6 Tips for Improving Facebook Ad Performance Now
By Mark Harnett
Despite Facebook's PR challenges and boycotts, the platform remains highly effective for advertising. Ad rates dropped 15-25% in March 2020 during the pandemic but recovered by April.
1. Watch for Facebook v. Instagram Performance Differences
One client's beverage product showed dramatically different results across platforms. While CPM rates were similar at approximately $2, Facebook ads generated triple the clicks compared to Instagram. Facebook favors click-through actions, while Instagram emphasizes scrolling and image discovery. Facebook excels at driving conversions when you need immediate actions.
2. Set the Right Objective
Facebook's machine-learning algorithms optimize for whatever metric you specify. Selecting the wrong goal creates counterproductive results. If your objective is selling products online, make sure you've got the Facebook conversion pixel set up. Targeting clickers instead of purchasers wastes budget on non-converting traffic.
3. Mobile, Mobile, Mobile
Approximately 80% of Facebook traffic is mobile. Poor mobile experiences waste significant ad spend. Invest in apps over websites when possible — one client's app eventually outperformed their website by 2-3x in lifetime customer value through better retention and engagement.
4. Mind Your Aspect Ratios
Different image sizes perform differently across platforms. Square images work on both, but testing with 4:5 aspect ratio vertical images typically performs better on Facebook. This vertical format takes up most of the screen on many different types of phones. Auto-cropping by the platform can damage ads with important text in margins.
5. Copy Post Engagement
User engagement — comments, likes, shares — significantly impacts ad performance and cost. Critical lesson: when replicating successful ads, select "copy engagement" to retain historical credibility. Failing to copy engagement from a successful ad loses its performance advantage.
6. Go Straight for the Sale
Pre-launch "coming soon" campaigns collecting emails before product availability are inefficient. Early leads forget about products before launch, and email-to-purchase conversion funnels are poor. You're better off spending the money when you launch and can actually sell the product.