Facebook analysis shows impact of frequency on ad performance

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In your ad campaigns, reach is an obvious consideration. But frequency is also a key aspect with a substantial impact on performance.

Frequency means how many times you show your ad to a potential customer to maximize engagement. And it relates to the product. So many factors can affect your results.

To help us understand how it works, Facebook conducted an analysis of 2,439 campaigns to gauge how users responded. And it examined when ad engagement started to drop upon frequent exposure.

Facebook used its own method to measure the results. Called Brand Lift, the process used polling and brand awareness measurement to get a good grasp on the true value of an ad.

The Facebook study found that impressions correlate with action intent and ad recall rates. But it had a limit.

“There tends to be a plateau, with the positive results no longer increasing as significantly after a handful of impressions. While the exact number of impressions can vary, the key insight is that there is indeed typically a point of diminishing returns,” explained Facebook.

How much is too much? As you can see, after five or six impressions, the results started to taper off, even for ads with good creative.

Yet, that is related to the ad itself. An engaging ad will deliver better performance than the average.

Frequency Matters

The Brand Lift data can reveal insight on this matter. Based on the user responses, Facebook divided the ad segments into response rates. So, Facebook measured responses on how good or bad ad content is by measuring how people responded.

The response rates for high engagement ad campaigns was higher overall. But average-performing campaigns still had responses of around four or five impressions.

The results mean that the quality of your ad creative is still crucial. And frequency must be put into consideration in any campaign.

“A person seeing an ad more times is associated with better results, but after a point, brands receive less and less benefit,” says Facebook.

Where that tipping point is will depend on your campaign. You must do your own research to get your own results. The data has proven that frequency is important. And it can help you drive better responses and performance.

Read more about the Facebook ad frequency research here.


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Author: Francis Rey

Francis is a voracious reader and prolific writer. He has been writing about social media and technology for more than 10 years. During off hours, he relishes moments with his wife and daughter.

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