Do Facebook Ads Work In Trinidad & Tobago?

You’re probably thinking what the heck kind of question is that, of course they work right? We’re Trinis and as long as we see a Trini ad we’re going to click. I doubt any of you’ve resisted the temptation of taking a little ‘maco’ even if the ad wasn’t targeted at you (for example weight loss and you’re skinny). The title of this article is really a trick question as the answer is not a simple yes or no. It all depends…

It depends on the definition of ‘WORK’

But this again is open to interpretation. Like shades of gray there are multiple definitions and indicators to measure against before a Facebook Ad or any advertising for that matter can be deemed truly working. Generally there’ll be just two definitions worth considering.

1. The Industry’s definition of ‘WORK’

This is another can of worms which will get me offtrack so I’ll stick to the topic at hand. There are several key performance indicators, actually about 20, but the most important one is CONVERSION. The conversion of your Facebook ad occurs when someone clicks it and then performs your desired Call To Action, be it LIKING your page, signing up for your newsletter, inquiring about your product/service and so on. At the risk of insulting your intelligence, if 100 people click on your ad and 25 perform your call to action then your conversion rate is 25%.

2. The Industry Standard

Sorry, there’s no hard and fast industry standard as it varies by market segment. A wide range of factors are in play that determine your visitor’s behavior at any given moment. My question is, would it make a difference to you? The preponderance (my word of the day!) of Facebook advertising in general means it’s working for many so there is the probability it will work for you. Let me repeat: ‘PROBABILITY’.

Your definition of ‘WORK’

Ahh! This is really what counts regardless of all the expert metrics out there. How well will your ad work when seen by a living breathing Trini? Believe me, it will be seen (adding to your IMPRESSIONS) and because of the Trini propensity (2nd word of the day) to MACO, they’ll click (adding to your CTR: Click Through Rate) and quickly exhaust your daily spending limit.

I think you’ll be more interested in the CML- Click-Maco-Leave rate (and you heard that term here first!) which will leave you very frustrated, questioning your ad’s effectiveness and your own marketing prowess. That rate in Trinidad & Tobago is between 90%-95% on a very good day in my opinion, which means, to insult your intelligence again, for every 100 Trinis who see your Facebook ad, 90 to 95 of them will click, maco, then leave without doing a thing.

Metrics VS Magic Number

Fancy performance indicators like Impressions, Conversions, Action Rates, and acronyms like CTRs, CPCs, CPMs (don’t forget ABC, NBC, CNN, HGTV and Food Network) means little to the Trini online marketer because we aren’t at that stage yet.

Except for the large companies (and I seriously doubt it), most small and medium enterprises- SMEs, in T&T (to whom I speak) have no dedicated online marketing team. It’s typically the owner who’s usually busy in hands-on operations, knows enough to understand how Facebook works but not the gritty mechanics of it. Why? Because he/she doesn’t have time for it anyway. What IS important is the magic number, i.e. that number of new customers or new business in dollars that makes one feel like he’s getting results that will give encouragement.

One as a Magic Number

Sometimes that’s all it takes: one new customer to make it feel worthwhile. It may seem small but if we stick with an average CML- Click-Maco-Leave rate of 95% which is still generous, it means 5 people answer your call to action. Unless you’re selling your product online— that they can buy right away for an immediate conversion— which 99.9% of you aren’t doing, you’re still miles from converting them to an actual sale.

So do Facebook Ads work in T&T or not?

If you’re running your Facebook ad for conversions to achieve sales the short answer is no. The answer is yes if you’re running it for awareness and audience growth; you may get many more new LIKES but don’t expect them to have much impact as few will actually engage and interact on your page— you’ll get the awareness but not much interest. If you are getting conversions in T&T that add $ to your bottom line you’re among a very tiny percentage who do.

How do I make my Facebook Ad work?

If your ad is not working it’s not your market’s fault, it’s yours. I would hazard a guess if you’re posting an ad it’s because you want ‘bottom line’ conversions first and not just awareness for the long term, which means:

• Direct response to your ad message
• Immediate customers to add to your customer base
• New sales to bring in valuable $
• More big-ticket purchases
• Only serious inquiries about your products/services

To achieve the above requires more thought that what presently obtains for local online marketers. My opinion is that the vast majority of Facebook ads placed my the SMEs in Trinidad & Tobago may be reasonably crafted but not optimal. They are also placed with fingers crossed and all are missing ONE essential element…but that’s another article.