In our last post about Facebook Ad Centre, we spoke about the Big 5 Metrics, and how you should use them.
However, a quick glance at your Ad Centre dashboard is enough to tell you that Facebook is capable of tracking more than 5 metrics. A LOT more. In fact, each metric has a whole host of micro-metrics which break your analytics down into granular detail.
In some cases, the micro-metrics you should follow will be obvious. For example, if you’ve made a video post, it makes way more sense to track Video Engagement than it does to track Carousel Engagement.
But, in other cases, it’s not so simple. For example, should you be tracking Offsite Conversions? Or Growth? And what on earth is Cross-Device Tracking all about?
Here, we’ll take you through some of Facebook’s more useful micro-metrics.
Offsite Conversions
What does it measure? This measures the number of times customers clicked through from your Facebook page or ad to your website (or app, or wherever else you were directing them).
Why is it useful? This metric is an excellent indicator of how well your ads are performing. When people click through to your site, it shows that they’re interested in your ad and want to learn more.
Comparing your Facebook Offsite Conversion (FOC) rate to your overall conversion rate can also be revealing. If website conversions are low, referral rates can help you figure out where in your customer journey the problem lies.
For example, if your FOC rate is high, the problem is probably not with your Facebook ads – it’s with your website. Customers were interested and engaged until they got to your site, and then something put them off.
Now, rather than revamping the whole customer journey, you can concentrate purely on website aspects until the problem is fixed.
Top Contributors
What does it measure? The most engaged followers of your brand/page. Followers who share, comment, like, and post the most will earn a ‘Top Contributor’ badge, and you’ll be able to view them from your dashboard.
Why is it useful? Well, for a start, it’s nice to know who your fans are!
Studying your top contributors can also tell you a lot about the people who like your stuff. For example, if your top contributors are all young women, you can congratulate yourself on engaging a tricky market – and should also think about how you can reel other demographics in.
Your top contributors are a valuable resource. You can rely on them for things like User-Generated-Content, signal boosts, and so on. Make sure to thank them for their engagement, and let them know that you appreciate their input.
If your top contributors are frequently changing, or start dropping off without being replaced, think about what you can do to boost customer loyalty.
Growth
What does it measure? The number of new followers and/or members your page/group has gained over a period of time.
Why is it useful? A brand community is a precious and wonderful thing. We’ve spoken above about Top Contributors and how they can help to encourage engagement. More followers means more engagement, which means greater organic reach, which means a way bigger brand impact.
A high growth rate is something to be proud of. But a word of caution – those followers must be fed! If your page is growing fast and you can’t keep up with things like monitoring comments, thanking top contributors, answering messages and so on, it’s time to hire a helper.
Cross-Device Tracking
What does it measure? CDT measures how people move between devices while engaging with your content.
For example, if you saw a Facebook advert on your phone during your commute, but didn’t buy the product until you got home and opened up your desktop, it wouldn’t (under traditional metrics) count as a conversion.
With Cross-Device Tracking, Facebook would note that you saw the advert on your phone and that you later converted from your desktop. It won’t overtly join the dots between the two – that would be making an assumption! But it will show you the correlation.
Why is it useful? Cross-Device Tracking gives you a much deeper and more nuanced understanding of customer journeys.
To count every ad that doesn’t immediately cause a conversion as a failure is a big mistake – but, without CDT, it’s a mistake you could be forgiven for making.
Cross-Device Tracking shows you the bigger picture. It demonstrates the true impact of your ads, and gives you valuable insight into your typical customers’ journey into the bargain.
What’s more, focusing only on immediate, mono-device conversions can lead to a lot of unnecessary time and effort spent editing and ‘improving’ content that was just fine the way it was.
With cross-device tracking, you get an accurate picture of how your ads are performing. CDT can also tell you things like:
- Which devices your customers use to convert
- Times of day at which conversion is most likely
- The average length of time between seeing your ad and converting
In order to use Cross-Device Tracking, you need to enable the Meta Pixel. For more on this, check out our blog on setting up a Facebook Ad.
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