MASTERING FACEBOOK ADS TARGETING

Transcription

1 MASTERING FACEBOOK ADS TARGETING

2 Introduction Facebook offers brands one of the most powerful advertising platforms in the world. It enables marketers to reach very particular audiences with different objectives across different devices. But along with the great opportunities on the platform come great complexities. The playing field has shifted as companies are now forced to pay for the majority of their reach on Facebook. And anyone aiming to advertise on the channel needs to arm themselves with the latest data to make the right choices to achieve their desired outcomes in an efficient way. In this study, we use our exclusive Facebook advertising data - looking at average behavior on an account level - to help you understand your competition and determine the most effective ads options.

3 Understanding Ad Placements The most coveted and valuable advertising space on Facebook is the News Feed. As of this writing there are three options for a News Feed ad: 1) appearing only on the desktop News Feed; 2) appearing only on the mobile News Feed; or 3) appearing on both. Ad Spend 1% 8% Our data show that mobile News Feed ads have been by far the most commonly-used on an account level since. 6% The popularity of Facebook ad placements by ad spend has not changed significantly since then, with News Feed ads the dominant placement, and mobile ahead of desktop. When it comes to cost, mobile News Feed ads have become the most expensive in terms of CPM (cost per 1, impressions). Effectiveness is a different story. Looking at average account behavior, we found that desktop News Feed ads are seeing a higher click-through rate (CTR) than mobile News Feed ads. Marketers looking for value and clicks would do well to advertise more on the desktop News Feed than on mobile. It s also worth considering that the value of a desktop click-through is also arguably higher than a mobile click-through, where attention spans tend to be shorter and the limitations of mobile web favor quick skimming rather than attentive reading. 4% 2% Sep News Feed (Mobile) Nov Jan News Feed (Desktop) Mar Right-Hand Column (Desktop) Audience Network (Mobile) CTR (in %) CTM (in $) Desktop MobileFeed RHC.26 Desktop MobileFeed RHC

4 Ad Placements Takeaways Key Takeaways Be precise by advertising separately to desktop News Feeds and mobile News Feeds with your objectives for each placement in mind. Mobile is growing, but don t underestimate the value of desktop when it comes to the News Feed. To drive website conversions, for example, it s a good idea to use desktop News Feed ads. The cost for ad impressions on the mobile News Feed is higher than the cost for the desktop News Feed, while the CTR on desktop News Feed ads is slightly higher.

5 Understanding Ad Objectives Ad objectives are grouped into two categories: external or internal. External ads are used to direct a user off of Facebook; they include things like mobile app installs, website conversions, and product sales. Ad Spend 8% 7% 6% Internal ads are ones that keep the user on Facebook. They include promoted video posts, ads sourcing page likes. All of these specific ad objectives should correspond very strongly to your company s marketing objectives, whether your intention be to build brand awareness or to drive prospects to convert. 5% 4% 3% 2% Looking at the account level, advertisers have not changed their strategies much since. On average, the majority of ad spend goes toward ads with an internal objective, while just about one third have an internal objective. This suggests that marketers have found it far more effective to advertise to their audience while keeping them on Facebook. Audiences are responding to these ads, leading to their continued popularity. 1% Dec External Internal

6 Understanding Ad Objectives When planning your next campaign or creating your next series of ads, it would be helpful to keep in mind that, whenever possible, your audience on Facebook prefers to stay on the platform. Looking at the share of spend, on the external ads side, the Mobile App Install objective has declined, while Product Catalog Sales and Link Clicks have both been on the rise. Ad Spend - Exernal Objectives 1% 75% 5% 25% Meanwhile on the internal ads side, the Video Views objective has continued to grow. The explosion of video means companies are competing for consumers attention to video in the News Feed. Conversions Product Catalog Sales December Link Clicks Mobile App Installs Mobile App Engagement Ad Spend - Internal Objectives 1% 75% 5% 25% December Video Views Post Engagement Page Likes Local Awareness Canvas App Engagement Event Response Canvas App Installs

7 Ad Objectives Takeaways Key Takeaways Facebook is a very efficient platform for lead generation and ROI. Audiences vastly prefer ads that keep them on the platform. Use internal ads whenever possible. External ads should be used seldomly and tracked closely to measure how Facebook users are converting, whether it be through a purchase from a company or through an install of the company s mobile app. Video is on the rise, and becoming increasingly competitive. Expect to invest heavily into video promotion in order to outperform other companies.

8 Understanding Ad Targeting The right targeting strategy is vital on Facebook - it s the make-or-break point for your ads. If you re not targeting the right audience, your ad spend will go to waste. The good news is that it s extremely easy to target specific groups, or even specific people, on Facebook. Custom Audiences targeting has been a breakthrough for Facebook advertising. Because it allows marketers to upload databases and lists of users they d like to target, it means that marketers can more closely align their efforts with their company s other marketing channels. Ad Spend Distribution 5% 45% 4% 35% 3% 25% 2% What really makes Facebook advertising so effective, however, is the platform s interest targeting. That s where marketers are able to put Facebook s deep understanding of its users to work for them, and find people to whom their ads are interesting and relevant based on what they have shown an interest in following or reading about on the platform. Interest targeting received the highest average share of ad spend of any targeting option on Facebook. It s been standing significantly above second-placed Age and Location targeting since, and steadily increasing its lead since January. On average, nearly half of all Facebook ad spend goes toward ads with interest targeting. 15% 1% 5% Sep Nov Jan Mar Targeting without Custom Audience with Deeper Interest Only Age + Location Targeting Targeting without CA, without Interest, with Gender or Fans Connection Targeting with Custom Audience Targeting without Custom Audience with Broad Interest Only Only Age + Location + Friends Targeting

9 Ad Targeting Takeaways Key Takeaways Interest targeting is huge and is among the most effective targeting options on Facebook. Social marketing teams should integrate their audience targeting with lists, website visitor lists, and other databases from other marketing groups. Keep an eye on age in your targeting as different age groups have varying CTRs and CPCs.

10 The Rule of Threes for Facebook Ads Placement Objectives Ads Success Seems complex? It isn t. To advertise smartly on Facebook you need to remember a simple rule of threes - Placement, Objectives, Targeting. For each aspect of your ad setup, remember the tips above, grounded in data. It all comes down to one thing, however: be as detailed and precise as possible, and use the full scope of the possibilities that Facebook provides to you. Differentiate between desktop and mobile, always use objectives that strictly correspond to your goals, and target as precisely as you can. Targeting Test, test, test and you will soon find yourself a Facebook ads master.

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