Why aren’t my facebook ads working anymore?!
Have you been running Facebook campaigns for a while now? You may have noticed some BIG changes in “return” over the last 12ish months. Does this mean that Facebook Advertising is dead? Not exactly. Don’t give up just yet; let us clarify a few things.
What’s changed and how to navigate it…
Attribution Windows
A lot of the change has to do with the way Facebook is reporting your performance instead of the performance itself. Historically, your attribution window was 28-day-click or 7-day-view as default, whereas now it is 7-day-click or 1-day-view. This means that the window allowed for an action to be attributed to your ad is MUCH smaller – resulting in a lower reported figure.
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This attribution change means that we can’t compare current campaign performance to campaign performance before this change and make accurate assumptions – because we’re not comparing apples and apples. It would be best to cross-reference Ads Manager figures with alternate data sources like your website and Google analytics for current campaigns.
Delayed Data
Along with the iOS14 Update came the inconvenience of delayed data. Previously, your Ads reporting was 100% in real-time, and now, data from conversions or actions taken by iOS users may take 48 hours to reflect in your reporting figures.
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Do not include the past 48 (or even 72) hours to be safe when analysing performance, and this will enable more accurate figures to be present and greatly aid your decision-making. In the same context, do not make decisions on whether or not a campaign is performing well in the first few days of publishing.
Your Campaign Set-Up is Outdated
Best practice around campaign set-up and creative formats has changed dramatically over time, and what worked well for the platform 2-3 years ago may not work today. Keeping up to date with best practices in campaign structure and creative formats is essential to utilise your budget best.
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Keep up to date with recent Facebook training resources or find a 3rd party who can manage this for you.
The Newsfeed is Hot Property
More and more brands see the actual value, importance, and accessibility of Social Media Advertising and allocate a higher % of their marketing budget to the platform. This creates a highly competitive marketplace, resulting in an increasingly higher cost to appear in the user’s newsfeed. Poor ad creative, low budget and a hit and hope structure just don’t cut it anymore and are unlikely to get results against a refined brand strategy.
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Your campaigns need to be ON POINT. They should provide the user with value, look great, be formatted correctly in every sense and be structured well in an objective and audience targeting. You also need to allocate a realistic budget to drive results.
For help with Facebook Ads, backed by ten years of experience, contact the Clique team at info@cliquesocial.com.au