When creating Facebook ads, there are a number of configuration settings that need to be taken into account (e.g. creative, target group, placement, platform, budget, etc.). One campaign setting that is usually ignored is the setting of the bid variants. For this reason, today I will be looking at the different bid variants and their use cases.
Pay for vs. optimize for
We all know the selection functions "Pay for ..." as well as "Optimize for ..." when creating a Facebook advertising campaign. Both selection functions have a direct influence on the other. For example, it is not possible to pay for clicks and optimize for reach.
Selection functions "Pay for ..."
- Clicks
- Impressions
- Actions
- Contribution interactions
- 10-second video call
Selection function "Optimize for ..."
- Clicks
- Impressions
- Contribution interactions
- Reach
- People reached daily
- Conversion
- Conversion events
- App installations
- App events
- Video views
- Leads
The selection functions differ for each advertising objective. You can find out below which combination of the "Pay for..." and "Optimize for..." selection functions is best suited.
Marketing goals on Facebook
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Conversion
1. marketing objective awareness:
- Reach
- Brand awareness
For the "Awareness" advertising objective, you can either optimize for reach or for impressions. When optimizing for reach, Facebook ensures that your ad is shown to the largest possible number of people. When optimizing for reach, on the other hand, Facebook optimizes your ad for the maximum number of impressions. Both the marketing goal of reach and the achievement of brand awareness are billed per impression.
2nd marketing objective Consideration:
- Traffic
- Interactions
- App installations
- Video views
- Lead generation
2.1 Traffic
If you want to reach as many website visitors as possible via your Facebook campaigns, you should set traffic as a marketing goal. Here you can optimize for Link clicks also on Impression and People reached daily optimize. Optimizing for link clicks naturally makes the most sense for the "traffic" marketing objective. When it comes to the billing method, you have the choice between paying for impressions and clicks. By default, you pay for impressions. Which billing method you should choose depends on the performance of your ads. If your ads have a relatively high CTR, you should pay per impression. For ads with a below-average CTR, it is better to choose "Pay for: Link clicks".
2.2 Interactions
In the case of interactions, in addition to the objective of Contribution interactionsalso I like the details for the fan page and Event commitments be specified as an objective.
2.2.1 Contributor interactions
With the advertising objective "Post interactions", the aim is to achieve as many reactions (comments, likes, etc.) as possible for your posts.
Optimization options for post interactions:
- Optimization for interactions (recommended)
- Optimization for impression
- Optimization for people reached daily
Billing methods for contribution interactions:
- Impressions
- Contribution interactions
2.2.2 Like information on the page
With the advertising objective "Like information on the page", the aim is to increase the number of likes on your own fan page.
Optimization options for Like information on the page:
- I like the information on the page
Billing methods for likes on the page:
- Impressions
- I like
2.2.3 Event commitments
If you want to promote an event via Facebook ads, the "Event commitments" advertising objective is just right!
Optimization options for event commitments:
- Event commitments (Recommended)
- Impressions
- Contribution interactions
Billing methods for event commitments:
- Impressions
2.3 App installations
To generate more downloads for your app, there is hardly a better advertising network than Facebook. Here you can find my post on how I achieved a CPI of €0.86 via Facebook ads.
Optimization options for app installation campaigns
- Link clicks
- App installations (recommended)
- App events
- Video views
Billing methods for app installation campaigns:
- Impressions
- Link clicks
2.4 Video views
Videos can also be played via the Facebook advertising network.
Optimization options for video views:
- Video views (Recommended)
- People reached daily
Billing methods for video views:
- Impressions
- 10-second video call
2.5 Lead generation
Potential new customer contacts are acquired with the marketing objective of "lead generation".
Optimization options for lead generation:
- Leads (Recommended)
- Link clicks
If you select the "Leads" optimization option, you should generate at least 25 leads per week. Otherwise, the Facebook algorithm will have problems selecting the right target group.
Billing methods for lead generation:
- Impressions
3. conversion
- Conversion
- Product catalog sales
3.1 Conversion
With the "Conversion" marketing objective, you can choose between user-defined and select Standard Conversion to tell Facebook your advertising objective. Standard conversions include "Add to cart", "Checkout" and "Purchase". With custom conversions, you can create your own conversion events.
Optimization options for conversion:
- Conversion (Recommended)
- Link clicks
- Impressions
- People reached daily
Billing methods for conversion:
- Impressions
If you are optimizing for conversion, you should achieve at least 25 conversions a week so that the Facebook algorithm collects enough data to serve your ads to the right people. If this is not the case, then I suggest that you optimize for a conversion that is in the upper part of the conversion funnel. For example, instead of calling the purchase in the online store a conversion, you can call the "Add to cart" action a conversion. Since the number of people who add a product to the shopping cart is higher than the number of people who ultimately order a product, the number of conversions you achieve increases.
3.2 Product catalog sales
In product catalog sales, products that have been uploaded to the product data feed on Facebook are displayed. In addition to images, the products also contain the price, a description and the brand as attributes. Product catalog sales are ideal for targeting your own website visitors with specific products.
Optimization opportunities for product catalogue sales
- Clicks
- Impressions
- Conversion events (recommended)
The minimum number of 25 conversions per week should not be undercut for product catalog sales either. If this is not achieved at the beginning, you should also declare an action in the upper part of the conversion funnel as the target here.
Billing methods for product catalog sales:
- Link clicks
- Impressions
Conclusion Facebook bid variants:
The billing methods and optimization options change depending on the advertising objective. Whenever possible, the advertising objective should be mentioned as an optimization option (fan page likes, conversion). If this does not lead to the desired results in the first step, the optimization can be placed on clicks or on an event in the upper part of the conversion funnel.
