Why might I be wasting my Facebook Ads budget?
Imagine you launch multiple ad campaigns each month, hoping to reach a new and broad audience. However, the reality is that you could be reaching the same people time after time, causing your budget to be diluted. The main reason behind this is overlapping audiences. Let's take a closer look at how this phenomenon occurs and what you can do to avoid it.
What is audience overlap?
Audience overlap happens when different ad campaigns reach the same group of people, despite using different targeting. Even if you think that by changing variables such as interests or characteristics, your ads will reach different audiences, it is very likely that you will still reach the same people. This problem is common when segmentations share similar base interests, such as segmenting by "skincare" and also segmenting by a specific skincare brand.
How to detect overlap in Facebook Ads?
Facebook Ads offers the necessary tool to identify overlaps. You can access this functionality by going to the Audiences section within the Ads Manager. There, you will see all the saved targeting. After selecting two audiences you want to compare, click on the three dots to see the Show Audience Overlap option. The result will be a percentage indicating how much audience these segmentations share.
- Recommendation: Ideally, audiences should share no more than 50% of the audience. Exceeding this percentage indicates a high probability of repeatedly reaching the same users, which is not efficient for your budget.
Practical example of overlap
Let's say you have a segmentation focused on women ages 18-44 interested in three swimwear brands. A second segmentation could include four brands, but keep the same ages and geographic location (Colombia). Although they seem different, once the analysis is done, it could reveal that both segmentations share up to 55% of the audience. This means that they could be impacting the same demographic group, resulting in a loss of investment.
How to avoid overlap and optimize the budget?
Beyond adjusting targeting, it is crucial to regularly monitor the reach and impressions of your ad campaigns. As an example, an ad account that has reached 3,200,000 people but generated 14 million impressions suggests that the same group of people is seeing the ad repeatedly.
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Solution 1: Consider opening a new ad account if you find that the current one has exhausted its target audience.
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Solution 2: Create campaigns with completely different targeting, avoiding overlapping factors to ensure that your advertising reaches new users.
Additionally, remember that Facebook Ads charges by CPM (cost per thousand impressions), so every time an ad is repeated to the same audience, avoidable costs are incurred.
When to open a new ad account?
When the current account reaches its audience ceiling, i.e. when the campaigns are no longer effective in attracting new audiences. Switching to a new account allows you to reset your focus and optimize your ad spend.
Practical conclusion: improve your Facebook Ads campaigns
Finding and correcting audience overlap issues not only optimizes budget usage, but also increases the effectiveness of your campaigns, bringing them to a more interested and new audience. If you have already reached your audience limit, take action by looking for new advertising strategies or opening new accounts to continue expanding your reach efficiently. Remember, every detail counts in the successful execution of a digital marketing strategy.
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