Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on your query about running short term ads on Facebook. It sounds like you're encountering a few common challenges, and I'm confident we can point you in the right direction.
We'll need to look at CBO vs ABO...
Firstly, let's talk about Campaign Budget Optimisation (CBO) versus Adset Budget Optimisation (ABO). You're right to question whether CBO is the right approach for your situation, given that your products change every couple of weeks. CBO is designed to allow Facebook's algorithm to automatically allocate your budget across different ad sets, based on which it thinks will perform best. The problem is, it needs time to learn and gather data. If your products are constantly changing, the algorithm never really gets a chance to settle and optimise properly, and it may not even be able to exit the learning phase.
ABO, on the other hand, gives you more control. With ABO, you set the budget for each individual ad set. This means you can allocate more budget to the ad sets that are performing well and less to those that aren't. For shorter campaigns, ABO can often be more effective because you can make decisions based on your own observations and insights, rather than relying on the algorithm to do all the work. It sounds like this could be a better shout for you.
I'd say you should be careful with budget increases...
Now, let's consider your scaling strategy. You mentioned that you've been duplicating campaigns and increasing the budget. This is a common mistake that a lot of new advertisers make, but it can actually be counterproductive. When you duplicate a campaign, you're essentially creating a new campaign from scratch. This means that the new campaign has to go through the learning phase all over again. Duplicating campaigns can also lead to auction overlap, where your own campaigns are competing against each other for the same audience. That is not something you want at all.
A better approach is to gradually increase the budget on your existing campaigns. Start with small incremental increases, say 10-20% every couple of days, and closely monitor the performance. If you see that performance is declining, then you know that you've reached the limit of what that campaign can handle.
You probably should look at your ad creative...
Next, let's talk about your ad creative. You mentioned that you're barely breaking even on your ads. This suggests that there's something wrong with your ads themselves. Are your headlines compelling? Are your images eye-catching? Does your ad copy clearly communicate the benefits of your product? All of these things are really important. If your ads aren't engaging, people aren't going to click on them, and you're not going to make any sales. To be brutally honest, your ads probably aren't great!
Test different headlines, images, and calls to action to see what works best. You could also try using video ads, as these tend to be more engaging than static images. Don't be afraid to experiment and try new things. The key is to keep testing and optimising until you find a winning formula. Sometimes it can be something really small that makes the difference, like changing the background colour. Also, keep in mind that your audience sees 100s if not 1000s of ads every day, so you gotta really stand out. This can be done with unique creative angles or an offer that's really hard to say no to.
You'll need to test everything...
Testing is absolutely essential for any successful advertising campaign. You need to test everything, from your headlines to your images to your targeting. The more you test, the more data you'll gather, and the better you'll be able to optimise your campaigns. Even if you've got a campaign that's performing well, you should still be testing new things to see if you can improve it. Testing will allow you to test different strategies to see which works the best.
Use Facebook's A/B testing tool to easily test different versions of your ads. You can test different headlines, images, calls to action, and even different audiences. Run your tests for at least a week to gather enough data to make statistically significant decisions. Look at the data and implement the changes. Don't just guess or go with your gut feeling. In Facebook Ads, you're competing with 1000s of other advertisers, and they are ALL testing and getting better.
We'll need to think about campaign structure...
Finally, let's touch on campaign structure. A well-structured campaign can make a big difference to your results. I'd say you should be separating your campaigns based on your objectives. For example, if you're trying to generate leads, you should have a separate campaign for that. And if you're trying to drive sales, you should have a separate campaign for that as well.
Within each campaign, you should have multiple ad sets, each targeting a different audience. This allows you to see which audiences are performing best and to allocate your budget accordingly. With your ad sets, you can then add multiple ads to each adset. This allows you to test different headlines, images, and calls to action within the same ad set.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
| Area | Recommendation | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Budget Optimisation | Switch from CBO to ABO. | Gives you more control over budget allocation for short campaigns. |
| Scaling | Increase budget incrementally (10-20%) on existing campaigns instead of duplicating. | Avoids resetting the learning phase and auction overlap. |
| Ad Creative | Test different headlines, images, calls to action, and ad formats. | Improves engagement and click-through rates. |
| Testing | Use Facebook's A/B testing tool to test different ad variations and audiences. | Gathers data to optimise campaigns effectively. |
| Campaign Structure | Separate campaigns by objective (e.g., leads vs. sales) and use multiple ad sets targeting different audiences. | Allows for better tracking and budget allocation. |
Implementing these changes should help you improve your Facebook advertising results. However, I understand that this is a lot to take in, and you may need some help putting it all into practice. Paid advertising can be a tricky business, especially with all the algorithm updates, and often it makes sense to get an expert to help you navigate through it. If you'd like to get some expert advice and figure out what your best strategy will be moving forward, don't hesitate to book a free initial consultation. We can review your account together and figure out the best way forward for your business. We have lots of experience running different Meta ads campaigns and our results speak for themselves. I recall one instance where we worked with an eLearning client and generated $115k revenue in 1.5 months using Meta Ads, so we know how to drive results with the platform.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
