Are you disappointed with your Facebook advertising performance? Have you asked yourself, “Is it time to unfriend Facebook ads?”

You’re not alone.

A meta-mention

First, to address the meta elephant in the room. We recognize Facebook is more than Facebook – they own Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and more. Regardless of platform, all ads are managed via Facebook Business Manager. In the remainder of this article when we refer to Facebook, we’re talking about all of the places we’re able to advertise as a result of Facebook (because — let’s be honest — is Meta really ever going to catch on?).


Is there a “dislike” button yet?

Facebook’s attributable results have been on the decline now for years. Pair that with targeting restrictions and conversion tracking limitations put in place in late 2021 and early 2022 and you can see why Facebook advertising has become such a struggle. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the digital towel!

While attributable conversions have fallen, Facebook’s market share is simply unmatched. In the US, Facebook is the third most visited website (behind Google & YouTube) with an estimated 2.7 billion active users worldwide (compare that to TikTok with only 1.5 billion). And those users are actively engaged with users spending an average of 33 minutes per day on the site. Despite its many competitors, it’s clear that people still “like” this social media giant.

 

Fighting through the feed

This immense and active user base is one of the major reasons why we continue to advertise on Facebook. You may be thinking, “If users are so engaged, why do I need paid advertising to reach them?”.

Unfortunately, paid ads have become one of the only ways to ensure your organization’s content is actually getting in front of users. It is no secret that organic reach is down. A recent study showed that on average a Facebook post only reaches about 5.2% of page followers—that means roughly one in every 19 fans sees a page’s non-promoted content!



Relationship status: It’s complicated

For now, we recommend that organizations continue to advertise on Facebook where they have access to an enormous and engaged user base. However, we also advocate for diversifying ad channels and revisiting 2023 advertising strategies to potentially make changes. Hint: If your organization is only using a Google Grant (or free Microsoft Ads for Social Impact) for SEM, investing in paid search should be your #1 priority.

And remember, Facebook isn’t the only digital advertising channel where your relationship is now likely set to “It’s complicated.” Across the board, we’re seeing digital ads as a vehicle to lift other efforts rather than driving direct revenue. This has always been the case to some extent—but as targeting becomes more complex, and campaigns become even more omnichannel, conversions will be increasingly difficult to attribute.

If you’re not already utilizing match-back reports for your digital advertising efforts, you’re missing an important piece of the story and undermining your ability to understand the impact of your digital advertising efforts — especially on Facebook where conversions are difficult to track.

 

New metrics to “like” in 2023

As we move into 2023, it will be important to keep your eye on traditional advertising metrics like cost-per-click, cost-per-donor, and ROAS, but we also encourage you to look to more nuanced ways of gauging success. Were you able to effectively reiterate your campaign message? Were you able to reach a new audience? How long did leads spend on your site? Are you generating higher-quality leads? Has your organization become more adept at welcoming and retargeting your leads with the hope of converting them into loyal supporters? Are you running match backs to accurately gauge campaign exposure and lift?

All of these metrics will help to paint a more robust picture of your Facebook advertising efforts and your ads program as a whole — ultimately helping you understand your supporters and donors better so you can create meaningful change in the world.

 

About the author: Jessica Getty-Balderas is an Advertising Director at Mal Warwick Donordigital. She has twelve years of fundraising experience specializing in digital advertising, email marketing, and peer-to-peer fundraising. When she's not thinking about ad creative and attribution, she enjoys running, watching the WNBA and NWSL, and managing her cat's Instagram..