PPC • Social Media • Ana Gotter January 24, 2019 Ana Gotter• January 24, 2019 When you’re creating a new Facebook Ad campaign,
you have to start making big decisions right off the bat. The very first choice you’ll make is deciding what objective you want to optimize for, and your selection will absolutely affect your campaign. It can impact what actions you optimize for, what you pay for and even what types of creative options are available to you. Choosing your objective, therefore, is an important first step that goes beyond simple categorizing your ad campaign. It’s why you determine the objective at the
campaign level, ensuring that only relevant ad sets and ads are grouped together. If you’re feeling a little lost about which objective to choose or if you’re wondering what choosing each objective means exactly, this post is for you. We’re going to discuss how Facebook objectives affect your campaigns, what the different objectives are, and how and when you
should be using them. Facebook Ad objectives are exactly what they sound like. They define what you want to accomplish with a specific Facebook ad campaign (which can include multiple ads within it), and then help Facebook to optimize your ads for the results you want to see. There are three categories of objectives—awareness, consideration, and conversion—with plenty of diverse objectives. No matter what you want to accomplish with your ad campaigns, there’s likely going to be an objective choice that lines up well with what you’re looking for. You can even optimize for in-store visits, even though it’s an offline activity. Facebook Ad Objectives: More Than Just CategorizationI want to take a minute to stress that Facebook Ad objectives are not simply a categorization strategy. This is a common misconception that some of my clients have had in the past, thinking that the decision you make here doesn’t actually impact the ad results at all and instead is just a tool to help you organize massive amounts of ads. That’s not the case. When you choose an objective, you’re telling Facebook what results you want to see, or which actions you’d like users to take. Facebook actually takes your objective and (later) what you’re optimizing for/bidding on into account when deciding which users to show your ads. They’ll try to secure you placements in the feeds of users who have a history of taking specific actions—like clicking on a link or engaging with a post—as they’re most likely to take those actions in the future. I don’t think I’ve ever commented on an ad I’ve seen, for example, but I do regularly click, and I purchase occasionally. As a result, I generally see ads where the goal is to gets users to click or purchase. The objectives you choose can expand or limit specific options later on during the ad creation process. The biggest of these are:
The 11 Facebook Ad Objectives and When to Use ThemThere are currently 11 Facebook objectives that you can choose from, broken down into Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion categories. Let’s take a look at each one and go over when you should be using each. Brand AwarenessThe brand awareness objective is focusing on reaching new customers to introduce to your brand and/or improving brand awareness with users who are already familiar with you. They’re excellent for beginning-of-the-funnel campaigns where the goal is to reach customers and start to make an impression. You can still try to promote your product and you may seem sales, but that’s not necessarily what you’re optimizing for. Here are a few bullet points to consider when choosing brand awareness:
ReachThe reach objective is pretty straight forward—you want your ad to be seen by as many people in your target audience as possible. If you have an ad you want a large number of people to see and you don’t necessarily need to optimize for any specific action except for having the ad viewed, this is a good one to choose. The key phrase here is “as many people as possible,” not necessarily “as many times as possible.” The goal is to spread your message far and wide, not just hitting the same people with the same exact ad multiple times. Here are the key takeaways to consider:
TrafficThe traffic objective is one of the more popular and heavily-used options on the list. The goal is to send users to the specific page of your choice. This will typically be your website, a designated landing page or an app page. This is typically used to give users more information about the product, service, or event being promoted, and may include the option do everything from register for a lead magnet, request more information, or purchase outright. In addition to a landing page or an app page, you can also send users to your Messenger page or to WhatsApp. These two options can encourage users to send you a message so you can answer any of their questions. This is what you need to know about the traffic objective:
Depending on what you optimize for, you may have the option to be charged by impressions or link clicks. Link clicks ensure that you’re only paying when you’re actually getting a definitive click on an ad, but remember that a click doesn’t always mean a conversion—high bounce rates can work against you here. EngagementThis objective focuses on driving on-platform engagement in some way. You’ll be asked to choose exactly which type of engagement you want to prioritize: post likes, Page likes, or event responses. These campaigns work well to create visible, powerful social proof on your campaigns and/or organic content, which is a huge advantage. You can also use them in creative ways, including:
Engagement campaigns are pretty straight forward. These are the basics you need to know:
App InstallsThe traffic objective can help get traffic or engagement to your app, but the app installs objective will focus on getting your application installed by more users. This is an excellent choice if you have an app and you want more downloads so that you can engage customers more frequently on mobile. Make sure to highlight the value proposition of downloading during the ad so that potential users really understand how it will benefit them. This is the technical info that you need to consider:
Video ViewsVideo ads have enormous potential on Facebook, and can yield exceptional results. The video view objective is prioritizing having your video viewed. One thing I always like to flag here is that just because your ad features a video doesn’t mean that video views is the right objective. Sometimes, if you’re dead set on conversions or another objective, it’s better to opt for that one instead, where users may be more likely to follow through to that ultimate desired action. I’ve had great result with using video view campaigns as introductory campaigns, used to share information about the brand with new customers. These are the basics to remember when choosing the video views option:
Lead GenerationThe lead generation objective aligns directly with the lead gen ad format. These ads open up on-platform, auto-fill forms that are quick for users to complete on both mobile and desktop. Lead gen ads are sometimes used alongside an offer, like a free ebook, consultation, or in-person class. Lead generation ads are an exceptional tool to have, and I’ve run a number of campaigns with outstanding results in the past. These are the key facts you need to know:
MessagesThis ad objective is a relatively newer one, and the goal is to take people from your add to a messaging platform (either Messenger or WhatsApp) to get them to start a conversation with you. You can answer any questions they have, overcome objections, and offer product or service recommendations based on their needs. Here’s the important stuff:
ConversionsAre you trying to optimize for a very, very specific type of conversion? Sales, email newsletter sign-ups, registering for a course or an event? Each of these actions counts as a conversion, and this objective can help you accomplish your goals. Here’s what you need to keep in mind:
Catalog SalesThese campaigns automatically show items from your on-platform product catalogs to relevant audience members, keeping them engaged and hopefully driving sales. You’ll immediately notice that the audience targeting is different for this campaign, with a heavier focus on what ads to show to which customers. These are dynamic ads, after all, so Facebook lets you decide what would be most beneficial, including upselling and cross-selling. Here’s the other differences you should know:
Store VisitsThe store visits objective is a tricky one, because it’s driving an offline action that can be harder to track. Moreover, it’s not available to all stores, even those that have brick-and-mortar locations. Instead, you actually need to have multiple business locations, so this is a good option for franchises or a business with several sister companies or smaller locations that are trying to drive store traffic. This ad objective is more complicated just due to the sheer nature of it, but here’s a few things to keep in mind:
ConclusionChoosing the right Facebook objective will have a significant positive effect on your ad results, which is why you should carefully consider which objective to use for each individual campaign. If you aren’t sure and want to test different objectives and see what works best, dive in and run a few split tests early on. This will help you assess what’s best for your audience and the offers you’re promoting. Fortunately, each objective is relatively straightforward and self-explanatory, so choosing the one that best aligns with your ultimate goal of each specific campaign is the way to go. Have a strategy ready and on your mind before you head to the Ad Manager, and it’s easier to not get stumped when you arrive there. Are you looking for some help with your Facebook Ads? Shoot us a message and see what we can do for you here. What do you think? Which Facebook objectives caught your eye? Which do you use most frequently for the best results? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below! Leave a commentHow many types of advertising objectives can we find on Facebook?Facebook ad objectives are broken down into three categories: awareness, consideration, and conversion.
What are the advertising objectives?Advertising has three primary objectives: to inform, to persuade, and to remind.
What is the best campaign objective for Facebook Ads 2022?Here's the description of each ad objective with examples of when to use it.. #1. Awareness. (Good for Reach, Brand awareness, and Video views) ... . #2. Traffic. (Good for Link clicks, Landing page views) ... . #3. Engagement. (Good for Messages, Video views, Post engagement) ... . #4. Leads. ... . #5. App Promotion. ... . #6. Sales.. What are the 4 main types of Facebook ads?Single Image Ad. This is probably what comes to mind when you think of a display ad. ... . Single Video Ad. Video ads are a good idea if you have some eye-catching footage that will stop a user mid-scroll. ... . Slideshow Ads. ... . Carousel Ads. ... . Bonus: Facebook Instant Experience.. |