Whether you’re new to advertising on Facebook or an old hand when it comes to paid social marketing, one thing should be obvious: you should know the basics of the platforms you’re advertising on. By that, I mean you should be able to answer basic questions pertaining to the cost and effectiveness of adds on Facebook (and Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network) before your bosses get the bill.
How much does the average ad on FB cost? What’s the average CTR for an ad? We’ll cover this and more. Read on.
Facebook Advertising Overview
Facebook offers advertising options on Facebook, as well as the additional properties it owns, including Instagram, Messenger, and its Audience Network. (Audience Network is ad space on a whole host of applications on every major mobile operating system.)
The majority of ads on FB properties are on Facebook itself – about 45.2% of all ads are found here. Instagram is home to the second-most amount of ads, with Messenger and Audience Network both distanced in low percentages.
Facebook is the platform with the most users, with 2.7 billion monthly active users. Due to its sheer size, Facebook is usually the most attractive ad platform for most brands.
Facebook Advertising Stats
If you’re wondering if your Facebook ad metrics are any good, you’re not alone. Below you’ll find some quick snippets to help you assess whether or not your campaigns are “average.”
Keep in mind, your metrics may be wildly different from these – and that’s totally normal. While most ad campaigns (about 26%) focus on conversions, some campaigns focus on awareness, link clicks, and a myriad of other goals and metrics. The metrics below are just averages to keep in mind.
- In 2020, CTR for ads on Facebook and Instagram peaked at 3.41% in June and has slipped down closer to 3% in August
- As of August, across all FB ad channels, the average CPM (cost per 1,00 views) was $5.31, while the average CPC was $0.43
- Ads on Facebook have by far the highest CTR, with the average being 3.9%
- Average CTR for Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network is under 1%
- Audience Network ads are your best bet if you want your ad in front of viewers more than once. These ads are shown to the viewer the most at 1.75 times on average. Compare that with Facebook ads at 1.55 times and Instagram at 1.21 times
- Status ads have the highest CTR at 6.65%, with photos ads at 4.66%
If you’re like us, you could read up on metrics like this all day long. If you want to go into even greater detail, check out the super helpful article from Social Insider where I got all of these insightful metrics. It’s a thoroughly well-done piece, and certainly worth a read.
Questions about your Facebook advertising campaigns? Get in touch. We’ll be happy to go over your digital advertising goals and see how we might be able to help. Check out this case study on our work with Floyd’s of Leadville.
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