How to get Facebook to show you the real picture 🤗

The metrics you really need  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

​ Hey, The first time I heard about Big Data, almost twenty years ago, I assumed wrestling was planning to wheel out a juiced-up nerd and flip the script for once; I'm still disappointed about that. These days, everyone knows that Big Data is really all about collecting lots of information, crunching the numbers 'til the cybercows come home, and then applying those insights to make lots and lots (and lots) more moolah. There are endless flavors, but all tend to be scooped into that same cone. All Things Data is still very much en vogue in 2022, of course, with everyone these days talking about data like it actually is the all-knowing android from Star Trek who draws on his endless reservoir of knowledge to assist you. Except small-D data can lead you astray just as often as it can guide you to the promised land of loadza lucre – especially if your view is skewed or you make the wrong assumptions. So, today, I'm going to show you two important things: · what hidden metrics you need to focus on in the alphabet soup Facebook throws your way (and what the bloody hell they mean). · how you can wrangle that imposing dashboard into something more useful, displaying the buried metrics you really need (and what you need to watch out for in relation to these metrics as your ads run). It's quite the twofer. But before we cannonball into that particular paddling pool, a quick heads-up: The promised video tutorial on Facebook ad creation will be posted to my YouTube channel once my crack team is done zapping warts in the editing suite. (Note: I am that crack team.) I'm sure I'll mention it here also but to get your grubby mitts on that detailed video guide the second it drops – because why wouldn't you want that? – then make sure to subscribe to said YouTube channel via this super clickable link right here. Right. Where were we? The Metrics The default dashboard on Facebook looks something like this. ​ Ugh. Not very useful is it? I mean… I'm sure this information is relevant to somebody but that person sure isn't me. What I really need to know is the following: How many clicks I'm getting. What they are costing me. Whether my ads are working. The first is straightforward enough. I need my dashboard to display what Facebook calls "Unique outbound clicks." That distinction is important because you don't want Facebook counting those clicks when readers like, comment, or share your ad. While we definitely like when readers do all those things, we don't want that side-action messing with our critical metrics. And Facebook will count all those clicks in your dashboard unless you get the data-prod out. (I'll show you how to do that in a minute.) So, get a sheet of paper and make a note of that metric now: Unique outbound clicks. As for the second, i.e. cost per click or what's known in the biz as CPC, you need to be a teeny bit careful here too because Facebook will always present the sunniest possible picture of your ads' performance. (Obvs, it wants you to spend more money on ads.) But we have different priorities, so we need to remove all those extra clicks I spoke about above – and we do that by avoiding the CPC metric and instead opting for Cost per unique outbound click which will only count clicks which actually lead users over to our books on Amazon and Apple and anywhere else you might be sending them, and which also won't double count anyone who comes back for more. Finding out if your ads are hitting the mark or need improvement is more complicated, but one quick-and-dirty way of measuring how ads are resonating with their audience is via the clickthrough rate – or CTR. Again, we need to grapple with Facebook to get a true picture so add this to our growing list of desired metrics: Unique outbound CTR. Some more metrics which are useful for tracking performance and optimizing our ads include Delivery, Frequency, Budget, Amount Spent, Results, Reach, Impressions, Schedule, and Ends. Add all of those to your list. You can see from the screenshot up top that very few of those crucial metrics are visible in the default picture we are given. Facebook has several other automatic presets for your dashboard, which you can explore if you wish, but let me save you some time and tell you right away that none of them are quite satisfactory. Instead, we are going to build our own Fancy Custom Dashboard – which Facebook actually allows you to do. This is a very welcome feature, especially because we can both save it and name it. Obviously, I call mine "MakeItRaaaaaaain." The Dashboard In the words of the philosopher Montell Jordan, this is how we do it. Go to your Business Manager/Ads Manger – this generic link will usually redirect you to your own account if you have any trouble finding it in Facebook's cluttered interface: https://www.facebook.com/adsmanager​ What you should be faced with now is your ads dashboard, showing all the results of previous campaigns. It might look a little something like the screenshot above (unless you have never run any ads, in which case it will be empty). And as you can see from that screenshot, this default dashboard isn't very helpful and is missing most of the key metrics I spoke about above. What you need to do is click on the drop-down menu circled back up there, which will trigger this. ​ You will see a long list of presets there – Facebook offers a variety of different defaults for your dashboard. Feel free to check them out if you like, but none of them are really suitable. So we will build our own, incorporating all the useful metrics we spoke about earlier (you can tweak this for your own needs, as you wish – this is just a suggested serving!). Click on Customize Columns at the bottom – highlighted by that red arrow above. A pop-up screen will, well, pop up. It's quite impenetrable so take your time with it. ​ What you need to do is untick everything you don't want, and tick everything you do want, so perhaps clear everything you don't want/need out first… and then add all the metrics we spoke about above, and anything else you might want to have a gander at. Very important: You can always come back and fiddle with this later, but make sure to hit tick that Save As Preset box in the bottom left or else your customized dashboard will not be saved the next time you come back and you will have to go through all this rigmarole again. (Ask me how I know!) Once you have done that, click the blue Apply button in the bottom right and you're done. Well, almost. You might need to fiddle with the width of the columns, and maybe drag some around, so it's all presented exactly how you like. But when you're done fussing, you have a brand spanking new dashboard. One that will help you get a clearer picture of how your ads are performing. Next time, we will look at how you can process all this information, along with your Amazon sales reports, to figure out if you are making any bloody money (and how to change up those ads if you are not!). But in the meantime, here are some pointers on what I generally monitor regarding the metrics on Facebook itself. CPC – cost per click, lest you forget. Obviously, you want this as low as possible, but always remember it's not the most important metric, even if it's easily the most talked-about metric. Of course, whether the ads are converting into sales and royalties and cold, hard cash is the most important thing (and it's not unusual to get an ad which gets lots of very cheap clicks but exactly zero sales – so don't lose site of this!). That caveat aside, I watch CPC a lot, and have my own threshold for what I will bear. You will need to determine yours – something we will go through in detail, probably in the next episode. Anyway, CPC can start higher, then settle down into a lower number once Facebook figures out who will respond best to your ads. And then it will start to increase again as you begin to run out of eyeballs. How long that takes will depend on a few things, but primarily audience size (and how much of it you are chewing through every day). CTR – clickthrough rate. In simple terms, this shows you how audiences are responding to your ads by telling you what percent actually click on it. If you are getting 2% or 4% or 6% or even more, your ad is usually doing quite well. But even an ad at 1% could be working really well for you because sometimes an ad does a great job of screening the very most likely purchasers. A higher CTR is better, for sure, but it's not the be-all by any means. A better CTR will usually result in a lower CPC, but that's not always the case so don't just kill an ad because the CTR isn't fabaroo – or because it starts dipping. If I see the CTR start to plunge, I will keep a closer eye on the ad, but won't necessarily turn it off. Frequency – this number represents how many times the average user in your audience has viewed your ad in the time period selected. Everyone has different approaches with this, but I personally consider an audience a bit jaded if Frequency goes above 2.0 in a period of around a week. These are cheap books we're selling, not cars – how much does someone really need to think about it? If CTR starts to climb (or indeed CPC), this is the first thing I'll check – because it might be time to find fresh meat. Spend – this is not unimportant, I just don't check it as frequently because I usually have a pretty clear idea of how much I'm spending per day anyway. I'll just glance at this to make sure ads are serving if it otherwise seems they aren't (i.e. if I'm not getting sales on Amazon, or whatever). Same goes for clicks, impressions, reach, and so on. And that, more or less, is that – all the metrics I need to make a success with Facebook Ads. At least, that's all the metrics that I can get from Facebook. The most important metric of all is missing: conversion rate. And it's missing because Facebook doesn't have that data. Nobody does. (Well, Amazon does but they certainly don't share it with me.) This is where things get tricky. You can get an idea of how your ads are performing, but you are missing one giant piece of the puzzle – whether all this is turning into sales. (And if those sales are enough to cover the cost of the ads.) It's quite the pickle, and filling the gap is harder than you think – even when you are a self-publisher with 24/7 near-live sales reports in KDP. We will cover how to handle that in the next episode – it's such a huge topic it will need an entire email on its own. But it's worth it because you will learn how to calculate your profits from Facebook ads so that you know if you are torching the kids' college fund… or going yacht shopping this summer. Later skater, Dave P.S. Soundtrack to my comeback is Black Grape with Shake Your Money. Broomfield Business Park, Malahide, Co. Dublin K36 AT04 ​Unsubscribe | Update your profile​