AdEspresso: The Best Way To Manage Facebook Ads
I post a lot about bad technology – I’m looking at you Zillow and Redfin – so I felt like it was time for a look at some really good software that we’ve started using at Virgent. We’re big believers in Facebook advertising, and we’ve always struggled with the best way to optimize our ads. The standard Facebook interface just isn’t very good and helping marketers identify which ads are performing poorly and which factors are driving the efficacy of each ad group.
Enter AdEspresso. It’s changed the way the way we set up and optimize Facebook ad campaigns. In just the week we’ve been using it (We’re still on the free trial period), my CTRs have increased 8x. Before you ask, I’m not being paid for this post, and can’t even remember how I stumbled on their site in the first place, but the results are clear:
AdEspresso allows you to A/B test hundreds of versions of an ad with almost the same ease of setup as the standard Facebook interface. The software allows you to enter multiple versions of every piece of a Facebook ad – the headline, the text, the images, etc – and then it automatically create hundreds of distinct ads with all the possible combinations of those factors, along with other factors like gender, ad placement, and other targeting criteria. A typically AdEspresso campaign may result in more then 200 distinct ads.
Optimization is the real benefit. Because each ad only targets a specific subset of your criteria, AdEspresso can statistically compare what factors lead to higher clickthroughs and automatically optimize your ads over time. The results may surprise you. Within two days, AdEspresso was able to quadruple our CTR by showing us that one ad we were running performed best with men, with a specific headline, when not placed on the right column of Facebook.
I’d encourage anyone who does Facebook advertising to give it a look. They offer a two week free trial, but we’re definitely planning on paying for a subscription once the trial ends.
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 10:45h, 15 MarchAwesome Ben, thanks for sharing!
I have been doing ads on Google and Bing, and boosted posts on Facebook. My Facebook posts are getting good engagement, with one going over 1,100 likes, 60+ shares, and 253 comments.
If I don’t boost a post I get around 20 or so likes, but I also only boost my most interesting posts. My boosted posts all get over 100 likes, with some in the 400 to 500 range too.
Even though I have no way to track those likes and shares back to actual business, I at least feel like I am engaging people and that gets our brand out in front of them in a positive way.
I tried Facebook ads but could not get the same level of engagement as I do through Google and Bing. Even though the click through was good, once they go to my site they dropped out in huge numbers when compared to Google and Bing.
I suppose this makes sense because on Google they are searching for a Real Estate website to use, so when they get to my site they are happy to give it a try.
On Facebook they are not searching for a Real Estate website to use, so I am not sure why they even click on my ads, but once they get to the site they do not continue. I have read through some conspiracy theories on Facebook ads, LOL, and some actually seem to be well tested and make sense. To me it is confusing why someone would go through the trouble of clicking on an ad for a Real Estate website, but once there not use it.
Maybe you could write a blog post in the future on Facebook Ads vs. Google and Bing and how your results compare. Another post that would be interesting would be boosted Facebook posts vs. Facebook ads.
Thanks again for the great insight, should I try Facebook ads again AdEspresso will be the tool I will use.
Amber Nicole
Posted at 12:32h, 15 MarchBen this is an awesome article, thank you for sharing. I am going to play with Ad Espresso today. We’re on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/BuiltbyZephyr, would love if you could check us out!
Amber // Director of Marketing // Zephyr // Encinitas CA
Bhis
Posted at 03:32h, 16 MarchThanks Ben
But I was wondering and expecting much more from you than this
AdEspresso. Its look like you been try to endorse this product.
Ben Kubic
Posted at 06:06h, 16 MarchSometimes a product is just really good. I assure you I’m not endorsed by these guys at all.