When it comes to business outreach and engagement, social media marketing (and Facebook in particular) is still a great way to reach just about any audience, but we’re going to share something that has been very difficult for many business owners to accept. That is, social media has become almost entirely “pay to play.”
You spend a lot of time and a big chunk of your budget developing high-quality content to share with your audience, and you want it to be seen. The only way to do that is by putting a little bit of money behind it.
For organic social media posts, that means choosing the “boost post” option. That, of course, means that you’ll have to give a bit more thought to your outcomes. How is that content performing for you? Fortunately, Facebook ad metrics can help you see exactly how, why, and where your budget is going (beyond basic information, like reach, clicks, likes, views, etc.) so that you can optimize your campaign for the results you wish to see.
Facebook Ad Metrics You Can’t Afford to Ignore
While a business’ individual campaign objectives and ad type will ultimately determine which metrics you should monitor, there are a few key metrics that are essential for tracking across the board.
CTR & CPC
CTR refers to the click-through rate. CPC refers to the cost per click. Businesses are rewarded for running ads that are more relevant to their audiences. So, the higher the CTR, the lower the CPC. Your goal should be to stay above 1% after your ad reaches 10,000 impressions. If it falls within or below that, it’s time to go back to the drawing board, as your ad has missed its target audience. A CTR of 3% or higher is golden.
Frequency
Beyond reach, you need to know how often each person actually sees your ad. To get this metric, known as “frequency,” both impressions and reach are taken into consideration. So, as users see your ad more often, it becomes easier for them to recognize your business and what you have to offer. This is super important for brand awareness! There is such a thing as a frequency that is too high, however, so don’t go overboard. It’s generally accepted by industry professionals that a frequency of 1 to 2 exposures is ideal for overall ad performance. Once you exceed 3 exposures per user, your performance will really start to decline (known as ad fatigue).
CPA
CPA is fairly confusing because marketers use it in one of two ways: they’re either referring to acquisition cost or cost per action. For the purposes of Facebook marketing, we’re talking about the latter.
This metric calculates the average cost of a user who responds to your ad (this is the “action”), those who respond by following your page, watching a video, downloading content, requesting your service or goods, etc. If your team is presenting this metric to you, make sure to clarify their definition of CPA.
Video Views to 75%
This is another metric that goes beyond basic reach, as it discounts accidental clicks as well as passive newsfeed views, numbers that can easily skew your ad’s perceived success. This metric only looks at viewers who had a real interest in viewing your message. With this information in hand compared alongside your video ads total views, you’ll gain a better understanding of the percentage of people who not only encountered your message but intentionally engaged with it.
Total Amount Spent
Most businesses operate on an exact budget, and there is usually a specific dollar amount that has been allocated toward advertising. So, it’s important to know exactly how much you’re spending over the lifespan of a campaign. The ‘Total Amount Spent’ metric will help you adjust spending, if needed, and tell you if you need to shift your spending priorities to other ad types.
The truth is that there is no single metric that can or should guide decision making when it comes to how you advertising your business online, but a look at the total picture can be a very helpful guide for improving current ads and planning future ad strategies.
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