Oh, Meta Ads, where have you been all our lives? If only we had been introduced sooner, business would have looked a lot different.

Before you, our readers, think our gratitude and reverent appreciation are unfounded, allow us to win you over with this fun fact: the results-driven and highly reliable Meta Ads machine made a whopping $28.2 billion in Q2 2022 and $32 billion in Q2 2023, making Meta Ads the second-largest advertising platform, just behind Google Ads!

If you’re an online store owner wanting to level up, Meta Ads is a must in your marketing strategy.

Meta Ads and Google Ads are considered by marketers to be the two most-effective performance marketing ad platforms, the top tier of intelligent and sophisticated marketing tools, with exceptional targeting capabilities and highly efficient algorithms.

In contrast to Google network users, people browsing Meta (Facebook) are generally part of what we call a “low intent” audience, meaning they are not searching for a specific item or service. Still, they are spending a lot of time on Meta, a platform with the incredible ability to understand a user’s behavior, character, and interests through THE ALGORITHM (in many aspects, even more so than Google). That provides Meta and online shop owners with information helpful for driving sales.

A win-win situation, if you ask us.

If you’re an e-commerce store owner but don’t have a Meta Ads strategy, get on board, because this Meta Ad sailboat casts its nets far and wide.

 Get ready to catch some fish!

Trust the Process

At With Love Internet, the first thing we do for our clients is set up a proper strategy for their ad campaign.

 Contrary to bygone beliefs, it’s not enough to throw up an ad, kick back, and relax.

You’re one of many competing for a spot on a potential client’s feed, so you’re going to have to be more intentional.

Instead of leaving success purely to chance, we set up a multi-tier, stepped campaign with different stages for different purposes.

A big mistake that marketing agencies and e-commerce store owners make when approaching Meta Ads is to set up a campaign with “sales” as the primary campaign goal.

The problem that arises when you run your ads with sales as the main objective is that you’ll cast your net and catch a lot of fish (or, in marketing terms, receive many impressions, high reach, and lots of clicks), but not the ones you were hoping for. In other words, many people will have shown a level of interest, but you will make very few sales from the campaign.

We can hear you already: “Hold up! I thought the objective was to get as many people as possible to see my products. Yes, exposure is an objective of every shop owner, but if you set up a campaign that targets many different audiences on Facebook and Instagram, with ads yelling, “Buy my product now!”, people will most likely keep scrolling, as they would for most ads.

It’s ineffective and a waste of your money.

This is where a multi-tier, stepped campaign comes into play. It’s a concept that is used by many successful agencies and online stores around the world.

This method will tell you exactly where to cast your nets so you get the good-quality fish you’re after.

The Multi-Tier Strategy

1st Tier: Brand Awareness

The first step of the multi-tier campaign is a brand awareness campaign. Typically, you would target a large audience with general information about the products you sell through some Reels and videos, strategically advertising your most popular or successful products.

The goal of this wide-casting campaign is to raise awareness of your brand and products.

Remember, the first impression matters and determines whether or not you pique a person’s interest, so when you do put yourself out there, put your best foot forward. 

Do you need help with branding yourself? Read our article, The Eight-Step HeroGuide Brand Story Method.

2nd Tier: Engagement Campaign

Secondly, set up a traffic or engagement campaign. The goal here is to get the audience that is interested in your brand (the audience that you created on the 1st Tier) heading to your online store or interacting with more specific posts about your products. In doing so, you are honing your pool of potential customers. It seems counterintuitive, but “quality over quantity” is what we’re looking for.

Now you have this smaller audience that you know is highly interested in your brand, you can invest in an ad that will persuade them to engage with your product or content—get them to click, comment, or view the video.

 Every step of the way, you are sifting people, to home in on that “high-intent” audience.

3rd Tier: Sales Campaign

Congratulations! If you’ve arrived here, it means your brand has successfully reached the third and final tier: the sales campaign. After you’ve narrowed down your catchings from the ’net, target the people who explicitly showed engagement and interest in your product.

We call these people your high intent audience.

Be as direct as you like by asking them to purchase the product. Maybe even throw in a first-timer’s discount.

 Remember to cut the fluff in this ad campaign—at this point, you don’t have to woo or convince your audience to pay attention, but we still recommend being clear, precise, and kind with your intentions (a sale or a free gift goes a long way!)

Whether you’re an online business owner or an agency, when you set up a campaign this way, you’ll be catching so many great fish, you’ll need to invest in a stronger net!

Think Long Term

This Meta Ads e-commerce marketing strategy has worked for all our clients, and we know it will work for you, as well—especially if you’re on the first stretch of your e-commerce journey.

This strategy works not only for small online businesses, but for stores of any scale.

For example, if you have a large selection of products, you can set up campaigns in the same way, but geared towards each specific product category in your store.

It’s never too late to start using Meta Ads in your marketing strategy, as they can be applied whether you’re an up-and-commer or you’ve been around the block a few times.

For every product worth buying, there is an advertising process that is worth investing in.

With strategy, patience, and determination, you will see how Meta Ads can make a huge difference to your online store—and, like us, you’ll regret not knowing of them sooner.

If you need more advice on how to use Meta Ads to boost your sales, we know a thing or two about navigating boats to the best catches. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us for professional marketing advice. We’d be happy to hear from you.