Within Automations there are four available ad optimization goals. These goals include:
- Impressions
- Conversion Events
- Reach
- Post Engagement
This article will go over each ad optimization goal and help you choose the right one for your Automation!
Impressions
First off, the Impressions metric measures how often your ads were on screen for your target audience - i.e. the number of times your ad was seen.
When optimizing for impressions, you are selecting an optimization that shows your ad to people who are more likely to take the action you want.
In real world terms, if your advertising objective is to drive customers to your website, an ad optimized for impressions will be shown to people who are more likely to navigate to your externally linked website.
Reach
The Reach metric measures the number of individual people who see your ads (versus impressions which measures the number of times your ad was seen).
When optimizing for reach, you are selecting an optimization which maximizes the number of people who see your ads and how often they see them. If your advertising objective is to build brand awareness, change brand perception or show your ad to as many people in your audience as possible, you should select reach.
In real world terms, by selecting reach you are attempting to reach the largest proportion of your target audience.
Conversion Events
Conversion events relates to and measures the number of action events that you want your target audience to complete (i.e. to purchase an item from your website).
When optimizing for conversion events, you are selecting an optimization which shows your ad to people who are most likely to take your desired action event.
In real world terms, if you want your ad to only be shown to individuals who are most likely to complete a purchase from your website then you should select this optimization. The main implications of this optimization goal is that you will be showing your ad to a much smaller pool of people in total. This however can be a positive, since you will be able to reserve more of your spending budget towards only those most likely to actually make a purchase.
Post Engagement
Post Engagement relates to and measures the number of engagements that your ad receives, i.e. the number of likes, reactions comments and shares of your ad.
When optimizing for post engagement, you are selecting an optimization which is designed to get more people to see and engage with your Facebook post or Page.
In real world terms, if you want your target audience to actively interact with your brand and to build a relationship with said audience you should choose this optimization.