.png){kind=icon}
Back in October 2019, Facebook revealed that it would introduce a new way to boost ad performance called ‘Ad Volume Guidance’. As a leading platform, Facebook is always working to help not only advertisers but everyday users to find value on the platform. Though it seems the pandemic slowed down the development of this feature, the conversation is heating up again. In September, Facebook spoke about ad limits per page and how this new feature will work.
When we talk about personalization, how was this achieved originally with Facebook advertising? Well, if you’re like most, you developed countless of different ads and hoped they would hit the right people at the right time. Of all the different ad creations, the aim was to hopefully resonate with a certain percentage. Thankfully, machine learning came along now making it easier to reach the right people, with the right ad, at the right time - the key for all successful advertising.
With machine learning products, advertisers don’t need to launch a lot of different ads and waste time managing them. For example, we love the addition of dynamic ad creatives and formats because it means each placement is tailored for the individual. Essentially, the platform will decide on the best copy, format, and creative for the impression. This improves the chances of conversion without needing several campaigns. Each consumer can see the products relevant to their search through one ad campaign.
Ever heard the phrase ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’? It means that having too many hands on a problem or process can cause inefficiencies; the same can be said for Facebook Ads. It’s the law of diminishing returns because each of the ads contributes less than if the ad wasn’t there in the first place.
If you don’t know how Facebook Ads work, the platform’s delivery system learns about your audience and your ad with every impression. Over time, it will optimize the best audience and the best location for your ad in order to get a conversion. With several ads running simultaneously, they all remain in the learning phase and can never reach the ‘optimized’ phase. You keep spending your budget on trying to optimize all these different ads, but it takes much longer than if you were to cut down.
According to Facebook, only 60% of all ads exit the learning phase - the stage at which the platform learns about how to best place your ad for positive results. Unfortunately, one of the biggest causes of failed ads is that the advertiser has too many on the go.
Part of improving ad performance is monitoring the number of ads you have. Of course, this will vary depending on the size of the business. With this in mind, Facebook has introduced a tiered system to help advertisers choose the right number of ads per page. By following this guidance, you can optimize performance and prevent wastage with the marketing budget.
Here are the four tiers:
These figures apply to the biggest month in terms of spending over the last year. If you spent $1.2 million in your biggest month over the previous 12 months, Facebook recommends up to 5,000 ads per page.
It seems Facebook will roll out this new system in February 2021. If all goes well, the rollout will continue into the summer. If you head into your Ads Manager, you should see when this new ad limit goes live (you will also find details in the Help Center).
According to industry experts, the reason for the February 2021 release is because Facebook is waiting for Google, Apple, and Amazon to pass all DST (digital service tax) costs onto users.
The second question posed in our title: where is Facebook going with this feature? Firstly, the overall aim of the change is to increase the number of successful ads that run. Rather than several ads competing for the same space, page managers should limit the ads and allow the algorithm to learn how to optimize performance.
With the limited number of ads entering bid auctions, engagement should improve. As the company enjoys more engagement, they get more revenue. With more revenue, they’re more willing to reinvest into Facebook and the platform earns more money itself. Therefore, it can be said that this change should generate more engagement and revenue for not only users but also for Facebook.
Now, some experts believe that Facebook is having trouble handling the level of demand that currently exists for the Ads product. With many businesses launching too many ads, it’s getting harder to manage the ad requests that come its way. Also, we need to consider privacy restrictions.
In recent years, lots of privacy concerns have been thrown in Facebook’s direction. For a product that was initially built on privacy infringements, Facebook has found it challenging to provide a consistent return to advertisers when there are so many ads on the platform. By managing this influx of ads, the delivery system can spread resources evenly so everybody is happy.
No, and we don’t encourage you to try. As a leading force in the technology industry, you can imagine that Facebook has already considered how users will try to bypass the new rules. Clearly, one of the easiest methods is to create and duplicate a new page and then run ads through this second page. The problem with this is that your ads will be in direct competition and you’ll pay more for every bid. As bid cost increases, conversion decreases and you’re wasting marketing budget once again.
Of course, running two pages is also a lot of work for little reward. For us, it’s better and easier to stick with one page and just follow the new ad volume guidance. Why not see it as an opportunity to make your marketing efforts more efficient?
Sadly, it seems those with smaller budgets will struggle most with new changes. Having the most to lose, small businesses will need to work hard to generate exposure and interest through Facebook Ads.
If you don’t already use Facebook Ads, the benefits of the system still remain. Here are some reasons why Facebook has one of the leading advertising platforms on the internet.
When it comes to the reports and analytics available with Facebook, even those experienced with online marketing systems are often left surprised. In the Ads Manager, almost everything you need is neatly laid out and ready for your assessment. Over time, you can learn what performs, what doesn’t, and how to optimize performance.
It’s no secret that hundreds of millions of people use Facebook daily, and this means that nearly every single niche is available. You don’t need to target all Facebook users, just the small percentage with an interest in your products and services.
This large audience is only useful if the targeting opportunities are good, and Facebook has one of the best targeting systems available in the advertising world. It’s possible to target based on the following:
As users enter more information about themselves, it becomes easier to target them (and others like them!).
Sometimes, people will interact with your brand without acting at that moment. This doesn’t mean the opportunity is gone, and this is because we can advertise to them on Facebook Ads. For example, we can create a campaign targeting all those who have visited our website.
Finally, Facebook has Lookalike Audiences, a feature where new leads and audiences are built based on an existing audience. Since they have similarities to your most loyal customers, there’s a chance they are interested in your company too.
With Facebook Ads and the new ad volume guidance, Facebook is still an extremely viable solution to marketing problems.
.png)
