Young Entrepreneur Journey: Robin Vézina of J7 Media

Advertising is an essential part of any Facebook marketing strategy. Yet many people are intimidated by the idea of investing money, afraid of not achieving the desired results.

As part of the podcast helloDarwin, we discussed with Robin Vézina, co-founder of J7 media, a company specialized in the wonderful world of Facebook advertising. Over the course of the interview, the interviewer explains why if one is prepared to put a little effort into it, it is an effective process and a must to gain visibility and build a trust with current and potential clients.

How Robin Vézina became a Facebook advertising specialist

Having grown up in the countryside, Robin Vézina went to Jonquière to pursue studies in the field of cinema. Once he graduated, he moved to Montreal to pursue a career in this field. Yet, after a few years, he realized that he was surrounded by unhappy people and that he did not want to find himself in this situation.

Then there was the moment of the click.

"My dream job is not someone who's going to give it to me, I'm going to find it"

From then on, he had the first tools to start his entrepreneurial quest. The meetings and coincidences made him find himself in a small communications agency, 7 Media Day, in a sales development position. His duties were to make door-to-door calls and to find clients.

Feeling fatigue due to the requirement of these approach and communication techniques, he decided to test some new ones, including Facebook advertising. Quickly, he saw that it worked well and discovered how interesting it could be for the agency and its clients.

He then partnered with Antoine, the founder of the agency he worked with to create J7 media. From then on, Facebook advertising became the engine of the agency's work.

Facebook live: a formidable communication tool

Every Wednesday, Robin Vézina shares his stuff on Facebook using the live Facebook tool, which he quickly adopted when it was set up. It must be said that Facebook live also gathers its passions for cinema and television, without requiring a large infrastructure, while allowing a strong broadcast. As a result, he finds it an excellent channel of communication. As of December 2017 (date of podcast recording), he had presented more than 77 episodes of Facebook live.

Robin Vézina finds his audience every Wednesday at 8am AM. He uses this technique to share tips, tricks that he has learned about new developments on the platform and current trends.

The strength of the video:

"Now, if we don't make a video, it's like we're living 10 years back."

According to him, the video creates a quick connection and a trust link. The video serves as an accelerator in a customer acquisition process. It should be noted that he is not talking about corporate video, but rather about very simple presentations where the interlocutors present in an honest and sincere way the information they wish to share. These videos get better results than "licked" videos, which are too staged.

Facebook Video and Advertising

Generally, the acquisition cost for video ads is lower than with static ads. In addition, videos have an impact even when you don't click on them, and they can be used for other strategies including retargeting. This type of advertising therefore has many advantages over advertisements that only present text and images.

Facebook advertising strategy at $10 a day

In an episode of his live Facebook series, Robin Vézina presented a $10 a day strategy for small businesses, which is used to talk to strangers, travel a message and turn people into potential customers. It can be said that it is a bit of a door-to-door form but on Facebook. With $10, it is quite possible to achieve good results.

Of course, it is important to track and analyze the results we obtain. Fortunately, with Facebook, all this is possible. You can see in detail whether the $10 is well invested and determine what to do to adjust campaign parameters, if necessary.

Targeting and creating effective Facebook ads

Robin Vézina has established a 3-step process that forms a pyramid:

First step: clarification

This stage represents the basis of the pyramid, the part that consists of identifying who they want to address. The aim is to draw a clear picture of the ideal customer and adjust the message accordingly. Indeed, if we remain too vague with regard to our target clientele, we can say in a way that we are addressed to no one.

The clarification stage also allows us to position ourselves as an expert by highlighting our particularities. After all, the aim of a Facebook page not so much to sell, but rather to give, to help, to educate and first and foremost to create a bond of trust.

Second stage: acquisition

Once the base has been built, we move on to the acquisition stage. Having been a coach of seduction himself in his young time, Robin Vézina made a parallel between the techniques he taught young men at the time and the acquisition of clients on Facebook. In both cases, we are talking about starting a discussion by setting up a system that launches the sales cycle.

To do this, you must use the technical tools of Facebook, including pixel, Facebook Messenger, call-to-action and more. This strategy works both in the short and long term. We seek to obtain contact information from the person and then work on it to transform the nature of the relationship. This process is done by demonstrating what we have to offer.

Facebook is real life. We're all humans who interact with other humans."

To start the conversation, you have to tell stories, share anecdotes, be interesting and provide relevant information.

Stage 3: monetization

It is necessary to be realistic, it is rare that the first tests of Facebook advertising be profitable. This involves making micro-adjustments (change the image, change the vocabulary), testing to understand why the campaign is lucrative (or not). At this level, A/B testing makes it possible to optimize campaigns and advertisements.

"Facebook advertising is not a sprint, it's a marathon"

That said, Robin Vézina believes it's worth doing this marathon, because it's a marketing method that the entrepreneur can control, which is very interesting compared to other methods.

Facebook Pixel and retargeting: a crucial advantage

The Facebook pixel, which is set up on its website, is an essential tool for re-targeting visitors. This pixel captures the person's information and subsequently, if it is on Facebook, it can be targeted, among other things by sending direct and personalized messages.

Unlike the traditional cookie that is limited to the browser, the Facebook pixel targets the user, regardless of the platform, device and browser he uses. If someone wants to advertise on Facebook, this pixel is therefore an essential element in the strategy.

Retargeting allows for excellent results for a fraction of the price of other techniques. The bond of trust is already woven, saving a lot of effort, time and money. As a result, this method can become an essential part of the sales funnel.

Suggested useful reading

The favorite book that Robin Vézina has read recently and that has had an impact on his way of thinking, is Russell Brunson's Secret Expert, a book that focuses on people who are in the service world, but can be useful for everyone. This is a book that he believes is able to simplify the information presented in the text and that goes to the essence. The author skilfully explores psychology behind becoming an expert.

Preferred productivity tool

With a touch of humour, Robin Vézina suggests that his favorite tool is called G-O-O-G-L-E, a obscure and unknown platform. Indeed, he claims that an impressive number of people arrive at him with questions that they could easily find answered by typing their request in this search engine. He is always surprised to notice how people don't use Google when they have questions, which makes them waste a lot of time.

Discover more tips on Facebook ads, as well as Robin Vézina's vision of the future of Facebook by listening to the integral podcast helloDarwin hosted by Olivier Lambert from Tactik media.

About the interviewer:

This episode of Podcast helloDarwin was prepared and animated by Olivier Lambert from Tactik Media. Working for several years in the field of web marketing and business development, he is co-founder of the agency Tactik Media and founder of LeadLion. A specialist in small businesses, he is constantly looking for new developments in the field of the web.