Stop Blaming Meta for Your Results

When I see this behavior from advertisers, it is a sign that they lack confidence. They lack confidence in their knowledge of how things work and their ability to find a solution.

Conspiracy theories related to Meta advertising take many forms. Examples include:

• "I am getting terrible results right now, and so is everyone else."
• "Meta is forcing audience expansion and Advantage+ optimizations to take my money."
• "This new feature or test that Meta is running right now is causing results to tank. Red alert, red alert!"

The common thread is that something Meta is doing, or not doing, is hurting your results. These theories remove personal responsibility and assume the problem is affecting everyone, not just you.

There is a whole other discussion to be had about conspiracy theories in general, but we are focusing on Meta advertising. These ideas spread for a few reasons.

First, they are believable, or at least partially true. Meta can be buggy, and the company has not always been the most trustworthy. Certain Advantage+ optimizations can sometimes be counterproductive.

However, the main reason these theories spread in advertising circles is that they provide someone to blame. They create clarity by shifting responsibility away from the advertiser. No one wants to admit they are the reason their ads are not performing well. If they cannot pinpoint what they are doing wrong, they assume Meta must be at fault.

This idea often gains traction on social media with a simple question.

• "My results are tanking right now. Is something wrong? Anyone else?"

There will always be people who agree. There will always be advertisers whose results are also struggling at that moment. They will assume it must be an issue with Meta, and that is when the conspiracy theories start flying.

• "What did Meta change recently?"
• "What is Meta testing?"
• "Was something buggy?"

These must be the reasons, right?

This approach is problematic for many reasons. The main reason I ignore these theories is that they are born from chaos and invite more chaos. They are completely unproductive.

For a conspiracy theory to be true, it would mean you have no control over your results. That is rarely the case.

I encourage you to ignore these conspiracy theories because they will not bring you any resolution. Instead, here is what I want you to do.

Understand that you have nearly full control over your results.

That realization can be intimidating. It does not mean the solution will be easy to find, but it does mean that if things are not going well, you are part of the problem.

There are many things within your control, so where do you start? This is why it is so important to understand how things work and to have a simplified approach. That way, you are not chasing a million different fixes at once.

If you need more background on how to approach this and truly understand how things work, make sure to listen to the last episode.

If things are not going well, or even when they are, recognize that your results are most impacted by factors you can control. This includes:

• Ad copy
• Ad creative and format
• Your offer (which is often the most critical factor)
• Landing page experience (Is the page broken, slow, or unprofessional?)
• The product itself (Is it something people actually want?)

Each of these factors can be a reason for success or failure. If you are getting great results, it is likely because you have nailed these areas. If you are struggling, one or more of these factors may need improvement.

You could take a hands-off approach and rely on Advantage+ optimizations while limiting the number of campaigns and ad sets. Even then, your performance will be determined by more than just Meta’s algorithm.

If you believe the problem is that you cannot trust Meta, then you probably should not be advertising on the platform in the first place.

Once you accept responsibility for your results and push away the chaos of conspiracy theories, everything changes. You recognize that your results are within your control. You can take action, make adjustments, and take pride in the improvements you achieve.