In my first year, 90% of my clients came to me because they struggled with their Facebook ads. They didn't understand why their ads weren't working and approached the problem as a budget issue (thinking that more money would fix it) rather than a quality issue (realizing that better content would solve the problem). It wasn't until they realized that something was off that they sought out help.
Chances are, you've already stumbled upon other global Facebook ad benchmarks before landing here. And either you're spending a lot more than the global benchmarks suggest, or you're spending roughly the same amount and seeing no or significantly lower ROI results.
What are Facebook ads?
Fast Fact
Key takeaway
One of the main problems non-marketers face when attempting to achieve success with Facebook ads or drive positive ROI is the misconception that reaching more people automatically leads to more sales. However, this is simply not the case. Reaching a larger audience only means that your ad has been displayed more frequently on users' feeds. Unless you are targeting the right people with the right message, these impressions can drain your marketing budget without producing any tangible results.
Whether you're an entrepreneur looking to determine how much you should be spending on your ads or a small business owner wondering why your return on investment is low, my guide can help you navigate the world of Facebook advertising. I'll show you how to effectively target your audience and create compelling ad content that drives real results:
1. The best way to increase Facebook ads ROI is to decrease cost per click
Let's assume that your current cost per click is $10, and you're getting leads from it, so it appears to be okay. However, you want more leads, and you believe that increasing your budget will help you achieve that.
But that's not going to happen. The reality is that your ad has failed to drive clicks at a cost lower than $10. All the people who are likely to click have already done so, as Facebook has already targeted those who are most likely to engage within your targeting. Throwing a bigger budget into the same pool won't result in proportionate growth.
It's the same concept as this scenario:
You're fishing with a shitty bait and manages to catch a small fish every single time.
You want to catch more fish so you believe you should tie more shitty baits to the end or your line.
But the other fisher is using good bait and catching much bigger fishes.
Many companies fail to comprehend this simple concept. To increase the number of clicks, you need to decrease your cost per click instead of increasing your overall budget. And the solution is often to create better content that speaks to your target audience. By doing so, you'll increase the likelihood of converting reach into clicks and get a better return on your investment.
The questions you must ask yourself are:
What landing are you driving people to?
Does it appear to add value to your audiences?
Is your search description written well?
Does what you write trigger a click?
Are you driving them to a website with no clear call-to-action or a landing page that is easy to digest?
Things not to do with your Facebook ads:
Source: Market & Hustle
Weak, poor quality, or common visuals - don’t waste your copy and visual by talking about exactly the same thing (or something completely different)
Don't use visuals just to disrupt - use visuals that would naturally stop the thumb
Conflict between ad content and format - it's not good if your ad appears to be highly non-native (sticks out on the feed like a sore thumb)
Unclear, hard-to-digest messaging that doesn’t resonate with the target audience
Lack of continuity among ad components
Everything revolves around content and ads are merely accelerators for it. They cannot and will not make poor content better.
Moreover, one should not simply throw money into ad campaigns without aiming to decrease the cost. More reach does not mean more profit. While a click drives a visit, which may induce curiosity, encourage exploration, inspire a need, or generate brand awareness and recognition.
2. Facebook ads benchmark
With the right targeting, which is determined by formulating your target audience persona, and the right content, which is structured through your content strategy, you would be surprised by how many new Page Likes you can get with a budget as low as HKD $100.
If you're aiming to achieve a specific conversion rate, you can refer to the 3% conversion rate and work backward to determine the amount of reach you'll need to attract enough traffic to your sales funnel. This will provide you with a clearer idea of how much budget you should allocate, the size of your target audience, and whether the potential clicks/engagement suggested by Facebook is enough to reach your objectives. While an apple-to-apple comparison may not be possible, I've consistently achieved similar results for clients across various industries.
3. Facebook ads achievements
In just two weeks, I helped grow the page by 126 new page likes by creating better content with a goal of decreasing their cost per action. As you can see, the individual post reach wasn't exceptionally high, but the ROI was impressive. Note that each ad above only ran for 3-4 days. Achieving such results in a short period of time requires a clear objective, specific targeting, and good content. Here's more achievements for your reference.
However, it's important to note that running one-off ads, no matter how successful, will still only drive limited effectiveness.
One of the reasons many companies fail to enjoy the benefits of content marketing is because they lack a strategy for connecting the dots. It's not enough to generate consumer interest with an ad, a post, or even a website. Your potential customers need to go through different stages to know and trust you.
Fortunately, there is a way to work with a structure that promises a return. Of course, there are always two sides to a coin, and while this program can keep costs low and deliver quick results, it also has its drawbacks. It's not the answer to everything, and it's more like the gateway to establishing your kingdom rather than the kingdom itself.
Therefore, this framework might not be the best choice for everyone. However, for those struggling to find clarity when tackling content marketing, I believe this approach can prevent a lot of gray hairs from sprouting.
In conclusion, Facebook ads can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to increase their reach, drive traffic to their websites, and generate more sales. However, to achieve a positive ROI from your Facebook ad campaigns, you need to focus on creating high-quality content that resonates with your target audience, using effective targeting to reach the right people at the right time, and continually testing and optimizing your campaigns for better results.
Additional update - Facebook Official Budget Essentials Checklist (2022)
During December, 2022, Meta released various self-help documents on www.meta.com/business. Access the free checklist below to see the 4 tips they suggest advertisers to keep in mind to drive their campaign budgets further: