25 episodes

"The Truth About Social Ads" goes beyond just tips and tricks; it's your pathway to truth and education. Elevate your brand or your agency's operations, run ads more efficiently, and embark on a journey to grow and scale your business. From dissecting failed ads to uncovering the secrets of successful campaigns, we're here to guide you through the nuances of the advertising realm. Tune in to stay informed, inspired, and equipped with the knowledge you need to navigate the fascinating world of social media advertising.

The Truth About Social Ads Jason Smith

    • Business
    • 5.0 • 7 Ratings

"The Truth About Social Ads" goes beyond just tips and tricks; it's your pathway to truth and education. Elevate your brand or your agency's operations, run ads more efficiently, and embark on a journey to grow and scale your business. From dissecting failed ads to uncovering the secrets of successful campaigns, we're here to guide you through the nuances of the advertising realm. Tune in to stay informed, inspired, and equipped with the knowledge you need to navigate the fascinating world of social media advertising.

    25. Client Audits and What We Look For

    25. Client Audits and What We Look For

    If you ever wondered how our audit process works and what we do when we bring on new clients and what we look for, today’s episode is perfect for you. Not only are businesses qualifying us, but we also qualify them just as much when we are doing an audit. We want to let the client know what we are looking for, and this also may be helpful if any agency owners are listening to learn how to qualify your clients that you are taking on.

    For us, it is always exciting talking to new businesses, getting to know other brands and helping them in their process. That is why when we are doing an audit for a prospective new client, our conversation will be related to their ads, product, customers, website and even questions that will help us catch agency hoppers in the act.

    – How much do you spend in 30 days on Facebook?

    – Do you have an agency running your ads right now? What is your ad situation?

    – What is your product? What is your AOV?

    – What is your returning customer rate? – Retargeting will be hard if you are driving cold traffic.

    – What is your free shipping threshold?

    – What is a realistic return on ad spend that you need to be at to earn money.

    – What are your margins? – You would be surprised at the amount of people that do not even know what their margins are!

    – How are your ads structured in Facebook? From the nomenclature to your audiences, creatives and more.

    – How does your website look like? What is your page’s load speed? – Nowadays we live in an impatient world, so it must load super quick, plus mobile optimization in key in your success.

    – Truth is, if we go into an account and we see that their current agency is doing an impressive job and the client is frustrated, we are most likely going to say no, because if you’re not happy with them, you’re not going to be happy with us.

    A discovery call is fundamental in our process, from then we happily give clients a nice layout of everything, what we do, why we do it, if we think their brands and their ads will be successful and if we can get them to the next level. Growth plan included as well! Awesome, right?

    We are good at what we do, and we are looking to get clients reliable and satisfactory results and we’ll let them know if we feel like we can do that based on their account and on how we get along. We are respectful and we expect to be respected in return, which is why we build good partnerships.

    Check out this episode to find out why do we go through each of these questions and how they help us determine if a potential client can be a great fit for us.

    Notes and more here: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/25

    Free Resources:

    Free Attribution PDFs: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/audit/
    Connect with Jason: info@sportlightsocialllc.com
    Connect with Eric: eric@sportlightsocialllc.com

    The Truth About Social Ads
    https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-truth-about-social-ads/

    Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/25-client-audits-and-what-we-look-for

    • 27 min
    24. Fatal Mistakes Clients Ask Agencies to Make

    24. Fatal Mistakes Clients Ask Agencies to Make

    We’re talking about this today because we’ve got tons of experience with these types of situations, these scenarios. And we’re not going to get walked all over, we’re not going to get blamed for things that are not our fault. This episode is about being respected. If you disrespect high performers, they can get upset because they work hard to be the best at what they do. And that’s how we are as an agency. We pride ourselves in being absolutely the best at it. And so when a client comes to us and they’re used to working with like a smaller agency that would do whatever they said, and we command a higher level of respect because of the work we’re doing, sometimes they’re not used to it.

    But that’s really what we expect is respect from our clients. And we give the same respect in return. We’re totally open to as much feedback as you want to give, but when a client says, “You guys aren’t doing your job, you guys aren’t getting the results that I think you should be getting.”

    Then it goes down this rabbit hole of personal opinions and we’ve skewed away from the actual data, right? Like we need and use data to make good decisions. And we’re making decisions based on the data that’s coming in. And sometimes clients don’t understand this and ask us to do things that aren’t in their best interest.

    In this episode, we are going to cover the four most common mistakes we are asked to make, and how we have created systems and ways of communicating with our clients, so we avoid these situations.

    These are:

    1. Increasing ad spend too quickly. Extremely risky and usually results in big losses.

    2. Resetting the learning, sometimes it works, but often it dive bombs the account.

    3. Only caring about cold traffic.

    4. Blaming the ads when it’s not the fault of the ads or our responsibility. There are many factors at play, including conversion rates, sales team effectiveness, company operations and culture, and many more.

    Check out this episode to learn more as we go through all the details and explain our strategies to avoid these hot messes.

    Notes and more here: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/24

    Free Resources:

    Free Attribution PDFs: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/attribution-pdf/
    Connect with Jason: info@sportlightsocialllc.com
    Connect with Eric: eric@sportlightsocialllc.com

    • 38 min
    23. Attribution and How It’s Different

    23. Attribution and How It’s Different

    We’re talking about attribution models for your ads and specifically one main attribution model, which is what Eric’s developed, so we can give our customers a view-through attribution model with Facebook so they can see their numbers inside of the dashboard. Well, not inside of the Facebook dashboard, but inside of the dashboard that Eric’s come up with.

    This is an important topic, especially now because of the iOS update. We’ve had a lot of customers and even other agencies come to us and ask, “Hey, what are you guys using for reporting and attribution?” Because the Facebook dashboard is no longer reporting. And we’ve heard from a few clients that some agencies aren’t even reporting on return on ad spend. They can’t even report on it.

    Eric and the team have been working super hard to get the solution resolved. We’ve partnered with a third-party reporting agency and these guys are awesome. And I think we’ve got the solution now. So, listen to this episode is you want to know all about our solution, it’s a game changer.

    Basically, we are able to still see view-through data, which was the biggest factor with the iOS 14 update. Our agency has successfully conquered and beat iOS. There still are limitations. It’s changed the way paid ads work. There’s no way around that, but the big impact is that we can report on return on ad spend.

    Check out this episode to learn more as we unpack all the details. And grab our free download which also explains our strategy.

    Notes and more here: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/23

    Free Resources:

    Free Attribution PDFs: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/attribution-pdf/

    • 37 min
    22. The Latest and Greatest with HighLevel

    22. The Latest and Greatest with HighLevel

    HighLevel helps agencies and marketers thrive with their all-in-one sales and marketing platform. If you have an agency and you haven’t heard about HighLevel yet, you have to listen to this episode. And if you have heard of it, or are one of the quickly growing agencies who are using it, then you need to listen in as we unpack some of the latest and greatest features and benefits found in HighLevel. And reveal some upcoming additions too!

    Founder Shaun Clark and Chase Buckner, the Director of Content & Education join us for this power-packed conversation about HighLevel, the fastest growing white-label platform for digital marketing agencies. HighLevel is one white-labeled marketing app to rule them all. HighLevel is everything your agency needs to succeed! Capture leads using HighLevel’s landing pages, surveys, forms, calendars, and inbound phone system. Automatically message leads via voicemail, forced calls, SMS, emails, and FB Messenger. Use their built in tools to collect payments, schedule appointments, create memberships, and track analytics.

    And these guys are adding new and powerful features to this mind-blowing tool all the time. We specifically dive into the new Spotify integration for Ecommerce businesses which we’re particularly pumped about.

    And one of the best things is that you can White Label the software, customize it for your ideal clients, and sell it to them as their new primary marketing SAAS tool. We talk about why this can become a major revenue stream for your business. Clients tend to keep paying for tools like this, even if they aren’t hiring you for marketing services. It’s crazy sticky, especially when they realize this one tool saves them from having to pay for 5, 10, or even 20 different tools!

    We’ve been using HighLevel for two years and are super stoked about where these guys are taking this platform. HighLevel works directly with agency owners to use their feedback and suggestions to make this a serious game-changer. Listen to this episode, then go check out HighLevel. There’s a free 14-day trial so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

    Notes and more here: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/22

    Resources:

    HighLevel Website

    Connect with Jason: info@sportlightsocialllc.com

    Connect with Eric: eric@sportlightsocialllc.com

    • 48 min
    21. Shopify Store Optimization that Works with Tanner Larsson and Build Grow Scale

    21. Shopify Store Optimization that Works with Tanner Larsson and Build Grow Scale

    Getting traffic to your ecom site isn’t an issue, especially when you’re working with us. But converting that traffic into customers is an entirely different ball game. A while back, we saw many of our clients struggling to get the conversions they wanted, so we joined Tanner Larsson and the Build Grow Scale (BGS) community which has proven to be a hugely powerful investment.

    Tanner joins us today to unpack some of the ecommerce store optimization strategies he teaches and has written about in his book, Ecommerce Evolved: The Essential Playbook To Build, Grow & Scale A Successful Ecommerce Business.Ecommerce Evolved: The Essential Playbook To Build, Grow & Scale A Successful Ecommerce Business. We also discuss their upcoming event, Build Grow Scale Live which will be in Dallas this year. We’re love the stuff these guys are doing, and will be at the event as well, performing ads audits and helping ecom brands crush it in 2022.

    Tanner has built quite simply the world’s best ecommerce community with access to the top ecommerce experts in the world, as well as live mentorship, live feedback on your store (so you never have to wonder what to do next), revenue-boosting private apps, Revenue Optimization™ services, and data-driven resources to help you multiply your revenue the fastest way possible. We’ve seen it happen.

    The last 24 months have changed the game for ecom brands. During the pandemic, online shopping exploded. Along with this growth has come a massive amount of change. The days of being able to throw up an ecom store, slap a few products on there, run a few facebook ads and make money are gone. ​The days of being able to cover your acquisition costs, expenses and still profit from the first sale are gone. ​The days of being able to use large volumes of cheap traffic to make up for an unoptimized ecom business are dead.

    It’s a whole new world out there in terms of what works and what doesn’t, and Build Grow Scale has been in the trenches every day doing what they do best… Testing, tweaking, analyzing data and optimizing stores to maximize their performance and profits.

    We share what Tanner and his team have discovered during this episode. But to truly get the most out of your store, we recommend (highly!) that you come to BGS Live.

    About Tanner Larsson

    Tanner Larsson is the co-founder of Amplified Partnerships, an ecommerce brand incubator, and the CEO of BuildGrowScale.com. He launched his first ecommerce venture from his childhood bedroom in 2001 and has since founded or partnered in over a dozen different businesses in markets such as home services, health & fitness, guns & survival, kitchen accessories, supplements & nutraceuticals, business education, and HVAC.

    Tanner is also the founder and facilitator of an exclusive ecommerce syndicate called Black Label, a mastermind composed of the best and brightest marketers, CEOs, and entrepreneurs in the ecommerce space.

    Tanner lives with his wife and kids in Reno, NV.

    Notes and more here: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/21

    Resources:

    Build Grow Scale Live: https://www.buildgrowscalelive.com/2022
    Build Grow Scale: https://buildgrowscale.com/
    Tanner’s Book, Ecommerce Evolved: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1534619348/
    Connect with Jason: info@sportlightsocialllc.com
    Connect with Eric: eric@sportlightsocialllc.com

    • 1 hr 11 min
    20. Agency Roles: Who’s Responsible?

    20. Agency Roles: Who’s Responsible?

    When we work with companies, we are a partner. We work with them as a partner and in certain industries, there are agencies like ours outside of internal or in-house company staff or resources that can do a better job.

    And so, there can be more value for the company to hire out than to hire within. A lot of companies rely on this type of partnership for paid advertising and that’s what we specifically focus on. We have dynamic partnerships that are sometimes difficult. And we want to talk about that today.

    We go to great lengths to explain our role in this relationship and keep a constant stream of communication rolling, but this can sometimes get confusing and does not always go smoothly. So today we wanted to go through some of the strategies and tactics we’ve learned through experiences, good and bad, that will help keep these roles well-defined, and the relationships happy (mostly).

    Here are a number of highlights from the episode and few of the things we cover:

    – Jason explains why he was MIA for a while.

    – We are fortunate to be good at what we do, and now can say “no” to certain clients.

    – A lot of smaller agencies will say “yes” when they can’t deliver, which can lead to a terrible experience.

    – Our super power is building, optimizing, and reporting on the client’s ad campaign KPIs through clear communication.

    – We optimize the ads, not the website conversion rate.

    – The iOS update has made things a little more challenging, but check back soon because we have a solution.

    – It’s not good to have the client in the ad accounts, micromanaging things.

    – We’re the experts who are in direct communication with platform reps and are up to speed on current best practices.

    – If something breaks, we know how to fix it, the client doesn’t.

    – Clients will have expectations for their ad campaign ROAS, even if we explain that’s going outside of the goal KPIs.

    – There are a lot of factors outside of our control which can affect sales, but it is sometimes easy for the client to blame it on the ads.

    – We do not analyze all of the data, but can hire someone to do that if needed.

    – Our goal is to get our clients the best numbers possible and the best performance from their campaigns.

    – Scaling ad campaigns takes time and does not happen overnight.

    And more… This episode is packed with a lot of principles we have learned the hard way. At the end of the day, we just want to have great relationships with good partners. We’re not perfect, and make mistakes every now and then, but we make sure to do our best and communicate clearly, always.

    Also, we’re in the trenches every day running ads. If anyone’s struggling with the Apple update out there. We have a resource for you go to our website, a download on everything you need to do for the checklist.

    Apple released the update iOS 14 Facebook a while back, We will have another episode soon detailing how you can again analyze attribution, but you can get the checklist we put together, you may find a tip or two.

    Notes and more here: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/20

    Resources:

    High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1401952852/

    Get the Apple Update Checklist: https://www.spotlightsocialadvertising.com/ios

    Connect with Jason: info@sportlightsocialllc.com

    Connect with Eric: eric@sportlightsocialllc.com

    • 41 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
7 Ratings

7 Ratings

Chris Dreyer ,

Jason Smith is a beast!

There’s no one better at Facebook Ads. Awesome podcast, wish I would have listened to it sooner. It would have saved me thousands $$$$$ of painful lessons.

JasperWj7@ ,

Great insight, great story!

He was very knowledgeable about social media adds, not to mention an incredible story of a former LAPD. This podcast is a must!

ImperfectlyAmbitious ,

Value packed!

Thank you for this podcast! It is jammed packed with value for those trying to grow their business online. I will definitely keep coming back for more.

Top Podcasts In Business

The Ramsey Show
Ramsey Network
Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin
Money News Network
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
DOAC
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
NerdWallet Personal Finance
Planet Money
NPR
The Money Mondays
Dan Fleyshman