How not to drain the budget and get real results

Targeted advertising is a powerful tool. But as with any tool, if used incorrectly, you can not build a business, but destroy it. At Star Media, we regularly come across campaigns where good ideas are drowned out by trivial mistakes. Let's look at the most common ones and how to avoid them.

"Let's launch an advertisement, and then we'll see"

It doesn't work that way. If the campaign does not have a clear goal (for example, to increase applications, collect leads, or promote a specific product), then the result will be blurred.

What to do: Before launching, it is important to determine: what exactly do you want to get from advertising. This may be an increase in traffic to the site, Instagram subscriptions, registration for an event, etc. The more precise the goal, the clearer the strategy.

"Let's show everyone, in case someone comes in"

The wider the audience, the higher the expense and lower the efficiency. Algorithms don't understand who "everyone" is.

What to do: Segment it. Think about who your client is: age, interests, geography, behavior. It is better to create 2-3 narrow groups with different creatives than one group "for everyone".

"We'll just put up a logo and say "10% discount""

Creativity is the first thing a person sees. If the visual is boring, the text is incomprehensible, and the offer doesn't catch on, the person will just scroll through.

What to do: Test different formats: videos, animations, short titles, humor, questions. What works is what causes emotions. Don't be afraid to be "alive" — especially on social media.

"We'll launch it for sale right away — let them buy"

People don't buy from strangers. If you haven't warmed up the audience, they're just not ready to make a decision.

What to do: Build a funnel:

• recognition comes first (for example, through coverage videos or posts);
• then — interaction (polls, likes, clicks);
• and only then — the sale.

"Advertising is going on, money is being spent, so everything is fine?"

Not quite. Without analytics, you don't know which ads are working and which ones are draining your budget.

What to do: Enable analytics: Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, UTM tags. Track metrics: clicks, conversions, lead cost. Optimize based on data, not feelings.

Mistakes in targeting happen to everyone, even experienced ones. The main thing is to notice them and correct them in time. Advertising should not just "work", but bring results.

It's easy to launch ads. Making it effective is an art.