The intricate nature of Facebook advertising can often leave advertisers feeling overwhelmed, or at the very least, concerned that their management approach might be lacking in some way.

However, managing a Facebook ad account doesn’t need to be overly complicated. By adopting certain principles and making them habitual, you can simplify the process for long-term success. These fundamental rules hold true whether you’re handling a longstanding account or just starting out. In this article, we’ll delve into some essential principles for effective Facebook ad account management.

7 Key Practices of Highly Successful Facebook Advertisers

The effectiveness of Facebook advertising often hinges on seven key practices. Let’s explore these fundamentals that differentiate those who find success from those who don’t.

1. Prioritize Objective-Based Campaign Organization Over Audience-Based

At the very core of your account lies its structure, which is crucial for long-term health, clear reporting, and effortless optimization. The most straightforward way to achieve this is by comprehending the three key components of a campaign:

• Account
  • Campaigns
    • Ad set(s)
      • Ads A well-planned campaign structure naturally sets the stage for everything else. However, a common pitfall is confusing the purpose of the campaign level with that of the ad set level. It’s essential to remember that campaigns should always revolve around the central objective, such as specific conversions, website traffic, or video views.

To delve deeper, check out our comprehensive tutorial on Facebook advertising. Instead of focusing on goals, many advertisers mistakenly structure their campaigns around specific audiences. For instance: Example #1:

• Campaign: Restaurants
• Ad Set: Restaurant (grouping multiple restaurant audiences)
• Ads: (a mix of restaurant promotions) Example #2 (Recommended Approach):
• Campaign: Restaurant ebook conversions
• Ad set: Restaurant owners
• Ads (3-4 variations of a single, specific promotion)

Example 1 often leads to a disorganized account as you add more ad sets and promotions. Centering your campaign around the desired outcome allows you to consolidate various audiences efficiently. Free guide » 7 Essential Facebook Advertising Tips for every advertiser.

2. Maintain Highly Targeted Audiences

Another issue with Example #1 is combining multiple audiences into a single ad set. While Facebook suggests this for a quicker learning phase due to a larger audience, a more focused approach, especially with limited budgets, allows for better control over optimizations. More on that later.

3. Streamline Conversion Goals

While testing multiple promotions against each other is encouraged, ensure they share a common conversion goal. For example, use a consistent custom conversion event parameter in the thank you page URL. This way, you have a unified conversion metric for all current and future ebook conversion actions.

4. Simplify Reporting

Maintaining consistency between your campaign’s objective and its corresponding ad is crucial. With traffic-focused campaigns, you can swap ads leading to various pages. However, campaigns aimed at lead generation or specific actions inherently involve more complexity. That’s where the recommended account structure proves beneficial. A clear path from campaign to conversion goal makes reporting and analysis straightforward.

Post the iOS 14 update, campaigns are limited to eight conversion actions (Aggregated Event Measurement). Hence, a streamlined and efficient conversion tracking system is key. This circles back to the importance of using a common parameter for similar actions. For instance, imagine having two ebooks with distinct landing pages. Launching individual ads requires creating two separate custom conversions. Running both within the same campaign could result in this:

Difficulty in instantly seeing the total conversion count. While seemingly insignificant, the ability to view the total conversion count at the campaign level saves considerable time. Otherwise, you’re left digging into each ad set and individual ad. A well-structured and organized approach enables faster, account-wide decisions.

5. Utilize Daily Budgeting at the Ad Set Level

Facebook offers several budget management options for campaigns:

1. Daily budget, ad set level: This allows control over the daily expenditure for each ad set/audience within a campaign.
2. Daily budget, campaign level: Specify a total daily budget for your campaign, leaving Facebook’s algorithm to distribute it among ad sets for optimal cost-effectiveness.
3. Scheduled/lifetime budgets: Suitable for campaigns with fixed durations and budgets.

Daily budgeting at the ad set level is generally preferred, especially when lead quality is paramount. A high volume of leads doesn’t necessarily equate to high quality. Controlling individual ad set spending makes it easier to test audiences and ensure optimal performance aligned with your business objectives. While campaign budget optimization can be simpler, it’s typically more relevant when aiming for higher-funnel goals.

6. Select the Right Metrics for Measurement

With a well-structured account and accurate tracking, optimization revolves around audience and ad performance. Measurement metrics should align with the campaign goals.

Traffic/Engagement → Surface-Level Metrics

For broader goals like website traffic or engagement, “surface-level” metrics, readily available on the Facebook platform, are key. These include impressions, clicks, CPC, and CTR. Observe the relationship between reach, impressions, and frequency. For example, if reach plateaus while impressions and frequency increase, it could indicate audience fatigue. Next, analyze click performance - volume, cost, and CTR - over the same period. This reveals whether the audience is genuinely fatigued, requiring you to pause the ad set or introduce new ads.

Lead Generation → Leads and Conversions

When lead generation is the goal, prioritize the number of conversions or leads over time. If an initially successful ad set or ad experiences a decrease in volume and an increase in cost per lead, examine the surface-level metrics. This helps determine if the ad set or ad has run its course. The beauty of the recommended account structure is the ease with which you can introduce new audiences or ads without creating entirely new campaigns when fatigue sets in.

Lead Quality → Website Metrics

Take your optimization a step further by linking your website’s performance to your Facebook ad account. With a clear account structure, you can easily identify the source of your leads, allowing you to make informed decisions within the account that align with your business goals.

7. Avoid Excessive Auditing

Auditing refers to reviewing your account holistically, making necessary optimizations, or restructuring. While there’s no magic number for audit frequency, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” generally applies. For a successful Facebook ad account, avoid unnecessary intervention. This highlights the importance of a solid account structure and accurate tracking, setting you up for long-term success. It makes individual campaign, ad set, and ad optimizations easier and simplifies problem diagnosis within the account. While some suggest retiring ads after a certain frequency, it rarely paints the full picture. High-frequency ads can still perform well. Essentially, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to optimization frequency. Each business and ad account is unique, and understanding their nuances allows for better decision-making.

Enhance Your Facebook Ad Performance by Embracing These Habits

The multitude of options and decisions within Facebook advertising can seem daunting. However, the platform’s complexity is often a reflection of your approach. With a well-defined objective, a strategic method, and an organized approach, everything else falls into place. The key is to master the fundamentals before diving into complex strategies. As a reminder, here are the seven Facebook advertising tips:

1. Organize campaigns by objective, not audience
2. Keep your audiences refined
3. Consolidate your conversion goals
4. Make reporting easier for yourself
5. Choose daily budgeting on the ad set level
6. Measure with the right metrics
7. Don’t over-audit By implementing these practices, you can unlock the true potential of Facebook advertising for your business.