Facebook Introduces Relevance Score for Advertisers

On a scale of 1 to 10, how effective would you say your business's ads are? Soon, Facebook will be able to answer that question for you.

Advertisers on Facebook will soon find a new metric for measuring the success of their ad campaigns: relevance scores.

So what exactly is a relevance score?

Your relevance score is a number between 1 and 10 (10 being the highest score) assigned to your ads based on their performance. Facebook calculates your relevance score based on the positive and negative feedback it expects your ad to receive from its target audiences. Positive feedback includes video views, conversions and more, while negative feedback includes factors like when a user hides or reports your ad. This score is updated as more people interact with your ads and provide feedback. 

Relevance scores can be helpful to advertisers in several ways. According to Facebook, these metrics can help you lower the cost of reaching people. To help Facebook's ad delivery system send the right ads to the right people, ads with higher relevance scores cost less to be delivered. While this is not the only factor the company's ad delivery system considers, it can make an impact.

Additionally, since Facebook gives your ad a relevance score before you even run your campaign, you can test out different combinations of images and copy as well as different audiences. This way, you can see which ones have the highest relevance scores before you make a decision and launch your ads.

Plus, being able to track your changing score can indicate when it's time to rethink your ad strategy.

Just remember that relevance scores, while beneficial, aren't everything.

"[It’s] important to keep this metric in perspective," Facebook wrote on its business page. "Relevance scores should not be used as the primary indicator of an ad’s performance."

"As has long been the case on Facebook, the most important factor for success is bidding based on the business goal you hope to meet with an ad."

And not all Facebook ads are compatible with the relevance score metric. According to Facebook, ads with guaranteed delivery (those bought through reach and frequency) are not affected. It's also not so useful in brand awareness campaigns.

"Relevance score has a smaller impact on cost and delivery in brand awareness campaigns, since those ads are optimized for reaching people, rather than driving a specific action like installs," Facebook wrote.

Facebook suggests using your relevance scores to reach audiences at a lower cost and test out different ads and target audiences — just don't rely on the number you get as the only measure of your campaign's success.

"[Understand] that having a good relevance score is not an end unto itself," Facebook wrote.

You can view your relevance score using any of Facebook's ad-reporting tools as well as tools developed by the company's API partners. Facebook started rolling out the new metric globally this week.  

Source

Facebook Keyword Search Makes It Easier to Find Your Business

Facebook marketing isn't just about launching campaigns to promote your business — it's also about customers spreading the word for you. And Facebook's new keyword search feature can help.

The social networking giant is rolling out its new keyword search feature today (Dec. 8). It will be part of the site's Graph Search function on both iOS and desktop devices (Android to follow).

Launched in early 2013, Graph Search expanded Facebook's search capabilities to search beyond names and filters by using specific phrases. Keyword search improves this capability by making it easier to find exactly what you're looking for, Facebook says. 

Here's how Facebook's new keyword search works and what it means for your business.

Semantic search vs. keyword search

Facebook's new keyword search feature aims to make it easier and faster to find the most relevant content right when you need it. It lets you search all types of posts — such as status updates, photos, videos, news articles and more — using simple keywords, just as you would for a Google search.

Before the update, Facebook's Graph Search (beta) used what's called "semantic search." Unless you were searching for specific users' names or business pages, semantic search required the use of complex, preset phrases to search for content.

For example, to find friends who live in a certain city, you'll have to type in something like "My friends who live in Los Angeles." It gets even more complicated if you're looking outside your network or doing a business search — for instance, "My friends of friends who like Joe's Coffee" or "Recent photos liked by my friends who like Joe's Coffee."

With the new keyword search, users no longer have to use algorithm-based phrases. A simple keyword or phrase, like "Joe's Coffee," will instantly bring up all content related to that business.

What it means for business owners

Facebook's keyword search feature has enormous potential for business owners. Its main benefit is that the feature makes it easier for potential customers to find your business.

Facebook users constantly post about businesses they frequent and restaurants and food they love. If their friends were looking for recommendations or more information on a business, all they'd have to do is type in what they're looking for, like "food trucks" or "bike repairs." And if customers already love you, you can rely on their word of mouth to bring customers your way.

Plus, Facebook's keyword search is mobile-ready, allowing users to search anytime, anywhere on an app they already trust and use the most. Many experts believe this new feature will end up competing with the likes of Yelp, Google and other business and review sites.

Limitations

Currently, Facebook's keyword search will only deliver search results based on users' privacy settings. That means that if you search for "yoga classes," it will only show content that your friends have chosen to share with you. This includes posts, likes and comments. It currently does not include public posts or Pages posts, though there are plans to make public posts available in search results. Once that is in place, this new feature can allow businesses to better monitor what's being said about them on Facebook and help drive engagement.

Source

Facebook Marketing - How to Use Facebook to Promote Your Business - Part 1

Cool video on how to use Facebook to promote your business.