of my tasks, elevate some of our team’s work, and really cut down time when necessary. While I don’t think it will ever (or should ever) bypass the human touch, it is highly helpful when used right.

(I can think of about a million ways to use it in business alone.)

4 AI Content Creation Tools for Ads

One of my favorite ways to use it = making life easier when it comes to content creation. From images to text to video editing to punctuation, there are some AI tools we absolutely swear by over here.

Here are some of our favorites:

ChatGPT / Jasper / OwlyWriterAI: 

We’re big fans of professional copy over here, BUT also love an AI moment for bringing extra actionable insights into a message. If you have ChatGPT, Jasper, OwlyWriter, or anything similar, you can copy and paste your ad copy right in — and then ask it for suggestions to hit specific pain points, reach specific targets of people, or try out different CTAs. 

While you’re probably not going to like all of the suggestions it gives you, it’s a great tool for simply seeing where your options are and where your blind spots are. It’s also an excellent tool when you want to vary certain areas of copy for testing. We particularly love it over here for suggesting headlines and copy on images.

Canva: 

If you’re not using Canva, are you in the 21st century?! Kidding… but also, not. Canva is our go-to tool over here for pretty much every graphic *and* video asset that our clients put out — and it’s the most user-friendly tool EVER for non-designers. 

(A muchhhh bigger step up from Microsoft Paint.)

And, these days, Canva has several AI features that save us SO much time I can’t even explain. From the background remover (never show me Photoshop again) to the auto layout adjustments, Canva makes our lives a lot easier… and our ads a lot prettier. 

Inshot / iMovie / CapCut / Reels templates: 

A TON of the ads we run for our clients involve videos — whether it’s a shorter story-type Reel or a longer, more multi-layered file. While there are a lot of options for editing videos out there, we’re ad experts…. not video ones. 

That’s why we’re always turning to Inshot, iMovie, CapCut, and even Reels templates to simplify things. AI features like captioning, noise reduction, and stabilization are key to making your videos look professional, which is key to ensuring that they perform well on ads.

Grammarly:

Look, this might seem like a “duh” — but can I just tell you that poor grammar WILL impact your ads performance? Because it will. Utilizing a simple AI tool like Grammarly is a 10/10 way to make sure that spelling errors and poor structure won’t alienate your readers OR make you look silly.

(Plus, it’s literally just a plug-in on your computer. Such an easy tool! We use it constantly.)

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At the end of the day, AI can be a BIG benefit to your time management and content creation when you use it right. Promise. Try out one of these tools and lemme know what you think!

Here for you, always.

These days, you kiiiinda can’t grow your following (or your engagement) on Meta and Instagram without Reels. Whether you’re running Facebook ads, posting on IG for fun, or in the middle of a launch, a Reels strategy is a *must* for driving clicks.

But, as we all know… the creative process is hard. And, sometimes, we ALL run out of ideas!

However, you know me — and I simply *refuse* to gatekeep.

So, just for fun, I’m sharing 11 MORE Reel ideas to use for your next Facebook or Instagram ad campaign.

11 Reel Ideas You Need In Your Next Campaign 

1. Level up your visuals by adding your own brand fonts and colors inside of Canva, Capcut, or Inshot. Instagram is starting to roll out more features that actually feel like Canva, (ie. adding stickers, collages, more font options, etc.) so keep an eye out on that! 
2. Spotlight a good ole’ before-and-after moment that encapsulates the transformation your product or service provides.
3. Share a hot take or unpopular opinion you have in your industry. Be ready to engage your audience in the comments!
4. Give your audience a BTS look inside of your process (or spotlight something specific, like a discovery call or a workday!)
5. Show off your team with an intro reel! (It can also be really fun to spotlight your customers, too.)
6. Do a rapid-fire Q&A. 
7. Showcase social proof with overlaid images on top of your video.
8. Try out B-roll Reel ideas (we have even more ideas and examples, here)!
9. Utilize teasers for your next launch that align with your launch strategy itself. Start to show sneak peaks behind the scenes of what you’re working on. Include people in the process so they’re super primed for your launch!
10. Do you package a product? Show it off! 
11. Showcase your customer pain points as one-liners in your Reel text — and then break down your solution in the caption.

Want to keep elevating your Reels?

If you want to keep your Reels effective, engaging, and exciting (the goal alllllways, of course!), there are a few best practices you can follow! First, focus on the HOOK — AKA, what’s going to suck viewers in? You can really rock your hook strategy with a lot of our Reels ideas, and you can always go back to the old faithfuls, too: clear copy, bright lighting, and well-filmed video. It’s amazing how much of an incredible hook it can be simply to have a high-quality video in itself.

Once you’ve nailed that down, layer in the fun things — like trending sounds, jokes, or transitions — to add detail and depth to your Reels. And, most importantly, please (pleassse!) give your Reels — especially those you’re using in ads campaigns — a clear CTA. People need to know where they’re supposed to be going next, or they’ll keep scrolling. It’s that simple. 

And, there you have it! When your Reels ideas are paired with the right audience (and the right captions!), you can ensure that your content is doing what you’ve intended for it to do.

I can’t wait to see you SHINE, friend.

There are a lot of questions I get asked over and over again as an ad agency owner — and, guess what? I’m absolutely an open book. I’ll answer any of ‘em!

However, some of the answers I have to give are nuanced… and that’s just the name of the game when you’re in this type of work.

This is especially true when it comes to one of the questions that I get again and again (and again) over here — AKA, “what is your ideal ads budget?”

So, settle on in: because I’m going to give you the breakdown behind this question and answer — but I’ll warn ya in advance, it’s not a straight answer.

Alright, you ready?

The truth about ad budgets

You might have already guessed based on the intro of this blog post, but here’s the truth about ad budgets: there is no set right budget number that I can (or would) give you. See, running ads is a highly personalized endeavor for the corresponding business. You have to dig deep into the data, set customized goals, and approach your ad budget from a mindset of both testing and flexibility.

To really define a budget, we do all of this — and then we crunch numbers based on the business to define budgets, and, in conjunction with the clients’ comfort level, go with it. See, over the years, we’ve seen success with $1,500 budgets, and $150,000 budgets — and it’s just further proof that ad budgets matter for the business who’s running them. That’s it. I promise.

How to define the right ads budget for you

Wondering how you can set the right ads budget for your unique needs and campaign? Well,  I’ve got you — always. While I won’t give you a tried-and-true number without knowing the data and goals, I will guide you towards making the right decision for you. Just follow these steps:

• First: what are your goals? 
  • The cornerstone of absolutely every single successful ads budget comes down to defining and understanding your goals for the campaign. What KPIs (key performance indicators) are you wanting to achieve? What is your ultimate best-case scenario for the end of your ads campaign? What would make you feel like your ad campaign was successful? 
• Second: what does your data tell you?
  • The coolest thing about running ads is that it leaves you with a TON of data to dig into at the end of every campaign — so, to choose your budget, make sure you’re paying attention to your past data! What targeting was working, and at what cost-per-lead or purchase? Don’t leave this part out because otherwise, you’re guessing or estimating. 
    • Note: don’t have any ad data yet? That’s ok! It won’t take but a few weeks to get insight. In the meantime, there are benchmarks based on your industry. Do a simple search to find out the average cost per lead or purchase for similar businesses.
• Third: focus on engagement before launching a big campaign.
  • Before you launch a big, expensive campaign, make sure your audience is WARM and ready to purchase — and make your ad dollars work for you, instead of the way around. Nurture your email list, run engagement ads at a lower cost, and focus on showing up with high-quality, valuable content. 
• Fourth: TEST.
  • The fun thing about ad campaigns is that you’re not married to anything — graphics, creative, targeting, even BUDGET. If your chosen budget isn’t working, feel free to test it alongside a different budget or even tweak it. You’re allowed! 😉

So, my pals, there you have it: a few tips to help you define the right budget for YOU. Just remember: this number is unique, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. I promise.

Stay tuned for more deep dives on this verrry topic.