Solved: Facebook Ads Suddenly Underperforming

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on what you've told us about your situation. I understand you're seeing your Facebook ad performance drop off all of a sudden and you're wondering what's going on and what to do about it.

First off, don't panic!

It's very common to see fluctuations in ad performance, especially with Meta. The algorithms are constantly changing, user behaviour shifts, and what worked brilliantly last month might not work so well this month, or even this week. It's just the nature of the beast.

The key is to stay calm, avoid making drastic changes all at once, and approach the problem methodically. We had a client selling eLearning courses who saw a similar dip, and they were ready to tear everything down and start from scratch! I suggested we just take a look at the data and test some minor changes, and it turned out a small audience adjustment was all it took to turn things around.

Here's a general overview of what I'd recommend you look into:

We'll need to look at traffic quality and your website...

Often overlooked is the quality of traffic you are getting. A sudden change in traffic quality, even if the volume remains the same, can drastically impact conversion rates. Where are your website visitors dropping off? It's worth checking your Google Analytics or other analytics tools and see if there are any warning signs, like high bounce rates, low time on site, or a low number of pages visited. Are they reaching the product pages? If visitors are landing on your start page but not clicking through to product pages, there's probably an issue with either the start page design, the product offering not being a great fit for the traffic, or perhaps misleading ad copy which has enticed the wrong target audience to click through. What are your landing pages like? Are they optimised for conversions? Do they have clear calls to action? Is the copy persuasive? Is the website slow to load (very important!)? For a B2B SaaS client recently, we found they hadn't optimized their mobile landing page experience, which was causing a huge drop off. Turns out it looked terrible on mobile - took us a while to notice but it was easily fixed!

Target audience, and creative fatigue

One of the first things I'd look at is audience targeting. Has anything changed recently that might make your current audience less responsive? Are there new interests, behaviours, or demographics that you could be targeting? Facebook's targeting options are constantly evolving, so it's worth keeping an eye on what's available. We're working with an eLearning client, and even small tweaks to audience targeting can have a massive impact on cost per lead (CPL). For example, we found that targeting people interested in specific authors within their niche performed much better than broader interest categories. Also, don't underestimate the power of creative fatigue. Your audience might simply be tired of seeing the same ads over and over again. This is where testing new ad copy, images, and videos comes in. We've had several software clients see really good results with User Generated Content (UGC) videos recently. People tend to trust these videos more than highly polished, professionally produced ads. There are loads of different angles to test with UGC videos as well - testimonials, product demos, behind-the-scenes footage, etc. If you're unsure where to start with creative testing, try analysing your competitor's ads. What kind of messaging are they using? What visuals are they using? What seems to be working well for them? You can use tools like the Facebook Ad Library to see what ads your competitors are running.

Your bidding strategy is key

Another factor to consider is your bidding strategy. Are you still competitive in the ad auctions? Are your bids high enough to win the auctions you want to win? Facebook's ad auction is a complex beast, and it's constantly changing. If your bids are too low, you might not be reaching your target audience. On the other hand, if your bids are too high, you could be wasting money. It's worth experimenting with different bidding strategies to see what works best for your campaigns. You could try automatic bidding, where Facebook automatically sets your bids to get the most conversions for your budget. Or you could try manual bidding, where you set your bids yourself. With bidding strategies, it is worth giving it time. In the past with new campaigns, it took roughly 2 weeks for the algo to learn to perform to its potential - so I'd say you need to give it more time unless it's clearly not working. If after that time it's still not performing, then you know it is time to pivot.

I'd say you need to give it more time...

Don't expect miracles overnight. Facebook ads often take time to optimise, especially if you're selling a complex product or service. The algorithm needs time to learn who your ideal customers are and how to reach them. So don't be discouraged if you don't see results immediately. It's also worth remembering that Facebook ads are just one part of the marketing puzzle. You need to have a well-rounded marketing strategy that includes other channels as well, such as email marketing, content marketing, and social media marketing. Having said that, if you've been running ads for a while and you're still not seeing the results you want, it might be time to get some expert help. Someone with experience in Facebook ads can analyse your campaigns, identify areas for improvement, and help you to get the most out of your ad spend.

Why consider expert help?

Scaling campaigns, especially for B2B software or other high-value products, often requires a deeper level of expertise. We've helped numerous clients overcome similar challenges by refining their targeting, improving their ad creatives, and optimising their landing page experience. For example, we worked with a B2B software company that was struggling to scale their Facebook ads. We helped them to identify new target audiences, create more engaging ad creatives, and optimise their landing page for conversions. As a result, they were able to increase their ad spend while maintaining a high ROAS. One company we worked with offering lifetime deals saw revenue increase by $30k within a short time period. Another saw 4,622 registrations for their B2B SaaS at a cost of $2.38. A fresh pair of eyes can often spot things that you might have missed. Maybe your tracking isn't set up correctly. Maybe your audience targeting is too broad or too narrow. Maybe your ad creatives are simply not resonating with your target audience. Or maybe there's a problem with your website or landing page that's preventing people from converting.

I hope these initial thoughts are helpful! If you'd like to discuss your specific situation in more detail, we're happy to offer a free consultation. Just get in touch and we can schedule a time to chat.