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In a world where everything, everyone and every business is going online, there is equally a lot of competition going on amongst businesses. Therefore, in order to sustain your business online (i.e. on Anyservice.ng), you should be able to express yourself effectively and also create a lasting impression on the minds of the public through the ads you post. To achieve this, your ad has to standout to make visitors pause, read your ad, then click your phone number and place the call to your business. This post will show you how to make every visitor that sees your advert to click the ‘Show Phone’ button. However, it’s a must-read and a guide to everyone who has their businesses registered and posted on anyservice.ng as well as other marketing platforms. Interesting right? Let’s keep reading…

A marketing expert said: ‘’Traffic is everywhere and customers are everywhere but the problem is that you are poor at converting these customers into paying customers’’.

Every day thousands of customers visit Anyservice.ng searching for various services and solutions to their needs. Many of them would have been your customers but they just scroll past your ad because there is nothing to make them stop and take a good look at your ad. Even when some of them stop and click on your ad, there is just this thing that makes them go back and continue scrolling. Here, I will look at all these things that affect your ads and show you how to correct them.

This post is a bit long but I promise you it will be worth your time. I took my time to thoroughly research and write it for your benefit so, relax and let’s continue…

Before we proceed, we need to understand this: ‘’Nobody is interested in you or your business rather, people are only interested in themselves’’. So, when constructing your ad, always consider the person viewing it and imagine what the person would like to see, hear, feel and experience. When you take these into consideration, then you will be able to correct your ad from your dream customers’ perspective. The 4 reasons why your Anyservice advert is not pulling customers are detailed below.

1.        Poor images/pictures.

When a person visits the website in search of a service(s) such as, ‘Logistics & Delivery Services’ and enters his location eg ‘Ikeja’ on the search bar and searches, he will be shown a list of logistics & delivery service businesses in Ikeja. For every item in this particular list, service pictures are shown on the left side of the screen while, the business name, address, town and ‘Show Phone’ button are shown on the right side. The human brain works as it has been trained and our brains have been trained to observe and study things from left to right. In essence, the visitor sees the pictures/images posted by the service providers first before looking at the right side of the item. In fact, it was observed that most visitors at first do not look at the right side because those writings are small and boring to read. Therefore, they concentrate on the pictures on the left side and continue to scroll down while admiring and scrutinizing the pictures. And when a picture catches his eyes, he stops scrolling, admires the picture and then looks at the right side. He finds out that he can consider this service provider and then he clicks on the ad to see more.

Now, wait a minute. What was the first thing that made him to stop scrolling?

It’s the display service picture on the left. The display service picture is first picture you select when uploading your service pictures. So, you need to examine your pictures well when uploading your service pictures and decide which of them you want to be your display picture. Once you have decided on which picture you want your visitors to see while scrolling through the search results, you upload that particular picture before uploading others.

When the visitor then clicks on your ad in the search list, it takes him to your page where he can view more details about you and your services. Now that he is on your own ad, the thing that catches his eyes as he looks at your ad are the pictures in your ad. I believe it’s not new to us that our generation loves pictures so much and could be attracted to things or events with amazing pictures attached to them. No wonder Instagram is making billions of dollars annually because people are looking for more and more things to watch. Arming yourself with this knowledge, you need to do 2 things: Firstly, you have to upload matching, attractive and clear pictures. Secondly, you have to upload more than 4 pictures.   

Upload matching, attractive and practical pictures.

You need to upload pictures that match your job and your job environment. As a barber,  you cannot just go on the internet and download pictures of African Americans (black Americans) in a barber’s shop and upload it as your service pictures because you feel like you are competing against the world,. The visitor will see through your deceit because we know how things look like over here. Moreover, if you post pictures that are not matching your business, customers will be dissatisfied when they eventually use your service. And this will make them give you a negative review on the rating and the comment sections of your ad. Did I mention that you can be sued for using pictures that are not yours? Yes, you can be sued by the original owner of the picture and this can land you and your business in a big mess.

Attractive pictures make a whole lot of difference for your ad.

These pictures are interesting to watch because they really show the visitor what he/she wants to see. Most times for your pictures to be attractive, they have to be clear. Because online visitors are used to clear and attractive pictures, dull and blurry pictures turn them off. I advise you to take your time and snap good pictures of your job before uploading them online. If you can be careful and detailed enough when you snap pictures for Instagram and Facebook which is for fun, you should take more care when snapping pictures for your Anyservice ad because it concerns your business.

Do not screen-grab you Facebook or Instagram picture straight from your phone and upload them as service picture. When you do this, the boarders and other icons would be visible thereby telling visitors that this picture is not original. Rather, go to your device storage, select photos of your choice and upload them on your ad.

Practical pictures are pictures that actually get the job done for you.

Practical pictures are pictures that show you or your team carrying out the service. Such picture actually explains a lot to your prospective customer/client; it tells the person that you actually do what you advertise. It as well shows him/her how you do your job and the kind of equipment you use. If you want every visitor that gets to your page to contact you, wow them with practical pictures that show you or your team using good quality equipment to carry out a job. That way, you have sealed the deal before he even contacts you. If I am to upload 6 service pictures, I would upload the following;

• End product or result of my job                 -              2 pictures
• My team and I at work                                  -              3 pictures
• Business logo or picture of my face          -              1 picture

Yes, people want to know that they are actually dealing with a normal human being and not just an internet bot when dealing with you. This is the reason why you should upload a picture of you or your company logo.

2.        Poor ad description

I like to compare getting a client through Anyservice.ng to getting married to a girl in Nigeria. In a traditional Nigerian society, a man who needs a wife searches for a girl to marry. This is just like a customer coming to Anyservice to find a service. The customer here is the man and your service is the girl. He sees a lot of girls but he just passes them until he sees one who is beautiful and he gets attracted to her and approaches her. The beauty that attracted the man can be seen as your service pictures. But the thing that actually makes the man marry the girl is her character which can be seen in the way she talks and relates to this man. So, my question here is… How do you talk to a visitor seeing your ad online?

The way you talk to your online visitors matters a lot for the growth and sustainability of yourbusiness. Your description is an avenue through which you can effectively communicate and express yourself to your prospective customers. It is something that should set you apart from your numerous competitors; nonetheless, it can either effect your business positively or negatively.For instance, some people just write a ‘’7-word description’’ and think that is all they need to ‘’sell themselves’’ to the customer. But the truth is that just like a hunter, your description is the tip of the spear for you and it is what actually makes the kill for you. Therefore, you need to be deliberate when writing your description. Now, let us take a look at these real-life descriptions copied from our website:

• 1st sample ad: We provide top notch Catering services
• 2nd sample ad: Homemade food such as sauce, stews, porridge etc. delivered to your doorstep

Now look at these descriptions:

• 3rd sample ad: Am a chef, domestic chef, online kitchen (delivery). I love pressure when it comes to cooking. Cooking is art, Food is art, am also art bcos am creative...
• 4th sample ad: Our passion for food, cakes and pastries has piloted us into making great, tasty meals, yummy cakes, chops and more. We have packages that suit your budget. We are a DM away. Give us a call today. God bless you.

Sample ad analysis

Looking at these 4 sample ad descriptions, you will agree with me that the last 2 ads will be converting more of their visitor than the first 2 ads.

1st sample ad -   This description is saying nothing about the service. It is so scanty that even if this ad has attractive pictures, it will make the pictures look deceptive. Nobody in his right senses will contact this service provider.

2nd sample ad -   This is also a poor description but it is very much better that the first one. The good thing here is that you know that it is a homemade food and not a fast food. Another good thing with this ad is that it tells you that they can provide you with home delivery if you order for their food.

3rd sample ad -   This description is a very good one that ignites your enthusiasm and intrigues you. It makes you want to know more about the modern-day chef. Anyone that loves art, fashion and lifestyle as well as trends would definitely go for this ad. You would definitely want to see what this creative chef would create for you. This ad is good but it does not give much detail about the food, the chef nor the preparation.

4th sample ad -   This description is the best of the 4 descriptions because it clearly lists what the service provider can do for you and how their products turn out yummy. It also tells you that they have different packages that would suit your budget and this calms the visitors who may not have a fat wallet. What usually happens with this kind of ad is that people start calling to find out your various packages in order to know which of them they can afford. It still goes ahead to tell you that they are just a DM away thereby cutting all bureaucracies and formalities that most people dread when contacting companies or businesses.

Now you understand what people feel and think when they see your advert. Let us give you some sample ad description:

Sample 1:   Welcome to the home of delicious and mouthwatering dishes. We make different kinds of foods and we can cater for your homes, offices and events. We can deliver food to you anywhere within city centre and because we understand that you do not want your food cold, we promise to deliver your food within in 45 minutes or less.

Sample 2:   Most car mechanics would tell you that they can fix all cars but we only repair Toyota, Honda and Kia because we are experts at fixing them. We fix your car using car diagnostic tests and industry approved parts except if you choose otherwise. Even when your car breaks down on the road and you are stranded, just give us a call and we will be there.

Sample 3:   Is your case about to be taken to court? We should be your companion and help you prevent it from going to court. We are experts at out-of-court settlements, mediation and negotiation. And when your case eventually goes to court, we will still be behind with our team battle tested lawyers. The question here is ‘Who is behind you in your legal battle?’

Your description should contain the following:

• Types of products or services you can offer.
• How you carry out your services.
• What the expected end product of your job looks like.
• The different packages and available payment methods
• A promise on your service delivery etc.

After careful study and examination, we found out that descriptions containing about 30 to 75 words are best and optimal on our website. Descriptions below 30 words lack words to adequately express the service and service providers while those with more than 75 words tend to give out too much information and even talk about irrelevant things.

3.        Lack of profile picture

Often times, people are usually very conscious about their money and how they spend it especially when it has to do with an online deal. In other words, for someone to willingly give out money in exchange for a service, he would want to know who he is giving his money to and what value he will be getting in return. Also, he would ask a lot of questions to know the kind of person he is dealing with to avoid being scammed because there are a lot of scammers who are competing with the real business owners out there.

Having a profile picture enables the people to identify you and build a kind of confidence around you and your business. Although your profile picture does not guarantee 100% safety to your visitors neither does it explain in details the kind of person you are, but it gives them a kind of image of who they are dealing with. This also helps them decide whether to give you the job or not. You might not know the importance of uploading a profile picture on your page until you realize that people are more comfortable when they can see the face of the person who they are dealing with. It actually assures them that they are dealing with real human being and not robots.

For instance, do you feel comfortable chatting with an unknown number on WhatsApp or unknown contacts on other social media platforms who do not have profile pictures of themselves?No, right? So, this is the same way it feels when customers want to contact you for their jobs without getting to see or know you in person or seeing a picture of you.

Another good benefit of using your picture in the profile picture is that it makes it easy for your customer to know you when they finally meet you in person.

Some people use their business logo as their profile picture but I advise against it because it creates a more impersonal air around the advert. Businesses are personal and we should create personal environments around them as this makes customers comfortable. We only advise you use your business logo if it is a company owned by more than 1 person.

4.        Lack of Reviews and Rating

How many times have you seen a Facebook advert with a wonderful picture or video and a beautiful copy (write-up) but you still refuse to click on the ad until you read through the comments? For me, the answer is ‘many times. I don’t ever buy anything or join anything onFacebook without reading the experience of others. These experiences are given to me free of charge in the comment section.

In the same vein, when your wonderful ad pictures and descriptions are put side by side against your competitors’ wonderful ad pictures and description, the only thing that will make you win the battle are the reviews in your comment section and the rating (1 star or 5 star). This is the part of your ad that you cannot do for yourself but is done for you by others.

How do you get good reviews? You get it by asking. It’s as simple as that. Once you finish a job, ask your client to give you a good rating and comment on your ad and the average Nigerian client would oblige you. This is on the premise that you did a good job for them. So, if you want to always make people write wonderful things about you in the section (where you cannot do it yourself), do a good job. If you leave them with a wonderful unforgettable memory of your service, they will always give you impressive comments and rating if you ask.

Cheers...

I hope you found this article useful. Do not forget to leave a comment to tell us what you liked or didn't like about the article. You can as well tell us what topics you want us to address concerning your ads and business.

For more information or patnership, contact Innocent by email at anyserviceinternational@gmail.com