This week’s PPCChat session, discussed about strategies for advertising on Facebook and Instagram, as fall nears. Hosted by Julie F Bacchini, here is the screencap of the session.
Q1: Let’s get a lay of the land here first… What percentage of your clients are currently advertising on Facebook? What industries do they represent?
Nearly 100%. Restaurant, Public Sector, Auto, and my travel client is working on a strategy. – @JuliaVyse
About 25% of our clients are currently using FB. Healthcare, financial, insurance industries – all B2B. – @Mel66
Not a lot – maybe 10 to 20% – LinkedIn is doing better – this is B2B – @andreacruz92
Nearly 100% also. SaaS (software as a service) mainly at the moment. – @NeptuneMoon
85% probably. Skincare, food subscription, apparel, children’s clothes, etc. Every ecommerce is. Professional service clients no. – @CJSlattery
100% of my managed accts. are on FB. Mainly D2C Retail & SaaS. – @timmhalloran
I mostly work with Google Ads but I have one client that sells RV accessories that dabbles in Facebook Ads. The RV audience is fun! – @FindingAmanda
100% of our clients are on Facebook. We keep seeing more brands ask about help with the ad platform. – @duanebrown
We probably see about 60% of clients or maybe more than that advertising on FB. – @jord_stark
90% Healthcare, Insurance, QSR, CPG, Government Work – @JonKagan
Q2: Have clients expressed any concerns to you about advertising on Facebook in the US heading into the fall and election season, with the ongoing pandemic, etc.?
nope. We have different rules and election times up here, so it’s a bit different. But mostly its about making sure the creative is sensitive to the pandemic and it’s effects more than anything else. – @JuliaVyse
Oddly, no. But we’ve been preparing them for a while now so they’re aware that we could be seeing some fluctuation – @timmhalloran
Yes. Largest client is asking specifically what they should do in the coming weeks relative to brand safety. Wondering if it is worth it to be on FB for the next 2 months. – @NeptuneMoon
They haven’t, but I’ve expressed concerns to them. We’re pretty open about communicating about stability of the platform, issues with likely Q4 CPMs, etc. Basically explaining that this quarter is going to be TOUGH and to temper expectations – @CJSlattery
Not really, but our job is to explain the current scenario, difficulties and set up expectations – @andreacruz92
Nope. More worried about other operational pieces to the ecom and DTC business world. Making sure we can get packages to customers and keep the business momentum going – @duanebrown
only some around the boycott. We’re having to explain what the expected impact will be on cost due to the elections – @JonKagan
Someone created this fear about how politics were going to interfere with FB costs. I was even believing it. But I’m not seeing the data behind that. Sure, some CPMs have increased but I don’t think it’s elections/politically based – @RyBen3
Q3: Do you have concerns about clients advertising on Facebook in the US heading into the fall and election season and beyond?
yes, but intellectually. I don’t have that many clients focused on the US just now, so I’m spectating. One client is planning a retargeting/lookalike only, not an awareness play. so it feels pretty safe. – @JuliaVyse
I’m so new to FB Ads I’m too naive to be worried! Any tips on what to expect? Should I exclude certain audiences? – @FindingAmanda
Yeah, concerns are: 1) Stop rejecting my ads and taking 4 days to approve them after my appeal and 2) just watching to make sure costs don’t spiral. – @timmhalloran
I do. Mainly because of what I have been seeing in the past month and a half with regard to comments on FB ads… I feel like that will only get worse the closer we get to the election and right afterward. It is a mess, at least for my clients. – @NeptuneMoon
I am often more concerned that I need to explain to them that they need to be concerned – @JonKagan
Always – but as with anything, it’s a cost/benefit analysis. It’s a question of understanding what channels are contributing positively to the business, as well as the risk profiles associated with each. I expect October/November to be pretty bad + BF/CM to be $$$$. I think I have the most direct concern with the FB/IG + Twitter ecosystems; but the most indirect/2nd order concern with Google, Snap + YT. Basically I think some advertisers are going to run from FB/IG/TW, but that $ needs to go somewhere. – @DigitalSamIAm
The most logical place for it to go is G, YT + Snap/TikTok* – so the economics of those platforms could get hit pretty hard, which creates a really interesting (read: awful) situation for brands between advertising in hell (i.e. FB/IG/TW) and doing nothing – @DigitalSamIAm
Not worried. Just aware. Loved this tweet from Taylor Holiday a few days ago. Apparently political campaigns are like 0.4% of total spend – so unless you’re in politics, don’t try to blame your CPM increases on that anymore. – @RyBen3
No concerns more than normal – @duanebrown
Q4: If you have concerns about advertising on Facebook this fall, do you have the same or any concerns about advertising on Instagram? Why or why not?
at any given moment, advertising on FB is in the top 5 reasons I binge eat and I am over weight (clearly no other reason) 🙂 The platform’s audience is a constant liability – @JonKagan
this baffles me! lots of my clients and even partners think of instagram as a different thing entirely. They get that YouTube is google, but they don’t get that Insta is big blue. – @JuliaVyse
I consider Instagram and Facebook to be one in the same. – @CJSlattery
I recently started excluding some IG placements just to test and it’s been much better performing. IG just isn’t a great converter for us, but it’s more of checkout behavior with older demographics than anything else. – @RyBen3
I consider them to be all part of the same beast, but clients often do not, which is fascinating. That being said, I am not doing as much on IG as I am on FB at the moment. And it seems to be less crazy than FB proper, generally? – @NeptuneMoon
I have slightly *different* concerns about IG, but I’d say they’re no less severe. One of the huge questions about FB is how they’ll handle approvals + ad creative reviews. Potential audience backlash is another. And targeting/data integrity is a third. – @DigitalSamIAm
Q5: In addition to what will likely be a contentious political period, we are also still in the midst of a pandemic – how/are you adjusting your strategies for fall 2020 Facebook advertising? Or Instagram advertising?
we have a pretty robust exclusion list, and we’re being pretty focused on auction rather than planned spend. We need to be able to pause whenever necessary, and our creative has to be appropriate for people during this time. – @JuliaVyse
Gotta be flexible. What worked 6 months ago might not work this time around & I do think that strategies can be adjusted. For me, the right signals that contribute to conversions shouldn’t change. More engaging ads -> more clicks -> more visits -> more conversions. – @RyBen3
Looking where else we can spend money profitable – @duanebrown
Even closer monitoring is my current plan. Also, proactively talking with clients about the fact that anything could happen and we could need to adjust quickly seems wise right now too. – @NeptuneMoon
Honestly, main takeaway for me is just monitoring to see if costs increase with increased competition. And monitoring approval issues which seem to have been more of a pain lately. No direct impact on spend in the channel – @timothyjjensen
Q6: What, if anything, do you plan to monitor differently this fall on Facebook for your clients?
not so much differently as more closely. look for weird. look for strange shares. spend time watching closely. – @JuliaVyse
Tangent answer – I wish FB had a better (actually had at all) an easy way for advertisers to quickly see and be alerted to ad comments. The systems is SO lacking in these capabilities. – @NeptuneMoon
I don’t think “different” is the right word. But @duanebrown is right that the operational + logistical components are more critical. Delivering exceptional customer experiences will be critical. Ensuring data integrity + getting our #’s right will be critical. – @DigitalSamIAm
The rest of it will be attention to detail + watching closely — ad comments, weird interactions, under-performing audiences, FB being bad with random disapprovals of running ads, etc. I think 2020 is the year that turns existing trends up to 11. – @DigitalSamIAm
Getting ads approved as early as possible. Even if you have to schedule them. I’ve noticed approvals that used to take 2-3 hours are taking anywhere from 6-8 hours now (especially after 5pm). Don’t get trapped in approval waiting periods. – @RyBen3
Lean into our processes like we have them. Watch numbers even more closely and like Q2. Adapt and lean into moments as they appear – @duanebrown
Q7: Do you have any predictions about how things might play out for advertisers on Facebook and Instagram this fall?
I’m expecting disapprovals to be more and more of a pain to deal with for any brand (even those not remotely related to political/social issues) as the election gets closer. FB is extremely paranoid about public perception right now – @timothyjjensen
I’d also expect Black Friday/Cyber Monday related promos on the platform to be more expanded than ever time-wise and less focused on those specific days. Likely driving up ad costs all month – @timothyjjensen
as of november 2016 I do not make predictions. And this Fall, my expectation is that our planning tools are trying but not necessarily succeeding at predicting audience performance. It’s all about agility this quarter – @JuliaVyse
2020 seems to be the year that takes underlying trends and amplifies them to 11, so yeah, that. But I think November + December are going to be ugly in the US. No matter how the election goes, I think it’s going to get ugly. And that’s going to impact everyone. – @DigitalSamIAm
I am honestly not sure what to expect and that is unsettling for me. I usually have context for situations, as I have been doing this kind of work forever, but right now is so different. I agree with getting things built extra early 100%. – @NeptuneMoon
I’m expecting an even bigger shitshow than we have right now. Disapprovals, lost and missing data, the algorithm going absolutely nuts. I’m trying to make sure clients are maxing out Google since I have more faith in their stability. Same level of integrity though – @CJSlattery
I leave predictions to other people. I focus on the moments and when we can win. – @duanebrown
Not all brands are going to see HUGE growth, but I expect it to be big for some and ENORMOUS for others. Where you fall in that realm is up to you and the demand for your product. – @RyBen3
Q8: Is there anything you’re wondering about regarding advertising on Facebook this fall that you’d like to ask the chat participants?
Yeah, does anyone have secret access to a FB Ads Manager that actually works? – @timothyjjensen
has anyone done anything cool with branded partnerships? I’m working with influencers this year for the first time. – @JuliaVyse
Honestly, on a scale of 1-10, how bad do you want to leave Facebook ads? The day that another medium provides the return and reach of FB Ads, I might be gone but I feel like I can’t leave it right now. #TheSocialDilemma in real life. – @RyBen3
PPCChat Participant:
- Julie F Bacchini – @NeptuneMoon
- Julia Vyse – @JuliaVyse
- Jon Kagan – @JonKagan
- Ryan Bennion – @RyBen3
- Collin Slattery – @CJSlattery
- Duane Brown – @duanebrown
- Sam – @DigitalSamIAm
- Andrea Cruz – @andreacruz92
- Tim Jensen – @timothyjjensen
- Til Halloran – @timmhalloran
- Jordan Stark – @jord_stark
- Amand – @FindingAmanda
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