Ned Poulter shares key learnings from creating over 8,000 Facebook advertising campaigns. He recommends deploying tracking pixels early, testing different ad objectives and targeting combinations, and leveraging remarketing by creating product-specific campaigns targeted at website visitors. Poulter also stresses learning which Facebook data is useful for reporting and advises trialing remarketing campaigns first for new clients.

1. VISIT
www.polestardigital.com
EMAIL
ned@polestardigital.com
CALL
+447887851818
FOLLOW
@nedpoulter
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING:
KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000+ FACEBOOK CAMPAIGNS

2. DIGITAL MARKETING CONSULTANT
Hi. I’m Ned Poulter
BLOGGER SOCIAL
@NedPoulter
/NedPoulter

3. Background
TheLADBible
Realtor.com
ASOS Netflix
Miinto
YO! Sushi
Lighting
Room
Tens
The Hay
Group
Otto Car
SABMiller
Notonthehighstr
eet.com

4. FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER
IN 2015/16 SO FAR I’VE PERSONALLY CREATED OVER 8000 FACEBOOK
CAMPAIGNS FOR OUR CLIENTS

5. I’VE EXPERIENCED THE BLOOD, THE SWEAT, AND THE TEARS WITH A
PLATFORM THAT IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING…
HERE ARE SOME OF MY FINDINGS…
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

6. DEPLOY THE TRACKING PIXEL NOW! EVEN IF YOU DON’T PLAN TO USE
IT YET
TIP: DO IT USING GOOGLE TAG MANAGER TO
AVOID A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH WITH
DEVELOPMENT
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

7. CREATING AD CREATIVE CAN BE A PAINFUL (ESPECIALLY IF THE
CLIENT IS FUSSY)
USE THIS TOOL TO MAKE IT EASIER -
http://sproutsocial.com/landscape
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

8. OR THIS…
USE THIS TOOL TO MAKE IT EASIER -
https://www.canva.com/
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

9. NOT FORGETTING THIS…
USEFUL RESOURCE -
http://www.jonloomer.com/2015/05/11/fa
cebook-image-dimensions-2015/
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

10. THERE ARE A LOT OF AD OBJECTIVES/TARGETING COMBINATIONS
(AND THEY’RE GROWING!)
TIP: TEST EACH ON A SMALL BASIS
TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WORK
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

11. SOME PARTICULARLY POWERFUL ONES ARE:
TIP: ALSO LOOK OUT FOR ‘BRAND AWARENESS’
(IT’S > PAGE POST ENGAGEMENT)
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

12. ALSO LEAD GEN ADS FTW
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

13. POWER EDITOR IS GREAT BUT CAN BE BUGGY!
• MAKE SURE THAT YOU PUBLISH CHANGES INCREMENTALLY (TO AVOID LOST
DATA, TRUST ME – I’VE LOST HOURS ON THIS)
• BUILDING UPLOAD TEMPLATES IS A BITCH – BECAUSE FACEBOOK KEEP
CHANGING THE LAYOUT (LITERALLY ON ALMOST A WEEKLY BASIS)
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

14. DON’T BOTHER WITH ‘FACEBOOK ADVERTISING PLATFORMS’
• AT POLE STAR DIGITAL WE ARE ANTI-PROGRAMMATIC WHEN IT COMES TO SOCIAL
• SOME PLATFORMS WORK AND ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS, BUT MOST PULL FIGURES
OUT OF THE AIR (ADROLL ARE A NIGHTMARE FOR THIS)
• ALSO MEANS IT’S QUITE DIFFICULT TO COMMUNICATE [LACK OF] SUCCESS TO A
CLIENT (I’VE HAD A LOT OF ARGUMENTS WITH CLIENTS ABOUT THIS!)
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

15. FACEBOOK GIVES YOU A LOT OF DATA, LEARN WHICH IS USEFUL
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

16. FACEBOOK GIVES YOU A LOT OF DATA, LEARN WHICH IS USEFUL
• CREATE CUSTOM REPORTS EXCLUDING THE FAFF, THEN SAVE THEM
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

17. THEN BUILD AN EXCEL/GOOGLEDOCS REPORTING TEMPLATE
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

18. THE PIXEL CODE IS QUITE CLUMSY [NOBODY SEEMS TO IMPLEMENT IT
CORRECTLY]
• IN LATE 2015 THEY CHANGED FROM THE OLD PIXEL TO A NEW
CONSOLIDATED TRACKING PIXEL
• SOUNDS STRAIGHTFORWARD, BUT THIS CAN BORK OUT YOUR FIGURES
QUICKLY!
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

19. THE PIXEL CODE IS QUITE CLUMSY [NOBODY SEEMS TO IMPLEMENT IT
CORRECTLY]
BEST OPTIONS:
1. IMPLEMENT BASIC TRACKING PIXEL (NON-CUSTOMISED) + USE CUSTOM
2. NOTE: THIS ONLY WORKS IF YOU’VE GOT A FIXED URL/PATTERN MATCH IN THE
CHECKOUT
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

20. AN EXAMPLE [INCL. CONVERSION TRACKING]
<!-- Facebook Pixel Code -->
{% if first_time_accessed %}
<script>
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.p
ush(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async
=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https://co
nnect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');
fbq('init', '660838304052843');
fbq('track', 'Purchase', {value: '{{ subtotal_price | money_without_currency }}',currency: '{{ shop.currency }}'});
</script>
<noscript><img height="1" width="1"
style="display:none"src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=660838304052843&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/></nos
cript>
{% endif %}
<!-- End Facebook Pixel Code --> CUSTOMISED FOR A CLIENT’S SHOPIFY SITE
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

21. GET SMART WITH REMARKETING
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER
CREATE PRODUCT/PRODUCT RANGE SPECIFIC CAMPAIGNS AND SHOW THEM ONLY TO
VISITORS WHO HAVE VISITED THAT SECTION OF YOUR WEBSITE
E.G. TESLA
CAMPAIGN TARGETING – WEBSITE VISITORS (150 DAYS)
INCL. VISITORS THAT MATCH https://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/modelx
SHOW ADS FOR MODEL X

22. FACEBOOK ADVERTISING: KEY LEARNINGS FROM CREATING
OVER 8000 CAMPAIGNS @ #MANCSAS BY @NEDPOULTER

23. IF YOU’RE GOING TO TRIAL ANY CAMPAIGN, MAKE IT A REMARKETING
CAMPAIGN
PERSONALISATION: PUTTING PEOPLE AT THE CENTRE OF YOUR
CONVERSION EFFORTS @ #CAMPDIGITAL BY @NEDPOULTER
BEST OPTIONS:
1. SETUP A CAMPAIGN TARGETING WEBSITE VISITORS (LAST 150 DAYS)
2. EXCLUDE CONVERTERS
3. NOTE: THIS ONLY WORKS IF YOU’VE GOT A FIXED URL/PATTERN MATCH IN THE
CHECKOUT

24. ANY QUESTIONS?
PERSONALISATION: PUTTING PEOPLE AT THE CENTRE OF YOUR
CONVERSION EFFORTS @ #CAMPDIGITAL BY @NEDPOULTER

26. Thank You.
VISIT
www.polestardigital.com
EMAIL
ned@polestardigital.com
CALL
+447887851818
FOLLOW
@nedpoulter