Ever heard the phrase “Begin with the end in mind”?
If you have, this applies to the world of Facebook advertising as well.
It is exactly what you need to do to succeed with Facebook Ads.
In addition to having excellent ad creatives, choosing the right Facebook ad objective that aligns with your campaign goal sets you up for success.
So how do you avoid choosing the wrong Facebook Ad objectives for your small business?
Here’s everything you need to know.
What are Facebook ad objectives?
A Facebook ad campaign objective is simply the desired action you want people to take when they see your ad.
Facebook determines who to show your ad to based on your chosen objective.
As seen below in Facebook Ads manager, all the ad campaign objectives are grouped into three major categories: Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion.
Let’s take a closer look at each.
Awareness objective
This category comprises brand awareness and reach.
It is majorly for advertisers looking to get more people to know and recognize their brand, and the products and services they offer.
When you choose an objective from this category, Facebook shows your ad to a large pool of potential customers (Top of the Funnel). This ad objective optimizes for impressions or reach as the goal is to get as many “targeted eyes” as possible to see your ad.
Consideration objective
Ad objectives under this category include traffic and engagement, app installs, video views, lead generation, and messages.
You should consider picking an ad objective from this category if you’re an advertiser looking to target your warm audiences (i.e, people who have come across your brand before). The goal of campaigns optimized for an objective in this category should be to nurture audience interest, educate and drive engagement (likes, shares, comments, etc.).
Conversion objective
Under this category, we have conversions, catalog sales, and store traffic.
According to Brian Lim, CEO of iHeartRaves & INTO THE AM, “the goal of campaigns optimized for an objective in this category should be to get people to purchase your product or service. Facebook shows your ad to audiences with high buying intent that just need a little nudge to convert (bottom of the funnel).”
How to choose the right ad objective for your small business
According to a recent Databox study on Facebook ads, the most common Facebook ad objectives for SMBs are brand awareness, followed by conversions, traffic, and lead generation.
Bearing that in mind, how should you choose a Facebook Ad objective for your small business?
Here are 5 things you should keep in mind when choosing an ad objective:
1. Understand the impact of your chosen ad objective
Before selecting an ad objective, it is essential to understand the different objectives – what they mean and the actions they evoke when chosen.
Essentially, the ad objective you choose will determine the outcome of your ad and communicate to Facebook algorithms what actions you want your audience to take when they come across your ad.
For example, there is no reason to choose brand awareness (targets cold audiences), if your goal is to get more purchases or products in the buyer’s cart.
2. Focus on your current goal
When choosing an objective for your small business’ ad campaign, it is essential to focus on your current marketing needs to avoid wasting your marketing budget on audiences that are not likely to take the actions you desire.
For example, choosing a reach objective will be a great choice if you’re looking to generate buzz for your latest product or service, as this ad objective focuses on getting your ad shown to as many people as possible.
3. Conduct A/B testing
For the best ad results, it is essential to be flexible. Therefore, always leave some room for testing different ad objectives to see if you stand the chance of generating more results by choosing one ad objective over another.
Suppose you’re just starting and have no historical data to leverage on. In that case, it’s perfectly okay to test and compare different ad objectives and the results you get, and when/if necessary, pause, pivot, and go in a different direction. Use Facebook Ads Analytics to track and measure the performance of your A/B testing.
Jessica Ulloa, Community Manager at MyPerfectResume says: “There isn’t only one way to choose the right Facebook Ad Objective for your business. This decision is based on your specific business needs and situation. It is particularly tricky to find the right objective if you have just started your business. A great tip is to test different options. You might be surprised to learn that the Facebook Ad Objective that brings you the best results is probably the one you weren’t even considering.”
4. Consider brand awareness objective
When choosing an objective, keep in mind the different stages that make up the marketing funnel and target people based on the stage of the marketing funnel that you’re in.
That said, if you’d like to go for one objective that has worked for many small businesses, then you should consider optimizing your ad for awareness or reach.
Going by the Databox study highlighted earlier, SMBs listed brand awareness as their top Facebook ad objective. As such, consider choosing brand awareness if you’re new and looking for a safe option to start from and learn.
5. Think of your overall marketing strategy
Choosing an ad campaign objective can be confusing for a beginner. One way to make it easy for you is to have a staff meeting to define your marketing strategy before diving in. Once you have crafted a solid marketing strategy, try finding a middle point by selecting the ad objective that best serves your marketing goals and plan.
