facebook directresponse best practices guide

5/21/2018 Facebook DirectResponse Best Practices Guide

1/21Direct Response Marketing on Facebook

Direct ResponseMarketing onFacebook

Driving action online, in-store

and in mobile app

Summer 2014



Facebooks direct response marketing solution 4

Best practices 14

Campaign prep 16

Targeting 18

Creative and messaging 20

Bidding 21

Measurement 22

Table of contents



We live in a transformational time. As the need to stay connected becomes integral to our everyday

lives, the use of smartphones, tablets and laptops is becoming increasingly common. Not only are

people using multiple devices, theyre constantly switching between them throughout the day.

Marketers are faced with the challenge of reaching their consumers in this changing environment.

With over 1.32 billion people1on Facebook checking their News Feed an average of 14x per day 2,

Facebook provides a unique opportunity for businesses to drive positive business results with more

of the right people across devices. Marketers can:

Reach more of the right people with Facebooks sophisticated suite of targeting products

Drive action across devices with ad units in News Feed

Make insightful decisions with Facebooks measurement solutions

From campaign prep to targeting, creative, bidding, measurement and optimization, this guide

will walk you through our entire solution and best practices for setting up an effective direct

response campaign.

Sincerely,

Your Facebook team

1, Facebook internal data, June 20142. IDC, Always Connected, March 2013

Introduction



Facebook direct responsemarketing solution

Facebook offers a sophisticated direct response

marketing solution for marketers to reach more of

the right people, drive action across devices and

make more insightful decisions. Whether youre

driving sign-ups on your website, sales in store or

installs for your mobile app, these products can

help drive your business objectives from Facebookacross devices.



Targeting

Facebook has a powerful targeting solution that enables you to

target based on the data people share on Facebook, your first-party data and third-party data from trusted partners. Use these

tools to find more of the right people you want to reach.

Core AudiencesReach people based on interests, demographics, location and behavior.

Facebooks core targeting option allows you to target people based on information shared on theirprofiles and the behavior they exhibit on Facebook. Segment your audiences based on their

demographics, location, interests and behaviors.

Partner categories are a way to target people based on their off-Facebook behavior through ourpartnerships with trusted third-party data providers such as Datalogix, Epsilon and Acxiom.

Custom AudiencesReach people based on the data you have.

Custom Audiences enable you to target people based on the data you have in a privacy safe way.

With Custom Audiences, you can:

Target people based on CRM data.

Target people based on actions taken on your website or mobile app.

Lookalike AudiencesReach people who look like your audiences.

Lookalike audiences help you find people with similar characteristics to your existing customers,prospects and Page fans.

You can build a lookalike audience from your:

CRM database

Website visitors

Mobile app customers

Page fans

Success Story

Banana Republic used lookalike

audiences modeled after

its most loyal customers to

increase its customer base

during the competitive holiday

season.

Result:

A nearly 4X higher return on

ad spend.

Facebook case study, June 2014



Facebook Exchange: Dynamically remarket to website visitors on desktopFacebook Exchange allows programmatic buying of desktop ad inventory through real-time bidding.You can remarket to website visitors on Facebook based on the activity they exhibit on your website

with real-time dynamic product ads. Facebook Exchange is only available for link ads and right-hand

column on desktop and can only be purchased through a registered demand side platform (DSP).

Custom Audiences and Facebook Exchange are complementary

Remarketing through Facebook Exchange and Custom Audiences are similar but can be leveragedin different ways.

Mobile Delivery

Exclusion

Placements All Facebook Facebook desktop only

Standard ads (domain only)

Page post ads (link only-beta)

Standard ads, Page post ads,

Mobile

Dynamic Creative

Ad Formats

Access to Facebooks Targeting

Facebook Lookalike Audiences

Real time bidding

Custom Audiences Facebook Exchange



Placements and Ad Units

Facebook offers several ad units for advertisers to capture

attention and drive action. News Feed is the most effectiveplacement for advertisers looking to drive direct response

objectives because its ad units are in-stream and native to the

Facebook experience and across devices.

Link ads direct people off of Facebook from any device to a specificlocation on your website that you choose.

Link ads offer:

A large, clickable real estate in News Feed across devices

The ability to add strong call-to-action buttons to drive

conversions

The ability to showcase multiple products from your inventorywithin a single link ad unit

Photo ads are designed to drive brand awareness and engagemenfrom Facebooks News Feed.

Photo ads offer:

A large real estate for an image in News Feed

A compelling canvas for advertisers to capture attention

from News Feed

Creative specs for link ads

Recommended text count: 90 characters

Recommended image ratio is 1.91:1

Recommended image size is 1200x627px

Creative specs for photo ads




Link ads

Drives traffi c to your website and store

Photo ads

Drives traffi c to your store



Mobile app install ads drive people directly from News Feed to the

App Store or Google Play to install from a strong call-to-action.

Mobile app install ads offer:

A large, clickable real estate in mobile News Feed

Strong call-to-action buttons Install Now, Play Game, WatchVideo, Shop Now, Listen Now, and Book Now

The option to use video or image

Mobile app engagement ads drive existing app users directly from

News Feed into your app with a strong call-to-action button.

Mobile app engagement ads offer:

A large, clickable real estate in mobile News Feed

Strong call-to-action buttons Use App, Play Game, WatchVideo, Open Link, Shop Now, Listen Now, and Book Now

The ability to direct users to a specific location in app

Creative specs for mobile app ads




Creative specs for mobile app ads




Mobile app install ads

Drives installs for your mobile app

Mobile app engagement ads

Drives conversion in and retention for your mobile app



Bid types

Facebook offers a variety of bidding options to help you pay

the right amount per objective and deliver your ads to theright audience. The 4 bidding options offered are cost per

impression (CPM), cost per click (CPC), optimized cost per

impression (oCPM) and cost per action (CPA).

Cost per 1000 impressions (CPM)

Use CPM if your objective is to drive impressions of your

ad. If you care about clicks or conversions and youre

targeting a very specific or highly targeted market, you canalso bid CPM to gain greater reach for your ad.

Impressions

Clicks

Conversions

Installs

Impressions

Clicks

For CPC with link ads,you pay for clicks onlinks, likes, commentsand shares.

For CPC with mobile appads, you pay for clicks tothe app store.

Impressions

Installs

Impressions

Impressions

Conversions

Installs

You value You pay for We optimize for

Cost per click (CPC)

CPC is a good option for advertisers targeting a very

specific audience. For example, if you want to target yourhighest LTV customers, you could use CPC bidding to serve

ads to your entire audience rather than those likely toconvert.

Optimized CPM (OCPM)

oCPM enables you to specify the action that you care most

about and set a target bid for that action. Facebook will

then optimize delivery and bid aggressively to serve ads tousers we believe are most likely to take that action.

Cost per action (CPA)

Designed for mobile app ads campaigns, CPA biding will

efficiently spend your budget by delivering ads to userswho are most likely to install your mobile app. With CPA,

you have full control over what you spend per action andour system will deliver the results you care about.



Measurement

Measure the performance of your campaigns with Facebooks

measurement solutions.

Facebook conversion pixelMeasures website conversions

When driving traffic to your desktop or mobile website, the Facebook conversion pixel will measurehow your ads perform and provide the granular data needed to optimize your ads. The Facebook

conversion pixel will also enable you to utilize other Facebook solutions that leverage pixel data such

as Custom Audiences from your website and oCPM bidding.

The Facebook conversion pixel measures:

Your cross-device conversions on Facebook

Any interaction with your ad, such as clicks on the photo, like button, comment button and

share button, as click conversions

Conversion activity within a 1-day, 7-day or 28-day window based on time the ad is shown

While Facebook provides its own conversion pixel for tracking, you can also implement a third-partypixel for measurement beyond Facebook. Generally, third-party pixels will measure:

Granular data outside of Facebook such as LTV, KPIs and multi-touch attribution

Click conversions as clicks off of Facebook

All other clicks prior to a conversion as a view conversion

Data across channels with minimized redundancies

Data when the conversion takes place within a predefined attribution window

Facebook SDK and App Events

Measures mobile app conversionsThe Facebook SDK or Mobile Measurement Partners SDK will measure the granular data needed

to optimize your mobile app ads to meet specific goals. You will need to measure in-app actions to

optimize budgets for actions that matter. You can do this via Facebook App Events or through a MobileMeasurement Partner.

The Facebook SDK and App Events enable:

The ability to measure any action taken in your mobile app ad such as an install or a purchase

Conversion activity within a 1-day, 7-day or 28-day window based on time the ad is shown

Rich people-based insights such as who buys the most in your app via App Insights

While Facebook provides its own SDK for tracking, you can also implement a third-party measurement

solution. Generally, our third party mobile measurement partners measure: Cross ad network ad spend

Deeper downstream performance metrics and analysis such as funnel analysis

We were able to identify the

type of consumer who will

convert, profile that, and use

this to find more people to

serve those New Feeds adverts

to,

Henry Arkell, Social

Advertising Director, Manning

Gottlieb OMD.

Facebook case study, April 2014



Solution by Objective

This is our recommended solution set for marketers looking to

acquire customers or remarket to existing customers online,in-store and in mobile app.

Acquiring new

customers

Acquiring new

customers

Acquiring new mobile

app users

Core Audiences

Custom Audiences

Lookalike Audiences

Core Audiences/

Partner Categories

Custom Audiencesfrom your website

Lookalike Audiences

Core Audiences

Custom Audiences

Lookalike Audiences

Custom Audiences

Custom Audiences

Custom Audiences

Link ads in New Feed

Link ads in New Feed

Photo ads

Offer ads

Mobile app install ads

Link ads in News Feed

Link ads in News Feed

Photo ads

Offer ads

Mobile app

engagement ads

oCPM

CPC

CPM

CPM

oCPM

oCPM

CPC

oCPM

CPC

CPC

Conversion pixel

Conversion lift tests

Conversion pixel

Conversion lift tests

Facebook SDK + App

Events or third partymobile measurement

partner

Facebook SDK + AppEvents or third party

mobile measurementpartner

Targeting

Targeting

Targeting

Ad units

Ad units

Ad units

Bid types

Bid types

Bid types

Measurement

Measurement

Measurement

Remarketing to

exisiting customers

Remarketing to

exisiting customers

Remarketing to existing

mobile app users

Driving online traffic from Facebook

Driving in-store traffic from Facebook

Driving mobile app installs and conversions from Facebook



Best Practices



Campaign Prep

Planning your campaignAs you plan your campaign on Facebook, you can start by asking yourself a few questions:

What are the business goals Im seeking to achieve and how do they map to the objectives I

can drive on Facebook? For instance, your business goals could be acquiring new customers orremarketing to existing customers.

How will I measure and track results? Before launching your campaign, identify what metrics will

be measured so you and your partners can work towards the same goal.

The answers to these questions will define your strategy and help you measure the effectiveness ofFacebook alongside other direct response channels.

Next, follow these steps:

Align Facebook with your other efforts on digitalFrom account planning to the KPIs metrics youll measure, leverage the same processes and best

practices for an apples-to-apples comparison between channels.

Consider long-term success metricsIts not too early to set long-term goals for your program. Consider metrics such as lifetime value(LTV), downstream value, average order value (AOV) and share of new customers.

Leverage your fansYour business will benefit from having more people who like your Page since Facebook ads showsocial context, which increases the efficacy of your ads. Audience Insights from your Page such

as geographic, demographic and interests data can also enhance your ability to target the right

people and refine your creative for specific campaigns.

Campaign structureFacebooks campaign structure makes it easier for you to organize, optimize and measure the

performance of your ads. The structure has three levels: campaign, ad set and ad.

Campaign best practices

1. Set up campaigns based on advertising objectives

2. Create multiple campaigns within an ad account

3. Cap spend across all campaigns and track spend for each campaign

Ad set best practices

1. Organize ad sets by audience segment

2. Optimize top performing placements

3. Set bidding to maximize performance

4. Adjust budgets to optimize spend

Ad best practices

1. Use ad types that match your campaign objective

2. Create multiple ads to optimize performance

3. Improve the performance of your creative

4. Dont go over the limits for number of campaigns, ads sets and ads

Campaign

Ad set Ad set

AdAdAdAd



Set up for measurementTo measure the success of your program, you will need to set the proper measurementsolutions in place.

1. Know which KPIs (ROAS, average order value, conversion rate, etc.) you want tomeasure and what metrics you consider a successMake sure your partners (agency and/or PMD) are informed of these success metrics.

2. Bring your conversion data onto FacebookTo track online conversions, implement the conversion pixel on the your website.

To track conversions in your mobile app, implement the Facebook SDK and set up App Events

to measure specific actions in app and attribute ad spend to specific in app actions.

3. Identify where the majority of conversions happenLooking at your data, identify where the majority of conversions occur. If you notice that more

conversions occur on desktop than mobile, then increase spend on desktop and use the appropri-ate ad units and creative to drive your desired action.

4. Set up measurement for lifetime value (LTV)Its not too early to set long-term goals for your program. Consider metrics such as lifetime value

(LTV), downstream value and share of new customers.

5. Partner with a third-party solution for cross-channel measurementEncourage advertisers to implement third-party measurement solutions to measure thepath-to-conversion for their customers and the impact Facebook has compared to other

channels. Because Facebook ads can drive consideration from consumers, a last-clickattribution model is not an appropriate measurement solution.



Targeting

With the right targeting strategy, you can reach consumers on Facebook

in meaningful numbers to drive scalable results across devices. Though

Facebook has more targeting options than other channels, the sameaudience planning process applies.

Think about the goal youve set for your business on Facebook. Are you acquiring new customers orremarketing to existing customers? Your objective will define the audience you want to target. Ask

yourself the following questions to help develop your audience strategy on Facebook:

Who are your target audiences?

How do you segment your audiences? What types of data/insights do you have about them?

What are your key focus markets now and in the future?

Who manages your CRM database? How do you use your database for marketing purposes today?

What offline data do you use for targeting in other campaigns?

These questions should help determine what audiences you want to reach on Facebook. Next, use

Facebook targeting to find your audience.

Recommended targeting solution by objective

Driving online traffic

Driving in stores traffic

Driving mobile app installs and conversions

(Partners Categories) (Custom Audiences from your websites)

Core Audience Custom Audiences Lookalike Audience

Acquiring new customers

Acquiring new customers

Acquiring new mobile app users

Remarketing to existing customers

Remarketing to existing customers

Remarketing to existing mobile app users



Best practices for targetingUse the following best practices to efficiently reach the people in your target audience.

1. Reach audiences based on where they are in the lifecycleIdentify audiences by where they are in the lifecycle. For example, remarket to people who demon-

strated purchase intent on your website, target existing customers who are likely to churn andreach your highest LTV customers to keep them engaged.

2. Minimize overlapping audiencesOverlapping target audiences mean multiple ads are competing for the same auctions, thus canni-

balizing the delivery for your campaign.Consider consolidating target audiences into larger but fewer audience segments. Also, evaluate

the timing of ad sets as they may not need to run at the same time

3. Use Audience Insights and App Insights to better understand the demographics of yourmost engaged audiencesAdvertisers can leverage data from Audience Insights and App Insights to identify audiences that

may be interested in purchasing their products and are most engaged.

4. Exclude current customers from acquisition campaigns

If youre running a campaign with the goal of acquiring new customers, use Custom Audiences toexclude your existing customers from your campaign.

5. Use specific seed lists to build lookalike audienceWhen building a lookalike audience, start with a seed list that is specific to the objective youre

seeking to achieve. For example, build a seed list of people who tend to convert online versus

offline and find people who look like them.

Success Story

20Jeans used Custom

Audiences to remarket to

people who abandoned their

shopping cart on their website.

Result:

Saw a 300% decrease in CPA

and a 2-3X higher conver-

sion rate than other display

platforms

Facebook case study, June 2014



Creative and messaging

After youve identified your goal and target audience, reach themwith compelling creative that drives them to your website, store

or mobile app.

Great creative drives engagement and can sometimes lead to higher delivery and cheaper costs. Take

advantage of the visual and native canvas in News Feed to drive your direct response objectives.

Best practices for direct response creative1. Stick to one strong focal point

Keep to one focal point within your creative so that its obvious to your audience what yourobjective is. For example, if youre a retailer, showcase the product youre looking to sell and

provide a clear directive within the ad.

2. Make your ad noticeableUse creative that captures attention and gets people to stop scrolling through their News Feed.

3. Insert brand personalityAdd your brand personality into your creative. For example, insert your logo or stick to colorsfrom your brand.

4. Create informational rewardMake sure the product or service youre promoting is something the audience might be interested

in. For example, an events business can promote tickets for a concert to people who have previ-ously purchased concert tickets from their website.

5. Create emotional reward

Think of ways to connect with your audience emotionally. Humor is a great emotional trigger.

6. Mirror creative to where your audience is in the sales funnelIf your audience is in the consideration phase, use creative to drive interest in your products or

services. If your audience has demonstrated intent on your website, use creative with a strong

call-to-action to drive the outcome you care about.

7. Use a strong call to actionVital to direct response campaigns, ensure you have a single, clear call-to-action that drives the

objective youre looking to achieve on Facebook. Do not confuse the call-to-action by asking them

to purchase a product and like your Page.

8. Create consistency across the path-to-conversionWhen driving a conversion on your website or mobile app, keep the look and feel of the experi-ence seamless from the ad itself all the way to the conversion page.

9. Consider refreshing the creativeCampaigns will begin to fatigue over time given the frequency with your target audience. Review

performance over time and update creative often to maximize results.

10. Test, test, test!Ensure youre using the best performing creative by testing continuously.



Bidding

Facebooks auction is designed to give you the least expensivedelivery possible regardless of your bid. On Facebook, the bid is

assumed to be the value (e.g. revenue) captured from each clickimpression or action.

Prices are calculated based on the position won in the auction and the weighted average of yourcompetitors bids. This means that the price charged is almost always less than the bid. Figure out

what the max bid is by calculating the average profit from a click or action (this varies by targetaudience, and possibly other factors, and should be adjusted over time).

Best practices for bidding1. Bid your true value

Bid the maximum amount youre willing to pay per objective.

2. Increase your bid if youre willing to pay more per objectiveYou will almost always be charged less than your bid. So if youre willing to spend more, increas

your bid to maximize delivery.

3. Set accurate end times for your ad setsYou might get slower delivery if the system thinks it has to spread your spend out over a long

period of time.

4. Set different bids for low and high LTV usersCreate different LTV audience segments. Bid higher for people that bring more value in the lon

run, while bidding less for people that have a lower LTV.

5. Dont change bids and budgets too frequentlyFluctuations in bids may affect delivery.

6. Dont try for the cheapest clicks or impressionsYou will reach people that are easier reached, but dont necessarily provide the LTV you expect

In addition, you might not be able to scale your campaign properly.

PricingWe charge you based on:

The position you win inthe auction

The weighted average ofyour competitors bids



Measurement

For a complete view of your efforts on Facebook, we recommenda combination of measurement solutions:

Track your Facebook ad performance with the Facebookconversion pixel and SDK

Measure the incremental lift you receive from advertising onFacebook using conversion lift tests

Utilize third-party tracking and measurement to determineattribution across publishers

Track Facebook ad performance online and in mobileProperly measuring and optimizing your ad campaigns is a core to success on Facebook. The Facebook

conversion pixel or App Events should be placed on each key aspect in the conversion flow.

By placing the conversion pixel/App Events across the funnel, you will be able to test several optimiza-

tion techniques that could lead to additional conversions. In addition, you will be able to measure thedownstream effect of our ads in relation to key conversion events.

General remarketing

Lead generation

Mobile app installs

Mobile app re-engagement

Loyalty

Upselling

Fan acquisition

Retention with lapse customers

Main landing pages, search pages, category pages

Main landing pages, loyalty/rewards pages, newsletter pages

Activate App and App Purchase

Activate App, App Purchase, Add to Cart, Initated Checkout

Loyalty/rewards pages

Category/product pages

Main landing pages

Loyalty/rewards pages, shopping cart

(exclude purchasers via Custom Audiences pixel on checkout/

thank you pages)

If your goal is... You should apply the pixel/App Event to...



Conversion lift testLift measurement determines the true incremental impact you receive from your advertising efforts bycomparing a test group of people who saw the ads to a control group who didnt see ads. While brand

advertisers care about determining the lift in awareness and perceptions, direct response advertiserscare about driving actions, events and conversions, so we measure the lift in these key actions.

Conversion lift measurement is a true experimental design approach which enables advertisers

to determine the value of all Facebook impressions (views and clicks) beyond the last touch anddetermine the incremental impact Facebook advertising had on their business.

How to implement a conversion lift test:

1. Before uploading your Custom Audience from a data file to Facebook, randomly divideyour audience into two groupsThis creates a test group and a control group. Only include people you want target for yourspecific objective. For example, if youre a travel company promoting hotels to people who

recently booked airfare, run a conversion lift test to people within that campaign.

2. Upload the two groups as separate Custom AudiencesDo not make any changes to the Custom Audiences during the test to maintain accuracy.

3. When running your campaign, only show ads to the test groupMake sure to exclude the control group from your campaign. Make sure to reach more than75% of people in your test cell to get a good read on the impact of your advertising.

4. Analyze your point-of-sale data from both groupsWhen measuring the results of your campaign, look at the data of all people within your test

and control group.

5. Calculate the lift between the two groupsCompare the delta in conversion rate and sales volume between the test and control group.

For more information on conversion lift tests and details on our managed conversion lift test solution,

reach out to your Facebook contact.



Whether you are a new or experienced advertiser on

Facebook, we hope this guide provided helpful tips to improve

the performance of your campaigns. In summary, keep the

following recommendations in mind:

Use the recommended suite of Facebook ads products that align with your direct response objectiv

Ensure your campaigns are structured efficiently according to Facebooks best practices

Use compelling creative with strong call-to-actions to drive attention and conversion

Follow Facebooks bidding best practices to ensure youre paying the right amount per objective.

Use the Facebook conversion pixel and/or SDK as well as experimental design tests for a completeview of your ad performance.

Test targeting, creative, placement, ad unit and bids often to optimize for better results.

For more information about Facebook Advertising, visit facebook.com/business.

Conclusion

facebook directresponse best practices guide

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