So, your ads are live, and you’re excited to see the results. But what kind of results are we talking about here? Skyrocketing sales or just a few leads? Unfortunately, you’re not going to like the answer: it depends. There really isn’t a precise answer to the results you can see, as so much of it depends on your brand and what you have to leverage.

Factors that affect ad performance

• Foundational creatives
  Do you have professional creatives (lifestyle images, beautiful product photography, video content, etc.) that stand out from the competition? If you don’t, it’s going to be hard to see the same results as a brand that does.
• If your website converts
  Driving paid traffic from Facebook and Instagram to a website that has a conversion rate of 0.5%? If your website conversion rate is super low, nobody will be able to run successful ad campaigns to a website that is not built to convert.
• Professional copywriting
  When your prospect looks at your site, do they scream, “Yes, this is for me!” or is it more like “meh?” Your client-facing copy needs to be written in a way that clearly communicates your unique value proposition (USP), your brand ethos, and how you stand out from the competition. 
• Your differentiating USP
  What sets your brand and your products apart from competitors? While your copywriting should emphasize it, your brand ought to have a competitive edge that makes your product a no-brainer compared to other businesses. Set yourself apart through the branding, creatives, and supportive offers. Say you sell the same widget as a competitor, but they offer free shipping, and you don’t. What pushes the customer over the edge when they’re comparing? More “perceived value” – like a free PDF guide on how to use it or the best applications for X, Y, and Z.

Month-to-month results breakdown

You need the above mentioned foundational pieces in place before running paid traffic to your website. Otherwise, you’re going to see undesirable results, and it really won’t matter who you work with in terms of ads managers – because you’re not providing them with the necessary assets that help make your campaigns a success.

If you haven’t made a big push for advertising and don’t have a huge social following or email list, you’re going to see a standard arc in terms of campaign success. We always strive to be transparent and realistic when planning ad campaigns with clients; here’s what we usually tell them:

Month 1: The truth is that the first month of advertising is an investment in the data gathering process. Don’t expect to be profitable in that first month. Don’t even expect to break even. It’s during this first month that we use A/B split testing to determine your ideal target audience, what resonates best with them, and how we can scale that after the first month.
Month 2: The second month is usually when most clients reach the break-even point. 

Month 3: This is typically when you can expect profitability.

Can this arc go faster for certain businesses? Yes, definitely. Some of our clients with established businesses were able to hit it out of the park right from the get-go, and we were able to generate solid returns in the first few weeks, after which we then scaled and ramped-up. But again, it comes down to your product, offer branding, unique selling points and differentiators, creative assets, and a high-converting website.