Facebook Ads: Are You Allocating As Much As Google AdWords?

Are you allocating a similar marketing budget on Facebook Ads as Google AdWords? Here’s how I look at it, at a high level… As of today, Alphabet (the parent company behind Google) has a market capitalization is $678.9 billion. Facebook’s market cap is $440.9 billion. $440.9 billion / $678.9 billion implies that Facebook is about 64.5% the size of Alphabet. Given Facebook’s size and scale, it’s perfectly reasonable to allocate 64.5% as much money on Facebook Ads. So, if you’re spending $100,000/month on AdWords, you may want to consider spending $64,500 on Facebook Ads.

This allocation is far from reality for many digital marketers. Why? A lot of the digital marketing leaders (myself included) grew up on Google AdWords. AdWords is ingrained in our minds. We know it, it works really well, and that’s where we have historically prioritized our budgets. And, AdWords is bottom-of-funnel so it’s easier to measure success from an attribution standpoint.

That being said, things have evolved. These days, I’m the greatest fan of Facebook around, and am constantly discovering new ways to drive success on this incredible platform. On the fun side of things, I have over 100,000 fans on my PPC Ian Facebook Fan Page. On the business / professional side of things, I manage dozens of Facebook pages and advertising campaigns for our local stores, delivering hyper-local content on a daily basis. I have learned that top-of-funnel social media marketing (with appropriate tracking) drives impressive results when executed properly. And, it keeps getting better. Instagram, for example, is a complete game-changer for Facebook advertisers.

Today, I’m excited to share an eBook I recently read that provides incredible insights for anyone advertising on Facebook. I’m talking about Acquisio’s Guide to Facebook Advertising Success, a collaboration with Vector Media Group. Following are some of my favorite takeaways, broken down by section. Rather than elaborating upon each specific insight, I’m listing them here so you can quickly look for them once downloading the eBook.

Strategy #1: Talk to Your target Audience

• Facebook offers over 970 targeting variables.
• Via data partnerships, Facebook offers some truly unique targeting options.
• When targeting on Facebook, don’t go too broad. Stay focused. A few hundred people is a great target audience, but don’t go lower.
• While nearly impossible manually, scale with personalization is possible with Acquisio Social.

Strategy #2: Craft Creatives That Convert

• Literally let users see themselves in your photos.
• 90% of accounts don’t leverage CTA (call-to-action). Don’t be one of them!
• CTR (click-through-rate) is critical for your relevancy score (Facebook’s equivalent to Google’s quality score). Always focus on CTR.

Strategy #3: Test Your Way to Traffic

• Get rid of ads that are not working so they don’t drag down your entire account.
• Download the free eBook to learn all about view-through vs. click-through conversions, and exactly how much value Acquisio and Vector Media recommend giving view-throughs. (In my opinion, this is one of the single biggest elements in scaling your Facebook budget.)
• Learn how Acquisio Social can empower your advertising campaign with multivariate testing.

Strategy #4: Data Driven Decision Making

• Learn about Facebook and Google Analytics integration.
• Leverage Facebook data to empower your Google AdWords advertising and vice versa. Learn how Facebook can help power Google RSLA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads). Uncover how Facebook Custom Audiences can scale with help from your Google data (one of my personal favorite Facebook targeting frameworks).

Strategy #5: Bid on What Matters

• Learn about the differences between CPC and CPM bidding. Find out which one works better on Facebook. (In my opinion, this is another one of the greatest lessons in this eBook. I have discovered a similar result via years of testing. Pay attention to this section as bidding is super important and different on Facebook.)
• Learn about the different placements and which one converts the best.

I really enjoyed this free eBook. One of my favorite quotes: "With the knowledge and techniques shared in this eBook, there is no reason Facebook should be getting less spend than AdWords, Bing or your other channels, unless you have an attribution model to prove it!" I could not agree more. Whether you’re behind on your Facebook Advertising program or are a Facebook pro, I’m sure you’ll learn quite a bit from Acquisio’s eBook.

If you’d like to learn a little bit more about the companies behind this publication, here are some quick insights:

• Acquisio is a performance media solution that enables digital marketers to optimize their search campaigns and report on social, mobile and display initiatives. With a focus on cutting-edge machine learning algorithms and also leveling the playing field for all advertisers (small, medium, and large alike), Acquisio is truly a robust platform. More than anything, they are a team of incredible professionals. In fact, their CEO (and personal friend), is quite involved in Charity and Giving, something that resonates with me personally. Way to go, Acquisio and Marc Poirier!
• Vector Media Group is an award-winning digital agency located in NYC. Their full-service agency specializes in web development, design & branding, and digital marketing. While I just learned about Vector via this eBook, I’m quite impressed with everything they are doing and the content they are sharing with marketers like you and me. Thanks, Vector!

Image in this post © Acquisio