Do you want to start advertising on Facebook?

Yes?

Are you aware of the latest changes in Facebook Ads?

Yes, I did read about the changes a year ago. That must me enough I guess.

No!

Gone were the days when policies were decided for once and followed for the rest of the years.

With the technological revolution, Digital Marketing platforms keep on changing and updating at regular intervals.

In order to keep pace with the intense digital competitions, advertisers have to keep a constant check on the latest trends and updates.

The same pattern is being followed by Facebook Ads. If you think that reading about Facebook Ads a year ago can help you with the practical execution now, then I’m afraid, you’re doing the wrong thing.

Just like other digital platforms, Facebook Ads also evolve and change dynamically. The things that might have worked for Facebook advertisers might not at all work now.

Thus, the rule of thumb here is that you need to have a thorough understanding of all the latest changes and updates of Facebook Ads to ensure that you make the most out of it and get your desired results.

Major Facebook Updates in 2019

1. Relevance Diagnostics

For a majority period of time, the relevance score for just a single number. As Facebook unveiled new updates, the original Relevance Score is replaced with 3 metrics to get a granular view & make it easier for businesses to tailor & manage Facebook Ad Campaigns.

Over the past years, Facebook has been transformed from only being a social media platform to a promising advertising platform. The way people use Facebook has changed considerably. Moreover, the amount of ads has been increasing ever since then.

To provide Facebook marketers & advertisers with “actionable” & “measurable” insights, Facebook introduced the “Relevance Diagnostics”.

While the former relevance score was based on the performance of the ads in the auction, the Relevance Diagnostics will be measured on the basis of the three metrics which are:

(i) Quality Ranking

This metric is used to compare the quality of the ad of the advertiser with other ads that target the same demographic. This helps the advertisers to see the depth of the competition and then develop strategies accordingly.

For example, Miss X provides Yoga classes in South Delhi to women within the age group of 25-40 years.

Same Yoga classes are also provided by Miss Y in the same geographical region & also targets the same audience.

Now, both of them use Facebook Ads to advertise their services.

To check the Quality Ranking of both these advertisers, Facebook will compare positive & negative responses of both the ads.

Positive Responses are in the form of shares, likes while a negative response is when the user clicks on “I don’t want to see this ad”.

Facebook also attain the feedback of the viewers by using the survey method. It sends surveys to viewers who clicked on the ads to know their experience.

Facebook also assess the Quality Ranking of the Ads by checking if there are any click baits, engagement baits or poor user experience.

Average Quality Ranking ranges from 35% to 55%. However, there are 5 values of the basis of which Quality Ranking is determined.

These values are:

  • Above Average
  • Average
  • Below Average (Bottom 35% of ads)
  • Below Average (Bottom 20% of ads)
  • Below Average (Bottom 10% of ads)

For example, a Quality Ranking of Below Average (Bottom 35% of ads) means that the quality of your ad was among the lowest 35% of ads that were competing for the same target audience. Also, at least 65% of ads competing for the same target audience had better quality than yours.

(ii) Engagement Rate Ranking

This metric is used for comparing the engagement of the ads with the audience and then comparing the same with the ads of the competitors. With this information, the advertisers can get an overview of the performance of their ads.

While calculating the Engagement Rate, Facebook looks at the number of clicks, reactions, comments & shares. Also, an ad can have negative effects if it is indulged into Engagement Bait which is asking for likes and comments.

Taking an example of the previous Relevance Score, advertisers from some Tier 1 countries like the US and New Zealand used to run their Ads in countries like India, Bangladesh & Pakistan to attract major engagement at pretty low rates.

They used to focus on the “Engagement” objective. For this, they used to log in to their Facebook Ads Manager, click on “Campaign” & then on “Objective”.

After this, they clicked on “Engagement” Objective under the “Consideration” panel.

This was done with an aim to get maximum engagement whether in the form of likes, shares and comments.

The engagement objective has 3 major considerations which are

(i) Post Engagement

(ii) Page Likes

(iii) Event Responses

These advertisers used to then show the same ads with higher engagement in their respective countries. As a matter of fact, the audience used to think that the ads are good because of the high engagement.

However, the reality was that these advertisers faked a higher engagement rate which further resulted in high relevance score & reduced the cost of the ad.

With the emergence, of Relevance Diagnostics, this particular trick will not work.

Just like Quality Rate, the Engagement Rate also ranges from 35% to 55% and has 5 values of determination which are:

  • Above Average
  • Average
  • Below Average (Bottom 35% of ads)
  • Below Average (Bottom 20% of ads)
  • Below Average (Bottom 10% of ads)

For example, an engagement rate ranking of Below Average (Bottom 35% of ads) means that the engagement rate of your ad is among the bottom 35% of ads competing for the same target audience. Also, at least 65% of ads competing for the same target audience had a higher expected engagement rate.

A point to note here is that Engagement Rate is not available to you if your optimization goals are ad recall lift, impressions, reach, custom conversions or value.

(iii) Conversion Rate Ranking

This metric is used to compare the ads of the advertisers with the other competitor ads who have the same target audience and optimization goal.

For example, Miss X & Miss Y create Facebook Ads for their respective Yoga Service in South Delhi for women from 25-40 years of age, with “Traffic” Objective in their Facebook Ads Manager<Campaign< Objective

Choosing the “Traffic” objective from the “Consideration” panel.

However, with the Traffic objective, if Miss X is getting 50 clicks for ₹100 and Miss Y gets 10 clicks for ₹100. Then Facebook will assess both the ads and come to the conclusion that the ad of Miss X is better with the Traffic objective and will give more score to her as compared to Miss Y.

The Conversion Rate also ranges from 35% to 55% and has 5 values of determination which are:

  • Above Average
  • Average
  • Below Average (Bottom 35% of ads)
  • Below Average (Bottom 20% of ads)
  • Below Average (Bottom 10% of ads)

For example, a conversion rate ranking of Below Average (Bottom 35% of ads) means that the conversion rate of your ad is among the bottom 35% of ads with the same optimization goal competing for the same target audience. At least 65% of ads with the same optimization goal competing for the same target audience had a higher expected conversion rate.

In a nutshell, to make sure that you get a good Relevance score, you have to make sure that all the 3 metrics are above average. The low score of even one metric can hamper your overall relevance score.

PS. Your Ads will only be assessed by Relevance Diagnostics if the ads have 500 or more impressions.

2. Facebook Ad Images & Video Sizes are changing

Images are an essential part of Facebook advertising. Thus, in order to be effective, the content and creative needs to be highly customized and tailored according to the audience. As an advertiser, you should have a thorough knowledge of the updated dimensions of the Facebook Ad Images.

Generally, the dimensions of Facebook Ads was typically 1200*628 with 1.91:1 ratio. However, with recent changes in Facebook, you can use a variety of sizes ranging from 9:16 to 16:9. Moreover, you can also use square images of 1:1 ratio without cutting your design. The provision of square images has been incorporated as square pics are larger in size. Larger the size of the images gives it a better view.

3. New Standard Code for Facebook Pixel

Facebook Pixel is a code that collects data to track your conversions from Facebook Ads and helps you to track website visitors. With the recent updates of Facebook Ads, Facebook rolled out the new Standard Event Codes to assist you in tracking more things. With the new Standard Event Codes, you can get a granular perspective of what you are tracking on your website.

Earlier, there were 17 standard events predefined by Facebook which were:

  1. View Content
  2. Add To Cart
  3. Add To Wishlist
  4. Initiate Checkout
  5. Add Payment Info
  6. Purchase
  7. Lead
  8. Complete Registration
  9. Search
  10. Contact
  11. Customise Product
  12. Donate
  13. Find Location
  14. Schedule
  15. Start Trial
  16. Submit Application
  17. Subscribe

For better user experience, Facebook has now listed the Standard Event Codes on the basis of the industry to help you choose the most relevant one.

Facebook Pixel is an analytics tool that incorporates a code that you can embed on your website. The pixel is generally applied to track the activities of the visitors.

For example, if someone visited your website and clicked on the “Checkout” button, you can help Facebook to know that the CTA button has been clicked with the help of a  javascript code.

Facebook should have a Pixel Code just like Google Analytics.

As mentioned earlier, the new standard event codes are customized according to the industries.

For example, if you have an ecommerce & retail company, you can track all the important events like a visitor adding the payment info, or adding products to the cart or adding products to the wishlist.

Similarly, if you belong to an educational website, the most important events that you can track are starting a trial, subscribing to the newsletter or viewing the course content.

By adding these events, you can track the behaviour of the visitors. You can have a better idea of whether your target audience is viewing your ads or are they initiating checkout or making a purchasing or rating anything.

The events which are defined according to the industries also have some event parameters. Like the “Purchase” event has “Content ID,   and Currency Value” as event parameters.

As a matter of fact, in Digital Marketing, the sale does not take place in one shot. Rather a number of steps are involved in making a sale. Like a user visiting your website, filling up the application form.

The bifurcated steps in the “Buyer Journey” helps to track the results of the ads.

For example, the second Facebook Ad that you created actually initiated the visitor to signup while the first Ad couldn’t do. So, what you can do is remove the first ad and improve the second ad.

4. New Updates in Video Ranking

In the first half of May, Facebook shared they will update the process of video ranking. There are 2 factors on which the rank of the video will depend:

(i) Viewing Duration

This is one of the most crucial factors that are responsible for boosting the rankings. Facebook will check whether your videos are capturing the attention of the users or not. If your videos hold the attention of the users for at least one minute, you will see an increase in your rankings.

(ii) Originality

If you are sharing repurposed content without adding much of your value, you will see a decline in your rankings. While sharing original content is responsible for boosting your ranking.

5. Stories Ads

Last year Facebook announced that now businesses can advertise in Facebook Stories as well. It will allow brands to create new experiences for the users with the stories options and will reach out to people on a larger scale.

6. Augmented Reality Ads

Most of the marketers using Facebook as their prime advertising platform were waiting for this update to get executed. Augmented Reality Ads have been no less than a blessing for marketers who wanted to have perfect command over customer interaction. These are the ads that the viewers can interact with even outside of Facebook.

The Augmented Reality Ads appear in the news feed but with a CTA like “Tap to Try”. After the viewers tap on these ads, the Augmented Reality begins. These Ads are helpful in connecting you with your target audience. The audience can actually experience the product/service on a personal level.

7. Playable Ads

Recently, Facebook has added Playable Ads for gaming Apps. So, make sure to use this type of Ad if you own a Gaming App. These ads are generally created with the purpose of letting the users try the product/service before making the actual purchase.

Let us just admit, all of us want to test the product/service before purchasing it. The Playable Ads appear in the newsfeed so that your ads get a broader outlook.

8. Page Recommendations

Did you know that Facebook has replaced Page reviews with Recommendations? This is done to make the review process for business and customers easy. Rather than saying a “Yes” or “No” for a product/service, the customers can now explain their feedback with the help of photos and descriptions.

9. Video Metric Updates & Video Performance Card

In the recent Facebook Updates, new video metrics have been highlighted to give the advertisers a better hold on the performance of their videos. This will enable them to tailor and optimize videos on the basis of the feedback.

Here are the factors on which your videos are measured

  • 2-second continuous video views
  • 3-second video views
  • 10-second video views
  • Thruplays (number of times your video was completely played or for at least 15 seconds)
  • Reach
  • Video plays
  • Video watches at 25%
  • Video watches at 50%
  • Video watches at 75%
  • Video watches at 95%
  • Video watches at 100%
  • Video average watch time

The Video Performance Card in Ads Manager that helps the advertisers to see the per cent of video plays at different intervals at a more granular level. The visualization is shown for the first 60 seconds of the video.

Advertisers can use this tool to measure the key performance metrics of the video and check for the milestones reached. This information is crucial to understand the segments where people stop watching your videos.

Video Performance Card shows a graphical representation of the percentage of video played at different segments and also tells whether the video is played continuously of skipped at intervals.

For example, if you see the 80% of the people watched the 10-second segment of your video, this means that 80% of video plays reached the 10-second segment.

10. Brand Lift

Brand Lift is a feature of Facebook that allows you to get a complete understanding of the Ad Campaigns of your brand. It is implemented as a self serve option to test your Facebook Ads through a paid test. As of now, it is only available in the US and Canada but soon it will be available all across the globe.

11. Video Creation Kit

Videos have become the latest trend in the Digital Marketing Landscape and are one of the most effective ways to connect with the target audience. In order to optimally use Videos as Facebook Ads, Facebook has introduced the Video Creation Kit. With Facebook Video Creation Kit, you can convert your existing images and text into videos.

This kit has 4 templates which are specially designed keeping into consideration the business goals. Here are the 4 types of templates:

(i) Promote a Product

The time span of this video is 6 seconds. It focuses on product generating leads and sales.

(ii) Sell Multiple Products

The time span for this video is also 6 seconds. It shows a selection of products/services and promotes special offers.

(iii) Show Product Benefits

The time span for this video is 15 seconds. This is laser-focused on highlighting features of the product and also gives a demo.

(iv) Drive Product Discovery

The time span for this video is also 15 seconds. Through this video, you can share the uniqueness of your product/service.

12. Facebook’s New Ad Disclosure Policy

The Ad Disclosure policy of Facebook will enable the users to see why are they being targeted by certain ads. This policy will also include the whole trail path that will indicate whether the users were on the customer’s list or their information was purchased by the advertisers through a third party.

However, with this update, the users can remove unwanted advertisers from their Facebook account. The users can even request their data to be removed from the list.

13. Redesigned Notifications Ads Manager

Facebook Ads Manager is dynamic where advertisers tend to see changes and updates rolling-out regularly. This time Facebook Ads Manager has come up with an update related to the Business Notifications.

As an Advertiser, notifications are essential as they help you keep pace with your business’s latest activity. The notifications panel has been updated to make sure that the advertisers get bifurcated information about their Facebook Ads.

The redesigned notifications panel now has three distinct categories which are Accounts, Ads and Pages.

Accounts: You can view the notifications regarding the updates, billing information, account settings and access requests.

Ads: This is where you can view notifications related to tips, status and results of your ads.

Pages: Under the Pages section, you can view notifications related to your business page, likes comments and shares. You can also customize your notifications by clicking on

14. On Behalf Of in Ad Account

The recent updates in Facebook Ads have been the talk of the town. Recently, Facebook enabled agencies and Facebook Marketing Partners to specify which businesses they are or will be advertising on behalf of.

The “On Behalf Of” feature is available in Business Settings. With this feature, the agencies and Facebook Marketing Partners can specify the accounts that they use on behalf of other businesses.

Before you start using this feature, you have to be an admin of Business Manager. You & the business that you are advertising on behalf of must be tied to a Business Manager.

You should note that once you establish an “On Behalf Of” connection with a business, it can neither be replaced with any other business nor it can be removed.

When your relationship with a particular business ends, it is recommended to stop using that account. The account will become inactive automatically, but it will stay in your historical records for reference.

To establish an On Behalf Of relationship with another business, follow these steps:

  1. Go To Business Settings
  2. Click on Accounts and then click on Ad Accounts
  3. Click on the Ad Account that you would like to edit
  4. Click on the 3 dots and click on Edit
  5. Then select Another Business or Client
  6. Then choose Ad Account from the dropdown menu that you want to advertise on behalf of
  7. Click Save Changes

15. Take Forward Existing Post Engagements on  a Duplicate Ad

Latest trends and updates of Facebook don’t only stop here. There are more in the line. One such update is that Facebook now allows you to carry over the post engagements of an existing ad on a duplicate ad. The engagements generally include reactions, comments and shares. This is generally done when you use duplicate ads to create a new ad.

However, there is one condition that needs attention. If you change the creative in the duplicate ad, the engagements of the posts will not be carried forward.

Follow the below mentioned steps to duplicate an Ad in Ads Manager

  1. Go to Ads Manager
  2. Select Campaigns<Ad Sets or Ads
  3. Check the box which is next to the campaign, ad set or ad that you want to duplicate.
  4. Select Duplicate
  5. A window will appear. Select the number of ads that you want to duplicate.
  6. Select Duplicate
  7. After the ad has been duplicated, you can make the changes in the campaign, Ad set and Ad in the editing pane.

16. Bulk Import Videos

With the recent changes in Facebook Ads, you can now import bulk video ads. The feature of Bulk importing videos makes it easier to create multiple videos at a time. You can easily upload 10 videos that are up to 10 MB each.

For this, you will need to create a spreadsheet for import and export.

Steps to Export your Spreadsheet

  1. Click on the Import/Export icon in the campaign, ad set or ad level in Facebook Ads Manager.
  2. Click on Export All. This will export all your data at once. You can also select specific campaigns, ad sets, or ads that you want to export as a CSV or text file. All you need to do is Click on Export Selected and Export Selected as Text (Ctrl+Shift+C).
  3. Also, make sure that the primary creative is a video to export spreadsheets with videos. For this, you will have to export a video ad. Select Ad with an image or video and Video/Slideshow in Ads Manager. After this, the Creative Type on the exported spreadsheet will display Video Page Post Ad.
  4. After the file export is completed, the fill is downloaded in the desktop/laptop. All the exports will have a new column called Video File Name. You can also do it manually if you do not see this column.

Steps to Export your Spreadsheet

  1. Click on the Import/Export icon in the campaign, ad set or ad level in Facebook Ads Manager.
  2. Click on Import Ads in Bulk. For this, upload your spreadsheet in the File section, upload any image in the Images Section & upload videos in the Video Section. Since you can only upload 10 videos of 10 MB each. You’ll get an error if you tend to exceed this limit.
  3. After the spreadsheet has been imported, you’ll see a summary about the imported ads, warnings if any, along with any blocking errors.

17. Click-to WhatsApp in Ads Manager

With the recent updates in Facebook Ads, you can now create ads that can be clicked through WhatsApp. All you need to do is choose Messages objective in Ads Manager, create a CTA button and set your ad destination as WhatsApp.

Before you start with creating Ads that click to WhatsApp, download WhatsApp Business and connect your WhatsApp account to your Facebook page. Don’t forget to be the admin of the page.

Steps to create Ads that click to WhatsApp

  1. Go to Ads Creation.
  2. Select your objective. This feature is available for Messages, Traffic, Conversions and Post Engagement.
  3. Select WhatsApp in the Message Destination section.
  4. Select your budget, audience (you can’t target these ads to people under the age of 18) and schedule of the campaign.
  5. Choose images, text and headline from the Ad SetUp section.
  6. Click Confirm to create your ads.

Final Thoughts

While these were some of the latest changes and updates that took place in the Facebook domain, there are many more coming your way. As an advertiser, you need to get notified of the new updates and changes along with enough patience to retain & apply those changes on your Facebook Ads strategy.

Hopefully, this article has given you a better and comprehensive understanding of the Latest Changes in Facebook Ads in 2019.

So, what are you waiting for?

Grab these insights and create a rock-solid Facebook Ad.

Rajat
Rajat