One of the most important distinctions in marketing is separating compelling from convincing.
Most people try to make one ad do both.
They want it to get someone’s attention…
Explain everything they do…
Overcome every objection…
And convince a stranger to buy right now.
That’s an awful lot to ask of an ad someone sees for half a second while scrolling through Facebook.
Especially when you’re trying to reach what I call invisible prospects.
If you sell to chiropractors, your prospects are visible. We can get a list of chiropractors and contact them directly.
But if you’re a chiropractor, your prospects are invisible.
There’s no list of people who twisted their backs playing golf this afternoon.
The same is true for someone who wants to buy a lakefront home.
Lakefront homeowners are visible. We can identify every one of them from public records.
But the future buyers could be anywhere.
They might live in an apartment, in another state or in a perfectly nice house across town.
There’s no visible evidence that they dream about waking up on the lake.
There’s no visible evidence that they dream about waking up on the lake.
So our first job is to draw them out.
That’s what makes Facebook and Instagram ads such an incredible opportunity.
I think of them as digital postcards delivered directly to someone’s digital mailbox.
Your prospect is scrolling…
Your postcard appears full-screen for a moment…
And you have just enough time to offer something that causes the right person to say:
“That’s for me.”
You’re not trying to convince them to buy a lakefront home.
You might simply offer them a guide to the lakefront communities in your area.
The wrong person will keep scrolling.
The right person will raise their hand.
And now someone who was invisible a moment ago has become visible to you.
That is the only job of the ad.
Not to make the sale.
Not to explain your entire company.
Not to convince a stranger that you’re the best choice.
Just to compel the right person to identify themselves.
Once they’ve raised their hand, you’ll have plenty of time to educate and motivate them.
But first…
You have to know who they are.