Lessons Learned From Spending & €1m on Facebook Ads #InOrbit18 - by @NedPoulter of @PoleStarDigital

LESSONS LEARNED FROM SPENDING > € 1M
ON FACEBOOK ADS
FACEBOOK ADS @ INORBIT BY @NEDPOULTER OF @POLESTARDIGITAL

FOUNDER & CEO
I’M NED POULTER

FACEBOOK ADS @ INORBIT BY @NEDPOULTER

TO DATE, I’VE SPENT >€1 MILLION ON
FACEBOOK ADS.

ALONG THE WAY I’VE PICKED UP A NUMBER
OF TIPS & TRICKS.

I’M GOING TO SHARE SOME OF THESE WITH
YOU TODAY.

1/ SETTING THE SCENE.

AS DIGITAL MARKETING CONSULTANTS
OUR JOB IS TO EXPLORE & INNOVATE.

WE ARE TASKED WITH UNCOVERING
OPPORTUNITIES IN NEWER OR LESS
UTILISED CHANNELS...

…AND PRODUCE CREATIVE
APPROACHES TO RESULTS-FOCUSED
SOLUTIONS

THE PROBLEM WE’RE FACING IS…
WE’VE REACHED A LEVEL OF MATURITY
IN PAID MARKETING

LETS TAKE THE SERPS AS AN
EXAMPLE…

ADs

LOCAL

NEWS

ORGANIC

Q: HOW DO WE REACH PEOPLE THAT AREN’T SEARCHING?

IT’S NATURAL THAT WE LOOK FOR OTHER OPPORTUNITIES…

News Feed posts
rank by:
1. Friends &
family
2. Information
3. Entertainment
More info
BUT… NOT ALL PLATFORMS ARE CREATED EQUAL
Photos / video
rank by:
1. How likely
you’ll be
interested
2. Your
relationship to
user posting
3. Timeliness of
post
More info
Feed ranked to
help you ‘catch
up’ on the best
Tweets you
missed while
away from app.
More info
Content is
classified by:
Image, Text,
Video, Long
Form, Link.
Content
distributed to
sample set of
users, interaction
then determines
‘quality’
Content ranked
by: video
views/popularity,
av. Length of
video, # of
shares, # channel
subscribers,
video naming
structure, tag on
videos, video
quality, links to
video, comments
on video

BUT, WHY SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON THIS
OPPORTUNITY?

50 MILLION ACTIVE BUSINESSES REGISTERED ON FACEBOOK

4 MILLION ACTIVE BUSINESSES USING FACEBOOK ADS

THAT’S ONLY 8% OF BUSINESSES ON FACEBOOK...

… AND 70% OF THEM ARE IN THE US

# OF MONTHLY ACTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA USERS WORLDWIDE 2008-17

PEOPLE ARE MOVING THEIR PAID BUDGETS TO SOCIAL NETWORKS…

BUT… CPCS ARE A’BOOMING! [CONT.]

AND… ORGANIC REACH IS DECLINING!

SO… WHAT’S HAPPENING?
More people/brands means more content created + shared
1
2
3
Av. ~1,500 stories in a persons newsfeed every time they log in to
Facebook (the algorithm then distills this to ~300)
Posts on platforms now contain multiple different media types
(posts, images, videos, live video, polls, events, frames … etc)

Small and mid-size brands are flocking to advertise on Facebook
…AS A RESULT
Facebook’s CPMs & CPCs are rising fast
Advertisers aren’t afraid to increase budgets even as the auction gets
more expensive

ZUCKS HAS LITERALLY TOLD US THAT IT IS… (EVENTUALLY)

WE’RE SEEING…
AN INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE BID-BASED LANDSCAPE
1
2
3
INCREMENTAL CPC INCREASES
DIFFERENT PLATFORMS ADAPTING TO HAVING A ‘PAY TO
PLAY’ METHODOLOGY (IN DOING SO, DIMINISHING ORGANIC
REACH)

SAME AUDIENCE
OVER TIME
CLIENT EXAMPLE: INCREMENTAL CPM INCREASES

SO… IF SEARCH CPCS ARE INCREASING
AND WE’RE HAVING TO PAY FOR MORE
EXPOSURE ON FACEBOOK… WHAT DO WE
DO??

WE GOTTA GET
BETTER!

2/ GET GREAT AT BUILDING & TESTING
AUDIENCES.

FACEBOOK USES 98 DATA POINTS TO SERVE ADS TO YOU

WE NEED TO TRIANGULATE AT LEAST 3 OF THESE, TO
NARROW OUR AUDIENCES…

PAGE LIKES
GO SET UP THESE AUDIENCES AS A MINIMUM
PAGE ENGAGERS
WEBSITE VISITORS (7/15/30/60/90/120/150/180 DAYS and/or specific
parts of your website e.g. /blog/)
KEY WEBSITE INTERACTORS (core site conv. points)
EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS
CUSTOMERS / ENQUIRERS / CONVERTED ENQUIRERS
1
2
3
4
5
6

PAGE LIKES
THEN CREATE LOOKALIKES OF THESE…
PAGE ENGAGERS
WEBSITE VISITORS (7/15/30/60/90/120/150/180 DAYS and/or specific
parts of your website e.g. /blog/)
KEY WEBSITE INTERACTORS (CORE SITE CONV. POINTS)
EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS
CUSTOMERS / ENQUIRERS / CONVERTED ENQUIRERS
LOOKALIKES

THAT SHOULD GIVE YOU AT LEAST >20 AUDIENCES TO SPLIT-TEST

HERE’S ONE I MADE EARLIER…

2 NEWER FEATURES TO TRY: ‘DWELL TIME’ & ‘LINK SHARING’
MORE INFO HERE

PAGE LIKES PAGE ENGAGERS WEBSITE VISITORS
AT A BARE MINIMUM... WE SHOULD CONSIDER PAYING FOR REACH
‘INTERNAL’ AUDIENCES

TOP TIP! OPTIMISE FOR DAILY UNIQUE REACH

RUN SEQUENTIAL ADVERTISING

USE VIDEO TO DEVELOP ENGAGED AUDIENCE - THEN SHOW THEM
SEQUENTIAL ADS! (E.G. A RE-ENGAGEMENT AUDIENCE)
CREATE VIDEO
VIEWS
AUDIENCE
SERVE
ADDITIONAL
CONTENT TO
ENGAGERS
CREATE BROAD
TARGET
AUDIENCE
SERVE VIDEO
ADS
CONTINUE DEVELOPING YOUR FUNNEL

THE SAME CAN BE DONE WITH CANVAS ADS…
CREATE
‘OPENED THIS
CANVAS’
AUDIENCE
SERVE
ADDITIONAL
CONTENT TO
ENGAGERS
SERVE
CANVAS ADS
CREATE BROAD
TARGET
AUDIENCE

THE SAME CAN BE DONE WITH LEAD GEN ADS…
CREATE
‘ENGAGED WITH
LEAD FORM’
AUDIENCE
SERVE
ADDITIONAL
CONTENT TO
ENGAGERS
SERVE LEAD
GEN ADS
CREATE BROAD
TARGET
AUDIENCE

3/ LIVE AND DIE BY YOUR CREATIVE.

CHECK IT OUT HERE -
https://adespresso.com/academy
/ads-examples/

CHECK IT OUT HERE -
https://www.facebook.com/ads/c
reativehub/gallery/

AVOID CRAP/SCARY CREATIVE!

STRIVE TO MAKE GREAT CREATIVE!
72 SHARES OF AN AD!

DON’T HAVE A DESIGN/CREATIVE TEAM? WHO CARES?
EYEEM STENCIL CANVA FLIXEL
BANNERWISE REFUEL4 PEXELS TWENTY20

STEAL THINGS!*
*WITHIN REASON

MOST OF THE BIGGEST SOCIAL MEDIA PROPERTIES DO THIS ALL THE TIME
TO NAME BUT A FEW…

TOOLS TO HELP YOU STEAL THINGS!!
SOCIAL INSIDER SEEKMETRICS SOCIAL BAKERS

DEFINE SUCCESSFUL FORMATS: VIEW ENGAGEMENT PER POST TYPE

IDENTIFY TOP POSTS IN TIME PERIOD

COLLABORATE ON CREATING/PREVIEWING SOCIAL POSTS

SCHEDULE CONTENT ACROSS YOUR SOCIAL PROPERTIES

MACHINE-OPTIMISE YOUR ORGANIC
CONTENTCAL
PLANABLE
MEETEDGAR
SOCIALBEE
COPY OTHERS +
SCHEDULE

EXPERIMENT WITH CREATIVES/NEW AD
FORMATS.

ECOMERCE? TRY FACEBOOK COLLECTIONS!

RECRUITMENT? TRY JOB POSTINGS / LEAD GEN

FACEBOOK 360 VIDEO/AR
MORE INFO:
https://facebook360.fb.com/

OR, JUST BLUFF IT!
CHECK OUT RESORT_VR
ON INSTAGRAM

IN PARTICULAR I’D RECOMMEND… FACEBOOK CANVAS
THINK OF IT AS A FACEBOOK
LANDING PAGE BUILDER

4/ USE VIDEO.

“I SEE VIDEO AS A MEGATREND”
“I’M GOING TO KEEP PUTTING
VIDEO FIRST ACROSS OUR FAMILY
OF APPS”

Traffic from online videos with constitute 82%
of all consumer internet traffic globally by
2020.

Live video will grow 15-fold from 2016-2021.

TOOLS TO HELP YOU CREATE VIDEO FOR YOUR CAMPAIGNS
IOGRAPHER CAMTASIA MEVO

SAAS COMPANY/TOOL PROVIDER? CREATE PRODUCT WALK-
THROUGH + USE THAT AS YOUR CREATIVE

USE VIDEO TO DEVELOP YOUR FUNNEL
CREATE VIDEO
VIEWS
AUDIENCE
SERVE
ADDITIONAL
CONTENT TO
ENGAGERS
CREATE BROAD
TARGET
AUDIENCE
SERVE VIDEO
ADS

OPTIMUM LENGTH OF VIDEO
60-90 SECONDS

OPTIMUM LENGTH OF LIVE VIDEO
15-60 MINUTES

BRILLIANT FACEBOOK VIDEOS ARE ONE OF 4 THINGS…

TOP VIDEO TAKEAWAYS
Add your branding early on – The earlier the better.
1
2
3
Cut/edit videos short – Shorter videos perform better. Attention
declines after 10 seconds .
Make the message clear from the start – Don’t wait to make
your message known.
4
Use other brand elements throughout – Colours, fonts,
aesthetic, etc.

5/ BE TIDY! ADOPT GOOD PRACTICES FOR
YOUR CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE +
TAXONOMY.

USE A GOOD NAMING STRUCTURE!
[Campaign name] - [Objective] - [Placement] - [Date] - [Audience] - [Content]
CAMPAIGN [Campaign name] - [Objective] - [Placement] - [Date]
[Campaign name] - [Objective] - [Placement] - [Date] - [Audience] - [Content]
AD SET
AD

EXAMPLE OF A GOOD NAMING STRUCTURE!
InOrbit Campaign – Website Conversions - FB – Jan-Mar 2018 – Website
Visitors (30 Days) – Only 3 Days Left for Early Bird Prices!
CAMPAIGN InOrbit Campaign – Website Conversions - FB – Jan-Mar 2018
InOrbit Campaign – Website Conversions - FB – Jan-Mar 2018 – Website
Visitors (30 Days) – Only 3 Days Left for Early Bird Prices!
AD SET
AD

SPLIT CAMPAIGNS BY PLACEMENT

EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE
CAMPAIGN 1
TARGET AUDIENCE 1 TARGET AUDIENCE 2
1
CAMPAIGN
AD SET
ADVERTS 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
AD SET
PLACEMENT
1
AD SET
PLACEMENT
2
AD SET
PLACEMENT
1
AD SET
PLACEMENT
2
TARGET AUDIENCE 3 TARGET AUDIENCE 4
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
AD SET
PLACEMENT
1
AD SET
PLACEMENT
2
AD SET
PLACEMENT
1
AD SET
PLACEMENT
2

EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE
INORBIT CONTENT CAMPAIGN
PAGE ENGAGERS WEBSITE VISITORS
1
CAMPAIGN
AD SET
ADVERTS 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
FACEBOOK
NEWSFEED
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
NEWSFEED
INSTAGRAM
EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS ECRM LOOKALIKES
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
FACEBOOK
NEWSFEED
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
NEWSFEED
INSTAGRAM

BIG CAMPAIGN? SPLIT-TESTING?

DEFINITELY TRY DYNAMIC CREATIVE

DYNAMIC CREATIVE
UPLOAD MULTIPLE
IMAGES/VIDEOS
UPLOAD MULTIPLE
AD COPY
TEST MULTIPLE
CTAs

INTERNATIONAL CLIENT? MULTI-LANGUAGE CAMPAIGN?

DEFINITELY TRY DYNAMIC LANGUAGE OPTIMISATION

DYNAMIC LANGUAGE OPTIMISATION
CLICK CREATE IN
DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
WRITE MULTI-
LANGUAGE AD COPY
RUN SINGLE-CAMPAIGN
FOR INTERNATIONAL
CAMPAIGNS

6/ CREATE A SEAMLESS CONVERSION-
FOCUSED FUNNEL (E.G. LEAD ADS FTW!).

EMAIL
TARGET
AUDIENCES
LEAD GEN
ADS
CREATE A LEAD GENERATION MACHINE [GOOD]

CREATE A LEAD GENERATION MACHINE [BETTER]
LEAD-TO-
EMAIL ZAP
ECRM AUTO-
RESPONDER
TARGET
AUDIENCES
LEAD GEN
ADS

ZAPIER FACEBOOK LEAD-TO-EMAIL

‘BRIDGE’
SOFTWARE
ECRMTARGET
AUDIENCES
LEAD GEN
ADS
MARKETING AUTOMATION (W/ FUNNELS)
CREATE A LEAD GENERATION MACHINE [BEST]

DON’T FORGET TO CREATE A RE-ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGN!
CREATE
‘ENGAGED WITH
LEAD FORM’
AUDIENCE
SERVE
OPTIMISED AD
COPY TO
ENGAGERS
SERVE LEAD
GEN ADS
CREATE BROAD
TARGET
AUDIENCE

CASE STUDY I
OBJECTIVE: Increase sign-ups leading up to new bar launch
SOLUTION:
1. Link eCRM to Facebook via ’bridge’ (LeadsBridge)
2. Setup 4 custom audiences
3. Advertise to individuals within a 17KM radius for new bar
4. Create + run lead gen ad
5. Optimise to best performing audience

Q: WHICH DO YOU THINK PERFORMED BETTER?
A/ WEBSITE
VISITORS
B/ WEBSITE
VISITOR LOOK-
A-LIKE
C/ BRAND
LIKES
D/ FRIENDS
OF BRAND
LIKES

WORST PERFORMING
AUDIENCE
A/ WEBSITE
VISITORS
195% BETTER THAN
WORST PERFORMING
AUDIENCE
B/ WEBSITE
VISITOR LOOK-
A-LIKE
102% BETTER THAN
WORST PERFORMING
AUDIENCE
C/ BRAND
LIKES
154% BETTER THAN
WORST PERFORMING
AUDIENCE
D/ FRIENDS
OF BRAND
LIKES
SHOWS ITS WORTHWHILE INVESTING IN AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!
STANDARD CPL
USUALLY >£2

CASE STUDY II
OBJECTIVE: Develop leads through social media for legal firm (target CPL
£100)
SOLUTION:
1. Setup Zapier ‘Facebook lead-to-email’ automation
2. Setup Zapier automation to deliver leads to client contact centre
3. Setup multiple custom audiences (internal + external)
4. Create + run lead gen ads
5. Optimise/iterate based on best performing audiences

CASE STUDY II

CASE STUDY II
33 LEADS
£14.82 PER LEAD
-£85.18 CHEAPER THAN
TARGET CPL

THESE WERE THE RESULTS AFTER 5 DAYS.

7/ BID AUTOMATION BEST PRACTICES.

BID AUTOMATION FTW!

TOOLS TO HELP BID AUTOMATION
AD ESPRESSO REVEALBOT FACEBOOK

SOME IDEAS FOR AUTOMATIONS I USE.

TURN OFF POOR PERFORMING ADS

TURN OFF POOR PERFORMING ADS [CONT.]

TURN UP WELL PERFORMING ADS

TOP BID AUTOMATION TAKEAWAYS
DEFINE YOUR CAMPAIGN LIMITATIONS
Use these to govern your campaign. E.g. few purchases today,
few purchases in last X days, cost-per-action >£XX…
1
2
3
CALCULATE & UNDERSTAND YOUR GOAL
E.g. Maximum cost-per-purchase / lead / download / content
view … etc.
CHECK RULES AGAINST ONE ANOTHER
Rules need to work in harmony, apply too many and you’ll choke
off your campaign.
4
IMPLEMENT RULES INCREMENTALLY
Monitor your campaigns closely when you implement your rules
to understand the changes are making the desired effect.

8/ DEVELOP YOUR OWN CHATBOT(?).

TOOLS TO HELP YOU BUILD A CHATBOT
CHATFUEL SMOOCH.IO MOTION.AI

IDEA: BUILD A CUSTOMER SERVICES BOT!

WWW.MOTION.AI
APPLY LOGIC FROM YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMER SERVICES/SALES TEAM

HELP TO BRING POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE FUNNEL

GEARBEST ARE ALREADY DOING IT!

9/ FUTUREGAZING.

FACEBOOK AS A RECRUITMENT PLATFORM?
VS.

FACEBOOK AS A RECRUITMENT PLATFORM

FACEBOOK AS A CUSTOMER SERVICE PLATFORM
VS.

…ON FACEBOOK

…ON YOUR WEBSITE

FACEBOOK ADS ARE DEVELOPING AT A RAPID PACE
HIGHER AD REVENUES =
FASTER GROWTH

PAID MEDIA NOW GOES WELL BEYOND KEYWORDS
GIVING US THE ABILITY TO TARGET
INTELLIGENT AND COMPLEX AUDIENCE
TARGETING CAPABILITIES

ALLOW YOURSELF THE TIME TO EXPERIMENT…

ALLOW YOURSELF THE TIME TO FAIL….

ALLOW YOURSELF TIME TO BECOME BETTER THAN THE REST

LEARN, HACK, INNOVATE YOUR WAY TO BEING AWESOME!

Lessons Learned From Spending & €1m on Facebook Ads #InOrbit18 - by @NedPoulter of @PoleStarDigital

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Lessons Learned From Spending & €1m on Facebook Ads #InOrbit18 - by @NedPoulter of @PoleStarDigital