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Campaign Outcome

Strike Social effectively reduced ad costs while enhancing reach and engagement through precise campaign management and strategic execution. By fine-tuning targeting strategies, the team ensured smarter ad spend allocation, reinforcing its expertise in optimizing Facebook video ads for maximum performance.

Maximizing Impact with Meta Video Ads

Using historical insights, Strike Social refined audience targeting by focusing on Parenting and Shopping audiences, which drove stronger engagement. The team’s precise budget distribution ensured:

• 71% of impressions came from Facebook Feed due to its high engagement potential.

• Instream Video placements achieved a 28.35% engagement rate, proving highly effective in audience interaction.

• Stories and Video Feed ads contributed 12% and 15% of impressions, rounding out a multi-placement approach.

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The post Facebook Case Study: 11M+ Impressions with Optimized In-Feed Video Ads appeared first on Strike Social.

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Campaign Outcome

By strategically optimizing video and carousel ads for the right audiences, the campaign achieved higher engagement rates. With Strike Social’s expertise, the brand’s Valentine’s campaign effectively captured audience attention and delivered strong results throughout the season.

Drive Seasonal Brand Awareness with Facebook Ads

• Optimized Multi-Format Approach: Carousel ads on Meta Feeds delivered over 53% of total views, proving their effectiveness despite accounting for only 42% of the budget.

• Leveraging Short-Form Video on Reels: 15-second video ads successfully captured attention on Reels, generating 25% of total ad clicks with only 18% of the ad spend.

• Balancing Reach and Frequency for Stronger Exposure: Maintaining an ad frequency of 1.03 ensured broad reach without audience fatigue, contributing to a 96.7% unique audience reach.

Learn more about Strike Social

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Download the Facebook Valentine’s CPG Case Study

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The post Facebook Case Study: Maximizing Engagement for a Valentine’s CPG Campaign appeared first on Strike Social.

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Campaign Outcome

Strike Social’s data-driven approach and influencer-powered strategy successfully optimized ad delivery while increasing audience engagement. By refining audience targeting and campaign execution, we aim for maximum efficiency and impact for Meta-influencer campaigns.

Enhancing Campaign Efficiency with Adaptive Targeting and Budgeting

• Supplemental Campaign Expansion: Strike Social implemented a secondary campaign layer designed to drive additional visibility and interaction.

• Strategic Audience Segmentation: The team combined first-party and third-party data with Meta’s native targeting layers to enhance engagement to effectively connected with engaged users.

• Real-Time Campaign Adjustments: Deployed continuous bid pacing adjustments and dynamic budget reallocations. By monitoring underperforming audience segments and optimizing ad delivery, the team allocated the budget, which was consistently directed toward the most responsive users.

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The post Meta Case Study: Scaling Reach for New Moms with Influencer Content appeared first on Strike Social.

Is Advantage+ Audience Good for Your Meta Ad Strategy?

Meta claims that Advantage+ Audience improves ad performance, citing their own test results—up to 28% lower cost per click (CPC) and 7% lower cost per website conversion. They position it as an AI-driven solution that “typically” enhances efficiency across all campaign objectives.

More importantly, Meta is steadily pushing advertisers toward full automation—Advantage+ Audience is now automatically enabled for new campaigns in Ads Manager. But does it truly optimize performance across the board, or are there trade-offs? Let’s break down its impact and whether it’s the right fit for your Facebook and Instagram ads.

But does Advantage+ Audience truly work for all campaigns, or are there trade-offs? Let’s break down its impact and whether it’s the right fit for your Facebook and Instagram ads.

What Is Advantage+ Audience?

As part of Meta’s AI-powered ad tools, Advantage+ Audience is designed to enhance audience targeting by identifying users who are most likely to engage, click, or convert. It expands upon your selected interests and demographics, optimizing reach based on past engagement and additional behavioral signals.

How Meta Advantage+ Audience Targeting Works

According to Meta, here’s how Advantage+ Audience determines who sees your ads:

• Ads are automatically delivered to users most likely to interact, based on engagement, clicks, and conversions.
• If you provide preferences in Audience Suggestions, Meta’s AI will use them alongside its own analysis.
• Advantage+ Audience refines targeting using factors such as:
  • Meta Pixel data
  • Previous conversion history
  • User engagement with past ads and content, etc.

The goal of Advantage+ Audience is to simplify Meta ad campaign setup by replacing manual audience targeting with AI-driven automation. Instead of selecting every targeting parameter yourself, Meta’s AI determines the best audience for your ads based on your past campaigns.

Let’s have a look at the table below to see the difference between Advantage+ audience vs. manual targeting:

While Advantage+ Audience improves efficiency and lowers costs, manual targeting still holds value for niche campaigns requiring precise audience selection. For brands running multiple campaigns, Advantage+ Audience offers a balance of scalability and automation.

However, advertisers who need strict audience control and want full transparency on who sees their ads may still prefer manual targeting for highly specialized goals.

Where Advertisers Struggle with Advantage+ Audience

First introduced in mid-2023, Advantage+ Audience is no longer new to advertisers. Many brands have tested it—some achieving cost-efficient results, while others faced challenges in ad performance.

Despite Meta’s promise of simplified campaign management, advertisers still encounter key struggles when using Advantage+ Audience.

Broad Targeting ≠ Quality Engagement

The core idea behind Advantage+ Audience is its ability to expand reach beyond manual audience targeting. While this can lead to increased exposure, it often prioritizes quantity over relevance, which can result in:

• Lower CTRs: Ads may be shown to users outside core demographics, leading to minimal engagement despite high impressions.
• Misaligned leads: Automated targeting can include users likely to engage but not convert.

For example, if an advertiser wants to target primarily female audiences, Meta’s AI might still expand the ad frequency to male audiences if it predicts better performance. While this increases ad reach, it doesn’t always translate to meaningful engagement or conversions.

A real-world example comes from WordStream, which tested Advantage+ Audience under Meta’s recommended settings. While the campaign achieved a 61% lower cost per lead (CPL) than the $21.98 industry benchmark, all 130 leads generated were unqualified—proving that low CPL does not always mean high-quality results.

Downsides of Over-Automation

Since Advantage+ Audience relies on AI-driven decisions, advertisers often face blind spots that are difficult to adjust mid-campaign:

• Audience burnout: Campaigns may initially perform well with low CPMs and high engagement, but AI quickly exhausts high-quality audiences, leading to performance declines.
• Skewed budgets: When used alongside Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO), Advantage+ ad sets often absorb a disproportionate budget share compared to manual targeting.

For instance, Search Engine Land tested Advantage+ Audience vs. interest-based targeting. While Advantage+ delivered more leads at a lower CPL, the quality of leads was twice as poor compared to interest-based targeting. Additionally, 40% of the campaign budget was allocated to Advantage+ audiences, reducing control over ad spend.

Without active campaign pacing and adjustments, advertisers risk higher-than-expected costs per action (CPA) despite Advantage+’s initial cost-saving promise.

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Further Reading

How Meta Advantage Campaign Budget (CBO) Works

Meta Advantage Campaign Budget (formerly known as Facebook CBO) allows advertisers to set one central campaign budget. From there, Meta’s AI will distribute the budget across your ads, focusing on those that perform the best. But how can you make the most of this feature?

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Advantage+ Audience Results: What Meta Advertising Trends Reveal

Our 2024 Facebook Ads Benchmark Report analyzed key ad cost and performance metrics to uncover the impact of Advantage+ Audience on Facebook campaigns. Let’s hear the data talk:

Impression Campaigns

Cost Efficiency: CPM improved by 51% compared to 2023, largely due to Advantage+ placements expanding reach across Meta’s ad network. This allowed ads to be shown to more audiences, effectively lowering CPM.

Challenges in Performance: While impressions increased, CTR dropped by 61%, highlighting a major drawback—ads were served to a broader but less engaged audience. The challenge? Lower costs, but weaker audience engagement.

Video Views Campaigns

Cost Trends: With 21% of Facebook users spending time on Reels (second only to the main feed at 36%), CPV improved by 20% YoY.

View Rate Decline: Despite increased exposure, view rates fell by 13%, indicating that while Advantage+ audiences were served the ads, many quickly swiped past without engaging. The AI-led targeting likely matched behavioral patterns (e.g., watching similar videos) but did not necessarily identify high-intent viewers.

Traffic Campaigns

Cost Improvements: CPC saw a 42% improvement vs. 2023, reinforcing Advantage+ Audience’s cost efficiency across all campaign types. By widening audience reach, Advantage+ was better able to identify users likely to click, aligning well with click-driven campaign objectives.

Higher Engagement: Unlike impression and video views campaigns, traffic campaigns benefited most from Advantage+ automation.

• Clicks campaigns: CTR increased by 52%
• Link click campaigns: CTR rose by 10%

Download the 2024 Facebook Benchmark Report

Explore a detailed month-over-month and year-over-year analysis of Facebook ad costs and performance trends across various campaign objectives. As Advantage+ adoption rises, is trusting Meta’s AI-driven campaigns the right strategy?

Download the report

Advantage+ Audience clearly drives down costs and optimizes ad spend, but only traffic campaigns—a lower-funnel objective—saw improvements in both cost and audience engagement.

While Meta’s automation expands reach and reduces costs, manual oversight remains crucial to ensure these expanded audiences actually convert.

Meta Advertising Strategies to Maximize Performance

While Advantage+ Audience targeting has both strengths and limitations, it remains a powerful tool for Facebook advertisers. The key is knowing when to use it and how to stay in control of your campaign performance.

When to Use Advantage+ vs. Manual Targeting

Advantage+ Audience works best for lower-funnel campaigns like clicks and conversion campaigns. Because it prioritizes users most likely to convert—using your Meta Pixel data and engagement history—it is well-suited for direct-response objectives.

For awareness campaigns, Advantage+ can still be effective in maximizing reach and lowering CPMs, making it a viable option when the goal is broad visibility rather than immediate conversions.

When Manual Targeting Outperforms AI

• For highly niche audiences: If your audience must meet very specific demographics, interests, or behavioral criteria, manual targeting gives you greater control over audience selection.
• For remarketing and retargeting: These campaigns rely on high-quality past data—such as Lookalike Audiences based on past conversions or B2B leads. Advantage+ may not prioritize high-intent users, as it focuses more on engagement likelihood rather than conversion potential.

Optimizing Advantage+ for Better Results

While Advantage+ simplifies campaign management, it still requires oversight to prevent audience fatigue and ensure continued performance.

To maintain control over Advantage+ campaigns, here’s what you can do:

• Add Custom Audiences: Advantage+ treats additional targeting inputs as “Audience Suggestions.” Provide as many variables as possible to help Meta’s AI refine its targeting and focus on relevant users.
• Control Ad Frequency: If applicable, set frequency caps to prevent ad fatigue. The more times Meta recycles your ads to an exhausted audience, the more engagement and performance may decline.

Enhance Your Facebook Campaigns with Strike Social’s AdTech Solutions

Keeping an eye on your ad campaigns 24/7 is no simple matter—you’d need people monitoring them constantly to ensure nothing is overlooked.

With Strike Social, you can leave the heavy lifting to us. Our mission is to help you lower ad costs while keeping your campaign performance on track. Through our Software-with-a-Service (SWAS) model, you gain access to a team of expert Facebook media buyers while maintaining full transparency with dedicated access to your campaign insights.

In combination with Meta’s Advantage+, our adtech optimizes auction bids and ensures your ads reach the right audiences. This strategic alignment helps maximize ad performance and keeps your campaigns running efficiently.

Want a full walkthrough of our adtech solutions? Request a demo from our team today.

The post Is Advantage+ Audience Effective? How It Impacts Your Ad Performance appeared first on Strike Social.

Feel the Love With Our 2025 Valentine’s Day Advertising Guidebook

As the first major holiday following the Q4 rush, Valentine’s Day offers the perfect opportunity to kick off your 2025 advertising efforts with fresh ideas and dynamic campaigns. Known as a season of love and thoughtful gifting, it’s a time for brands to connect with audiences on an emotional level and celebrate relationships.

This year, we’re bringing you the latest trends and actionable strategies to lock in your Valentine’s Day ad campaigns capture hearts—and deliver results.

Top Valentine’s Day Trends for 2025

Before we discuss specific advertising insights, let’s first explore what consumers are thinking about this Valentine’s Day. Understanding what shoppers are searching for, where they’re shopping, and how they plan to celebrate provides guidance for shaping your paid social strategies.

Ideas for Valentine’s Day Gifts

When it comes to Valentine’s Day gift ideas, sweet treats like chocolates and candy continue to reign supreme, with 52% of consumers listing them as their go-to choice. Flowers and gift cards take second and third spots, hinting at celebrations that range from intimate dinners at home to outings at restaurants or bars.

Shopping Destinations

Online retailers remain the top choice for Valentine’s Day shoppers, with 36.55% favoring Amazon for gift purchases. However, physical stores are not far behind, as 36.37% of consumers still prefer shopping in-store.

Interestingly, even with a projected rise in overall spending, about 3 in 10 U.S. consumers prioritize affordability, opting for lower-cost gifts. This trend makes discount stores, alongside department stores and local businesses, a key destination for Valentine’s Day shoppers.

Choice of Celebrations

Will your audience be staying in or heading out this Valentine’s Day? According to Statista, more than 20% of U.S. consumers plan to celebrate with a home-cooked meal. Interestingly, many celebrations are expected to occur before or after February 14, as consumers aim to avoid crowded restaurants and high costs associated with peak Valentine’s Day activities.

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples. In 2024, 29% of Valentine’s Day spending was dedicated to celebrating with friends, coworkers, and classmates. This growing trend of “Galentine’s Day” or group celebrations highlights that love comes in many forms—romantic, platonic, or professional.

Love is indeed everywhere, and this just proves that advertising during Valentine’s Day is not just for flowers and chocolate brands, right?

Valentine’s Day Advertising Insights on Paid Social Media

Even if your brand doesn’t offer traditional Valentine’s Day gifts or experiences, there’s still ample opportunity in social media advertising. Whether you’re a sports brand or an industrial service company, your Valentine’s Day ad campaigns can be tailored to resonate with a wide audience.

As mentioned earlier, Valentine’s Day is not only about romantic love. People celebrate various forms of love, making Valentine’s Day ad campaigns highly versatile. Check out these insights and trends to guide your advertising strategy this year:

YouTube Ad Trends for Valentine’s Campaigns

As with other major holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day sees a significant spike in activity, particularly during the week of the event. But how much of a spike can you expect? Let’s take a look at our YouTube data for Awareness campaigns:

If you’re mainly advertising on YouTube for your Valentine’s Day 2025 ads, expect higher CPM (cost per thousand impressions) during the event week. CPM starts to rise during the last two weeks of January, stabilizes for a short period, and then spikes back up on Valentine’s Day week.

For YouTube bumper ads, the optimal period for awareness campaigns is two weeks before Valentine’s Day, continuing through the first week of March.

Views-focused campaigns follow a similar pattern during the week of Valentine’s Day. The cost-per-view (CPV) trend favors Video View Campaigns more, showing steady movement during Q1. 

Early spikes are also seen by the last week of January. As February progresses and into March, YouTube VVC shows more stable results.

Facebook Advertising Insights for Valentine’s Week

With online shopping dominating this Valentine’s Day, Facebook, the largest social media platform in the U.S., should definitely be part of your advertising strategy. If you’re considering launching your Valentine’s Day ad campaigns on Facebook, our data indicates you’re in good hands.

During Valentine’s Day Week, Facebook campaigns tend to show relatively stable performance in both top and mid-funnel efforts. Let’s take a closer look at the data:

Last year’s Valentine’s Day campaigns proved successful, with both awareness and click-focused campaigns performing well during the event week. Our Facebook advertising cost benchmarks for CPM ranged from $2.78 to $9.60, and our Q1 data shows an average of $3.51 to $5.91. For the Valentine’s Day week specifically, our Campaign Lab insights show CPM levels between $3.95 and $5.82.

Click-focused campaigns also showed positive trends, with Q1 CPC ranging from $0.14 to $0.72 (vs. $0.14 to $0.72 benchmarks). We expect Valentine’s Day 2025 trends to exhibit an identical pattern, especially with the 8.5% increase in ad spending as 2024 closed.

As we previously indicated from our Valentine’s Day 2024 trends, being specific in the target audience interest may raise costs. However, Valentine’s Day ad campaigns on Facebook show that February sees a lower cost level right after the mid-January peak. Costs stabilize as we approach March Madness and the end of Q1, creating an optimistic outlook for Valentine’s Day campaigns on Facebook.

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Case Study:

Our Valentine’s Day advertising insights show a typical uptick in ad costs a week or two before the holiday. However, our recent campaign for a CPG brand promoting specifically for Valentine’s Day revealed a different trend.

The goal of this Valentine’s Day campaign was to acquire 88 million impressions over a one-month period on Facebook. While we did observe the usual CPM spike in late January, the weeks leading up to and including Valentine’s Day showed more controlled and optimized CPM levels.

With the help of Strike Social’s team in continuous campaign optimization, we achieved a 31% improvement in CPM efficiency. Additionally, by optimizing campaign pacing during the key weeks of Valentine’s Day, we reduced costs by up to 36%. This approach helped the brand meet its target number of impressions within the campaign’s timeframe while keeping ad costs under control.

While it’s common to see high peaks in ad activity during the event itself—just like any other holiday—this shouldn’t deter you from focusing on your campaign goals and driving more traffic or sales during Valentine’s Day.

Stay ahead of every holiday event by knowing the best times to ramp up or scale back your campaigns. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest advertising news, trends, and updates on paid social media.

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Leap Into Success with Your Valentine’s Day 2025 Advertising

It’s a given that paid social media advertising is not for the faint of heart. Thus, your Valentine’s Day ad campaigns should also be resilient and adaptable to make sure you get the best results at the best costs.

Strike Social offers a data-driven approach to maximize the effectiveness of your paid social campaigns. With over 10 years of machine learning combined with our proprietary tool, Campaign Lab, and the expertise of our media buyers, we’re here to help you surpass your Valentine’s Day 2025 campaign goals. 

Schedule a demo with our team to discuss your campaign targets and how we can help you succeed.

The post Inspiring Insights for Your 2025 Valentine’s Day Ad Campaigns appeared first on Strike Social.

Facebook Ads Made Simple: A Beginner’s Guide for Businesses

By 2025, Facebook’s advertising reach in the U.S. is projected to surpass 250 million users, climbing to over 260 million by 2028. Far from being just a social networking site for sharing updates and connecting with loved ones, Facebook has become a vital platform for businesses, with 52.8% of its users actively following or researching brands and products on the platform.

Whether you’re a business just starting with Facebook ads or looking for a clear refresher to sharpen your strategy, this guide by Strike Social will walk you through everything you need to know to create, launch, and manage effective campaigns.

What Are Facebook Ads?

Facebook ads are a powerful tool for businesses to engage with their target audience directly on Facebook and across the Meta ecosystem. These ads allow advertisers to connect with users through various platforms, including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, all under the Meta advertising network.

Ad Specs, Formats, and Safe Zones for Facebook Ads

Because there are plenty of ways to get audience reach and engagement through Facebook ads, we’ll give a quick rundown of the different advertising formats available:

• Single image ads: Eye-catching static visuals designed to highlight promotions, brand offers, or deals in a simple and impactful way.
• Video ads: Dynamic content that captures attention through high-quality videos, suitable for feed, Stories, or Reels placements.
• Carousel ads: A swipeable series of images or videos displayed as individual ‘carousel’ cards. Each card within a Facebook carousel ad is linked to a specific product or service page.
• Collection ads: Interactive ads powered by Meta’s Instant Experience, allowing users to explore multiple products directly within the ad.

Facebook Ad Creative Guidelines

To ensure your ad creatives display perfectly across placements, it’s essential to follow Facebook’s ad size requirements. Ad formats are available in 1:1 (square), 9:16 (vertical), and 16:9 (horizontal) ratios, each designed to optimize visibility and engagement. 

Pay attention to the Facebook ad specifications so your ads fit seamlessly on your audience’s devices without being obscured by UI elements.

Another key consideration when designing your Facebook ad is the “safe zone.” Keeping essential elements like calls-to-action (CTAs) and key messages within this area ensures they remain fully visible to your audience.

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Further Reading

Facebook Reels Safe Zone Guide

With short-form video content basically taking over social media advertising, you must always make sure your critical messaging is within the safe zone. See the Meta Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok safe zone guide to help you post your ads without worrying about your profile picture, ad copy, or even the like and share buttons covering it up. 

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Additionally, text limitations for Facebook ads vary depending on the format and placement. Make sure your ad copy aligns with these requirements:

Available Campaign Objectives for Facebook Advertising

Facebook ads offer advertisers flexibility, allowing businesses to target audiences at every stage of the customer journey—from awareness to conversions. This makes them a powerful tool, especially during peak advertising seasons like Mother’s Day, the 4th of July, or Q4 holidays.

For example, Q4 holiday ad trends suggest launching awareness campaigns as early as September, followed by post-engagement campaigns through October to December, to maximize results during the busiest shopping season.

To make the most of your Facebook ad strategy, here are the key campaign objectives available:

Advantage+ Features from Meta Ads Manager

Meta’s Advantage+ suite was introduced as part of Facebook’s effort to leverage AI technology and enhance the advertiser experience. Initially launched for Shopping campaigns to improve the discovery of e-commerce ads and boost sales, it has since expanded to offer more solutions for Facebook advertisers:

Advantage+ Audience: This feature extends your audience targeting beyond the parameters you initially set, using Meta’s AI to discover and engage with new, highly relevant users.

Advantage+ Placements: For targeted campaigns, manual placements allow precise control over where your ads appear. As for broader reach, Meta Advantage+ Placements automatically optimizes your ads to appear in the most engaging placements across the Facebook app and the Meta Audience Network.

When you run Facebook ads, your Facebook video ads and image ads can appear selectively or across all of the following placements, depending on which placements work best:

Advantage+ Creative: At the ad level, Advantage+ offers tools to enhance creative assets, ensuring they resonate with audiences. These include:

• Image templates
• Image brightness and contrast
• Music
• 3D animation
• Image expansion
• Image animation

Advantage+ App Campaigns: Designed for app install campaigns, this feature streamlines ad delivery by minimizing inputs for Facebook targeting, campaign creation, and management.

Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns: The pioneering feature of the Advantage+ suite, this tool is tailored for Facebook Shops and e-commerce businesses. Advertisers have reported a 17% decrease in CPA (cost per action) and a 32% increase in ROAS (return on ad spend), proving its effectiveness as an AI solution for advertisers.

Preparing for Your Facebook Ad Campaign

Now that you’re familiar with the fundamentals of Facebook advertising, it’s time to focus on the essential preparations for a successful campaign. While the Meta Business Suite and Facebook’s AI tools simplify the process, understanding the finer details is key to maximizing ad performance.

Proper preparation ensures that your campaigns are effective and aligned with your business goals. Let’s examine the key steps before launching your Facebook advertising campaigns.

Audience Insights and Targeting

As of early 2024, Facebook has over 190 million users in the U.S., and this number is expected to grow by 9% year-over-year through 2025. But with such a large audience, it’s crucial not to target everyone. 

Wasted Facebook ad budget is a real risk if you don’t properly define and target your audience. Know the tools within Facebook Ads Manager to help you identify and target the right people.

Know your current audience with Audience Insights

Rather than relying on guesswork, start by using Facebook Audience Insights to gather data on your current audience. Here are the three key sections to explore on the Audience Insights page:

• Demographics: This section reveals key details such as age, gender, and location of your current audience. For example, if your content resonates with users primarily in Chicago, and you’re a local retail brand, you’ll want to focus on targeting Chicago and surrounding areas for better ad relevance.

• Trends: This tab helps identify organic engagement patterns. You can see when engagement spikes, such as during a specific promotional period, such as the Super Bowl. If you notice a seasonal uptick in Q1, for example, you might adjust your strategy by ramping up your budget from Q2 to Q4 for more impactful campaigns.

• Potential audience: This section shows broader audience segments who have not yet engaged with your brand but could be a good fit for your ads. If you’re currently reaching the 35-44 age group but want to expand to younger audiences like 18-24-year-olds, the potential audience data will help you determine whether this demographic is worth targeting. While not an exact prediction of success, it provides valuable insights to help guide your targeting decisions.

Reach previously engaged audiences with Retargeting tools

One of the strengths of social media advertising is the ability to retarget audiences who have already interacted with your brand. With the Facebook retargeting feature, you can reach these users based on specific actions they’ve taken across various platforms:

• Visitors to your website or specific landing pages
• Users who added items to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase
• Engagement with your Facebook page content
• Existing customer database (uploaded as a file)
• Lookalike audiences: New users who share similar characteristics to your existing customer base

Facebook Cost and Bidding Optimization

Facebook advertising costs can escalate quickly if not carefully managed. While Advantage+ provides a convenient, automated solution, relying exclusively on Meta’s technology for auction bids may not always yield the most effective outcomes.

Here’s how to better optimize your bidding strategy:

Campaign budget optimization (CBO) vs. manual bid adjustments

With Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO), Meta’s AI automatically allocates your campaign budget across different ad sets based on real-time performance.

How to calculate the cost of Facebook ads?

Facebook ads cost can vary based on your campaign goals, and understanding how to measure these costs is essential for optimizing efficiency. Here are some of the core Facebook cost metrics and how to compute them: 

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Further Reading

Inaccurate Facebook ROAS? Here’s What You Should Look For

To fix discrepancies in your Facebook ad ROAS, start by uncovering the underlying issue. Understanding the cause will help you apply the right solutions and regain dependable ROAS tracking.

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Cost and Performance Benchmarks for Facebook Ads

It’s important that before you fully curate your media plan for your 2025 Facebook campaign, you have a set of benchmarks against which to measure your performance. Understanding industry standards and comparing them to what your ad agency can deliver ensures you maximize your ad spend efficiently.

We analyzed our US campaigns using Strike Social’s in-house proprietary tool, Campaign Lab, to give you the latest cost and performance benchmarks for Facebook ads. See the varying trends based on each campaign objective from our Facebook campaigns:

While these benchmarks represent typical Facebook performance year-round, be mindful of seasonal spikes—particularly during Q4 holidays or U.S. election years, when political ad spending can drive up auction prices. To avoid these price surges, we recommend launching awareness campaigns earlier, especially during peak advertising periods.

Download the Strike Social Facebook Benchmark Report

Gain valuable takeaways from last year’s Facebook advertising trends, highlighting the key takeaways that shaped industry benchmarks. Download the Strike Social data and trends report to enhance your Facebook ad campaigns, helping you achieve your desired results.

Download the report

Maintaining Brand Safety in Facebook Ad Campaigns

One of the biggest risks in Facebook advertising is having your brand associated with harmful or explicit content. This can damage your brand’s reputation and undermine the effectiveness of your ads.

In addition to optimizing ad performance and costs, advertisers must ensure their ads aren’t displayed alongside inappropriate or exploitative content. This is where brand safety on Facebook plays a vital role.

Brand safety and suitability controls

Inventory filter: Facebook’s inventory filter is the first layer of brand safety. Similar to YouTube’s inventory types, it offers three options: Expanded, Moderate, and Limited inventory.

The recommended and default setting is Moderate inventory, which ensures ads only appear in safe content. Expanded inventory, while still filtered to comply with Facebook’s Content Monetization Policies, allows for a broader reach.

Publisher block lists: You can create a block list to exclude specific Facebook and Instagram pages, profiles, and apps from showing your ads. These lists can be uploaded as .csv or .txt files, with a maximum of 10,000 publishers per upload. However, do not overly narrow your list, as excluding too many publishers could limit your ad reach.

Content type exclusions: You can exclude your ads from appearing on non-partnered pages or profiles that have not signed up for Facebook’s monetization program. Your ads will only be shown on content produced by registered, vetted Facebook partners, subject to more stringent oversight. Content type exclusions can apply to live videos, in-stream ads, and Facebook Reels ads.

In addition to these advertiser controls, Facebook also enforces brand safety through its Community Standards and Guidelines, Content Review Teams, and quarterly Community Standards Enforcement reports, another measure the platform takes to maintain a safe advertising environment.

Facebook Campaign Guide from Setup to Publish

All set with the Facebook ads preparation! Here are the steps from start to finish to successfully launch and publish your Facebook campaign:

1. Register your Facebook page as a business account. Then, set up your Business Manager account and Ad Account to proceed.

2. Visit Facebook Ads Manager and login to your account.

3. Click the +Create button to start a new campaign.

4. Choose the appropriate campaign objective that aligns with your goals (e.g., Awareness, Traffic, Conversions), then click Continue.

5. Under the Campaign level setup, configure the following:

• Campaign Name: Use an organized naming convention for easy identification (e.g., [Campaign Duration – Objective – Product], such as “Jan-Dec 2025 – Impressions – Sleepwear”).
• Special Ad Categories (Optional; As applicable)
• Advantage+ Campaign Budget: Toggle this for automated budget management or leave it off for more manual control.
• A/B Test (Optional; As applicable)

6. On the Ad Set level, you can create multiple ad sets under one campaign. Here are the details you need to set up:

• Ad Set Name: Make it easy to identify (e.g., “2-Piece Pajama Sets – Images” if your ad set uses image creatives).
• Performance Goal: Set your desired campaign objective (e.g., clicks, impressions, conversions).
  • Facebook Page and/or Instagram Account: Choose the page or profile that will display your ads.
  • Cost Per Result: Set your auction bid if you have a target CPM or cost benchmark.
  • Frequency Cap (for Awareness campaigns): Control how often your ad is shown to each unique user.

• Dynamic Creative (Optional; As applicable)
• Budget & Schedule:
  • Budget: Select either a daily or lifetime budget for your campaign.
  • Schedule: Set a campaign start and end date.
  • Budget Scheduling: If applicable, adjust budget settings for specific times or dates to boost performance.
• Audience Controls:
  • Locations
  • Age
  • Audience list exclusions
• Advantage+ Audience: Use Meta’s AI to add audience segments based on interests, behaviors, and demographics. Click on Save audience to reuse the same audience segment for other campaigns.
• Placements:
  • Advantage+ Placements: Let Meta decide where to show your ads across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
  • Manual Placements: If you prefer control, select specific placements like Facebook feed or Messenger.

7. Lastly, under the Ad level, you can now set up the ad creatives. Here are the items to set up:

• Ad Name
• Partnership Ad: Toggle this on if you are partnering with influencers or content creators to use a branded content ad.
• Identity: Verify the Facebook page under which your ad will appear.
• Create Ad: Choose your ad creative. Upload existing content or create a new one, ensuring it meets the recommended Facebook ad sizes.
• Languages (Optional; As applicable)
• Tracking: For ads with landing page redirects, implement UTM tracking via Facebook Events Manager.

8. On the right side of the screen, view a preview of your ad to check that it appears correctly across your selected placements on Facebook and Instagram.

9. Once everything looks good, click Publish to launch your campaign.

The ad review process typically takes up to 24 hours but can be faster. Review common reasons for ad rejection to avoid delays and make sure your campaign goes live without issues.

How a Facebook Ads Agency Can Help Manage and Optimize Your Campaigns

Trust us, setting up and launching the campaign is the easy part. What can be excruciating and require tireless work is monitoring and optimizing your Facebook campaigns as they run. 

Ad spending can inflate, performance can slow down, and audience targeting may need to be refined. These tasks require watchful eyes 24/7, and a Facebook ad agency is just what you might need.

Working with a Meta Certified Company

Strike Social is a Meta Certified Company, a prestigious recognition highlighting our expertise as an AdTech Software with a Service (SWaS) business partner. This certification reflects Meta’s trust in our ability to manage and optimize Facebook ad campaigns effectively. With over a decade of experience, we offer in-depth knowledge of Facebook advertising’s nuances, ensuring we can tackle any challenge that arises.

Our Meta-certified media buyers and planners are trained to execute campaigns with precision, leveraging their expertise to deliver outstanding results for our clients.

Integration with Meta API via Campaign Lab

Campaign Lab is a powerful tool that supports our team’s optimization efforts. Powered by AI, it provides real-time performance insights and optimization alerts, but the expertise of our media buying team remains essential to make the best use of this data.

With Campaign Lab’s alerts, we quickly identify areas for improvement, whether it’s adjusting bids or refining performance. Thanks to 24/7 optimization by the Strike Social team, we can immediately implement these changes so your campaigns achieve the best results at the most cost-effective rates.

Success in Facebook Ad Campaigns

To demonstrate how a Facebook ads agency can drive effective campaign management and optimization, nothing illustrates this better than tangible results. Here’s how our team applied tailored strategies to lower costs and boost engagement:

Your 2025 Facebook Ads Strategies in One Place

Looking for all the essential insights for your 2025 Facebook ad campaign in one place? Strike Social’s blog covers everything from Facebook ads to strategies for other social media platforms. Stay up-to-date with the latest trends, data, and guides on Facebook advertising by subscribing to our newsletter.

Ready to start your 2025 Facebook campaign? Download our Facebook Ad Sizes Guide here to get a head start.

The post Complete Guide to Facebook Advertising in 2025 appeared first on Strike Social.

Introduced by Facebook to help advertisers optimize their campaigns, this score influences not only how often your ads are shown but also how much you pay for each impression or click. Ads with higher relevance are rewarded with better visibility and lower costs, leading to a more effective and efficient campaign.

Comprehending the significance of the relevance score and discovering effective ways to enhance it can lead to improved performance, reduced advertising expenses, and ultimately, a greater return on investment.

What is Facebook Ad Relevance Score?

Previously, Facebook’s relevance score was a single score between 1 and 10 that provided a general sense of how relevant your ad was to the audience you targeted.  Later, Facebook upgraded this metric by dividing it into three key components: Quality Ranking, Engagement Rate Ranking, and Conversion Rate Ranking. Each of these sub-scores offers a detailed understanding of your ad’s performance and aids in identifying areas for enhancement.

• Quality Ranking: This measures how the quality of your ad is viewed in relation to competing ads aimed at the same audience.
• Engagement Rate Ranking: This evaluates the anticipated level of engagement your ad will receive compared to others.
• Conversion Rate Ranking: This assesses how likely your ad is to achieve conversions compared to other ads with similar goals.

While each ranking plays a distinct role, they all work together to show how effectively your ad meets the expectations and desires of your target audience.

Whether you want more engagement, clicks, or conversions, boosting your relevance score is key to getting better results.

Why is Facebook Ad Relevance Score Important?

A high Facebook relevance score can significantly benefit your advertising efforts in multiple ways:

• Lower Costs: Facebook rewards ads with a higher relevance score by lowering your cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-impression (CPM). This means that ads performing well will be cheaper to run.
• Better Reach: Ads with higher relevance scores tend to be shown more frequently to your target audience because Facebook prefers to show content that users are likely to engage with.
• Increased Engagement: An ad that resonates with your audience will naturally generate more clicks, shares, and conversions. The relevance score helps ensure that you’re delivering ads that matter to your audience.
• Optimized Campaign Performance: With a better understanding of your ad’s performance based on the relevance score metrics, you can adjust and improve future campaigns, leading to more effective results over time.

How to Improve Your Facebook Ad Relevance Score

Enhancing your Facebook Ad relevance score can lead to improved ad performance, a wider audience reach, and lower expenses. Here are some effective strategies you can implement to elevate your score:

Improve Quality Ranking

This is important for improving how your audience sees the quality of your ad compared to other ads aimed at the same people.

Use High-Quality Visuals

Whether it’s an image or video creative, the visual component of your ad is what catches the audience’s attention first. Using clear, sharp, and visually appealing images is essential to stand out in a crowded feed. For instance, if you’re a shoe retail brand, your ad creative could feature a marathon runner showcasing the durability and comfort of your shoes, emphasizing their performance during a high-intensity race. 

Your visuals should be relevant to your message and reflect the essence of your brand. Consistent branding through colors, fonts, and imagery can also reinforce your brand identity and make your ads more recognizable. Since Facebook is a highly visual platform, investing in professional or well-designed visuals can significantly improve your quality ranking.

Write Compelling and Relevant Copy

The wording you choose must be brief, straightforward, and specifically cater to the wants and needs of your target audience. Avoid overly complicated language or long-winded explanations; instead, focus on crafting a message that speaks to your audience’s interests and offers a solution to their problems. For example, if your shoe retail brand has recently launched a new line of sneakers, you could create something like: “Step into comfort with our best-selling sneakers – designed for all-day wear, stylish and built to last. Perfect for those who value both fashion and function.”

Strong, compelling headlines can grab attention, while a clear value proposition in the body of your ad can make people more likely to engage with it. Simplifying your message increases the likelihood that your ad will be seen as high-quality.

A/B Test Different Versions of Your Ads

By developing several variations of your ad and experimenting with different components—like headlines, visuals, or calls to action—you can determine which version connects most effectively with your audience. The A/B testing process allows you to fine-tune your ads for better performance. 

For example, one version of your ad might attract more engagement, while another might lead to more clicks. Analyzing this data helps you determine which elements contribute to a higher-quality ad, enabling you to continually optimize for better results.

Maintain Ad Consistency with the Landing Page

You must ensure that your ad delivers a consistent experience. This means that the messaging and design of your ad should align with the landing page it directs users to. If your ad promotes a specific offer or product, your landing page should reflect the same offer or product without any surprises. 

A smooth transition from ad to landing page helps maintain user trust, reducing bounce rates and improving overall engagement. Additionally, a fast-loading landing page is crucial, as slow speeds can frustrate users and negatively impact your quality ranking.

Enhance Engagement Rate Ranking

An increased engagement rate shows that users are interacting with your ad through likes, shares, or comments, which not only enhances your score but also improves the ad’s visibility.

Target the Right Audience

A highly effective method for enhancing engagement is to make sure your ad is seen by the right audience. You can make use of Facebook’s targeting features to refine your audience by considering factors such as age, interests, behaviors, and geographic location. 

The greater the relevance of your ad to its audience, the higher the chances of engagement. For instance, if you’re advertising a fitness product, focusing on users who are passionate about health and wellness can significantly boost engagement rates.

Personalizing your ads based on audience segments can significantly improve conversion rates. If you have different products for men and women, create specific ads that speak directly to each audience. Personalized messaging resonates more and increases the likelihood of conversion.

This particular brand is targeting luxury, yacht interests, and the top 5% of household income because their products, such as premium boat covers or specialized accessories, are designed for high-end consumers who invest in quality and durability. By focusing on individuals with a strong interest in luxury items and high disposable income, the brand ensures they reach an audience that is more likely to appreciate and purchase their premium offerings, which align with their customers’ lifestyle and purchasing power.

Incorporate Strong Calls to Action (CTAs)

A clear and compelling call to action can significantly increase engagement. Encourage your audience to take specific actions, such as liking your post, visiting your website, or sharing their thoughts in the comments. Clear and compelling CTAs help users grasp your intended action, resulting in increased interaction rates.

Utilize Interactive Content

Incorporating interactive elements, such as polls, quizzes, or questions, can boost engagement significantly. Interactive content invites users to participate rather than passively consume information, making them more likely to engage. For example, asking your audience their opinion on a relevant topic can spark conversation and encourage comments.

Retarget Previous Visitors

Retargeting ads at those who have previously engaged with your brand can increase engagement levels. As these individuals are already familiar with your offerings, they are more likely to interact with your ads again. Create tailored ads that speak to their previous interactions or highlight new products and offers relevant to their interests.

A well-known brand like SealSkin that sells car, truck, boat, and patio covers relies on retargeting as a key strategy. By using online ads that specifically showcase the benefits and features of their covers, such as durability and protection, retargeting reminds potential customers about the product and encourages them to complete their purchase. This method helps increase conversions by reaching out to individuals who have already shown interest but need an extra nudge to make a decision.

Encourage User-Generated Content

When your audience shares their experiences with your brand, it can actually create a great positive impact. Encourage customers to post photos or reviews, and consider featuring this content in your ads. User-generated content not only increases engagement but also builds trust and authenticity around your brand.

Boost Conversion Rate Ranking

This aspect is crucial for enhancing your Facebook Ad relevance score, as it reflects how effectively your ads are driving users to take actions such as completing purchases or signing up. A higher conversion rate means your ads are reaching the right audience and encouraging them to act.

Optimize Your Landing Page

Your landing page should provide a seamless experience that aligns with your ad’s promise. Make sure that your landing page’s content, design, and messaging align with what users anticipate after clicking your ad. 

A landing page that is well-optimized, with a straightforward call to action, can greatly improve conversion rates. You must also ensure the page loads swiftly and is compatible with mobile devices, as slow-loading pages can drive users away.

Offer Incentives

Providing incentives such as discounts, limited-time offers, or free trials can effectively encourage conversions. Highlighting these offers in your ads can capture attention and prompt users to take immediate action. Make sure the incentives are clearly visible in your ad and easily accessible on your landing page to maximize their impact.

Monitor and Analyze Performance

Regularly monitoring your ad performance and analyzing conversion data can help identify what’s working and what isn’t. You can use Facebook Ads Manager to analyze important metrics, including:

• Click-through rates
• Conversion rates
• User interactions on your landing page

Analyzing this data allows you to make the necessary adjustments to your ads, targeting, and landing pages to enhance overall performance.

Final Thoughts

Your ad should deliver on what it promises. If users click on an ad expecting one thing and receive something else, it can hurt engagement, lead to negative feedback, and lower your quality ranking. Clickbait headlines may grab attention but often result in poor user experience. Facebook penalizes ads that use these tactics, which can drop your score.

Facebook wants to prioritize content that delivers value to users. Ads that spark positive engagement (likes, comments, shares) are often considered higher quality. Consider engaging your audience by posing questions, conducting polls, or encouraging them to share their experiences in the comment section. However, avoid engagement baiting (e.g., “Like this post if you agree”), as it can lead to penalization.

Facebook advertising success doesn’t happen overnight, but by consistently optimizing your ads based on relevance score metrics, you’ll be well on your way to achieving sustainable, high-performance ad campaigns.

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Andy Beohar is the Managing Partner at SevenAtoms, a leading PPC Advertising agency. SevenAtoms is dedicated to driving growth for SaaS and B2B businesses through innovative and optimized paid search and is recognized by Google as a Google Premier Ads partner. At SevenAtoms, Andy plays a strategic role in managing paid search campaigns.

Have some great content up your sleeve? We invite you to reach out to us. We are excited to collaborate with talented writers and feature high-quality content on our blogs.

The post The Importance of Facebook Ad Relevance Score: How to Improve It for Better Results appeared first on Strike Social.

Maximizing Q4 2024 Holiday Ad Results with Facebook Engagement Campaigns

The 2024 holiday season is all about reconnecting with audiences through fun, engaging content. After the intensity of U.S. election ads, Thanksgiving and Christmas campaigns focused on post engagement are a refreshing way to re-engage viewers from their Facebook feed. Shoppers are primed to engage, with Meta’s data showing that 55% of holiday buyers reported Meta technologies helped influence their purchases, and 77% of Cyber Five shoppers credit Meta ads for inspiring their purchases this season.

This peak holiday advertising season is the perfect time to move audiences down the funnel and boost conversions. Facebook engagement campaigns are a key strategy for transforming your brand’s reach and visibility into deeper interactions and conversions, making this holiday season your most effective yet.

Post Engagement Ad Formats for Your Q4 and Q5 Holiday Campaigns

Strike Social’s data reveals that Q4 post engagement campaigns achieve engagement rates between 8% and 12%, which is at the upper end of our previous benchmarks of 2.90% to 14.40%. Q4 holiday ad trends indicate an extended shopping period, creating the perfect opportunity to captivate audiences with memorable, interactive campaigns that not only drive purchases but also keep your brand top-of-mind for the holiday season.

Here are the top ad formats we recommend to maximize your Facebook post engagement campaigns this season:

Facebook Reels

Facebook Reels is Meta’s answer to YouTube Shorts and TikTok, aiming to compete directly with these popular short-form video platforms. This innovative format has already demonstrated a 35% higher click-through rate (CTR) compared to other video formats on Facebook.

U.S. users spend an average of 31 minutes daily on Facebook, with 60% of that time devoted to watching videos. As a result, Facebook Reels ads provide an effective means to engage highly attentive audiences.

✓ Facebook Reels ads currently represent 3.3% of total ad impressions on the platform. (Source: Hootsuite)

✓ A French retailer experienced a 51% increase in return on ad spend (ROAS) by focusing on Reels ads. (Source: wecantrack)

✓ The estimated audience size for Reels-focused ads in the U.S. is 139 million (excluding Advantage audience). (Source: Meta Ads Manager)

Facebook Carousel Ads

The Facebook carousel ad format allows users to swipe through up to 10 cards, each featuring images, videos, or a combination of both. By incorporating unique headlines and links for each card, your audience can easily browse your offerings and identify products or services that pique their interest.

Carousel ads are particularly effective for post-engagement campaigns, as they encourage viewers to interact with your ad before making a purchase decision.

✓ Carousel ads yield 34% more clicks than single-image ads. (Source: Lebesgue)

✓ A UK-based subscription box brand using carousel ads achieved a 3.24x ROAS. (Source: The Social Shepherd)

✓ 30% reduction in cost per conversion and cost per click compared to single-image ads. (Source: Hootsuite)

Reels + Carousel Holiday Ads

What better way to increase your audiences’ engagement than to be both on the consideration and conversion funnel at the same time? Using both formats together can create a powerful mix of brand storytelling and user interaction.

Nest Commerce’s Q4 2023 report indicates that brands advertising on Meta experienced a 35% increase in return on ad spend between October and November. Throughout Q4, conversion rates rose by 28%, peaking at 52% during Black Friday. This success is attributed to engaging audiences through awareness campaigns and subsequently guiding them to lower-funnel, conversion-based campaigns during the Q4 holiday peak periods.

By utilizing these post engagement-driven ad formats, you can fully maximize your brand’s performance, as 57% of holiday shoppers clamor online for their holiday shopping.

Overlay Ads on Reels

Another effective strategy to engage with the growing Facebook Reels feed for your Q4 2024 holiday campaigns is to incorporate image or carousel ad formats as overlay ads on Reels. 

These ads appear alongside related Reels content. For example, a department store brand promoting its holiday fashion finds can appear on a fashion content creator’s fit check video featuring a recent shopping haul. This integration allows your ads to blend with the Reels viewing experience, making them less intrusive than other ad formats.

As of July 2024, your overlay ads can also be displayed on Instagram Reels, further expanding your reach within the Meta advertising network.

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Further Reading

How a Meta Ad Agency Can Help Optimize Your 2024 Holiday Ad Spend

Collaborating with a Meta ad agency for your Q4 2024 holiday campaigns offers more than just ad activation and management—it brings strategic advantages that drive cost-efficiency and peak performance. Here’s why partnering with a Meta ad agency is essential to optimizing your holiday ad costs this season.

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Cost and Performance Insights for Your Q4 2024 Facebook Engagement Ads

Data is the best backup to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of utilizing a post-engagement objective as we approach the peak 2024 holiday campaigns. To help you establish benchmarks for this year’s holiday advertising, we have compiled key cost and performance metrics for Q4.

Cost-per-Engagement (CPE) and Engagement Rates (ER%)

In our Q4 2023 analysis, we observed a notable spike in CPE beginning in October, coinciding with the start of holiday advertising. Last year, key retail events such as Target, Prime, and Walmart launched promotions throughout early to mid-October, contributing to this trend.

As we transitioned from November into December, Facebook post engagement campaigns gained traction. We noted a downward trend in CPE alongside an upward trend in engagement rates. For Q4 2024, you can expect to align your holiday ad campaigns against Strike Social’s Facebook ad cost benchmarks, which range from $0.013 to $0.057 in November and decrease to as low as $0.012 to $0.038 by December.

Cost-per-View (CPV) and View Rate (VR%)

Video ad formats, particularly Facebook Reels ads, tend to have a higher view rate with lower costs compared to other formats, making them ideal for engagement during Q4. While view rates saw a slight decrease of 40% in December, they still remain elevated compared to October, reflecting sustained interest from engaged audiences throughout the Christmas season.

This year, Meta is testing a new ad feature that allows brands to showcase promotions and discounts directly within Reels ads. This innovation capitalizes on high shopping intent as viewers consume video content during the Q4 holidays. By highlighting promotions, brands can streamline the journey from consideration to conversion, making it easier for audiences to act on their interest.

Cost-per-Click (CPC) & Click-Through Rate (CTR%)

Click-based campaigns, like Carousel ad formats, provide solid performance metrics throughout the year. Q4 holiday trends indicate that these formats can drive high click engagement while maintaining lower costs. Although CPCs generally trend downward, we anticipate a slight increase of about 5% in December compared to November 2023 as more brands compete for ad space to get traffic and conversions.

To capitalize on this trend, your best strategy is to start your campaigns early. Target shoppers who begin their holiday shopping 1 to 2 months in advance to build momentum. By leveraging click engagement campaigns starting in October and November, you can position your brand effectively, ensuring you capture the attention of eager holiday shoppers before the competition heats up.

Download our Facebook CPLC Case Study

This case study details a luxury watch brand’s Facebook campaign that achieved a CPLC 34.69% below the guaranteed rate, highlighting the benefits of strategic budget allocation and ad format selection for maximizing engagement and controlling costs.

Download full case study here

Cost per Link Click (CPLC) & Link Click-Through Rate (LCTR%)

Optimizing for lower-funnel conversions during Q4 becomes easier with well-targeted and engaging post engagement ads focusing on link clicks. Ad auctions can get a bit challenging towards November as there is competition around Black Friday and Cyber Five in particular; thus, we can see quite a spike in CPLC at this time.

Maintain an always-on approach, as costs tend to decrease in December, aligning with predictions from the NRF that 58% of consumers complete their shopping during this month. By focusing your post-engagement campaigns on link clicks that drive conversions, you position yourself well for success during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday advertising periods this Q4.

Driving Strong Results with Post Engagement Campaigns for Q4 and Q5 Holidays in 2024

As Q4 intensifies, the key to holiday success is not just reaching audiences but engaging them. Post engagement campaigns on platforms like Instagram and Facebook empower brands to foster meaningful interactions that can lead to conversions. With increased competition and shifting consumer behaviors during the holiday season, prioritizing post engagement allows brands to scale efficiently, harness Meta’s extensive audience, and enhance performance through cost-effective, high-engagement ad formats.

Are you looking to quickly scale your campaigns this holiday season? Reach out to our team for a personalized walkthrough of our AdTech solutions and discover how you can achieve greater results while saving on your Facebook engagement campaigns.

The post How Facebook Engagement Campaigns Deliver the Best Results for Q4 2024 Holidays appeared first on Strike Social.

Planning Your Q4 2024 Facebook & Instagram Holiday Ads

As you prepare for the busiest shopping season of the year, Meta is gearing up to meet the surge in holiday ad campaigns across Facebook and Instagram. The Q4 holidays — Thanksgiving, Cyber Five, Christmas, and New Year’s — represent the most critical window for capturing audience attention and driving performance.

With ad spending peaking during this period, competition in the auction is becoming fierce, and the stakes are high. To maximize your campaign outcomes while managing costs, advertisers must stay ahead of the trends shaping consumer behavior, creative strategies, and targeting tactics. Here’s how to strategically plan your Facebook and Instagram holiday ad campaigns towards the end of the year.

Q4 2024 Holiday Ad Trends Advertisers Should Watch Out For

Before the celebration continues, let’s take a sneak peek at what to expect this year and how it’s different from previous years to fully prepare you for your holiday campaigns.

Key Peak Advertising Periods in Q4 2024

By anticipating shifts in ad spend and key peak periods, you can optimize your strategy and control costs while driving results for your Q4 2024 holiday ad campaigns:

As more advertisers vie for auction space during the Q4 holidays, we can certainly see spikes in ad spending during this time. Historically, Q4 sees the highest ad spending, particularly on Facebook and Instagram (Meta), with Google following a similar trend. TikTok, on the other hand, tends to have a more unpredictable and sporadic pattern. This heightened competition across industries inevitably drives up Facebook and Instagram ad costs. We’ll explore this further as we go along.

Online Shopping and Spending Trends

Adobe forecasts that U.S. online sales will reach $240.8 billion from November 1 to December 31, up from $221.8 billion last year. In addition, Mastercard’s Spending Pulse data indicates a projected 7.1% growth in retail sales during this holiday shopping season compared to 2023. The rise in consumer spending will likely kick off early, with shopping ramping up as early as Halloween and peaking through Christmas, driven by big-ticket purchases during the gift-giving season.

Further, Numerator’s research shows that many Christmas shoppers are starting as early as three months before the holidays. For advertisers, this means awareness campaigns need to launch well before November to capture early interest and effectively guide potential buyers down the funnel in time for peak holiday ad campaigns.

Meta’s Holiday Ad Trends for Q4 to Q5

Data from Meta’s campaigns affirm this, as 41% of consumers continue making purchases from holiday ads well beyond the peak shopping season. Last year, CPM-focused Facebook and Instagram ads peaked around Thanksgiving, while CPA-focused campaigns were more cost-efficient during the same period.

In Q4 2023, conversion campaigns saw a 20% year-over-year increase in performance and a 3.3x return on ad spend (ROAS) when using Meta Advantage+. Meta is heavily promoting Advantage+ to help advertisers streamline the process of diversifying ads and placements, ultimately improving campaign returns. 

This approach pays off during the holiday season, as consumers actively search for gifts through Christmas campaigns on Meta, creating a sizable audience that helps drive more efficient ad costs.

Download our Facebook ROAS Case Study

Discover how Strike Social achieved 66% more impressions than guaranteed and a 28x Facebook ROAS through precise execution and real-time campaign management for a financial services client.

Download full case study here

Insights for Effective Holiday Advertising Strategy on Facebook & Instagram

Now that you have a clear view of the holiday ad trends and consumer behavior for Q4 and Q5 2024, it’s time to review the actionable strategies that will drive results and deliver outstanding performance for your Facebook and Instagram holiday advertising campaigns.

Start Your Holiday Ad Campaigns Earlier

With fewer shopping days between Black Friday and Christmas in 2024, early campaign launches will allow for better positioning. October marks the start of the buildup, especially with the final weeks leading up to the U.S. presidential elections, where 79% of 2024 political ad spending is pouring on key battleground states. With political ads wanting to reach as many audiences as possible, this creates fierce competition for audience attention, making it harder for awareness campaigns to break through compared to previous holiday seasons.

Concurring with Meta’s holiday ad trends, our Facebook benchmark report confirms that CPMs will rise during peak Q4 periods, especially around Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Christmas promotions, as advertisers optimize to reach more markets. Average CPM for Q4 2024 is expected to increase, but campaigns focusing on engagement may benefit from higher engagement rates, particularly with the growth of new ad formats like Reels, which saw a 61% increase in 2023 compared to 2022. Thus, if you want to get a headstart on the lower CPM levels, an early start to your full holiday advertising campaign is necessary.

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Further Reading

How Facebook Engagement Ad Formats Win Holiday Advertising

Engagement ads on Facebook and Instagram allow brands to build genuine connections that can later convert into sales. As competition rises and holiday shopping behaviors shift, focusing on engagement helps brands reach Meta’s vast audience while maximizing campaign efficiency for scalable results.

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More Aggressive Holiday Advertising for Both B2B and B2C

The competition for ad space for Q4 2024 holiday ad campaigns is not limited to retail brands. Both B2B and B2C advertisers are aggressively vying for inventory, particularly on Meta platforms and Connected TV, as the holiday season ramps up with key events like Cyber Five and New Year’s advertising.

According to NRF’s 2023 Thanksgiving holiday weekend data, a record 200.4 million shoppers were active during the Cyber Five period, with 44% shopping online. Black Friday and Cyber Monday led online purchases, solidifying these events as significant revenue drivers for B2C brands while increasing competition with B2B brands vying for the same ad inventory.

For B2B companies, Q4 presents an ideal opportunity to reach decision-makers actively searching for advanced solutions for their businesses. It’s the perfect time to adopt a bold, action-oriented strategy, focusing on campaigns that drive clicks and conversions. With 76% of B2B buyers preferring to speak with someone before acquiring new services, Q4 is when many finalize their decisions on renewing or switching to new products or services.

Meta’s holiday playbook data supports this holiday advertising strategy, showing that CPA levels remain relatively stable throughout Q4 and Q5, compared to fluctuating CPM and CVR rates. Additionally, our data indicates that Facebook traffic campaigns targeting link clicks could see a 23% increase toward Q4, based on 2023 trends. Encouragingly, link-click engagement rates have been on the rise in 2023 compared to 2022, signaling a positive trend for engagement-driven campaigns.

Lead Customers from Top-to-Bottom Funnel Holiday Campaigns

By Q4, your awareness holiday ad campaigns from earlier in the year—starting as early as Halloween—should have built enough momentum to drive audiences into your lower-funnel holiday campaigns. While awareness ads are crucial, by this point in the holiday season, your focus should shift toward consideration and conversion campaigns to capitalize on the peak of the 2024 holiday shopping season.

Not only are lower funnel campaigns more cost-effective, but we’re also seeing high engagement rates, especially in Facebook advertising campaigns focusing on post engagement, clicks, and link clicks, aligned with Q4 holiday trends. Reels are particularly powerful, with short-form video content on Instagram reaching up to 30% of users, reflecting its growing dominance across Meta’s advertising network. 

According to Adobe Analytics, mobile devices are expected to drive 53% of online sales during the 2024 holiday season. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on mobile-first conversion strategies to achieve your campaign goals.

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Further Reading

Improving Facebook ROAS with Real-time Optimizations

Various factors can contribute to Facebook ROAS underperformance, from basic problems like inaccurate Meta Pixel tracking to more intricate issues tied to campaign management. Partnering with an advertising agency can provide the specialized knowledge and strategies to boost your Facebook ad ROAS. See the critical areas where an expert agency can make a difference in optimizing your campaigns and driving better results.

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Diverse Creative Formats to Keep Holiday Ads Fresh

As competition heats up during the holiday season, brands often find their ads competing for the same audience’s attention. When users encounter the same ad multiple times, their engagement tends to wane, leading to missed opportunities.

When running top-to-bottom funnel holiday ad campaigns, Facebook and Instagram users can quickly become fatigued by seeing the same creative, sometimes after just two impressions. This leads to users scrolling past or swiping away from your holiday ads.

Incorporate a variety of creative formats in your strategy to avoid ad fatigue and ensure your Black Friday and Christmas advertising campaigns remain effective. Facebook and Instagram offer dynamic options such as Reels, carousels, and videos that can significantly boost engagement and keep your brand fresh in consumers’ minds. 

• Pro tip: Adhere to the Facebook and Instagram ad specs so your ads fit seamlessly within users’ screens.

Explore how to optimize your placements using manual selection in Meta Ads Manager to find the formats that best align with your brand messaging:

Shine Bright on Shoppers’ Lists with Twinkling Facebook and Instagram Holiday Campaigns

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year” – as it should be for both consumers and Meta advertisers alike. Indeed, the Q4 to Q5 periods can be a balancing act, where the need to scale budgets must align with the goal of achieving an impressive return on ad spend.

With Strike Social’s SWAS (software with a service) AdTech expertise, our aim is to deliver better results for you at lower costs for savings. Our proprietary tool, Campaign Lab, is designed to keep a close eye on your ads, ensuring that the full process from setup to campaign management is streamlined and optimized before your holiday campaigns even launch.

Learning the holiday ad trends and suggested strategies is just the beginning. Let us become an extension of your in-house team, helping you finish the year on a high note. Contact us today to request a personalized walkthrough of our AdTech service and see how we can enhance your holiday advertising performance.

The post Q4 2024 Holiday Ad Trends for Thanksgiving & Christmas appeared first on Strike Social.

Optimized Approach to Campaign Execution

Strike Social boosted the success of this campaign through daily optimization, including efficiently allocating the advertising budget across multiple Facebook ad formats. The campaign maximized engagement while controlling costs by dividing spending between Reels and Carousel ads.

Smart Budgeting & Ad Format Selection

Strike Social allocated 40% of the total budget to Reels due to their higher engagement potential, contributing to 77% of the campaign’s reach and impressions. Reels effectively expanded the brand’s visibility and proved 10% more cost-efficient regarding Facebook Cost Per Link click (CPLC) than other ad formats. These dynamic ads engaged users interested in video and static content, driving significant traffic at a lower cost.

Meanwhile, despite receiving only 38% of the budget, Carousel ads delivered 56% of the total landing page views. This format allowed the client to present multiple watch models visually engagingly, building a compelling product narrative that resonated with the audience. Finding the balance between Reels and Carousel ads was critical in achieving reach and conversion targets.

Strike Social’s ongoing optimizations—over 1,300 adjustments—pushed the campaign to deliver 39.79% more additional link clicks vs. client guaranteed and achieve a 34.69% cost efficiency improvement. These campaign outcomes highlight how continuous monitoring and agile strategy adjustments, even with competitive platforms like Facebook ads, lead to remarkable outcomes.

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The post Facebook Case Study: Reducing CPLC by 34% with Targeted Meta Ad Placements appeared first on Strike Social.

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Improve Facebook ROAS Results With Expert-Led Ad Agency Solutions

You’re often presented with Facebook ROAS data when it’s time to make critical financial decisions and projections. While you trust your social media team or external agency to manage the day-to-day, ensuring optimal results requires constant oversight and real-time campaign adjustments.

Partnering with a dedicated social media ad agency allows you to focus on strategic decision-making while experts handle the intricate details of campaign optimization, paving the way for higher returns and lower advertising costs.

How Ad Agency Expertise Can Improve Your Facebook Ad ROAS

Identifying the reasons behind subpar Facebook ROAS can range from straightforward issues, such as faulty Meta Pixel tracking, to more complex challenges rooted in campaign optimization. While technical glitches can often be resolved with relative ease, underlying optimization problems require a deep understanding of campaign dynamics and strategy—something that heavily relies on the expertise of your Facebook campaign manager.

An advertising agency’s expertise can significantly enhance your Facebook ad ROAS through targeted specialized skills and strategies. Here are key factors through which an expert-led ad agency can improve Facebook ROAS while effectively managing your campaigns:

Quick Turnaround & Communication

When working with an external advertising agency for your brand’s social media promotions, timely and proper communication is possibly the most basic and number one requirement. 

Campaign Activation

Rapid communication facilitates quick turnarounds, allowing your campaigns to launch without delay. Speed is of the essence when it comes to social media advertising campaigns; the sooner your campaigns are launched, the sooner the platform can optimize ad delivery and performance.

Our team is equipped to review and prepare your Facebook ad setup within 48 hours for a swift activation process.

Campaign Management

Without consistent communication, you might miss significant successes, such as increased clicks and purchases. Even worse, if your campaigns are not meeting your expected Facebook ROAS, you may only realize this after the campaign has concluded—making it challenging to pinpoint the source of the issue and implement timely adjustments.

For example, if your target ROAS is 4x and you initially achieve 5x, it may seem like a win. However, further analysis could reveal that the purchase value reported in Meta Ads Manager is lower than anticipated. This discrepancy may be due to the Meta Pixel tracking purchases for a different product, leading to an inflated ROAS figure.

When such issues arise, a responsive ad agency can quickly recalibrate the campaign. While the Meta Pixel tracking is being resolved, budgets can be redirected to properly configured ads or campaigns, allowing for efficient recovery once the issue is fixed.

This rapid communication and adaptability between the ad agency and client can significantly impact the success of your Facebook conversion campaigns.

24/7 Campaign Monitoring

Knowing that your Facebook ads are being managed is one thing; having a dedicated team actively monitoring your campaigns’ costs and performance is another. Your ads operate around the clock, which is why 24/7 campaign management and monitoring are essential for maximizing your Facebook ROAS.

Consider a restaurant in Naperville aiming to boost orders exclusively from the local area. They initially targeted a radius of +10 miles around their location but found the tight market yielded no ad conversions within 24 hours. An expert advertising agency would promptly respond by expanding the target radius to +25 miles, broadening the audience, and increasing potential customer engagement.

At Strike Social, our teams operate in shifts to ensure continuous oversight of your campaigns. This constant vigilance enables us to implement optimizations and updates in real time, whether adjustments are necessary on the platform or require immediate communication with you. Our proactive monitoring allows us to quickly identify anomalies, such as sudden drops in engagement or unexpected spikes in costs, enabling swift action to maintain optimal performance and improve ROAS for your ad conversion campaigns over time.

Media Buying Expertise

Your advertising agency’s experience and expertise in managing and optimizing social media campaigns are critical to achieving optimal ROAS. Beyond simply understanding how various social media platforms operate, they must possess the analytical skills to evaluate each campaign and ad in detail. This ensures they can identify when your ads perform well or if something is amiss.

For instance, if there are issues with pixel setup that lead to inaccurate Facebook ROAS tracking, these problems often remain hidden when only monitoring purchases and costs on Facebook. A media buying expert will investigate all potential avenues of the issue. If the problem isn’t related to the creative content, clicks, or the overall campaign strategy, they will look into the technical aspects, such as Meta pixel tracking and setup.

Strike Social’s media buying experts have duly earned clients’ trust, empowering us to be flexible and take the lead in implementing necessary optimizations that improve campaign performance.

Advanced Machine Learning Technology

Digital advertising is fundamentally driven by technology. While dedicated oversight of your campaigns is essential, it’s equally important for an ad agency to use intelligent ad tech that can notify when issues arise—and especially when your Facebook campaigns meet the desired metrics.

Proficiency in platforms like Google Ads Manager and Meta Ads Manager is basic, but having a unified technology that an advertising agency can use to monitor and manage your campaigns can further enhance campaign management.

Strike Social’s proprietary tool, Campaign Lab, leverages over 10 years of historical data from successful campaigns, allowing us to effectively engage your audiences through hyper-targeted strategies. The advanced features of Campaign Lab include automated data reports, internal alerts, and a pacing and optimization dashboard, all continuously refined by our data science team to improve integration with our media buying efforts.

As an example, our media buying teams receive internal alerts to promptly address any issues and avoid delays in campaign optimization. If an alert requires client intervention, it is quickly forwarded along with our optimization recommendations.

A case in point involved a financial services provider, where Campaign Lab triggered an alert indicating that the Meta pixel required attention. Our assigned media buying team quickly investigated the issue and informed the client, making sure no data was lost while the pixel setup was being properly configured.

Download our Facebook Conversion Campaign Case Study

By closely monitoring Facebook Meta Pixel tracking for precise data collection and identifying high-performing campaigns across different audience segments, we optimized ad spending and achieved an outstanding 28x return on ad spend (ROAS).

Download full case study here

Proper Campaign Pacing

Expert ad agencies excel in pacing campaigns by analyzing performance data and adjusting spending based on real-time outcomes. For example, if you have a $20,000 budget for a three-month campaign, it shouldn’t be fully utilized within the first month after achieving a target of 1 million impressions. Instead, the budget should be evenly distributed throughout the campaign, taking into account any expected spikes in engagement, such as during Halloween week.

During peak periods like Halloween, Facebook’s CPM tends to increase. It’s essential to allocate more resources for these times and then readjust auction bids once the peak has passed. Similarly, if impressions are high during a peak period, the remaining campaign flight must be recalibrated to maintain balance.

Here’s an ideal pacing chart illustrating the distribution of delivered objectives:

The chart illustrates that, despite some low and high peaks in ad conversions—specifically purchases—these conversions consistently remained within the 80 to 100 range each day. This consistency demonstrates our team’s ability to effectively manage campaign pacing, highlighting Strike Social’s expertise in this area.

Strike Social’s Expertise in Improving Facebook ROAS and Ad Performance

We’ve outlined the advantages that advertising agencies bring in optimizing Facebook ROAS and enhancing overall campaign results. Now, let’s look at the tangible outcomes of our successful Facebook advertising campaigns, demonstrating how we deliver efficiency and effectiveness for brands and agencies alike.

Improving Reach & Sign-Ups with Facebook Campaigns

One of our major Facebook campaigns for a health and fitness brand focused on increasing membership sign-ups across various locations nationwide. By implementing precise DMA geo-targeting and strategically pacing the budget week by week, we effectively boosted the campaign’s performance.

To ensure accurate Facebook ad metrics, we meticulously configured the Facebook Pixel and linked each club’s specific location page to its corresponding ad. This alignment guaranteed that each campaign reached the right audience and directed potential members to the right website pages.

As a result of our media buying expertise, we were able to achieve the following outcomes:

Increasing Facebook Ads ROAS through Constant Optimization & Pixel Monitoring

A leading financial services provider’s objective for their Facebook advertising campaign was to increase leads and conversions. Given the campaign’s large scale, which included both awareness and conversion efforts, meticulous attention was essential to ensure seamless conversion tracking and budget optimization.

Despite managing multiple campaigns and nearly 60 creatives, our team at Strike Social prepared and launched the campaigns within 48 hours, arranging a swift go-live for the client’s Facebook conversion ads. We prioritized accuracy by ensuring the Meta Pixel was correctly configured on all relevant website pages to which audiences were directed. This proactive approach and ongoing monitoring enabled us to refine audience targeting, adjust bidding strategies, and optimize the campaign effectively.

Through the implementation of these strategies, we successfully attained the following results:

What Strike Social Delivers

We don’t just provide results; we deliver cost-effective solutions backed by over a decade of expertise and advanced technology to help maximize the impact of your Facebook advertising campaigns.

• Campaign Scaling Expertise: Whether you need support for a quick seasonal campaign or a year-long running Facebook advertising strategy, we’re here to help. Our team of experts has extensive experience in scaling campaigns effectively to reach wider audiences and drive better results. We can provide the resources and knowledge needed to expand your campaigns while maintaining consistent performance metrics like clicks, views, and budget throughout the campaign duration.

• Predictive Advertising Solutions: Using our proprietary tool, Campaign Lab, we apply over 10 years of campaign data alongside machine learning to fine-tune audience targeting and optimize campaign performance. Campaign Lab evaluates key inputs like ad platform, format, budget, and target metrics to identify the most effective audience segments and budget allocations.

• Cost-Effective Pricing Model: Our focus is to get your campaigns to achieve the desired results at lower costs. We operate on a margin pricing model, where our profit is the margin between what we spend on ads and what we charge you. This means we only make money if we save you ad costs while achieving your campaign objectives.

Drive Better Facebook Outcomes with the Right Ad Agency

Achieving a strong return on ad spend (ROAS) on Facebook requires more than periodic campaign reviews. It demands continuous optimization, real-time oversight, and swift adjustments to performance shifts. The right agency will handle this seamlessly, so you can focus on other aspects of your business.

By partnering with an expert ad agency like Strike Social, you gain access to round-the-clock campaign management, rapid execution, and cutting-edge technology. Our approach ensures your Facebook ads are continually optimized to deliver the best possible ROAS. To learn more, contact us for a personalized walkthrough of our SWAS (Software with a Service) and ad tech, so you can see how it works firsthand.

The post How Ad Agencies Improve Facebook ROAS with Fast, Real-Time Optimizations appeared first on Strike Social.

The Importance of Vigilant Campaign Management

For any digital campaign, with media buyers becoming proficient in targeting audiences, vigilant campaign management is critical to success. Managing a large-scale Facebook ad campaign for a global brand, both awareness and conversion effort, came with inherent complexities, requiring close attention to detail and constant monitoring to maximize performance.

This level of vigilance was significant given the following key challenges:

Complex Ad Setup and Execution

The campaign involved nearly 60 distinct creatives, each targeted at different audience segments across retargeting (RT) and lookalike (LAL) campaigns. With such a high number of Facebook ads, managing the initial setup was time-intensive and prone to errors, potentially delaying the campaign launch or misaligning creative execution.

Identifying Top-Performing Ads

With various audience segments and creative formats in play, tracking which ads resonated with specific audiences became critical. Our proprietary tool has enabled our media buying experts to keep campaign pacing on track. Additionally, comparing the performance of creatives across different ad sets and campaigns required diligent, real-time analysis to ensure that the best-performing ads received the highest priority, and our technology and system allow us to stay on top of everything essential.

Pixel Monitoring and Conversion Tracking

Using Meta pixels was essential for tracking conversions and optimizing bidding strategies. Any malfunction or misconfiguration in pixel tracking could lead to inaccurate data reporting, making it difficult to gauge the campaign’s performance. Having a quick eye for 24/7 that ensures Facebook Meta pixel data is reliable and accurate at all times was vital to avoid wasted ad spend and misinformed decision-making.

Vigilant campaign management—through ongoing performance analysis, agile troubleshooting, and constant optimization—was essential to helping achieve 28x Facebook ads ROAS.

Data-Driven Campaign Precision and Agile Execution

To address these challenges effectively, Strike Social implemented solutions focused on streamlining processes, improving real-time monitoring, and making quick, data-informed decisions.

Here’s a quick overview of the team’s approach that helped improve ROAS on Facebook ads and drive the campaign’s success:

Agile Execution Through Vigilant Monitoring

Strike Social achieved agile execution by diligently monitoring campaign performance and swiftly implementing data-driven optimizations. Continuous tracking of conversion trends, cost-per-acquisition (CPA), and other crucial metrics enabled us to promptly detect inefficiencies, such as increasing CPAs or decreased engagement. This agile approach empowered us to fine-tune audience targeting, adjust bidding strategies, and optimize the campaign in real-time. Our constant monitoring ensured that high-performing ads were maximized while minimizing wasted ad spend, thus maintaining the campaign’s trajectory for maximum impact.

Through these strategies, we achieved the following results:

• 66% more impressions than guaranteed
• 2x more link clicks than expected
• 66,000 leads generated and 7,000+ purchases through Facebook ads
• A total of $1.5 million in revenue, translating into an impressive 28x ROAS

In this Facebook ad case study, vigilant monitoring and agile execution highlight how these procedures can drive exceptional outcomes for conversion campaigns. By staying on top of real-time campaign execution, making rapid optimizations, and leveraging a data-driven approach, Strike Social helped our global leader client in the insurance industry achieve a remarkable 28x Facebook ROAS and $1.5 million in revenue.

Whether you’re managing a complex campaign with multiple creatives or prioritizing Facebook ad pixel monitoring, Strike Social’s expertise can help you stay ahead. Our team delivers the precision, speed, and insight necessary to maximize your advertising spend.

Download the Facebook Campaign Management Case Study

Unlock 10-20% better campaign performance with an expert Facebook advertising agency. Complete the form to discover how Strike Social can optimize your results and lower your costs.

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Are you spending at least US$10,000 per month on paid social media advertising? *

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What social media platforms are you interested in advertising on? *

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• Instagram
• Google
• YouTube
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What specific objectives are you looking to achieve through social media advertising?

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• Leads
• Other

Tell us more about your social media advertising needs:

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The post Campaign Management Case Study: Learn How Our Data-Driven Facebook Ad Conversion Strategy Delivered a 28x ROAS appeared first on Strike Social.

How to Fix Facebook Ad ROAS Errors

The first step in effectively addressing inaccurate Facebook ad ROAS is identifying the root cause of the issue. Once you pinpoint the problem, you can implement the necessary fixes to restore reliable and accurate ROAS tracking.

One of the initial indicators that you need to fix Facebook ROAS tracking is when you calculate your revenue generated divided by your ad spend, and the result displayed on the Meta Ads Manager or your campaign dashboard does not match. Let’s take a moment to clarify how your Facebook advertising costs, particularly ROAS in Facebook ads, is calculated:

How is Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) on Facebook Calculated?

To compute your ROAS from Facebook ads, use our calculator below:

This formula is a basic approach for computing your Facebook ads ROAS, particularly for a straightforward e-commerce business where only revenue and ad spend need to be considered.

Example: A fitness apparel brand launches a Facebook ad campaign to promote its new line of workout gear, priced at $100 per unit. The campaign leads to 30 sales.

• Total Revenue: 30 sales × $100 = $3,000
• Ad Spend: $1,000

Without using the Facebook ROAS calculator, the calculation is as follows:

ROAS = Total revenue generated / Ad spend
ROAS = $3,000 / $1,000
ROAS = 3:1 or 3x

In this case, the brand’s ROAS is 3x (or 300%), meaning it generates three dollars in revenue for every dollar spent on Facebook advertising.

For other campaign objectives, the formula for calculating Return on Ad Spend can differ:

Purchase ROAS

• If your e-commerce shop is directly implemented in your Meta platforms, such as Shops, Marketplace, Pages, or Messenger, you should calculate your ROAS based on purchases. 
• The computation for Purchase ROAS should be the purchase conversion value divided by the amount spent on this specific campaign. The purchase conversion value is simply the total amount of purchases generated from sales you acquired on the aforementioned Meta apps. 
• Try out this Facebook ROAS calculator for direct purchases and compare the numbers shown in the Facebook Ads Manager to check for accuracy: 

Example: A footwear brand utilized the Collection ad format with Instant Experience to directly attribute sales from their Facebook ads. They launched a sustainable footwear line, pricing each pair at $95. The ad campaign resulted in 50 sales within one week.

• Total Revenue from Meta Sales: 50 sales × $95 = $4,750
• Ad Spend: $500

Here’s how Purchase ROAS is calculated:

Purchase ROAS = Total revenue generated from Facebook sales / Ad spend
Purchase ROAS = $4,750 / $500
Purchase ROAS = 9.5:1 or 9.5x

For this brand, the Purchase ROAS is 9.5x, meaning they earned 9.5 times their ad spend in revenue from the 7-day run of their Facebook campaign.

Website Purchase ROAS

• If your Facebook ads direct audiences to your website for purchases, then the ROAS formula is based on the total value of website purchases (acquired from the specific Facebook ads or campaign) divided by the ad or campaign spending.
• This requires setting up a Meta Pixel or Conversions API to ensure Meta Ads Manager properly records the correct value associated with each website purchase from your campaign. 
• To determine if you need to fix Facebook ROAS tracking, use this calculator to compute your Website Purchase ROAS:

Example: An eyewear brand uses multiple social media networks for advertising, including Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. To accurately track sales and traffic from each platform, all ads are directed to the website using proper UTMs. Based on their tracking system, the following website purchases were generated from Facebook ads over a 30-day campaign:

• Total Revenue from Website Purchases: 425 sales × $150 = $63,750
• Ad Spend: $10,890

Using the Website Purchase ROAS calculator, here’s how the return is calculated:

Website Purchase ROAS = Total revenue from website purchases / Ad spend
Website Purchase ROAS = $63,750 / $10,890
Website Purchase ROAS = 5.85:1 or 5.85x

This means the eyewear brand achieved a Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) of 5.85x, generating $5.85 in revenue for every dollar spent on Facebook advertising during the campaign.

Mobile App Purchase ROAS

• For app advertisements on Facebook that don’t directly attribute sales, you can still track ROAS through in-app purchases.
• Meta refers to these as “shared items,” which are products or services shared between businesses to create ad campaigns. Instead of focusing on clicks or views, the emphasis is on actions taken with purchases of specific in-app items originating from Facebook ads.
• This will be recorded by connecting the mobile app through the Meta SDK, mobile measurement partner, or other third-party API connections, allowing Facebook Ads Manager to accurately calculate the value from ad conversions.
• To compute this, you need the total value of ad conversions from in-app purchases (acquired from your Facebook campaign) divided by the ad/campaign spend. Use the Facebook ROAS calculator below to see if your data matches: 

Example: A video editing app is advertising through Facebook Reels ads. While the app is free to download, it’s offering a discounted 3-month subscription for new sign-ups, which allows access to professional features. The discounted subscription is $99, and 280 users signed up by clicking on its Reels ads:

• Total Revenue from In-App Purchases: 280 subscriptions × $99 = $27,720
• Ad Spend: $3,800

Using the Facebook ROAS calculator, the Return on Ad Spend is calculated as follows:

Mobile App Purchase ROAS = Total revenue from in-app purchases / Ad spend
Mobile App Purchase ROAS = $27,720 / $3,800
Mobile App Purchase ROAS = 7.29:1 or 7.29x

This means the brand achieved a ROAS of 7.29x, effectively earning 7.29 times its ad spend by promoting the app subscription through paid ads on Reels.

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Further Reading

How to Generate Sales from Social Media Campaigns

With the right approach, increasing sales through social media advertising is possible. As social media campaigns become more influential during major retail events like Halloween and Thanksgiving, brands have significant opportunities to utilize these platforms and enhance ad conversions.

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Common Reasons Why Your Facebook Ad ROAS Might Be Inaccurate

Now that you understand how Return On Ad Spend is computed, you should have a clearer vision of your ideal Facebook ROAS figure. If it’s significantly off from your expectations, consider these common reasons why your Facebook reports might not be providing the results you desire:

Discrepancies Between Facebook and Your Site

One of the most common issues affecting your Facebook ROAS occurs when the purchase value reported on Meta Ads Manager does not align with the actual value recorded on your website. Resolving this requires thoroughly comparing data across multiple platforms to ensure consistency. Here are some steps to identify and fix these discrepancies:

• Cross-check Facebook Conversion Value vs. Actual Purchase Price on Your Website: Compare the conversion value reported by Facebook Ads Manager with the actual purchase amounts posted on your website.
  • Example: You previously promoted a product with a 20% discount during your back-to-school sale and now with a 30% discount as indicated in your current ads. Your website may show the purchase value based on the original price of $100, reflecting the 30% discount, which makes it $70. If Facebook Ads Manager still lists the conversion value as $80 (20% discount), this will lead to a $10 discrepancy in your ROAS computation.

• Compare Facebook Conversion Value with E-commerce Platform Reports: If your site runs on platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce, verify that the revenue figures reported there match what Facebook is tracking.
  • Example: Say you’re offering a product for $50 on your Shopify clothing store's website, but you’ve applied a custom field for a bundled discount. This will effectively reduce the price to $45. Facebook may still record the full $50 as the conversion value if the discount wasn’t communicated through the API, skewing your ROAS calculations by $5 per transaction.

• Cross-check Facebook Conversion Value with Google Analytics or Other Analytics Tools: If you use tools like Google Analytics or other third-party systems for conversion tracking, cross-reference these reports with your Facebook data.
  • Example: For your Amazon Prime Day campaign in October, you promote a $120 product at a limited-time offer of $100. Facebook Ads Manager shows 30 purchases at the discounted price, reporting $3,000 in revenue. In contrast, Google Analytics reports only $2,700 in revenue for the same period.
  • Upon investigating, you discover that Google Analytics attributes some purchases to direct traffic, while Facebook claims them under the ad campaign. This $300 difference could be due to the differing attribution models used by Facebook (last-click or view-through) and Google Analytics (last-non-direct click).

Improper Meta Pixel Tracking

Further investigation is needed if the error isn’t apparent in the reported conversion values. One of the first essential steps when running Facebook ads is to confirm that events such as website visits, clicks, and submissions (like contact forms or purchases) are tracked accurately. If the pixel is not installed correctly or the events it tracks are misconfigured, reported ad conversions and ROAS discrepancies can occur.

How to Troubleshoot:

Using the Meta Pixel Helper

1. Install the Meta Pixel Helper, a Google Chrome extension that checks if your pixel is firing correctly. (Note: Ensure both your Google Chrome browser and the extension are updated to avoid issues like Chrome crashing.)

2. Open a new tab and go to your website. Look for the Meta Pixel Helper icon alongside your other extensions in the top browser bar.

3. If it’s showing a number, your Meta Pixel is being recognized.

Using the Events Manager

1. Go to Events Manager, hover over the left-side menu, and select Data Sources. Choose the appropriate pixel and click on Test Events.

2. In the dropdown menu, select “Confirm your website’s events are set up correctly.” Enter your website or product URL and click “Open Website” to launch it in a new tab.

3. Attempt a test purchase or initiate a cart checkout. Return to the Events Manager window to ensure that all events, from page views to clicks and submissions, are recognized.

4. If your purchase is not recorded as a website event or other events are missing from the “Events Received” section, contact your agency or campaign manager to coordinate with your website developer for proper pixel setup.

Incorrect Conversion Value Reporting

In addition to correctly setting up the Meta Pixel, the conversion value for each sale or purchase must also be properly configured. While this primarily falls on the website developer, knowing which codes should be installed alongside the Meta Pixel is helpful for correctly recording purchase amounts as they are processed.

1. Navigate to your product’s thank you or confirmation page (where customers land after completing payment). Right-click on the page and select Inspect.

2. The HTML code will display on the right side of your Chrome browser. Search for the words “Meta Pixel.”

3. Expand the code to locate the corresponding event code (e.g., the standard event code for Purchase on the order confirmation page). If the code or value is missing or incorrect, contact your agency or campaign manager to coordinate with your website developer.

Delayed Conversion Reporting

77% of marketers today believe that last-click attribution, while the easiest, is not the most effective way to track campaign performance. However, for conversion tracking and calculating Facebook ROAS specifically, you must monitor attribution windows to avoid missing purchases that occur during your campaign period (even during the campaign cooldown period).

Facebook's default attribution window (7 days click, 28 days view) may not capture all conversions, especially for longer sales cycles. Users may click on an ad but complete their purchase days or weeks later, leading to an underreported ROAS if the attribution window is not appropriately set.

How to Fix Facebook ROAS Tracking:

Adjust your attribution settings to account for delayed conversions. Facebook allows you to customize attribution windows (e.g., 1-day click, 7-day click) based on your sales cycle.

By extending the attribution window, you can capture more conversions that occur after the initial ad engagement.

Example:

High-end electronics are usually not purchased within the same day after a user clicks on an ad. For instance, a potential customer clicks on your Facebook ad for a $1,000 laptop but doesn’t immediately make the purchase. Instead, they spend several days comparing options before finally completing the purchase 12 days later. 

In this case, Facebook’s default 7-day click window is insufficient for capturing the delayed conversion. The solution is to extend the attribution window to 28-day click to make sure purchases made up to four weeks after the ad click are counted.

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Further Reading

Understanding ROI vs. ROAS on YouTube

The key distinction between ROI and ROAS is that ROI reflects your profit after deducting expenses, while ROAS shows a ratio comparing revenue to the amount spent on ads. Learn which metric best captures your YouTube ad performance and overall campaign effectiveness.

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Steps to Prevent Issues in Facebook ROAS Reporting

While we’ve outlined common causes of inaccuracies in Facebook ads ROAS, it’s important to recognize that occasional discrepancies are inevitable. However, with the right measures, you can achieve 90% or higher accuracy in conversion tracking and reporting. 

Here’s how you can proactively prevent significant issues in your Facebook ROAS calculations:

Ensure Proper Tracking Setup

• Make sure Meta Pixel and Conversions API (if applicable) are implemented correctly to track customer actions from different touchpoints, providing more accurate attribution of sales and conversions. Familiarize yourself with the Facebook Events Manager and Conversions API Gateway so you can occasionally touch base at the ROAS computation and tell right away if it needs to be fixed.
• For advanced tracking setups, integrating your tracking tools with Google Tag Manager (GTM) offers greater flexibility and granularity, helping capture every action that leads to conversions.

Getting Accurate ROAS on Facebook Ads For Informed Decision-Making

The Facebook ROAS might appear as just another line in your report or presentation, but it’s a key factor in determining whether your ad spend delivers value. It helps you make informed decisions about your advertising budget, including how much to allocate to Facebook and what conversions you can expect based on this data.

Strike Social specializes in reducing costs while delivering outstanding results. To learn how our SwaS (software with a service) innovation can produce measurable outcomes for your campaigns, contact us for a personalized walkthrough of our technology and services.

The post Facebook Ad ROAS Not Accurate? Here’s How to Fix Tracking Errors appeared first on Strike Social.

What Are the Basic Metrics in Facebook Ads That Advertisers Should Know?

To determine the effectiveness of your Facebook advertising efforts, you must know the different Facebook ad metrics available on the platform. Whether you are doing organic posts or paid Facebook advertising, you should be able to differentiate which Facebook metrics you should be tracking.

What Are Facebook Ad Metrics?

Before we get into the details of which Facebook ad metrics you should keep an eye on for your campaigns, let’s establish a clear understanding of the definitions:

Facebook Metrics: These are all the measurable data points on Facebook related to your Page, posts, and ads. They provide insights into your Facebook presence, audience, and overall performance.

Facebook Engagement Metrics: These focus on audience engagement with your posts, such as likes, comments, and shares. You can find these within your Facebook profile’s dashboard.

Facebook Advertising Metrics: These are the Facebook KPIs to note when running paid ad campaigns on Facebook. These can be found within the Meta Ads Manager.

Dissecting the Different Facebook Advertising Metrics

Within Meta Ads Manager, you can select predefined columns that display the specific Facebook ad metrics you want to observe on your dashboard. Additionally, you can customize the columns based on your preference.

Let’s break them down to analyze each metric further.

Performance Metrics

Your Facebook ad performance metrics represent an overview of your campaign’s reach and visibility. These metrics assess how many people your ads reach and how often they are seen. Your performance metrics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Reach 
• Impressions
• Delivery
• Results (based on campaign objective, e.g., if the campaign is running on Leads objective, Results will show the number of website leads)

Engagement Metrics 

Paid ads on Facebook appear on users’ feeds, similar to regular posts. Users can also interact with them via reactions, comments, and shares.

These metrics focus on how users interact with your ads, indicating their level of interest and responsiveness. While similar to the Facebook engagement metrics we mentioned earlier, these are specifically related to your paid ads. These are the Facebook ad metrics included in this view:

For Facebook ad formats with video ads, here are the video engagement metrics you should monitor:

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Further Reading

The Complete List of Facebook Ad Sizes for Different Formats

Before starting your Facebook campaigns, one of the top priorities should be ensuring your ad creative fits the correct format. Check the most up-to-date ad sizes for each Facebook advertising format and placement.

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Conversion Metrics

These metrics correlate directly to your campaign objective and are ideal for evaluating Facebook campaigns aimed at generating leads or sales. They help determine if your ads achieve the desired outcomes and if your ad spend is cost-effective. 

Common Facebook ad metrics in this view include:

Cost Metrics

Cost metrics focus on the financial aspects of your Facebook ad campaign, helping you understand your spending and the efficiency of that spending. These metrics allow you to analyze cost rates at various levels. 

For example, you can analyze CPM against reach and frequency for Awareness, CPC against link clicks or website visits for Traffic campaigns, and CPA against leads or website actions for Leads campaigns. Key cost metrics include:

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Further Reading

Facebook Advertising Costs and Performance Benchmarks

To ensure your Facebook advertising costs stay within budget, explore the various expenses to consider and review Strike Social’s current benchmarks to assess where you stand.

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The Right Facebook Ads Metrics for Different Campaign Objectives

By discerning what each Facebook ad metric corresponds to, what it represents, and which category it belongs to, you’re on the road to identifying which metrics align with your campaign goals. 

Let’s explore various Facebook advertising objectives and the metrics you should focus on to optimize your campaigns accordingly.

Facebook Ad Metrics FAQs

Why are Facebook metrics important?

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• Media buying teams must monitor the right Facebook metrics to optimize campaigns effectively. By analyzing these metrics, teams can make informed decisions to improve their campaigns’ outcomes, such as adjusting ad set budgets, refining audience targeting, and implementing strategic modifications.

• Other teams involved in the advertising process, such as sales teams, also benefit from tracking these metrics. For example, in a back-to-school sales campaign, the sales team can gain valuable insights into the number of purchases attributed to social media advertising. This information allows them to assess the cost-effectiveness of Facebook advertising compared to other advertising mediums. Based on this analysis, they can recommend reallocating budgets or increasing investments in Facebook advertising to maximize its effectiveness in driving sales.

How do I get Facebook metrics?

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• The metrics in Facebook ads can be accessed through the Meta Ads Manager. Although the Meta Ads Manager is a combined ad management and reporting platform for the entire Meta advertising network, only Facebook metrics should appear in your Ads Manager view if you are solely running ads on Facebook. Furthermore, access is limited to the Facebook account associated with the Ads Account where your campaigns are configured.

• Strike Social clients receive these metrics through regular reports from our media buying and client services teams. Alternatively, clients can access a regularly updated dashboard, eliminating the need for weekly or monthly reports. 

• This customized dashboard is tailored to each client’s business model and connected via API integration to ensure that updates from different advertising platforms are reflected immediately.

• This allows for frequent checks and real-time insights into the performance of ongoing Facebook ad campaigns.

How are Facebook metrics calculated?

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With Meta Ads Manager, you don’t have to make manual computations to calculate the Facebook ad metrics you need to monitor.

To ensure the accuracy of the results displayed in Meta Ads Manager, keep these points in mind:

• Verify its proper installation after adding your Meta Pixel to the brand’s website. Use your browser’s Meta Pixel Helper extension to check in real-time if the Meta Pixel is detected.
  
  Once confirmed,  go to the Events Manager to set up Custom Events. For example, when running a Leads campaign, ensure that events like contact form submissions, email clicks, and phone clicks are tracked. This lets Meta record all these actions as Leads in your Ads Manager view.

• If you run a Collection ad format for a sales campaign, you will be asked to create an Instant Experience ad where you will list your products, the link to its Amazon shopping page, for example, and the price for each product. To ensure accurate Purchase ROAS calculation in Meta Ads Manager, assign the correct value to each product in your collection ads so that Meta can calculate this for you.

Importance of Aligning Your Campaigns with the Right Facebook Ad Metrics

As media buyers, it is imperative to acknowledge the different perspectives to consider when learning about Facebook ads reporting and the relevant metrics. While we have detailed the fundamental Facebook ad metrics to track based on your campaign objectives, it is equally important for you to align your reports with the team to whom you are presenting them.

For example, sales teams may prioritize results and purchases, whereas advertising teams may focus on costs and efficiency. With a clear understanding of which Facebook ad metrics matter and how they are interrelated, this aspect of your reporting should become clearer.

Get expert campaign management and efficient reporting with Strike Social. With over a decade of successful paid social media advertising and our proprietary tool, Strike Social reaches your target audiences precisely and optimizes campaigns around the clock. As industry leaders in paid social media advertising, our seasoned media buying teams help brands achieve their objectives, enhancing performance while reducing costs.

Discover how our technology can deliver better results for your brand. Fill out the form below for a personalized walkthrough from one of our sales team members. Smarter media buying starts today.

The post Which Facebook Ad Metrics Should You Use to Measure Ad Performance? appeared first on Strike Social.

This post was updated in May 2025 to provide you with the latest information.

Display Your Ads Suitably with the Right Facebook Advertising Formats

With so many different Facebook ad formats, deciding which is right for your brand can be tough. You might be tempted to try them all, but each Facebook ad campaign objective has specific formats best suited for it. With this guide, you won’t have to second-guess your choices. Below are the different types of Facebook ad formats you should know to help you explore and utilize them effectively for your campaign objectives:

Selecting the Optimal Facebook Ad Format for Your Campaigns

If you’re familiar with the Instagram advertising formats, you might assume Facebook’s are similar. However, Facebook offers a much wider range of ad formats you may not have noticed while browsing your news feed or Messenger. Let’s take a closer look:

Facebook Feed Ads

• These ads are prominently displayed within the user’s news feed, blending with organic content. They can be presented in various ad formats, including images, videos, carousels, or collection.
• Feed ads are one of the most common ad placements utilized on Facebook.

Facebook In-Stream Video Ads

• Like YouTube in-stream ads, these are 5-15-second video ads that can be played before, during, or after a video is played within the user’s feed.
• These ads can also be showcased during live streams of selected Facebook partner creators.

Facebook Video Feed Ads

• The Video Feed is a distinct section within the Facebook app on mobile that allows users to explore an array of video content (separate from the Reels feed). Akin to the Facebook home feed, ads featured within the Video Feed are integrated alongside organic video posts presented to users.

Facebook Marketplace Ads

• To distinguish them from promoted Marketplace listings, Facebook Marketplace ads are an alternative placement for ads displayed in the Feed when the Marketplace search is pertinent to the product, and the user is a target audience.
• When a user searches for a product in the Facebook Marketplace, a paid ad placement in the Marketplace will resemble a listing but will include a “Sponsored” tag.

Facebook Stories Ads

• While navigating through the Stories of your friends or followed pages, Facebook Stories advertisements will appear in between. These are specifically designed for all Facebook campaign objectives and are intended to direct engaged users to a designated landing page or shopping link provided by the advertiser.

Facebook Search Results Ads

• Similarly to Facebook Marketplace ads, these are displayed within Facebook Search Results and will appear when relevant to the search terms entered by the user. 
• These ads are designed to integrate with the specific search results, assuming a similar tile format as other search results but featuring a distinct “Sponsored” label to differentiate them from other results.

Facebook Reels Ads

• While browsing the Facebook Reels feed, Reels ads will appear alongside Reels posted by your Facebook friends and other content creators. These ads can appear post-loop or immediately after an organic Reel is done playing.
• As with any Reels content on Facebook, audiences can comment on, like, view, share, and/or skip them.

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Further Reading

How to Set Up Facebook Reels Ads

When advertising on Facebook Reels, it is important to adhere to the technical specifications to ensure that your ads comply with the platform’s requirements and are delivered efficiently to your target audience. Increase the chances of your Reels ads being approved and can deliver content that is visually appealing, engaging, and effective.

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Facebook Reels Overlay Ads

• Ads can also appear in Facebook Reels as Overlay Ads. These ads show up during the playback of an organic Reel on a user’s device, presenting as clickable banners that, upon interaction, redirect users to a predetermined landing page or link associated with the advertiser.

Facebook Business Explore Ads

• Facebook Business Explore ads are displayed whenever a user engages with an organic post from a business entity and subsequently scrolls to view additional posts from businesses operating within the same category or industry.
• In this view, users are presented with various unsponsored posts and sponsored Facebook ads from businesses similar to the post initially clicked upon.

Facebook Right Column Ads (Desktop Only)

• When your audience scrolls through your Facebook feed on the desktop website, they will see an image ad on the right side of the screen, along with their contacts and, if applicable, any Facebook Pages they manage.

Facebook Groups Feed Ads

• Furthermore, ads can also be displayed within the news feed for Facebook Groups.
• This feature is compatible with video and carousel ads, allowing your Facebook ad campaigns to be presented to groups with relevant demographics, interests, and behaviors following the targeting specifications you selected for your advertising campaigns.

Messenger Stories Ads

• Apart from the Facebook platform itself, another ad placement opportunity exists for brands within Messenger. At present, Messenger Stories advertisements are exclusively accessible for the following campaign objectives:
  • Conversions
  • App installations
  • Traffic
  • Awareness

How Do These Ad Formats Appear on Facebook

To get a better idea of what these different Facebook ad types look like within the Meta advertising network, here are some visual examples:

Image Ads

Video Ads

Carousel Ads

Collection Ads

Choosing the Best Facebook Ad Format for Your Campaign Objectives

Not all Facebook ad formats may be compatible with and align with your target audience’s preferences when they seek your product or service on the platform. Consequently, we have demonstrated how these formats appear on Facebook’s desktop or mobile application. 

Now that you are aware of the distinctions, the following are the ideal Facebook advertising formats based on the campaign objective and the intended outcome of your Facebook advertising campaigns:

Facebook Media Buyer FAQs

Getting Acquainted with Facebook Advertising Formats

Now that you’ve gained insight into how various Facebook ad formats align with campaign objectives and platform placements, you can appreciate the diversity of advertising options on Facebook. Each placement caters well to selected ad types on Facebook, which can provide a better user experience to audiences, leading to better ad performances for your campaigns. 

It’s time to move to the next part of our Facebook advertising guide: understanding the correct Facebook ad sizes and specs. This will ensure that your ads look their best when they appear on people’s screens.

The post 2025 Facebook Ad Formats to Effectively Showcase Your Ads appeared first on Strike Social.

What Are Meta Advantage+ Placements?

We must understand its meaning to determine whether Meta Advantage+ placements are right for you. Advantage+ placements are part of Meta’s complete campaign solutions, using AI to maximize each ad impression and exposure on the Meta platforms.

What Are the AI Solutions Within the Meta Advantage+ Suite?

Here are the various Meta Advantage+ functions advertisers can utilize in ad campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Meta Audience Network.

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Further Reading

Explore the Benefits of Using Meta Advantage+ Catalog Ads

Meta Advantage+ catalog ads automatically adjust elements like creative and placements for products that capture customer interest. When a customer engages with a product from your catalog, Meta creates a targeted ad designed to increase appeal. This feature enhances your advertising strategy by driving more effective engagement and sales.

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Where Will Your Ads Appear with Meta Advantage+ Placements?

Depending on your campaign objective, your ads can appear in various placements and formats across Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta ads platforms.

When Should You Use Meta Advantage+ Placements?

Now that you know which platforms and placements your ads can appear on, as well as which objectives and ad formats are compatible with Advantage+ placements, it’s time to determine if it’s the right fit for your brand and advertising goals. 

If you meet one or more of the following criteria, we recommend turning on Meta Advantage+ placements to maximize your advertising efforts on Meta platforms fully.

New to Facebook and Instagram Advertising

• For advertisers new to the platform who lack sufficient data to determine effective placements, Advantage+ placements utilize Meta’s extensive data and algorithms to identify the best ad placements automatically.
• This way, you can rely on Meta’s AI to distribute your campaigns across all available placements based on your ad format and objective. Meta will gather data to help you determine which placements work best.
• For instance, if you’ve been advertising more on YouTube and TikTok with video ads, Advantage+ placements can help identify the most effective ad placements within Meta’s advertising ecosystem.

Testing New Placements

• If you want to experiment with new placements or ad formats within the Meta Business Suite, Advantage+ can automatically include them in your campaign and measure their effectiveness.
• For example, if you have been primarily advertising on Instagram and are considering expanding to Facebook ads to acquire a new audience, such as promoting a new line of mocktails for a younger demographic, Advantage+ placements can help determine if Facebook placements are worth adding to your media plan or if maximizing Instagram ad placements would be more effective.

Download our 2024 Facebook CPLC Case Study

See how Strike Social used Facebook Reels and Carousel ads to highlight the brand’s reputation for stylish, durable automatic watches at competitive prices. By strategically allocating budget and selecting optimal ad formats, the campaign achieved a CPLC 34.69% below the guaranteed rate, proving the power of smart ad placements.

Download the report

Expand Ad Reach for Awareness and Traffic Campaigns

• Advantage+ placements can significantly boost your ad’s exposure when you aim to generate traffic or reach new audiences. By distributing ads across multiple platforms, Advantage+ placements help enhance both reach and engagement.
• The main purpose of Advantage+ placements is to broaden the visibility of your ads by displaying them across more locations within the Meta Audience Network. This means your ads will reach a larger audience, including users of mobile apps and websites beyond Facebook and Instagram.
• Though there isn’t a specific list of apps and websites within the Meta Audience Network, applying Advantage+ placements ensures your ads are seen in diverse digital environments, expanding your reach far beyond Meta’s own platforms.

When Should You Choose Manual Ad Placements Over Advantage+?

Manual ad placements can be advantageous when your advertising goals on Meta require a more tailored approach. If your objectives or concerns align with the following points, consider using manual placements:

Specific Placement Goals

• When you have specific goals for particular placements, choosing manual placements provides better control and precision, allowing for more targeted optimization.
• For instance, if your brand’s strategy revolves around video ads and you’ve seen positive results from this format, manual ad placement allows you to focus exclusively on high-performing Meta ad placements like Reels ads and other video-centric options.

Low-Quality Actions

• If you notice that certain placements are resulting in low-quality actions or conversions, such as accidental clicks or clicks from bots, it may be wise to exclude those placements manually. The algorithm does not inherently recognize low-quality clicks, so manual adjustments are necessary.
• For example, a study by a major B2B company found that while Meta Advantage+ helped them acquire more leads, their quality was lower than those leads acquired through traditional targeting and placement controls. In such cases, manually managing placements can help you focus on channels that yield higher-quality results.

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Further Reading

Guide to Meta Ad Sizes: Ensure Your Creatives Fit Every Placement

Meta ad sizes and specifications differ by ad type and placement. Advertising on Meta opens up multiple placements across Facebook, Instagram, and other apps within the Meta network. Make sure your creatives are sized right to capture audience attention across all placements.

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Opting In and Out of Meta Advantage+ Placements

You can set up your campaigns once you determine whether to use Meta Advantage+ or manual placements. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you configure your Meta ad placements before the campaign launch:

How to Turn On Meta Advantage+ Placements

1. Log in to Meta Ads Manager. Ensure you are logged into your Facebook account and have access to the Ads Account on which you will be setting up the campaign.
2. Click Create at the Campaign level, then choose your campaign objective.
3. For the campaign setup, choose Manual campaign.
4. Proceed with the usual campaign setup. At the campaign level, you can decide whether to turn on the Advantage campaign budget (formerly campaign budget optimization) before moving to the Ad set level.
5. You can toggle between Advantage+ and manual placements on the Ad set level. The default setting is Advantage+ placements. To keep Advantage+ placements active, do not make any changes.
6. Continue with the rest of your campaign and ad setup.

How to Turn Off Advantage+ Placements and Switch to Manual Ad Placement

1. Follow steps 1-4 as outlined above.
2. Once on the Ad set level, scroll to the Placements section and click Edit to switch to manual ad placement.
3. Toggle the button to turn off Advantage+ placements and click on Manual placements.
4. You can choose the specific ad placements you want within Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the rest of the Meta Audience Network.
5. Once you have selected your desired placements, proceed with the rest of your campaign and ad setup.

It’s best to decide upfront which option is best for your campaigns, as changing your ad placement setup mid-campaign can disrupt the learning phase and lead to inconsistent ad performance. By determining the best ad placement strategy before the campaign flight, you can steer your campaigns more effectively and develop a clearer plan for optimizing results.

Is Advantage+ Really Beneficial for Your Meta Campaigns?

Are you ready to leverage the power of Advantage+? You’ve seen various perspectives, and by now, you should be able to evaluate whether Meta Advantage+ placements can truly enhance your brand’s results. The next step is to test it and determine how much control you need over your campaigns versus letting Meta’s AI optimize your ad placements. The real answer lies in taking action.

If you have questions about using Meta Advantage+ for your campaigns and how Strike Social can combine our expertise with AI to drive better results for your brand, reach out to our team for a personalized walkthrough of our tools and technology.

The post Should You Use Meta Advantage+ Placements for Your Campaigns? appeared first on Strike Social.

How Targeting Sports Audiences Drives Results During Major Sports Events

The meteoric rise of powerhouse women athletes like Simone Biles, Alex Morgan, Sabrina Ionescu, and Caitlin Clark exemplifies the surge of sports on social media. Beyond their remarkable achievements in women’s sports, these athletes have each seen their careers skyrocket and a boost in social media engagement. Comscore reported that women’s sports are becoming mainstream, boosting a 219% YoY social media growth from ESPNW.

This year, the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament shattered viewership records, capturing the attention of sports fans nationwide. The championship game between the University of South Carolina and the University of Iowa drew 18.7 million average viewers, peaking at over 24 million combined on ESPN and ABC. The 2024 collegiate season marked the first time a women’s final surpassed the viewership of the men’s championship game.

Let’s understand how social media’s influence is pivotal in sports marketing. By examining how brands and advertisers can harness sports-centric content strategically, we can uncover opportunities to enhance campaign engagement, establish emotional connections with audiences, and create brand loyalty.

Sports Teams and Athletes are Becoming Brand Champions

Sports teams and athletes possess universal appeal, enabling businesses to engage with enthusiasts and a broader demographic that may not traditionally follow sports.

These types of content transcend various cultures and demographics, capturing themes of unity, perseverance, and victory that resonate with the masses. Notably, sports fans, regardless of their level of fanaticism, often engage with a team or athlete’s social media pages, especially during significant events.

Caitlin Clark, a generational talent in the WNCAA, has experienced phenomenal growth on Instagram, mirroring her exceptional career. In September 2021, she had 46,808 followers. Approximately three years before securing the top pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, Clark has amassed a remarkable 1.5 million followers on Instagram. Her follower count surged during her March Madness stint, with approximately 60k new followers in February-March 2022, 350k in February-April 2023, and a staggering one million in February-April 2024.

The prominence of sports fandom on social media has been amplified recently, particularly with the increasing popularity of women athletes filling our social newsfeeds. As a result, brands can capitalize on this surge of engagement by aligning their advertising campaigns with the trending sports buzz. This strategic placement of ads within relevant sports-related content can effectively capture the attention of a wider audience and enhance brand exposure.

Why Should Non-Sports Brands Add Sports Audiences To Their Targeting?

Given the effectiveness of sports teams and athletes as brand advocates, it’s beneficial to understand why non-sports brands should consider including sports audiences in their paid social strategies.

Looking at the example, Caitlin Clark’s explosive growth on social media exemplifies the individual athlete’s influence and the broader potential for brands to tap into these vibrant fan bases and target highly engaging sports content.

Here are three insights on why advertisers should be targeting sports audiences:

1. Broader Market Reach

Sports and athletes provide a gateway to diverse audiences. Lifestyle brands can have a fresh new set of eyes from sports and athlete followers. Sports content usually shows victory, motivation, and perseverance, and brands can harness these themes to enhance their ad narratives.

2. High Engagement Levels

Athletes like Caitlin Clark demonstrate the potential for quality engagement with sports followers on social media platforms. Brands should be around conversation during key sports events. Interaction with sports followers drives results as it translates into significant brand awareness and recall.

3. Efficient Personalized Messaging Through Localized Campaigns

During events like the NCAA Finals, geo-targeting specific regions or cities where games are being held or where fan bases are located can be highly effective. Localized campaigns allow for more personalized marketing, leading to higher engagement rates at a lower cost than broader national campaigns.

Sports Audience Targeting in Action

The team used custom affinity audiences in a YouTube ad campaign, balancing sports-centric audience targeting and sustainability interests. The campaign achieved a 13% CPM efficiency for non-skippable ads and a 40% cost reduction in CPV for skippable ads.

An important insight gained was that sports-centric audience targeting worked well with non-skippable ads on connected TVs (CTV). Understanding viewers’ viewing intent based on the device can increase efficiency. For non-skippable ads on larger screens, viewers are likelier to stick around and watch the ad, as they’re consuming long-form sports content like condensed games, replays, analysis, or match breakdowns. Unlike mobile viewers, attention spans are shorter, and viewing intent is mixed.

Balancing the ratio of sports-centric and interest-based, matching the right ad formats, and device targeting are factors that advertisers shouldn’t overlook.

Download our 2024 YouTube HVAC Case Study

By targeting sports audiences, the HVAC brand tapped into its viewer’s interests, leading to significant reach and surpassing view targets through the use of Custom Intent audiences in its YouTube campaign.

Download the report

Social Platforms Ad Tools That You Can Use In Capitalizing Growth in Sports Viewership

Having established the synergy between the explosion in sports viewership and social media, advertisers can now know how to capitalize on the popularity of high-profile sports events by utilizing social platforms as dynamic advertising toolkits. These platforms allow brands to effectively engage with sports fans at all levels by tapping into each platform’s user base’s unique features and consumption habits.

Apart from targeting sports audiences, below are three refined strategies advertisers can employ:

Streamline Endorsements or Brand Partnerships Process

• TikTok Spark Ads: Collaborate with influential creators to produce authentic branded content. For example, a sports drink brand might partner with fitness influencers on TikTok to create native-looking workout videos that subtly highlight product benefits.
• Instagram Branded Content: Partner with athletes and influencers to integrate branded messages into their content, enhancing credibility and appeal.
• YouTube BrandConnect: Work with YouTube publishers and sports content creators to amplify brand narratives within fan communities, fostering deeper connections.

Leverage Specific Features or Ad Placements for Integrated Campaigns

• Instagram and Facebook Reels, Stories Ads: Use immersive, short-form video content to captivate audiences and drive engagement during major sports events.
• YouTube Shorts Ads: Go for bite-sized, visually compelling advertisements to reach viewers and maintain their attention.
• TikTok Interactive Add-Ons: Boost engagement through interactive elements like stickers, filters, and mini-games, making ad experiences more engaging.

---

Further Reading

Which Short-Form Ad Platform is Your Go-To?

TikTok pioneered bite-sized videos and quickly became one of the fastest-growing social media platforms. In response, Meta introduced Reels on Instagram and Facebook, while YouTube Shorts soon followed. The question is: which short-form video platform should your brand prioritize?

---

Utilize Extensive Targeting Capabilities

• TikTok Hashtag Targeting: Reach audiences based on their interests and behaviors within specific content categories, such as #Olympics2024 or #marchmadness2024
• Facebook and Instagram Behavioral and Connection-Based Targeting: Target users precisely based on their interests, online activities, and connections to sports-related pages and groups.
• YouTube’s Access to CTV, Affinity, and In-Market Audiences: Exploit advanced targeting options to reach highly relevant audiences across devices and platforms, optimizing for viewers actively looking for sports content or related products.

If you’re looking to harness the power of sports fandom in your marketing campaigns and see real efficiencies in targeting sports fans, our team is ready to assist.

We understand the dynamics of sports marketing and the unique opportunities it presents on social platforms. By partnering with us, you’ll access data-centric insights that can transform your advertising efforts.

The post Non-sports Brands Can Score Big by Targeting Sports Audiences appeared first on Strike Social.

This post was updated in February 2025 to provide you with the latest information.

Optimize Your Facebook Ad Spend with Meta Advantage Campaign Budget (CBO)

Beyond your Facebook advertising metrics — the traffic to your website, the leads generated — another critical aspect to monitor closely is your Facebook ad spend. The challenge lies in allocating your campaign budget not just evenly across your ad groups and their respective ads, but more importantly, towards those showing superior performance. Traditionally, this has been a manual task for media buyers, requiring constant oversight.

The introduction of Meta Advantage campaign budget (formerly campaign budget optimization) feature aims to alleviate this task from the shoulders of advertisers and media buyers. This brings us to a crucial inquiry: Can we trust Meta’s AI to manage our budgets effectively? More importantly, how can media buyers maintain a level of involvement and control in this automated process?

Common Mistakes When Managing Facebook Campaign Budgets

Media buyers are responsible for overseeing ad costs to ensure that the ad spend is effectively channeled towards the most successful ad groups and ads. This strategy also prevents poorly performing ones from consuming the entire budget for Facebook ads.

Given that media buyers cannot monitor campaign budgets and ad spend 24/7, certain errors commonly occur when budgets are not adequately supervised:

Setting fixed budgets across all ad sets regardless of performance

• Initially allocating ad budgets evenly across all ad sets is a reasonable strategy at the start of your Facebook campaigns.
• However, once the campaigns begin to show results in terms of conversions or website traffic — typically around the two-week mark or the Learning phase — it becomes essential to redistribute the budgets for Facebook ads towards the better-performing ones.

Lack of data analysis for budget reallocations

• An important consideration in setting up a Facebook campaign is deciding which key metric to focus on, depending on your campaign’s goal. For objectives related to website reach and awareness, the CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) should be your primary metric.
• Budget adjustments made without considering the appropriate metrics, such as focusing on CPC (cost per click) instead, may not support the campaign’s objectives effectively.

Disregarding pacing and optimization features

• Advertising platforms, including Facebook, offer various features that allow for a more transparent view of how your budget is being spent. Facebook Ads Manager provides recommendations and alerts to help you enhance your budget and ad performance.
• These notifications should not be ignored; they are valuable resources that, when utilized effectively, can significantly improve the efficiency of your ad spend.

---

Further Reading

Effective Campaign Pacing in Paid Social Advertising

A well-paced paid social campaign ensures steady results, whether for short-term promotions or long-term growth. By managing campaign pacing effectively, you can maximize performance during peak periods while keeping costs under control.

---

How Meta Advantage Campaign Budget Works

With Meta Advantage Campaign Budget (Facebook campaign budget optimization), advertisers have the ability to establish a single, unified campaign budget. This budget is then dynamically allocated across various ad sets to prioritize those showing the best performance, all in real-time.

Through Meta’s advanced AI technology, the system continuously evaluates the performance of each ad set. It then dynamically redistributes the campaign budget, prioritizing ad sets that are delivering the best results. This process happens automatically, relieving media buyers from the task of manually adjusting Facebook ad budget allocations across different ad sets.

By ensuring that a larger portion of your budget is spent on ad sets that are performing well, Facebook CBO maximizes the ROI of your advertising efforts. This automated optimization process allows businesses to achieve better campaign outcomes, requiring minimal manual intervention.

Advantage Campaign Budget In Action

To offer a clearer understanding, let’s examine how Meta Advantage campaign budget allocates your ad spending and the importance of individual optimization for each ad set.

(Note: This example is purely illustrative. All numbers are fictional and do not reflect any real campaigns.)

For example, your brand will launch an Awareness campaign to introduce a new product and gauge market response. You decide to activate three ad sets for the campaign, organized by ad format:

• Image ad set
• Video ad set
• Carousel ad set

With an allocated budget for the campaign at $1,000 for 1 month, you set up a lifetime budget and turn on the Advantage campaign budget option.

With your ads under Facebook’s campaign budget optimization, the system initiates a learning phase for your ads. During this phase, it assesses each ad set’s performance and determines the optimal budget distribution.

For instance, should the Carousel ad sets outperform the others by the second week, Facebook CBO might adjust the budget distribution to:

This redistribution reflects CBO’s ability to allocate budgets dynamically based on ongoing performance analysis. However, if the Video ad sets initially underperform, it’s advisable not to deactivate them prematurely. CBO continues to monitor and analyze all ad sets throughout the campaign duration. 

For example, if after four weeks, the Video ad sets start performing better, CBO might then adjust the budget to enhance their reach:

This example underscores the intelligence of Facebook CBO in managing ad spend. It dynamically reallocates budgets based on performance, ensuring no opportunity for optimization is missed, even with ad sets that may take longer to show their full potential.

Make Budget Allocation Effortless with Facebook CBO

Eliminate the worry of needing to constantly monitor your campaigns for fear that ad performance might dip in your absence. The essence of Facebook campaign budget optimization is to lift this burden from advertisers, allowing you to concentrate on broader strategic objectives such as data analysis and campaign performance decisions.

Rather than seeing it as giving up control, consider campaign budget optimization as a sophisticated tool working on your behalf. This approach doesn’t mean you’re stepping back entirely; instead, you remain an integral part of the decision-making process, guiding the AI rather than being sidelined by it.

A committed and expert advertising partner is crucial for the success of any digital campaign. Engage with Strike Social‘s Facebook advertising professionals and experience the difference that expert insight and strategic use of tools can make. Let us show you how Strike Social can be a valuable ally in your advertising strategy.

The post Should Advertisers Rely on Meta Advantage Campaign Budget (Facebook Campaign Budget Optimization)? appeared first on Strike Social.

Understanding that the key to client satisfaction involved more than just the timely execution of strategies, such as creative swaps and campaign optimization, our team recognized the necessity of a dedicated, hands-on approach. To this end, Strike Social mobilized a team of 50 Facebook media buyers experts, each driven by a shared objective to enhance efficiency across every local club campaign.

The impressive results of this Facebook ad awareness and consideration campaign are a testament to the power of a well-crafted media plan, the strategic use of technology, and the relentless dedication of a globally coordinated team. Through Strike Social’s efforts, the brand not only reached but surpassed its goals, setting a new benchmark in digital advertising within the health and fitness industry.

Strike Social’s global team’s commitment to 24/7 monitoring and our agile response to the campaign’s evolving needs guaranteed that the health and fitness brand met and exceeded its ambitious objectives.

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The post Health and Fitness Facebook Case Study appeared first on Strike Social.

Mastering the Basics of Facebook Marketing with the Facebook Ad Glossary

Venturing into Facebook advertising can be intimidating without a grasp of the basics. That’s why we’ve crafted this Facebook ad glossary for advertisers eager to explore Facebook advertising but still determining where to begin. With ad experts anticipating a robust year in 2024, projecting up to $55.77 billion in revenue, aspiring brands should quickly secure their share of this lucrative market.

As you familiarize yourself with the ideas and concepts, you’ll better understand how Facebook advertising operates. Like other paid social media platforms, you’ll find it easier to piece together the puzzle as you delve into the process.

See the Facebook marketing terms in alphabetical order below. You can also click from the sections above to jump on the Facebook glossary ad term you are looking for.

2-second continuous video plays: The count of instances where your video ad played continuously for at least 2 seconds, with at least 50% of the video pixels in view.

3-second video plays: The tally of instances where your video ad played for at least 3 seconds.

Account currency: The currency is utilized to settle costs within an ad account.

Account ID: A distinctive identifier assigned by Facebook to an ad account.

Account name: The designated name for an ad account.

Account spending limit: The maximum allowable spending for an ad account.

Accounts Center: A centralized tool designed for the oversight of ad accounts across various Facebook apps and services.

Ad account: An individual account established for the administration of advertising activities on Facebook.

Ad creative: The content of an ad, encompasses images, videos, and text.

Ad frequency capping: A control mechanism to manage the number of times you reach your audience. Useful when aiming to avoid excessive exposure to the same individuals.

Ad library: A searchable database containing all active and inactive ads on Facebook and Instagram.

Ad set budget: The overall amount of money allocated for a particular ad set, comprising a group of ads with a shared budget, schedule, and target audience.

Ad set delivery: The method employed to distribute ads within an ad set, including standard delivery or accelerated delivery.

Ad set name: The designated name for an ad set to facilitate easy identification within an ad account.

Ad set optimization: The process of defining specific objectives for an ad set, like link clicks, impressions, or daily unique reach, to assist Facebook in delivering ads to individuals most likely to take the desired action.

Ads API: A tool enabling the creation and management of ads programmatically.

Age: A demographic targeting option defines your ads’ audience within a specific age group.

Age and gender: Demographic targeting options specify the age and gender of the audience, as indicated in their Facebook profiles.

Attribution model: The rule or set of rules determining how credit for conversions is assigned to touchpoints in conversion paths.

Attribution setting: The method through which conversions are attributed to your ads.

Audience: The group of people you aim to reach with your ads.

Audience Network: A network of approved mobile app publishers displaying ads in their apps on behalf of Facebook.

Audience targeting: The act of fine-tuning the audience for an ad based on specific criteria, such as demographics, interests, or behaviors.

Auto-refresh impressions: The number of times an ad is displayed to the same individual due to automatic refreshing of a webpage or app.

Awareness objective: A campaign designed to enhance people’s awareness and recognition of your business.

A/B testing: A method of comparing two versions of an ad to determine which one performs better.

Backup payment method: A secondary payment method is used when the primary payment method fails.

Bid strategy: The approach is employed to determine the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for the desired results.

Billing summary: A report detailing the expenditure on an ad account during a specific period.

Billing threshold: The amount that must be spent on an ad account before payment is required.

Budget: Total budget allocated depending on the ad level (campaign, ad set, or ad level).

Campaign budget: The overall budget allocated for a specific ad campaign.

Campaign budget optimization (now Meta Advantage campaign budget): A feature that autonomously distributes your campaign budget among ad sets to attain optimal results.

Campaign ID: An exclusive identifier assigned by Facebook to a campaign.

Campaign lifetime budget: The overall sum allocated for spending on a campaign throughout its duration.

Campaign name: The designated name for a specific campaign.

Campaign objective: The intended goal for a campaign, whether it’s brand awareness, conversions, or another objective.

Campaign spending limit: The highest allowable amount of spending for a particular campaign.

Carousel ads: An ad format allowing multiple images or videos within a single ad unit.

Clicks: The total number of times users clicked on your ad.

Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of individuals who viewed your ad and executed a link click.

Content views: The total number of times users viewed your content, whether video or image.

Conversion lift studies: A tool measuring the impact of Facebook ads on offline sales.

Conversion tracking: The process of monitoring and measuring the actions users take after clicking on your ads.

Conversions: The count of instances where individuals completed a desired action after clicking on your ads, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

Cost per acquisition (CPA): The average cost paid for each conversion.

Cost per click (CPC): The average cost incurred for each click on your ad links.

Cost per impression (CPM): The average cost for every 1,000 ad impressions.

Cost per lead (CPL): The average cost paid for each generated lead.

Cost per view (CPV): The average cost paid for each view of your video ad.

Custom audience: A target audience created from existing customer data, such as email addresses or phone numbers.

Daily Active People (DAP): The count of unique individuals taking an action on your ad or Page within a specific day.

Daily Active Users (DAU): The number of unique individuals taking an action on your ad or Page within a specific day.

Daily budget: The average amount earmarked for an ad set or campaign every day.

Dark posts: Unpublished Page posts utilized as ads.

Demographic targeting: Targeting ads to a particular audience based on demographic factors like age, gender, education, and employment.

Dynamic ads: Ads automatically displaying relevant products to individuals who have shown interest in your website, app, or elsewhere on the Internet.

Dynamic product ads: A type of ad automatically promoting products to people who have expressed interest on your website, in your app, or elsewhere on the Internet.

Engagement campaign: This campaign objective aims to stimulate interaction with your content, facilitating increased likes, comments, shares, and event responses to your posts.

Engagement rate: The percentage of individuals who viewed and engaged with your ad (clicked, liked, commented, shared, or expanded it).

Engagement targeting: Targeting individuals who have previously interacted with your content or Page.

Estimated audience size: An approximation of the number of people in your target audience.

Facebook algorithm: The set of rules and calculations employed by Facebook to determine the ads shown to specific users.

Facebook Feed: The main section of the Facebook app or website where people see posts and ads from friends, family, and Pages they follow.

Facebook pixel: A specialized Facebook tool was aiding in tracking conversions, optimizing ads, and constructing targeted audiences.

Impressions: The total count of times your ads were displayed on the screen.

Instant form: A type of Facebook ad allowing users to fill out a form without requiring them to leave the platform.

Interest targeting: Targeting ads to a specific audience based on their interests and hobbies.

Landing page: The webpage users are directed to after clicking on an ad.

Lead generation campaign: A campaign that aims to collect contact information from potential customers by prompting individuals to complete a form with their contact details.

Lifetime budget: The total amount designated for a campaign throughout its full duration.

Lookalike audience: A target audience is fashioned based on the characteristics of an existing audience.

Lookalike audience refinement: The process of refining a lookalike audience based on specific criteria, like location or interests.

Meta Ads Manager: The platform for creating and managing Facebook and Instagram ads.

Meta Advantage campaign budget (formerly campaign budget optimization): A feature automatically distributing your campaign budget across ad sets to achieve optimal results.

Meta Business Suite: A tool where businesses can manage their Facebook and Instagram presence across multiple platforms.

Meta Business Tools: A suite of tools designed to help businesses manage their Facebook and Instagram presence.

Meta Pixel standard events: A predefined set of actions tracked using the Facebook Pixel, like adding an item to a cart or making a purchase.

Monthly Active People (MAP): The count of unique individuals taking an action on your ad or Page in a given month.

Monthly Active Users (MAU): The number of unique individuals taking an action on your ad or Page in a given month.

Multi-product ads: An ad format where brands can showcase multiple products within a single ad unit.

News feed: The primary section of the Facebook app or website where users view posts and ads from friends, family, and followed Pages.

Placements: The locations where your ads appear, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Audience Network.

Post engagements: The total number of times people engaged with your post, including likes, comments, or shares.

Reach: The total count of individuals who saw your ads at least once.

Retargeting: Displaying ads to people who have previously engaged with your business.

Retargeting window: The timeframe within which you can show retargeting ads to individuals who have interacted with your business.

Sales objective: A campaign targeted for people to take valuable actions on your website or app, such as event registration, adding items to the cart, or making a purchase.

Saved audiences: Audiences saved for future use in your Facebook ad campaigns.

Traffic objective: This particular campaign objective directs people to your website or app, assisting in garnering more clicks by optimizing for link clicks or landing page views.

Video views: The total count of times your video ad was viewed for 3 seconds or more.

Website click conversion: The number of individuals who clicked on your ad and subsequently completed a desired action on your website, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.

Your Handbook to Facebook Advertising: Access the Facebook Glossary of Ad Terms

Mastering the fundamentals of Facebook advertising is crucial for anyone looking to make the most of their marketing efforts on the platform. From understanding the various terms and concepts to delving into the intricacies of ad setup, targeting options, and metrics, a solid grasp of these elements can significantly impact the success of your campaigns. 

While other paid social media advertising platforms may share similar terms, their applications can differ. We aim to construct this Facebook ad glossary to cater to new advertisers and experienced media buyers. Memorization is not mandatory, but keeping this guide accessible for your Facebook marketing terms can prove valuable.

Expand your expertise. Browse Strike Social’s latest blogs here:

• 
  Google Marketing Live 2025 Recap: Key YouTube and Google Ads Updates for Advertisers
• 
  Marketing to Gen Z: Social Media Strategies for Performance-Driven Brands
• 
  TikTok News and Updates Q1 2025: What Advertisers Need to Know
• 
  YouTube Shorts Views Are Changing: How You Can Adapt Your Paid Ads Strategy
• 
  7 Social Media Advertising Trends You Should Know in 2025
• 
  Increase YouTube Subscribers with Google Ads: A Step-by-Step Guide

The post Advertising Know-Hows: Facebook Ad Glossary appeared first on Strike Social.

In this guide, we’ll troubleshoot Facebook ad rejection reasons and equip you with the knowledge to tackle these hurdles confidently.

Crack the Code to Avoid These Common Reasons for Facebook Ad Disapproval

When you advertise on Facebook, there is more than just the regular review process you should be concerned about. Your ads might undergo random reviews to ensure they align with Facebook’s Advertising Standards. The catch? You won’t know about this review until you are notified that your ads stopped.

So, why let the uncertainty of potential Facebook ad rejection loom over your campaigns? Why fret about the ad rejection reasons when you can be absolutely certain that your ads comply with the guidelines? In this blog, we’ll show you how to ensure that ad disapproval becomes a thing of the past.

• What are the most common reasons for Facebook rejecting ads?
• How can I appeal a Facebook ad rejection?
  • How to resubmit an ad denied on Facebook?
  • How to resolve ads incorrectly rejected by Facebook?

What are the Most Common Facebook Ad Rejection Reasons?

Facebook’s ad platform provides an extensive range of options for reaching your target audience. However, it also comes with its guidelines that advertisers must strictly follow. There’s nothing more frustrating than receiving an email from Facebook support only to discover that your ad has been disapproved. Therefore, understanding the common reasons for Facebook ad disapproval can help streamline the often tedious ad appeal process.

Prohibited and restricted content

Facebook maintains a stringent stance on what it considers restricted and prohibited content within advertising. Restricted content may receive approval but with specific conditions, often influenced by regional regulations. Prohibited content, including hate speech, violence, and illegal products or services, is unequivocally off-limits.

Examples of prohibited content span a wide spectrum, including:

• Nudity or other sexually suggestive content
• Hate speech, credible threats or direct attacks on an individual or group
• Content that contains self-harm or excessive violence
• Fake or impostor profiles
• Spam

Personal attributes

Another example of Facebook ad rejection reasons are instances when ads directly assert or subtly imply personal attributes. These include but are not limited to race, ethnicity, religion, age, or sexual orientation. Be cautious not to target or discriminate against users based on these characteristics inadvertently.

Unrealistic claims

Facebook takes a strong stance against ads that make exaggerated or unattainable claims. If your ad promises something unrealistic or impossible, it’s likely to be rejected. For instance, claiming a whitening lotion can quickly lighten skin tone in two days would not meet Facebook’s standards.

Maintaining integrity in your advertising is essential to offering achievable and credible promises to your audience.

Special ad categories

These categories encompass credit, employment, and housing-related ads and come with specific guidelines that advertisers must be aware of. 

One notable feature of Special ad categories is their more limited audience targeting options compared to standard ad categories. Age targeting, geographical targeting, exclusions, and lookalike audiences are all subject to stricter limitations under Facebook ad compliance guidelines. Advertisers can create specialized saved audiences designed to focus solely on their desired database or audience.

Ad rejections beyond ad content

It’s not just about the content and images within your ad; the destination of your links plays a critical role. Facebook assesses the legitimacy and security of the links you provide. Ads that direct users to non-secure or unsafe domains will likely fail the Facebook ad review process.

Facebook ad guidelines on external links

You may get your ad denied on Facebook if your links commit any of the following infractions:

• Misleading links that deceive users
• Landing pages lacking transparency and trustworthiness
• Distribution of fake news
• Inconsistent domains where the displayed URL doesn’t match the actual destination
• Broken links leading to frustrating user experiences

Media buyers must recognize that the adjustments needed for each ad can differ significantly. Dig deeper into Facebook’s terms and guidelines to determine the specific reasons why your ads were not approved. By closely examining these factors, you can identify precisely why your ads may be rejected on the platform.

How Can I Appeal a Facebook Ad Rejection?

When your ads get denied on Facebook, you must note the steps you must take. Here’s a breakdown of what happens and how to address it:

•  You will receive an email alerting you that your ad has been stopped.

Pro tip: Remain vigilant against spam emails masquerading as Facebook notifications – these are common forms of identity theft. Only trust emails from legitimate Facebook domains.

• The email notification should contain vital information, including:
  • The specific Facebook advertising policies or standards that your ad violated
  • Detailed information about the rejected ad/s:
    • Name of the ad
    • A preview of the ad copy
    • Identification of the specific policy or standard that the ad did not comply with
  • A button directing you to the Ad Manager, allowing you to make necessary updates to your ads

How to Resubmit an Ad Denied on Facebook

Now that you have uncovered the Facebook ad rejection reasons, it’s time to address the issue and make the necessary corrections.

1. Start by going to Ads Manager.
   
2. Select the ads you wish to edit by checking the boxes.
   
3. Select the Edit option. This opens a side panel where you can make the necessary adjustments to your ad. Your edits will vary depending on the specific reason for the rejection (related to a Facebook advertising policy or standard).
   
   You can make changes to:
   • Ad names
   • The Facebook Page associated with the ad
   • Images or videos used in the ad
   • If needed, you can also customize images or videos for specific ad placements within the ad set.

4. If all required changes have been completed, click on Publish. This makes sure that the edits you made are active.
   
   Your ad will again undergo the Facebook ad compliance check, and it will go live upon approval.

How to Resolve Ads Incorrectly Rejected by Facebook

If you believe your ads were wrongly rejected on Facebook, an ad appeal process is in place to address such issues. 

1. First, go to Business Support Home.
   
2. Identify the account or catalog containing the ads that were rejected.
   
3. Choose the specific ads, ad sets, or campaigns you believe were incorrectly rejected.
   
   
4. Click on the information (i) icon to access a detailed explanation of why your ad was rejected.
   
   
5. If you firmly believe your ad should not be rejected, click Request Review. This is your opportunity to provide additional context and information that supports your claim, explaining why your ad should go live.
   
   After supplying the necessary details, click Submit to request a review officially.
   

You can keep tabs on the status of your review request within Business Support Home. If Facebook reevaluates and reverses its initial decision, your ad will align with the status of your campaign. If your campaign is active, your ad will automatically resume delivery. 

However, you cannot request another review if you receive another Facebook ad disapproval. The ad will then remain in a rejected state.

Requesting a review for your rejected ad offers a unique advantage. Unlike the initial ad review, reevaluation requests undergo a more thorough assessment by teams of human reviewers. This process aims to rectify errors and ensure fairness in ad approvals.

It’s worth highlighting that seeking a review will not adversely affect your association with Meta. Instead, it signifies a standard practice promoting transparency and fairness within the Facebook ad review process.

Your Complete Guide to Resolving Facebook Ad Rejection Reasons

From the onset, we emphasized the importance of proactive compliance with Facebook’s strict standards. When advertising, in general, compliance with the platform’s exacting standards is non-negotiable. Random ad reviews require vigilance to prevent Facebook ad rejection reasons that can halt your campaigns unexpectedly.

Get yourself armed with a deep understanding of the rules, the ability to make crucial adjustments, and the knowledge to effectively maneuver Facebook’s ad review process. 

Expand your expertise. Browse Strike Social’s latest blogs here:

• 
  Google Marketing Live 2025 Recap: Key YouTube and Google Ads Updates for Advertisers
• 
  Marketing to Gen Z: Social Media Strategies for Performance-Driven Brands
• 
  TikTok News and Updates Q1 2025: What Advertisers Need to Know
• 
  YouTube Shorts Views Are Changing: How You Can Adapt Your Paid Ads Strategy
• 
  7 Social Media Advertising Trends You Should Know in 2025
• 
  Increase YouTube Subscribers with Google Ads: A Step-by-Step Guide

The post Is Your Ad At Risk? Get Ahead and Learn From The Usual Facebook Ad Rejection Reasons appeared first on Strike Social.

Imagine connecting with your target audience in a way that feels intimate, authentic, and engaging. Imagine turning the power of video to your advantage and placing your brand in front of consumers already spending their time-consuming organic and paid content. Stop fantasizing and make it real with Facebook Reels Ads!

Getting Started With Facebook Reels Ads

When advertising on Facebook Reels, it’s essential to follow technical specifications to ensure that your ads meet the platform’s requirements and are delivered effectively to the target audience. These specs include the duration of your video length, format, video resolution, audio, file size, and aspect ratio.

Understanding and adhering to Facebook Reels Ad Specs will increase the chances of your ads being approved and help deliver visually appealing, engaging, and effective Reels content.

Facebook Reels Ads Specs

• Duration: Your video can be up to 60 seconds long. It should be in a fullscreen, vertical format.
• Format: It should be in .mp4 or MOV format
• Video Resolution: Uploaded Reels will be capped at 720p after upload, but it is recommended that you upload at least 1080P or 4k if available
• Sounds: We recommend that your video ad creative uses music or sound to fit the Reels placement better. Use royalty-free music from Facebook Sound Collection or original audio/ voiceovers instead.
• File size: max of 4GB
• Dimension size: 9:16 aspect ratio

It’s also important to note that these specifications are subject to change over time. Maximize your ad’s performance by understanding and adhering to Facebook Reels Ad Specs. Increase approval chances and deliver visually appealing, engaging, and effective Reels content.

Step-by-step Guide To Setup Facebook Reels Ads

Boosting Facebook Reels content is a great way to increase awareness and engagement with your target audience. However, creating and scaling success in Reels Ads can be complex, especially if you are unfamiliar with the technical specifications and Ads Manager navigation. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to provide knowledge and guidance on utilizing Facebook Reels ads.

Running Ads On Facebook Reels

While it’s currently not possible to boost Reels directly, here’s the setup process to supercharge your organic Facebook Reels ads and watch the magic happens.

1. Go to Facebook Ads Manager and select Create.

2. Choose one of the following campaign ad objectives:

• Awareness
• Traffic
• Engagement
• Leads
• App promotion
• Sales

3. Create your ad. Fill in the details for your campaign, budget, schedule, target audience, optimization, and delivery.

4. The default setting for placements is Advantage+. To customize your ads to appear solely in Reels or other vertical video formats, switch to Manual Placements.

5. Under Placements, select the dropdown next to Stories and check the box next to Facebook Reels.

6. Choose your Call to Action and Publish your Ad.

Note: Your ads will be reviewed. Once approved, they’ll appear in viewers’ Instagram Reels. Aside from boosting, advertisers can leverage two ad types: overlay ads and post-loop ads.

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Further Reading

Avoid These Common Reasons for Facebook Ad Disapproval

Facebook offers diverse tools to connect with your target audience, but it’s essential to adhere to its advertising rules. Knowing the frequent causes of ad rejections can help you avoid setbacks and simplify the appeal process when needed.

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Facebook Reels Vs. Stories: A Closer Look

Regarding video content on Facebook, brands have multiple placement options, including Reels and Stories. Both options have unique features and benefits. Understanding their differences is essential to make an informed decision on which best suits your campaign needs.

Reels and Stories allow brands to create short-form video content, but there are a few key differences to consider. Reels are a full-screen, vertical video format designed to mimic the look and feel of TikTok. On the other hand, Stories are a full-screen, vertical video format designed to mimic the look and feel of Snapchat.

Here are some other unique features of the two short-form content placements: 

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Further Reading

Setting Up Instagram Campaigns with Reels Ads

This is a prime moment to explore how Instagram Reels can boost your campaign’s success through a more cost-effective strategy. With lower CPMs and high video completion rates, Instagram efficiently identifies users’ engagement and interest in vertical video ads.

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Key Takeaways

Understanding the technical specifications of Facebook Reel Ads will help brands realize the full potential of their short-form video ads. While Stories ad placement has shown efficacies in expanding reach, Reels will offer new dynamics with its longer-form creative. In addition, Facebook Reels ads can capture a wider group of audiences as non-page followers can discover brands’ video promotions on their feeds.    

Adopting new features like Facebook Reels Ads can diversify and enhance an advertising strategy. By following the guidelines outlined in this article, advertisers can expect to see an improvement in the performance of their Facebook Reels Ads campaigns.

Interested To Know More About Facebook Reels Ads?

Meta Reels has seen a 50% rise in daily video plays from six months ago, with 140 billion across Facebook. With such a large audience and the daily time spent by its users, it’s the perfect place to advertise your brand.

Strike Social will deliver you results! We’ll drive traffic and boost your brand awareness with short-form video advertising on Facebook- helping you reach your target audience at the right time. Our experts can optimize your ad campaign to get the most ROI for every advertising dollar spent.

The post Facebook Reels Ads 101: A Complete Setup Guide With Ads Specs appeared first on Strike Social.

This post was updated in September 2024 to provide you with the latest information.

Facebook Reels let you create short videos that people can watch with sound to capture viewers’ attention. They’re fun, engaging, and easy to scan—so they’re ideal for brands to show their authentic side and make it more receptive to consumers.

This article will show you how to create Facebook reels that attract viewers and tap new audiences.

Getting Started With Facebook Reels

Let us zoom in and look at the features of Facebook Reels and harness its power to supercharge your campaigns. Like TikTok, Reel’s powerful tools allow marketers to edit and enhance short-form videos to capture viewers’ attention. Based on ad results of numerous Facebook campaigns using vertical videos,  bite-sized clips have performed well in connecting with viewers through their visually engaging and entertaining content.

To access Facebook Reels using your mobile phones, you may find the option via your Feed, Groups, and Menu bar.

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Further Reading

Setting Up Paid Campaigns with Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels Ads offer a great opportunity to boost brand visibility, extend your audience reach, and drive engagement when paired with well-crafted creative content and strategic campaign optimization.

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How to Upload Facebook Reels

Add video to your Facebook posts and updates with one tap. Shoot new clips while you create a reel and show off pictures from your existing photo library. Creating a Facebook Reel can be easy:

• Log into your Facebook account and make sure you have the latest version. Then tap Create or click the Camera icon on the top right part when viewing reels.

• Add video to your Reel: record a video on your phone or choose from the video clips from your phone gallery.

• Add the following to make your Reel stand out:

1. Audio– add audio from the music library or record your own
2. Text– add text overlays 
3. Effects– choose video effects or filters 
4. Stickers– you have the option to add stickers, GIFs, or emojis available 
5. Greenscreen– choose a video background if you want to record on the go. Note: you cannot use video effects and greenscreen at the same time

• Tap Next when you’re finished. Write a description that will catch people’s attention. Add relevant hashtags to expand your reach.

• Set the Facebook reels audience. Reels are public by default, but reels from business or creator pages can only post publicly. You have the option to Share your Facebook Reel on Instagram. To catch new viewers and increase engagement rates, toggle Enable Remix to let other viewers stitch with your Facebook video reels. 

• To publish, tap Share now. 

Clear the Confusion: Understanding the Differences between Facebook and Instagram Reels

Many marketers are also confused about the differences between Instagram and Facebook Reels. Both platforms operate under the same umbrella of Meta and share many similarities. However, there are also key differences, which we’ll answer with the basic Facebook Reels FAQ to find out.

The two platforms are almost the same, except for one big difference that can benefit marketers. Content on Facebook Reels appears on users’ Feeds whether or not they follow you, extending the reach of your video ads to new eyeballs—and letting you reach potential customers who might not have come across your brand page otherwise.

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Further Reading

Short-Form Showdown: TikTok vs. YouTube Shorts vs. Meta Reels

While TikTok pioneered the short-form video trend, both Meta and YouTube swiftly introduced their own offerings to compete. Each platform brings distinct features to the table, including diverse audiences and enhanced opportunities for broader reach.

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Facebook Reels Tips and Best Practices

There is no magic recipe for making a video that gets noticed on Facebook. However, you can increase your chances of success by following simple tips and best practices.

1. Make it engaging: Entertain your audience with captivating content that compels them to take action.
2. Keep up or start a trend:  Inspire a trend that others can quickly join. Keep an eye on current trends in your industry, then create similar content.
3. Use Facebook creative tools: Add text, filters, and camera effects to make your reels stand out.
4. Use video transitions: Start your video with a hook, and then use transitions to show viewers the before-and-after transformation of your product or service.
5. Use vertical videos. Keep your phone upright when creating your Facebook Reel. Like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels which are vertical video platforms, Facebook Reels are set up for vertical video.
6. Incorporate music: Use original or licensed music from Facebook’s library to make your Reel entertaining and easy to remember. You can even join in on trending sounds.
7. Experiment with new ways of creating reels—it could lead you to discover an unexpected style that will help you connect with your audience.
8. Show off your skills with good lighting and video techniques as this can make or break your social media videos. Without good lighting, your content can look dull and unappealing.
9. Don’t forget to put captions and hashtags: Captions aren’t just subtitles. They can highlight a video’s key takeaways and make viewers more likely to remember the most important points.
10. Lead with your brand: Get your brand identity in front of your audience immediately. If you use an existing video, edit it so that your product or brand features early within the first 15 seconds.

Key Takeaways

Awareness campaigns can reach new audiences with visually rich content. Short-form content works best in scrollable and vertical mobile presentation spaces, while long-form campaigns drive deeper insight and more complex concepts. Facebook Reels present an opportunity to showcase your brand in a fun, visual way. They make up more than 20% of video viewers, and it’s forecasted to grow this year. 

Take Your Facebook Advertising Efforts To New Heights With Reels Ads

With 2.9 billion active users, Facebook is currently the world’s largest social media network, offering your brand a huge potential to reach new audiences. Boost your reach, engagement, and conversions by leveraging the power of Facebook Reels ads.

We, the team at StrikeSocial, are experts in Facebook advertising, and we’ll help you succeed. Optimizing your campaigns to maximize performance, helping you succeed in your advertising goals, and making the most of your advertising budget.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to unlock the great potential of Facebook Reels. Contact us today to learn more about how this powerful advertising platform can help you achieve your campaign targets. 

The post Unlock The Power Of Facebook Reels: A Marketer’s Must-Read Guide appeared first on Strike Social.

Let’s review five major impacts of Facebook media & measurement on iOS Devices:

1. It’s taking longer to leave the learning phase. Everything leading to a website has to be click-based. Facebook and Instagram can only see website sessions that start w a click. There is almost zero View Through conversions for iOS devices.
   
   
2. Almost all conversions will be in the same session. If a user opts out, there is not an attribution window for iOS.
   
   
3. Retargeting off website visitors has largely been eliminated for iOS users. 
   
   
4. Every step on the user journey on the website counts as an ‘Event.’ However, Facebook can only report on one event for iOS users. It’s why event prioritization is necessary.
   
   
5. As a result of Facebook seeing fewer website events from iOS, some direct response campaigns optimize to Android and Desktop. 

iOS vs Android in Direct Response Campaigns

The above chart compares iOS and Android FB spend for direct response efforts reliant on the Facebook Pixel for optimizations. The July numbers show that Android spend was 3x that of iOS.

Skewing Facebook spend is very likely to be the reaction of seeing more website data from Android users than the anonymity of iPhone mobile browsers.

Knowing this, Strike Social Team started down an optimization path to manage efficiency and volume using the same pixel-based solution until better options could be developed.

Comparison of Regional Facebook Direct Response Campaigns

Regional Campaign A uses a broader mix of video and statics to drive to their landing pages. As a result, video Cost Per Click has been more cost-effective and drives more engagements.

Regional Campaign B uses static media but collects all leads within the Facebook environment, allowing the platform to optimize the campaign.

Regional Campaign C is primarily based on statics and drives to a lead form on a landing page.

What We Now Know

Focus On Facebook Integration

After the Apple iOS 14.5 updates, one of the best ways to track, optimize, and achieve a high ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) is to make your campaign native to the platform. For instance, looking at options outside the website pixel will provide more consistency in conversions and spending. At the same time, creating retargeting opportunities native to Facebook compared to the website events will help improve CPL and conversion campaigns.

iOS vs Android – Optimizing Campaign Leads within Facebook

Another approach to bring down acquisition costs within Facebook is greater integration with the platform. Aiming to keep leads and even sales within Facebook as a native activity will be faster to optimize. 

Campaigns optimizing to engagements are often seeing more iOS spend. As an illustration, Strike Social data shows around 70-80% iOS spending on the average day when optimizing lead campaigns on Facebook.

Decreasing Audience Pool and Retargeting Leads

The current setup often over-emphasizes success via the Facebook pixel, including delayed Facebook reporting. Therefore, due to miscalculations, marketers need to verify website transactions via other platforms, affecting the campaign performance and advertisers’ real-time decisions.

On top of this, it also hinders optimization and retrieves few data points. It now creates a chain of reaction that cause to shrink the Facebook retargeting pool to iOS users.

Keeping up with Facebook’s New Rules

Despite shaking the advertising industry with these privacy updates, based on a mediapost.com article, as of early September 2020, only 59% of user acquisition managers have reacted and decided to overhaul their 2021 target KPI’s, while others chose to weather the storm.

Adding a few steps to the process will be a good option rather than stepping away from one of the biggest social media platforms. The Apple iOS 14.5 privacy is just beginning a more pro-consumer direction for these tech companies that significantly impact the digital advertising industry. 

The post iOS 14.5 Updates: Landscape of Facebook Ad Targeting and Measurement appeared first on Strike Social.

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This post was updated in October 2024 to provide you with the latest information.

What are the benefits of carousel ads for Facebook advertisers?

Facebook carousel ads offer an interactive format where advertisers can include up to 10 swipeable cards, each featuring a unique image or video. Each card can have its own headline and link, allowing you to showcase multiple products or services in a single ad. This format not only introduces your brand to your audience but also provides an engaging way to highlight your offerings in a dynamic, visually appealing manner.

Facebook carousel ads can be effective for just about any business or industry. But some businesses and industries have qualities that make them especially well suited for using carousel ads. 

Facebook carousel ads may be an especially good fit for you if:

• You want to showcase the visuals of your brand or products. Industries like fashion and travel can especially benefit from the visual storytelling capabilities of carousel ads.
• You have multiple products to highlight. E-commerce stores with diverse product lines can use carousel ads to display various categories in one cohesive ad.
• You’re new to Facebook advertising. Carousel ads are flexible and easy to set up, allowing you to experiment with images, videos, or a combination of both to see what resonates most with your target audience.

Facebook carousel ads best practices when setting up campaigns

Due to their dynamic and interactive format, Facebook has established specific ad sizes and limitations to ensure carousel ads are displayed well across devices, particularly on the Facebook app. Before launching a carousel ad campaign, familiarize yourself with Facebook’s ad specifications.

Facebook ad specs for carousel ads

​​The Facebook carousel ad specs can vary based on the placements you choose. If you’re using Meta Advantage+ placements, Facebook will automatically select the best placements for your ads, including Facebook, Instagram, and other sites or apps within the Meta advertising network.

If you prefer manual placement selection, you can choose from the following options:

• Facebook Feed
• Facebook In-stream Video
• Facebook Video Feed
• Facebook Marketplace
• Facebook Stories
• Facebook Search Results
• Facebook Reels
• Ads on Facebook Reels (Overlay)
• Facebook Business Explore

To ensure creative compliance, review the table below for the technical specifications and size requirements for Facebook carousel ads across each placement:

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Further Reading

Exploring Facebook Reels Ads? Here’s Your Guide to Getting Started

Facebook Reels provide an interactive way for brands to express their authenticity and connect with audiences. With an easy-to-digest format, Reels are reminiscent of TikTok and YouTube Shorts, offering advertisers a versatile platform to create and refine short videos that effectively grab viewers’ attention.

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How to create Facebook carousel ads

There are two distinct ways to start creating carousel ads on Facebook: from your Facebook page or from the Facebook Ads Manager (now Meta Ads Manager).

From your Facebook page

• Go to your Facebook page and click Create Ads in the left-side menu.
• In the following window, start by selecting your creatives. To ensure your ads display in carousel format, make sure to upload multiple images or videos.
• To capture the audience’s attention, include a headline for each carousel card.
• Choose a call-to-action (CTA) such as “Learn More” or “Book Now.” If you want users directed to your website upon clicking the button, select Website as the Button Destination and enter the specific URL.
  • Depending on the chosen CTA, you can also include a contact form so users can easily submit their information without leaving the Facebook app.
• Proceed with the remaining ad campaign setup, including budget, duration, and audience targeting.
• Before clicking Publish, preview your Facebook carousel ad in the upper right corner of the screen to ensure everything appears as intended. Click See All Previews to view potential placements within the Meta advertising network.
• If everything looks good, click on Publish.

From Ads Manager

• Go to the Meta Ads Manager. You can add a carousel ad at the campaign, ad set, or ad level. For this example, we’ll add a carousel ad at the ad level for an existing awareness campaign.
• Click on your active campaign, then choose the ad set where you want to add the carousel ad. Click on Create.
• Under Ad Setup, select Carousel as the ad format.
• Scroll to Ad Creative and click on Add Cards. Similar to the previous method, you can combine images and videos.
• Enter a headline and description for each carousel card. For the website URL, input it on one card and click Apply on All Cards to automatically copy it to all other cards in the carousel.
• Finish the rest of your ad and campaign setup.
• You can see a real-time ad preview on the right side of the screen as you update your creatives. Before hitting Publish, check how your Facebook carousel ads appear in different Meta network placements.

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Further Reading

Reach the Right Audience Using Facebook Audience Insights

The Audience Insights tool is tailored to assist brands and advertisers in understanding their target audience better. It offers valuable information, including page likes, geographic locations, household demographics, and purchasing behaviors, allowing Facebook advertisers to connect more effectively with potential customers.

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Additional best practices and tips for carousel ads in Facebook

While there are established strategies for using Facebook carousel ads effectively, there is ample room for innovation and creativity. Here are some key practices to consider:

• Put your strongest image first.
  • The first image in your carousel ad is the one that your audience will always see, whether they swipe through the rest of the pictures or not. So it’s really important that this image stops the viewer’s thumb and encourages them to check out the rest of the ad.
• Use high-quality creatives and visuals.
  • All images or videos must be of high quality and maintain a consistent theme throughout the carousel. Some advertisers opt for a continuous storytelling approach, prompting audiences to swipe to see the complete narrative, while others choose striking visuals to capture immediate clicks.
• Be entertaining and helpful.
  • Even if the purpose of your Facebook carousel ad is to drive conversions, it’s best to avoid being a salesman in people’s Facebook feeds. Focus on entertaining, educating, and getting your viewer’s interest and your carousel ads will get a much better response.

Yet another engaging way to advertise on Facebook

As brands increasingly compete for ad space, particularly during peak advertising seasons, it’s essential to captivate audiences with diverse ad formats—especially the swipeable Facebook carousel ads. These ads offer a unique opportunity to keep your audience engaged.

Curious about how Facebook advertising can boost your engagement and conversions? Click here to explore our Facebook ROAS case study and discover how Strike Social can enhance the performance of your Facebook campaigns.

The post Facebook Carousel Ads: Best Practices for Creative Compliance and Campaign Setup appeared first on Strike Social.

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This post was updated in September 2024 to provide you with the latest information.

An Overview of Facebook Ads Manager

The Facebook Ads Manager is a free tool available to assist you in your advertising efforts. It’s your all-in-one tool for creating ads, managing when and where they’ll be placed and tracking how well your Meta ad campaigns are performing.

You can use it to create, run and tweak the specifications of your ads. Using the Ads Manager allows you to target your ads to the right audiences, set your budget, see which of your ads are working, and view your billing information, payment summary and payment method information—all within the Meta Business Suite. This should not be confused with Facebook Business Manager, which provides a broader view of both organic content and paid advertising.

Are you ready to learn the essential steps to manage your campaigns through Facebook Ads Manager? Let’s jump in.

How to Access the Facebook Ads Manager

You have a few ways of accessing the Ads Manager and they will vary according to the platform you are using.

Desktop

• On your Facebook homepage (facebook.com), navigate to the left-hand side menu and click See More to expand the list of options.

• Once the additional options appear, scroll down until you find Ads Manager. Click on it, and you will be redirected to the Facebook Ads Manager interface.

• If you navigate directly to the Ads Manager site, you’ll be taken to your personal account by default. Switching to a different account is simple:
  • Click on your profile image on the left side of the screen to switch to the correct Business portfolio, or
  • Click on the dropdown menu next to Campaigns, then select See More Ad Accounts to choose the business or ad account you want to manage.

Mobile

• Download the Meta Ads Manager app from the Play Store (for Android devices) or the App Store (for Apple devices).

• If you already have Facebook installed on your device, the app will recognize your account and prompt you to click Continue to link your account to the Ads Manager app.
  • If you want to use a different account, simply click on Not you? to log in with another Facebook account.

• Once logged in, you’ll be prompted to select the ad account you want to manage.

• And that’s it! Your screen will now display an overview of your campaigns, and you can start exploring and managing your ads through the Meta Ads Manager mobile application.

Exploring Meta Ads Manager: Managing Your Facebook and Instagram Campaigns

Your Meta Ads Manager interface is organized into three main tabs—Campaigns, Ad Sets, and Ads. Here’s a closer look at what each tab offers:

Campaigns

This tab allows you to view and manage all your campaigns. You can create, duplicate, and edit campaigns, update campaign names, or change end dates.

It also provides insights into each campaign’s performance, allowing you to export or share results in .csv or .xlsx formats. You can customize the columns and use breakdown options to analyze your campaign data more effectively.

Ad sets

Viewing the Ad Sets tab gives you much of the same options as the Campaigns tab, but focuses on one specific ad set within a campaign. Along with everything mentioned above, it gives you the opportunity to edit your ad set and update not only the name, but also the placement, budget, scheduling and targeting.

Ads

The Ads tab allows you to focus on one single ad within an ad set in a Facebook campaign. In addition to editing the budget and viewing performance, you can use this tab to preview your ad and see how it appears across your selected Facebook ad placements within the Meta advertising network.

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Further Reading

Learn More About Your Audience with Facebook Audience Insights

The Facebook Audience Insights tool offers valuable data to help marketers understand their target audience. It provides information on page likes, geographic location, household demographics, and purchasing behavior.

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Best Practices on Facebook Advertising

• Always use high-quality photos. Whether for business or personal use, only upload high-quality images to social media platforms to ensure your content looks professional and engaging. Make sure your ads fit by learning the Facebook ad sizes.

• Avoid ad fatigue. To prevent your audience from seeing the same ads repeatedly, regularly update your ad creatives. Introduce new ads instead of just modifying existing ones to keep your content fresh and engaging. Keep your ads fresh with the latest Facebook ad formats.

Managing Your Facebook Ads From Inside the Office and Beyond

Now that you know all the benefits of using Facebook Ads Manager, go ahead and use the tool to improve the way you manage your Facebook campaigns.

Remember you can also download the Facebook Ads Manager app to manage your ads from home, the airport or rooftop lounge whenever you feel like it. Take advantage of the inspiration as soon as it strikes, since it doesn’t always happen in the office.

The post An Overview of Facebook Ads Manager appeared first on Strike Social.

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This post was updated in February 2025 to provide you with the latest information.

Understanding Click-Through Rates in Paid Social Media Advertising

Clicks are a fundamental part of online interaction. Whether it’s someone scrolling through a social media feed, browsing the web, or navigating through apps, clicks are everywhere. Beneath the steady hum of daily life, you’ll hear the sound of people clicking away as they explore, work, and engage online.

For brands investing in paid social media, clickthroughs take on the form of engagement and knowing if your ads are influencing audiences to click and go to your website or make a purchase of your product. 

To see how your campaigns are faring, you need to look deeper than just the number of total clicks your ads are getting. That’s only skimming the surface of your results. A good indicator of how you’re performing is calculating the click-through rate.

What is click-through rate?

Because clickthrough rates encompass a wider concept in digital advertising, such as email marketing, display ads, and more, we’ll focus on the essence of CTR in social media advertising here. 

Defining advertising CTR

Click-through rate is defined as the number of people who click through to your website from your ads. It’s the number of people who, upon viewing your ad, want to know more about what you’re offering.

This number represents the level of engagement your ads are receiving. It shows that people are responding to your ads, which is great news. However, it’s important that you consider this metric in its full context. You want to look at both the number of clicks your ads receive and the number of total views they’re earning.

For example, gaining 1,000 clicks sounds impressive, until you throw in the fact that the ad had a million impressions. That 1,000 now looks relatively small, right? As mentioned above, click-through rate is more than just looking at the number of clicks earned.

The click-through rate is the most influential component of determining your quality score, which in turn affects any future ad placement.

What affects click-through rate?

As with every other metric used to measure the success of your campaign, there are a few factors that affect the click-through rate. Here’s a brief highlight of the main ones.

Relevance – This goes for your keywords, ad copy, placements and landing pages. To achieve a good ad relevance score, the keywords and ad copy should be sending the same message, which should be targeted to the right audience. Irrelevant keywords will target the wrong audience. Therefore you’ll receive clicks from people who aren’t interested in your product or service.

Ad rank – While your relevance could be high, sometimes ad rank is still low. Ad rank ultimately decides which ad will show in which position on a page. It’s determined by multiplying your CPC bid and your quality score. If your ad falls below the fold on screen, the odds your ad gets viewed, much less actually earns a click, diminishes. Which leads us to viewability.

Viewability – This is a metric that measures only those impressions that can be seen by an internet user. It means an ad becomes viewable when it is available in the space of your screen. Should someone have to scroll to see it, it means the ad is below the fold and has no viewability until the consumer scrolls down the page.

Each platform has a different measure of viewability when it comes to videos, however. Three seconds or more counts for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. YouTube calls it viewable after at least 30 seconds have been watched or less, if the video is shorter.

Device – Click-through rate on mobile is actually higher than it is on desktop, due to consumers relying heavily on their mobile devices and smartphones. That’s not to say you shouldn’t place ads on desktops at all, just keep those mobile rates in mind.

Vertical – Your industry also determines click-through rate, especially when considering the competition. Remember to check the search volume for your keywords to decide how much money you’re willing to put behind them.

How do you calculate CTR?

Formula for click through rate

The formula for calculating click-through rate can vary depending on the campaign objective. Here’s how to calculate click-through rate:

Example: Consider a video game brand running a YouTube video reach campaign with a “Shop Now” call-to-action. In addition to building awareness, the goal is to drive clicks to the website for pre-orders of a newly launched gaming console, say the PS5 Pro, for example. The campaign generated 300,000 impressions in the first month and received 500 clicks.

Let’s use the Impressions CTR formula:

Impressions click through rate = [Total clicks/ Total impressions] x 100%
Impressions click through rate = [500 / 300,000] x 100%
Impressions click through rate = 0.16%

Check and calculate CTR for your campaign using the calculator below:

What is a good click-through rate for social media advertising?

Since not all social media ad campaigns are designed or focused on acquiring clicks from views or impressions, average click through rates can vary. So, what are the benchmarks for social media advertising CTR across different platforms?

Based on industry benchmarks and Strike Social’s Campaign Lab data, we share with you the prevailing clickthrough rates:

YouTube CTR

Non-skippable and bumper ads are generally used for awareness campaigns, which results in lower YouTube CTR as shown in the data. 

Although the main objective of Video Action Campaigns is conversions, clicks are higher because the ad prompts the audience to “take action,” such as clicking on the ad or visiting the website. This leads to a higher average CTR compared to other YouTube ad formats.

Average CTR for Facebook Ads

Like the average YouTube click-through rate mentioned above, the average CTR for Facebook ads shows higher results for campaigns focused on clicks and link clicks. A good click-through rate on Facebook ads can range from 1.05% to 2%, as these campaigns are optimized to drive engagement through user clicks.

Facebook post engagement campaigns still achieve a good CTR, as clicks are considered engagement, and ads are optimized to maximize audience engagement.

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Further Reading

Post Engagement Campaigns for Holiday Advertising

If you’ve exhausted your impressions and views campaigns, it’s time to shift focus to lower-funnel strategies, especially post-engagement campaigns. Discover how they can drive success in your holiday advertising efforts.

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Instagram Advertising CTR

Instagram, as the Meta platform centered on multimedia sharing such as photos and videos, is quite effective at generating high click-through rates. Even for Views-focused campaigns, particularly those centered around Reels, the CTR range remains solid. 

Link Clicks-focused campaigns, in particular, show CTRs approaching 2%, a trend similar to Facebook and YouTube ad CTRs.

Is it better to have a low or high click-through rate?

A high CTR is definitely a positive, as it indicates that people are interested in your offer and are engaging with your ad by clicking. However, a lower CTR than the average we’ve discussed here doesn’t necessarily mean that your social media ad campaign isn’t performing well.

Does that mean you need to improve your CTA or reoptimize your YouTube targeting? Yes, this is definitely a point for improvement if your main focus on your campaigns is getting clicks. But for non-engagement-focused campaigns such as Connected TV reach campaigns or views-focused campaigns like Video View Campaigns, this may not be the best metric to measure your success against. 

Want to know which advertising metric you should focus on based on your ad campaign type? Check out our ad metric guides here:

• YouTube ad metrics
• Facebook ad metrics
• Instagram ad metrics

Time to gather those clicks!

Now that you’ve learned what goes into click-through rate and how to calculate it, you’re ready to apply these findings to improve your ad campaigns. It’s time to peel back the top layer of metrics and make improvements with a deeper understanding of what all those numbers mean.

The post What is a good click-through rate? (2025 Update) appeared first on Strike Social.

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This post was updated in August 2024 to provide you with the latest information.

Improve your Targeting with Facebook Audience Insights

Designed to help marketers learn more about the audience they want to reach, the Audience Insights tool provides relevant data for Facebook advertisers, such as page likes, location, what your target audience’s household looks like, and buyer behavior.

Audience Insights differs from Facebook’s Page Insights because it looks at trends about your current or potential customers across Facebook, whereas Page Insights looks at interactions with your page (e.g., likes, comments, and shares).

As with many Facebook tools, Audience Insights is free and user-friendly. Follow the steps below to improve your Facebook strategy and hone tactics for creating winning social media advertising campaigns time and time again.

How to Use Facebook Audience Insights

Step 1: Access Audience Insights

• Go to the Facebook Business Manager page.
• From the left-hand menu, select Insights to open the full overview.
• To view your Audience Insights data, click on Audience.
• On the Audience Insights screen, you will find three key tabs:

Trends: View metrics like follower count (based on the selected timeframe), post views, and follower engagement.

Demographics: Analyze the age, gender, and location breakdown of your followers.

Potential Audience: Based on your follower and engagement data, Facebook suggests an audience size and demographic, helping you refine your content and advertising strategy.

Step 2: Create an audience

To fully utilize the Audience Insights you have gathered from this tool, start by creating a custom audience.

• Hover your mouse over the left-side menu and click on All tools. 
• Search for “audience”, then click on Audience under Advertise.

• A new window will open, leading you to the Audiences section in Meta Ads Manager.

• Click on Create audience, then select Custom audience. 
• Select your source to begin customizing your audience list.

Once your audience is labeled as Ready, you can start using it for Facebook advertising, targeting based on the data from Facebook Audience Insights.

• When setting up your Facebook ad campaign, go to the Ad Set level.
• First, go to Audience controls and select your target location.
  
  To change the location, hover the mouse over the current location settings and click on the “X” that will appear on the right side of the box. Depending on your suggested potential audience from the Facebook Audience Insights tool, you can target by country or city.

• Scroll to Advantage+ audience. From here, you can segment your audience by age, gender, interests, people connected to your page, and more advanced data such as behavior, language, education, work, etc.
  
  Quick tip: Add your custom audience created in the previous step and create a Lookalike audience to target similar audience profiles from your target country.

After setting up your audience, continue with the rest of your Facebook ad campaign setup.

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Further Reading

Discover Advantage+ Audiences Insights from a Strike Expert

In our annual training, our Meta specialist from Strike Social provided an overview of Meta Advantage. The Meta Advantage+ Audience feature complements Strike Social’s AI capabilities by helping broaden the audience while remaining within the brand’s target demographics.

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Step 3: Play with the data

For example, we’ve created an audience in Chicago with both men and women between the ages of 25 and 54. Our audience likes the winning combination of entertainment and TV shows. Let’s follow this audience, as suggested by the Facebook Audience Insights tool.

Quick tip: To refine your target audience, continue adding segments by updating the Detailed targeting section. Notice how the audience size changes as you add or remove parameters.

Step 4: Get granular

It’s time to explore the new Facebook Audience Insights tool by examining the three main tabs that reveal what our audience looks like. Unlike the old Facebook Audience Insights tool with six tabs, the updated tool has streamlined its insights into:

• Trends,
• Demographics, and
• Potential audience.

Tab 1: Trends

The “Trends” tab provides a snapshot of your audience’s behavior on Facebook. It shows the average number of followers and returning viewers, along with engagement metrics like comments, likes, shares, and ad clicks within the last 30 days (or your selected timeframe).

For instance, if you’re tracking follower count as a secondary Facebook metric in addition to your primary goal (e.g., Awareness), this is an excellent way to monitor your progress at a glance.

This tab also highlights the most active times for your Facebook page’s audience. By analyzing the frequency of activity graphs, you can see when your audience is most engaged. For instance, our Facebook Audience Insights suggest that our followers are most active between 12 AM to 3 AM and 3 PM to 9 PM.

Tab 2: Demographics

The “Demographics” tab breaks down your audience by age, gender, and key locations.

For example, our current Facebook audience, primarily based in Chicago, consists of 58.4% men and 41.6% women. Interestingly, the age demographic skews towards 45-54 years old, with a decline in older age segments.

At the top left of this screen, you can view your total lifetime followers and switch between your Facebook or Instagram pages (if applicable) on the right-hand side.