Advertising on Facebook can be one of the most effective ways to reach a target audience with a carefully-crafted message, potentially generating significant website traffic, brand awareness, even conversions.
Not just anyone can succeed in Facebook advertising, of course. There are many complexities to the bidding process, to fine-tuning your ad messaging, to constructing the right landing pages, to monitoring your results and making the necessary adjustments. Success requires a lot of technical know-how, which is why many business owners outsource their strategy to professional agencies.
In other words, there is a lot of upside to starting a Facebook Ads agency. When done right, you can help your clients spread their message and connect with consumers on the world’s largest social network. But of course, not every Facebook Ads agency succeeds. To ensure long-term impact, it’s vital to take the right preliminary steps.
Starting a Facebook Ads Agency: Best Practices
While there’s not necessarily a blueprint or formula to follow, there are a few steps that are generally advisable for aspiring Facebook Ads entrepreneurs. Here are a few recommendations.
1) Conduct Market Research
First, ensure you have a good understanding of the competitive landscape.
Research other Facebook Ads agencies to determine what kinds of services they offer, what clientele they serve, and how they price their services. Identify any gaps in the market that you might fill, or ways you can distinguish your agency from the competition.
Also define the audience you intend to reach. For example, you may focus on reaching companies in a particular industry, or businesses of a certain size.
2) Determine Your Services
Next, think through the specific services you’ll offer.
Not all Facebook Ads agencies offer the same list of services, and you may decide there are certain things you want to focus on or certain things you’d rather avoid.
Some specific services to consider include campaign strategy, ad creation, landing page development, audience targeting, data and analytics, and so forth.
3) Create a Business Plan
While business plans are not legally required documents, they can serve as important roadmaps for your Facebook Ads agency.
A good business plan will outline your basic scope of services, your pricing, your intended audience, and the channels you’ll employ for your own marketing and business development purposes.
Business plans should also provide some basic business goals, along with some financial forecasts to help you set preliminary budgets.
4) Register as an LLC
Registering your Facebook Ads agency as a Limited Liability Company, or LLC, will provide some important legal protections. Basically, it will limit your risk of litigation, while also offering some valuable tax benefits.
The steps required for registering an LLC vary by state, but generally you’ll need to:
- Choose the state where you want to register.
- Pick a unique name for your LLC.
- Get a Registered Agent in your state (e.g., an LLC in New York needs an Agent with a New York mailing address).
- File Articles of Organization with your state and pay the registration fee.
- Create an Operating Agreement.
- Make sure you have a business bank account and an EIN.
5) Build Your Brand
If you’re going to assist clients in advertising their services via Facebook, you’ll also need to be diligent in your own marketing efforts. Start by formulating a basic brand identity. Specifically, think about things like developing a logo, ensuring a consistent color scheme for all your online assets, and creating robust social media profiles of your own.
Of course, a good website will be central to your brand-building efforts. Ensure yours loads quickly and is optimized for all browser and device types.
6) Create a Portfolio
Hopefully, you have some previous experience in Facebook advertising that you can highlight to potential customers and clients, showing off your handiwork as a way of earning their trust.
If you don’t have any work you can include in your portfolio, consider asking some friends or family members for the chance to do some pro bono work for them, simply so you have some assets to showcase. You might even run an online promotion or content for local businesses to bid on some free Facebook advertising work.
7) Build Your Client List
When it comes to business development, it’s usually best to combine a number of different channels. For example, you might build your client list through a combination of cold calling, networking, or attending industry events.
Of course, digital marketing should also be a big part of your approach. Running your own branded Facebook Ads campaign can be a good way to highlight your expertise and to generate new leads.
8) Establish Your Accounts
Of course, you’ll need to be set up in Facebook Ads before you can start serving clients in earnest.
Create a Facebook Business Manager account and configure the necessary ad accounts. If you’ve never used the platform before, familiarize yourself with Facebook Ads Manager and other related tools to manage which can help you run campaigns effectively and efficiently.
9) Solicit Testimonials
Hopefully, your clients will be gratified by the work you do on their behalf. And once you do start to get satisfied clients, be direct in asking them for their feedback. Google Reviews can be important ways for you to build your brand identity. Written or even video testimonials can be great additions to your business website, or to your social media accounts.
Position Your Facebook Ads Agency for Ongoing Success
Facebook Ads is a powerful platform. With the right knowledge and a skillful approach, you can not only succeed there, but help your customers and clients do likewise. But first, make sure you follow all the right steps for establishing your agency, positioning it for long-term impact and maximum success.
