Small entrepreneurs often burn more money on social media ads because they lack strategy, experience, and optimization.
Why Small Entrepreneurs Burn Money on Social Media Ads
| 🔻Common Mistakes | ✅Smart Practices (What Experts/Brands Do) |
| 1. No Clear Target Audience Ads shown to "everyone" or the wrong people | 1. Defined Target Audience They use age, location, interest filters |
| 2. Boost Post Button Only They only “boost” posts without campaign planning | 2. Full Ad Manager Use They use proper campaigns (traffic, conversion) |
| 3. No Retargeting Strategy They show ads to new users every time | 3. Retargeting Existing Visitors They show ads to warm leads or past visitors |
| 4. Bad Creatives Low-quality images, too much text, not mobile friendly | 4. High-Performing Creatives Clean visuals, video ads, strong CTA |
| 5. Selling on First Click Expecting users to buy immediately | 5. Funnel Approach First build trust, then retarget and convert |
| 6. No Tracking or Pixel Installed Don't know what works | 6. Data-Driven Ads Install Meta Pixel or Google Tag to track performance |
| 7. Impatience Spend ₹500 and expect ₹5000 in return overnight | 7. Long-Term Planning Test, tweak, and optimize over weeks |
| 8. No Landing Page They send people to WhatsApp or Instagram DM | 8. Dedicated Product Page or Store Easy to browse, shop, and pay |
| 9. No Budget Split They spend all in 1 day or on 1 ad | 9. Budget Strategy Split budget into test, retarget, and scale |
| 10. Not Learning from Metrics Don’t use ad analytics | 10. Learn & Improve Check CTR, CPC, ROAS and improve next ads |
Example:
❌ Small Business Owner A:
- Boosted an Instagram post for ₹2,000
- No link to product page, only "DM for price"
- Got 200 likes, no sales
- Says “ads don’t work”
✅ Small Business Owner B:
- Created a video ad with a clear offer
- Targeted women 25-40 interested in skincare
- Linked to an Orka Stores product page
- Spent ₹500 to test, made ₹2,000 in sales
- Scaled up with retargeting ads
Tips to Save Money & Get Better Results:
- Use Facebook/Instagram Ads Manager, not just boost.
- Create a clear offer (discount, free shipping, etc.).
- Have a proper online store like Orka Stores instead of just DMs.
- Install Meta Pixel to track and optimize.
- Start small (₹300–₹500) and test 2–3 ad variations.
- Retarget people who visited your site but didn’t buy.
Final Thought:
Ads don’t fail. Poor ad strategies do.
A successful entrepreneur spends smart, not more.